Practical information for workshop participants
BEIJING (about)
Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China,
is the centre of the nation's politics, culture and international
exchanges and a modem metropolis full of vitality.
The history of Beijing as a city may be traced back to about 3000
years ago when a small town appeared on the present site of southwestern
Beijing. It was named Ji and then changed to Yan. At the beginning of
the 10thcentury, it was the second capital of the Liao Dynasty. From
then on, the city had been the capital of the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing
dynasties until 1911. A long history has left numerous famous historical
sites which possess great aesthetic and cultural valleys.
With China's reform and opening up, Beijing is improving urban construction
on an unprecedented scale. Its speed of development is astonishing and
it brings about changes day by day. Around this graceful ancient capital,
a large number of key national projects, massive infrastructure buildings
and modem residential houses have sprung up. Wasteland and low, dilapidated
houses are gradually disappearing, replaced by newly-built residential
quarters of different styles and surrounded by greenbelts.
There are nearly 100 institutions of higher learning such as the famous
Beijing University and Qinghua University. The CSSAR is located in the
Zhongguancun High-Tech industrial development zone, which is also called
Silicon Valley because of the high concentration of domestic and foreign
manufacturers and companies dealing in electronics.
Two useful links for Beijing are (sightseeing, events, etc):
http://www.beijingpage.com/
http://www.beijingtraveltips.com/
CHINESE
Although there is only one common written language, there are a great
number of different spoken Chinese dialects. These dialects are often so
different that people from different regions will be incomprehensible to
each other. The dialects can generally be classified into the following five groups:
Mandarin or Putonghua is the official national language of China. Cantonese
is mainly spoken in Guangdong province, Hong Kong and overseas.
Hakka is spoken in northeastern Guangdong and south Jiangxi. Fukienese
(including the Foochow and Amoy-Swatow) is spoken by Chinese in Malaysia and Taiwan.
Wu dialects are spoken by the Chinese in the central or Shanghai regions.
Years ago, it was decided that the language spoken in the nation's capital
of Beijing should become the common language. Thus, Putonghua (common speech)
or what is commonly referred to as Mandarin, became the national language of
the People's Republic of China. Putonghua is now spoken throughout the country
and is the language that foreigners should learn.
One of the elements that makes the Chinese language so much more challenging
is the use of varying tones in the pronunciation. The use of an incorrect tone
can completely change the meaning of a word or make it incomprehensible.
It takes a good ear, close attention, and patience for a foreigner to learn Chinese.
For a translation of some common words,
visit http://www.chinatravel.free-online.co.uk/china/cnphrase.htm
COMMUNICATION
POST : China's international postal service is efficient. It generally takes 5-10
days for airmail letters or postcards to reach their destination. Domestic
mail is fast. Post offices are found throughout China. Stamps can be bought at the
Jade Palace Hotel.
It is best to buy envelopes in China as envelopes must be of an approved size.
Envelopes purchased abroad will reach their destination, however, they will
be given lowest priority and will move at a snails pace.
Rates : domestic letters up to 20g cost RMB0.50, postcards RMB0.30.
International rates for letters up to 20g vary from RMB2.50 to RMB5.40
depending on the province.
INTERNET : The Internet is increasingly available throughout China. Most hotels
(including the Jade Palace Hotel) have an ADSL access.
Cybercafes are popping up in many cities in China. Your
best bet for finding one is to look near universities or in tourist areas.
TELEPHONE : China's phone system works well. You can usually place both international
and domestic phone calls from you hotel room or hotel's business center,
but there is always a surcharge on long distance calls. Local calls are
generally free from your hotel.
Domestic long distance rates are cheap. International calls are very expensive,
in the neighborhood of RMB20 per minute. Reverse-charge calls are legal and are
generally less expensive than calling overseas from China.
Card phones are fairly widespread in China and can be the simplest and the
cheapest way to make calls in China. There are two types of phone cards,
the older magnetic cards and the newer "Smartcards". Smartcards
are better to purchase. Magnetic phone cards may only be used in the province
in which you buy them, Smartcards may be used all over China.
Local and domestic long distance calls, but not international calls can
generally be made from phone booths. Both long distance and international
calls may be placed from the offices of telecommunications companies. Calls
are charged by the minute.
The network for cellular phones operates at 900 and 1800 MHz (European standard).
CURRENCY
The Chinese currency is the Renminbi (RMB), or people's money. The basic unit,
the yuan, is divided into 10 jiao. The jiao is again divided into 10 fen.
In spoken Chinese the yuan is referred to as the kuai and the jiao is referred
to as the mao (1 yuan = 10 jiao = 100 fen). The following yuan notes are issued 100, 50, 10, 5, 2 and 1.
The jiao comes in denominations of 5, 2 and 1.
It is advisable to stock up on 10 yuan notes. Taxi drivers and shopkeepers are
frequently unable to change larger denominations. There is a foreign exchange booth at
the Jade Palace Hotel.
Exchange rates (as of March 30)
1 CNY (chinese yuan) = 0.12 USD
1 CNY (chinese yuan) = 0.10 EUR
1 CNY (chinese yuan) = 5.36 INR (indian rupee)
CASH DISPENSERS : There are many banks with ATMs.
Unfortunately only about half of these accept foreign cards. The main foreign friendly ATMs
are controlled by the Bank of China. Bank of China ATMs work in both Chinese and
English (depending on your card), use the latest equipment, and are pretty easy to find.
They do have a habit of being over-used though, so sometimes they are out of cash, receipts
or whatever.
Logo of the Bank of China 
CUSTOMS
Chinese customs are generally straightforward. Visitors to China must fill
out a customs form upon arrival. When you enter the country you are asked
to declare electrical goods and luxury items such as cameras, computer
equipment etc. Keep this form until you exit to avoid paying duty on goods
you brought into the country.
