Geography: China is bounded to the north by Russia and Mongolia; to the east by North Korea, the Yellow Sea and the South China Sea; to the south by Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, India, Bhutan and Nepal; and to the west by India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
China has a varied terrain ranging from high plateaux in the west to flatlands in the east; mountains take up almost one-third of the land.
The most notable high mountain ranges are the Himalayas, the Altai Mountains, the Tian Shan Mountains and the Kunlun Mountains.
On the border with Nepal is the 8848m-high (29,198ft) Mount Qomolangma (Mount Everest).

In the west is the Qinghai/Tibet Plateau, with an average elevation of 4000m (13,200ft), known as ‘the Roof of the World’. At the base of the Tian Shan Mountains is the Turpan Depression or Basin, China’s lowest area, 154m (508ft) below sea level at the lowest point.
China has many great river systems, notably the Yellow (Huang He) and Yangtze Kiang (Chang Jiang). Only ten per cent of all China is suitable for agriculture.

Language: The official language is Mandarin Chinese.
Among the enormous number of local dialects, in the south, large groups speak Cantonese, Fukienese, Xiamenhua and Hakka. Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang, which are autonomous regions, have their own languages.
Translation and interpreter services are good.
English is spoken by many guides.

Religion: The principal religions and philosophies are Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism.
There are 100 million Buddhists and approximately 60 million Muslims, five million Protestants (including large numbers of Evangelicals) and four million Roman Catholics, largely independent of Vatican control.

Time: GMT + 8. Despite the vast size of the country, Beijing time is standard throughout China.

Electricity: 220/240 volts AC, 50Hz. Two-pin sockets and some three-pin sockets are in use.

Communications:
Telephone: IDD is available.
Country code: 86.
Outgoing international code: 00.
Antiquated internal service with public telephones in hotels and shops displaying a telephone unit sign. It is often easier to make international phone calls from China than it is to make calls internally.

Mobile telephone: GSM 1800 and 900 networks provide coverage in Beijing, Guangzhou (Canton) and Shanghai; GSM 900 networks also exist in most other major urban areas in the southeastern and eastern regions including Chengdu and Chongqing.
Networks are operated by China Mobile (website: www.chinamobile.com) and China Unicom (website: www.netchina.com.cn).

Fax: A growing number of hotels offer fax facilities but are often incoming only. Rates are generally high.

Internet: ISPs include Eastnet China Ltd (website: www.eastnet.com.cn). There are Internet cafes in main towns.

Post: Service to Europe takes from between two days and a week.
Tourist hotels usually have their own post offices. All postal communications to China should be addressed ‘People’s Republic of China’.

Press: The main English-language daily is the China Daily and China Travel.
There is also the weekly news magazine Beijing Review, with editions in English, French, Spanish, Japanese and German.
National newspapers include The People’s Daily and The Guangming Daily, with many provinces having their own local dailies as well.

Money:
Currency: 1 Renminbi Yuan (RMBY) = 10 chiao/jiao or 100 fen. Notes are in denominations of RMBY100, 50, 10, 5, 2 and 1, and 5, 2 and 1 chiao/jiao. Coins are in denominations of RMBY1, 1.5 chiao/jiao and 5, 2 and 1 fen.

Currency exchange: RMBY is not traded outside China.
Foreign banknotes and tavellers cheques can be exchanged at branches of The Bank of China. In hotels and Friendship Stores for tourists, imported luxury items such as spirits may be bought with Western currency.
Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes cannot be exchanged.

Credit & debit cards: MasterCard, Visa, Diners Club, Federal Card, East-American Visa, Million Card, JCB Card and American Express are valid in major provincial cities in designated establishments.

Travellers cheques: To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travellers are advised to take travellers cheques in US Dollars.

Currency restrictions: Import and export of local currency is limited to 6000RMBY.
Import of foreign currency is up to US$1000 (US$5000 for non-residents). Higher amounts should be declared upon arrival. Export of foreign currency is limited to the amount imported and declared.

Banking hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1200 and 1400-1700.

Public Holidays: Jan 1-2 2003 New Year. Feb 1-3 Spring Festival, Chinese New Year. May 1-3 Labour Day. Oct 1-3 National Day. Jan 1-2 2004 New Year. Jan 22-24 Spring Festival, Chinese New Year. May 1-3 Labour Day. Oct 1-3 National Day.

