|
Tips for China
Contents:
Tips for the Traveler
Visas
Health Risks
Time
Electricity, Weights
and Measures
At a Glance...
Capital
City People
Language
Religion
Government
Helpful Tidbits...
Links... |
 |
Tips
for the Traveler |
| |
Visas : |
You should apply for your
China visa through the normal channels. Groups will be
issued with one group visa and the individual passports
will not normally be stamped. |
| |
Health
risks: |
No vaccinations are
required for China, however travelers going to the
extreme southern regions of Xishuangbanna may want to
take malaria tablets. Immodium and a general combination
of vitamins is also a good idea. Please do not drink tap
water – boiled water is available everywhere and
mineral water is becoming more and more common. |
| |
Time: |
China one standard time,
namely Beijing Time, which is eight hours ahead of GMT.
China adopts daylight-saving time during the winter
months, and clocks are set forward by one hour in April
and then back in September. |
| |
Electricity: |
Current is 220 volts, 50 Hz
AC. There are four different types of plugs, and
converters are hard to find in China. Travelers are
advised to buy conversion plugs in their home country or
in Hong Kong. |
| |
Weights
& Measures: |
The metric system is the
most common system of weights and measures, but some
traditional Chinese measures are still in
use. |
| |
Tourism: |
China can be
extraordinarily beautiful and remarkably plain. It can be
the land of your dreams and a bureaucratic nightmare. But
it cannot fail to impress.
Travelers to present-day China need humor and sensitivity
to appreciate its amazing power and diversity and the
astonishing changes it has accomplished in a short time. |
|
At
a Glance... |
| |
Capital
city:: |
Beijing |
| |
People: |
The Chinese population is
approximately 92 percent ethnic Han Chinese. The 8
percent minority population is settled over nearly 60
percent of China's area. |
| |
Language: |
Mandarin is the main
language; Cantonese is spoken in Guangdong province only |
| |
Religion: |
Officially atheist. There
are Christian groups in the cities and Buddhist sects in
both the cities and countryside. |
| |
Government: |
Since 1990 the country has
been governed by a presidential system and a bicameral
legislature |
|
Helpful Tidbits... |
| |
Climate |
The
enormous size of China dictates that it is inevitably
composed of a number of smaller climatic micro systems.
With the exception of rain which falls largely in the
summer months, it is more useful to break the country
down into roughly four regions:
North
Winters in the north are cold, although quite pleasant
due to the abundance of sunshine and the dryness of the
air. Summer temperature in Beijing can reach 30 degrees
centigrade. Because of the extremes, spring and autumn
are the most pleasant times to visit the north.
Central
In the Yangtze River Valley area, summers tend to be
longer and more humid.
South
Around Guangzhou (Canton), the summers are hot and humid
with the likelihood of heavy rains. The winters are mild
and pleasant.
The North West
If one word could capture the climate of this vast region,
it would be ‘extreme’. The majority of the Silk
Road has a severe desert climate. |
|
Links |
| |
China.com
(English) Travel Home |
China
travel, weather and facts. |
| |
China |
The
dos and don'ts of China |
| |
China
|
An
insight into China |
