POPULATION (1995) 1 203 097 268 peoples - the most populated country in the woorld.
TERRITORY 9 560 000 square km.
GROSS NATIONAL INCOME (1994) $2,9788 billion ($2 500 per capita).
CAPITAL: Beijing
TIME ZONE GMT + 8
TELEPHONE SERVICES Country Code: 86 IDD: International Direct Dialling is available Outgoing Code: 00
EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBERS Police - 110, Fire - 119.
LOCAL TOURIST INFORMATION China International Travel Service (CITS), Head Office, 103 Fuximgmenni Avenue, Beijing, peoples's Republic of China Tel: (1) 601 1122 Fax: (1) 601 2013.
PASSPORT INFORMATION Valid passport required by all. Return Ticket Required. Requirements may change at short notice. Contact the embassy before departure.
VISA INFORMATION Visa required by all. Visas cannot be obtained on arrival. Heavy fines are levied for overstays of visa validity. A multiple entry visa is required if you are travelling to Hong Kong.
PROHIBITED ITEMS Prohibited Items include: Radio transmitters / receivers, exposed but undeveloped film. Baggage declaration forms must be completed on arrival noting down all valuables. A copy must be given to customs when leaving the country.
AIRPORT DEPARTURE TAX Yuan 90.
RESTRICTED ENTRY - Not notified
HEALTH MATTERS Polio, Typhoid: Vaccination recommended. Malaria : Exists throughout the country below 1500m in the Falciparum variety, which has been reported being highly resistant to Chloroquine. Yellow Fever: A vaccination certificate is required by anyone arriving from infected areas. Other Health Risks: Bilharzia, Cholera, Rabies, SARS.
FOOD AND DRINK Water is untreated and not safe to drink. Avoid dairy products as they are not pasteurised. Fruit and vegetables should be peeled before consumption.
CURRENCY Yuan (Renminbi RMB) = 10 chiao/jiao or 100 fen. Exchange: there is only one national bank which has 30 000 branches. In hotels and certain stores luxury items such as spirits may be bought in Western currency. All credit cards are valid in major provincial cities in designated establishments. US dollars are the preferred currency in travellers cheques. ATM availability: Over 60 locations.
MONEY WIRING SERVICES MoneyGram: Available in major cities along the Eastern sea-board Western Union: Available.
TRAVELLERS CHEQUES EMERGENCY NUMBERS Thomas Cook: +44 1733 318950
BANKING HOURS 09.30 - 12.00 and 14.00 - 17.00 Mon. to Fri, 09.00 - 17.00 Sat.
COST OF LIVING China is still predominantly an agrarian community in spite of the recent Westernisation of it's major cities. Consequently, prices vary substantially from region to region and city to city.
LANGUAGES Mandarin Chinese. Cantonese, Fukienese, Xiamenhua and Hakka. English may sometimes be spoken.
WEATHER Great variations in climate. Northeast = Hot and Dry summers with very cold winters. North and central has a continental rainfall, hot summers and cold winters. Southeast = Substantial rainfall, with semi tropical summer and a cool winter.
RELIGIONS Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism. Also Muslim, Protestant and Roman Catholic.
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
ELECTRICITY
220/240 Volts AC, 50Hz.
POST
Approx. 1 week. All postal communications should be addressed "peoples's Republic of China'.
WOMEN IN SOCIETY
Women in major cities are becoming more culturally free, however this is still limited due to tight censorship legislation. Women in rural areas continue to live a feudal, peasantry existence, in accordance with tradition.
TRANSPORT
Independent travel is becoming increasingly possible and further information can be obtained from the Chinese National Tourist office (address above.)
ROAD: Most places can be reached by road but many are of poor quality.
BUS: reasonable bus services operate in the main cities.
SPECIFIC INFORMATION
Visitors are sometimes greeted by applause as a sign of welcome. The usual expected response is to applaud back. peoples often stare and spit. Personal theft is common. Since 1988 free travel to Tibet has ceased. China issues approximately 1000 visas a year for guided excursions. PHOTOGRAPHY: Do not take photos of airports and always seek permission before taking pictures of individuals. High risk of SARS, contact embassy prior to departure.
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