Note: In addition to the above, other holidays may be observed locally and certain groups have official public holidays on the following dates:
Mar 8 International Women’s Day. May 4 National Youth Day. Jun 1 International Children’s Day. Aug 1 Army Day.

Health:
Special Precautions Certificate Required
Yellow Fever Yes 1
Cholera 2 No
Typhoid and Polio 3 N/A
Malaria 4 N/A

1: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from all travellers if arriving from infected areas.

2: Following WHO guidelines issued in 1973, a cholera vaccination certificate is not a condition of entry to China.
However, cholera is a slight risk in this country and precautions could be considered.
Up-to-date advice should be sought before deciding whether these precautions should include vaccination as medical opinion is divided over its effectiveness.

3: Poliovirus transmission has been shown by reliable data to have been completely interrupted since 1994 through eradication programmes.

4: Malaria risk exists throughout the country below 1500m except in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Beijing, Shanxi, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang (except in the Yili River Valley) and Tibet (Xizang, except in the Zangbo River Valley in the extreme southeast).
The disease occurs primarily in the benign vivax form but the malignant falciparum form is also present and has been reported to be multidrug-resistant. The recommended prophylaxis in risk areas is chloroquine, or mefloquine in Hainan and Yunnan.

Food & drink: Outside main centres all water used for drinking, brushing teeth or freezing should have first been boiled or otherwise sterilised.
Only eat well-cooked meat and fish, preferably served hot. Pork, salad and mayonnaise may carry increased risk.
Vegetables should be cooked and fruit peeled.

Other risks: Bilharzia (schistosomiasis) is endemic in the central Yangtze river basin.
Avoid swimming and paddling in fresh water. Swimming pools that are well chlorinated and maintained are safe.
There is some risk of plague.
Hepatitis E is prevalent in northeastern and northwestern China and hepatitis A is common across the country.
Hepatitis B is highly endemic.
Tuberculosis is common in indigenous populations.
Oriental liver fluke (clonorchiasis), oriental lung fluke (paragonimiasis) and giant intestinal fluke (fasciolopsiasis) are reported, and brucellosis also occurs.
Bancroftian and brugian filariasis are still reported in southern China, visceral leishmaniasis is increasingly common throughout, and cutaneous leishmaniasis has been reported from Xinjiang.
Haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome is endemic.

Precautions should be taken against Japanese encephalitis, particularly in rural areas.
Mite-borne or scrub typhus may be found in scrub areas of southern China. Rabies is present, although the Government policy which bans dogs and cats from main cities makes this less of a risk in these areas.
For those at high risk, vaccination before arrival should be considered. If you are bitten, seek medical advice without delay.

Health care: Medical costs are low. Many medicines common to Western countries are unavailable in China.
Medical facilities in international hospitals are excellent. There are many traditional forms of medicine used in China, the most notable being acupuncture. Medical insurance is strongly advised.

Travel - Internal:
Air: Most long-distance internal travel is by air. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) operates along routes linking Beijing to over 80 other cities. CAAC controls several other private carriers including China Eastern, China Northern, China Southern, Great Wall and Yunnan Airlines.
Tickets will normally be purchased by guides and the price will be included in any tour costs.

Independent travellers can also book through the local Chinese International Travel Service (CITS), which charges a small commission, or alternatively buy tickets in booking offices.
It is advisable to purchase internal air tickets well in advance if travelling during May, September or October.
The tourist price for a ticket is 70 per cent on a train ticket and 100 per cent on an air ticket.
There are many connections to Hong Kong from Beijing/Guangzhou (Peking/Canton) as well as other cities.
Note: Where possible, travellers are advised to fly in UK or North American aircraft which are used by larger airlines.

Departure tax: RMBY50.

Sea/river: All major rivers are served by river ferries. Coastal ferries operate between Dalian, Tianjin (Tientsin), Qingdao (Tsingtao) and Shanghai. There are regular ferry services between mainland China and Hong Kong.

Rail: Railways provide the principal means of transport for goods and people throughout China.
The routes are generally cheap, safe and well maintained.
The major routes are from Beijing to Guangzhou, Shanghai, Harbin, Chengdu and Urumqi.
There are four types of fare: hard seat, soft seat (only on short-distance trains such as the Hong Kong to Guangzhou (Canton) line), hard sleeper and soft sleeper.
Children under 1m (3ft) tall travel free and those under 1.3m (4ft) pay a quarter of the fare.

Road: Eighty per cent of settlements can be reached by road. Roads are not always of the highest quality.
Distances should not be underestimated and vehicles should be in prime mechanical condition as China is still very much an agricultural nation without the mechanical expertise or services found in the West.

From Beijing to Shanghai is 1461km (908 miles), and from Beijing to Nanjing (Nanking) is 1139km (718 miles).
Traffic drives on the right.

Bus: Reasonable services are operated between the main cities. Buses are normally crowded.

Car hire: Available, but most rental companies’ policy of retaining the driver’s passport makes self-drive car hire impossible in practice for visitors. Cars with a driver can be hired on a daily or weekly basis.

Urban: There is a metro system in Shanghai and limited metro services in Beijing and Tianjin, and tramways and trolleybuses in a number of other cities. New lines are under construction in Beijing. Most cities have extensive bus services. Guides who accompany every visitor or group will ensure that internal travel within the cities is as trouble-free as possible.

Taxi: Taxis are available in large cities but can be hard to find. It is best to check if the taxi is metered. If not, then it is important to agree a fare beforehand, especially at railway stations where it is best to bargain before getting into the taxi.
Visitors should write down their destination before starting any journey.
Taxis can be hired by the day.
Most people travel by bicycle or public transport.
In most cities bicycles or other types of rickshaws are available for short rides.

Travel times: The following chart gives approximate travel times (in hours and minutes) from Beijing to other major cities/towns in China.
Air Rail
Tianjin 0.50 1.40
Wuhan 1.45 16.00
Xian 1.55 22.00
Nanjing 1.40 15.30
Shanghai 1.50 20.00
Chengdu 2.25 60.00
Kunming 3.20 80.00
Guangzhou 3.00 37.00
Urumqi 4.00 95.00

Travel - International:
AIR: The national airline is Air China (CA). A number of major international airlines operate direct flights to China.

Note: Travellers should ensure that they reconfirm their return flight reservations, as overbooking by airlines has led to people being stranded in China.

Approximate flight times: From Beijing to London is approximately ten hours, to New York is 22 hours, to Los Angeles is 12 hours and to Sydney is 12 hours.

International airports: Beijing/Peking (BJS/PEK) airport (Capital International Central) is 28km (18 miles) northeast of the city (travel time – 30-40 minutes by bus and taxi).

Guangzhou/Canton airport (Baiyun) is 7km (4 miles) from the city (travel time – 20 minutes).

Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) airport is 15km (7.9 miles) southwest of the city (travel time – 25-40 minutes).

Shanghai Pudong (PVG) airport, in the new eastern financial district is 30km (19 miles) from the city centre (travel time – 30-40 minutes by bus or taxi) and began handling international flights in March 2000.
Pudong is set to become the city’s major international airport with a magnetic levitation train due to open in 2003 and an underground link in 2005.

Facilities at the above airports include taxis, public and shuttle buses, duty-free shops, banks/bureaux de change, post offices, business facilities, bars and restaurants.
There are also airports at other major cities.

Departure tax: RMBY90. Children under 12 are exempt.

Sea: Principal seaports are Qingdao (Tsingtao), Shanghai, Fuzhou (Foochow), Guangzhou (Canton) and Hong Kong/Kowloon.
Pearl Cruises operates over 20 cruises a year to China.
Other cruise lines include NCL Asia Cruisetours, Princess and Silversea.
There are regular ferry services linking most Chinese ports with Kobe in Japan and the west coast of Korea (Dem Rep).
Ferry services operate between Weihai, Qingdao, Tianjin and Shanghai in China to Incheon in Korea.

Rail: International services run from Beijing to Moscow (Russian Federation), on both the Trans-Mongolian Railway (via Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia) and the Trans-Manchurian Railway (via Zabaikalsk in northern China).
There are also services from Beijing to Pyongyang (Korea, Dem Rep). Owing to demand, it may be necessary to book up to two months in advance.
A regular train service runs from Hong Kong to Guangzhou (Canton), and is of a higher standard than internal trains in China.
There are several trains daily. Services between Shanghai-Kowloon/Hong Kong (travel time – 29 hours) and Beijing-Kowloon/Hong Kong (travel time – 30 hours) both run on alternate days.

There are three types of fare: hard sleeper, soft sleeper and deluxe soft sleeper.
Note: Travellers on the Trans-Mongolian or Trans-Manchurian Railways are strongly advised to search their compartments and lock the doors before departure, owing to an increase in smuggling via this route.

Road: The principal road routes into China follow the historical trade routes through Myanmar, India, the former Soviet republics and Mongolia.