You may import 400 cigarettes, 2 liters of alcoholic beverages and 50g
(2 ounces) of gold or silver. There are no restrictions on the amount of
foreign currency you bring in to the country. You must, however, declare
any cash exceeding US$5,000 or the equivalent. You may only bring in or out
of China RMB6,000.
Prohibited imports include: fresh fruit, arms, ammunition, printed matter,
films or tapes "detrimental to China's economy, culture and ethics",
narcotic drugs, animals and plants.
If you purchase antiques in China, you must obtain a certificate of
authenticity. You need this certificate to avoid trouble when departing.
Present this form when going through customs to avoid having your antique
declared a "cultural relic" and confiscated.
ELECTRICITY
Electricity in China runs on 220V, 50 cycles AC.
There are at least 5 different types of plugs currently in use in China.
The most frequently found types are the 2 pronged American style and the
3 pronged angled Australian style. An adapter with the American and
Australian styles should be sufficient and should be bought before
entering China.
HEALTH
Prior to any major trip in China, check to make sure that your vaccinations are up-to-date.
Your basic checklist should include tetanus, hepatitis A,
TB, typhoid and polio. If you are spending a long time in China or visiting more
remote areas consider the following - influenza, Hepatitis B, meningitis,
Japanese B encephalitis and rabies. Visitors to south and south west China
may need to consider a course of anti-malarials. A good web site for advisories
is the Center for Disease Control.
The standard of medical care and medication varies throughout China, but
facilities in major cities are generally good. If you take any medication
on a regular basis, bring enough to last through your trip. Pack your
prescriptions with your medications to avoid any problems at customs. You may
wish to consider travel insurance with medical cover.
To avoid illness a few easy precautions can be taken. Wash your hands
frequently. Do not drink water that has not been boiled and when in doubt
drink bottled water. Freezing does not purify water. Before drinking anything
with ice, make sure the ice was made with bottled or boiled water. Fruits and vegetables
should be washed thoroughly in purified water, peeled or boiled. Undercooked
meat and most shellfish should be avoided.
A major complaint of travelers is traveler's diarrhea. This condition is
generally caused by a change in diet or contaminated food or water. You may
want to bring an over the counter anti-diarrhea medication, such as Imodium,
to deal with the symptoms. For most complaints it is best to seek professional
advice as self-diagnosis is risky.
Toilets in China tend to be of the squat variety. They rarely come with paper.
Keeping a suplly of tissues on you is a good idea.
HOTEL INFORMATION
The recently rebuilt Jade Palace is a five star international hotel, which is
located in the Haidian district, within 10 mins walking distance of the CSSAR.
The distance to the airport is about 40 km, and to the city centre is about 10 km.
The Jade Palace hotel has more than 300 rooms and offer many facilities,
including several restaurants (serving Japanese, Russian, Cantonese and
Huaiyang cuisine), a coffee shop, bars, foreign exchange, air conditioning
and TV in all rooms, a swimming pool, bowling, etc.
Both lecturers and students (who are not from Beijing) will accomodated in the Jade Palace Hotel.
Breakfast and dinner will be served at the hotel, and lunches at the CSSAR.
Address: Jade Palace Hotel, No.76, Zhichun Road, 100086 Beijing
Tel: 86-10-6262 8888
Fax: 86-10-6256 1447
The easiest way to get from the Capital Airport to the hotel is by taxi.
The fare costs about 120 RMB (15 US$). Below is the address of the hotel in chinese.
We strongly recommend you print
it out (click on it) to show it to the taxi drivers, who rarely speak english.
MAPS
Click on the images to view the maps
| local area map with hotel and CSSAR (in chinese) |
|
| local area map with hotel and CSSAR (in english) |
|
| simplified map of Beijing, with CSSAR (124 kB) |
|
DETAILED MAP OF BEIJING: An earlier version of this web page contained a detailed map of Beijing
in both high resolution (4.9 MB) and lower resolution (1.6 MB).
Copyright: Weller Cartographic Services Ltd.
An updated map of Beijing can be obtained at
http://www.mapmatrix.com/tmhtm/htmtm/02101.html. We gratefully acknowledge the internet
service provided by Angus Weller, President of Weller Cartographic Services Ltd.
SUBWAY MAP OF BEIJING: See e.g.
http://www.beijingtraveltips.com.
NEWS
NEWSPAPERS : The English-language China Daily (available daily except Sundays) is readily
available free of charge in most hotels, and the Beijing Weekend that comes
with Friday issues, features information of interest to visitors and residents.
The Jade Palace Hotel offers a variety of newspapers, magazines and books from
Hong Kong, Japan, Europe and the USA.
TELEVISION : The Jade Palace Hotel offers a wide range of national and international
TV programmes. Chinese channels, besides a late-evening news reported in
English (10:30pm-11:30pm) and lessons in various foreign languages, are
all in Chinese, including imported Western programmes. Local radio English
broadcasts can be heard on 1251 AM and 91.55 FM.
OPERATING HOURS & HOLIDAYS
Offices in China are generally open from 8am-5pm with a 1-2 hour lunch break
between. Most offices close during their lunch break so plan accordingly.
Shops are generally open from early and do not close for lunch. Tourist
sites are usually open from 8am-5pm. Museums are generally open 6 days
a week but close during lunch. Many museums are closed on Mondays.
Offices and museums are generally closed on public holidays. Shops tend to
remain open. May 4 is a public holiday (International Youth Day).
TIME
All of China is set to Beijing time. China is 16 hours ahead of US Pacific Time,
13 hours ahead of US Eastern Standard Time and 8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
TRANSPORTATION (LOCAL)
The best way to move around in Beijing is by taxi. You can find plenty of taxis
around hotels, tourist areas, department stores and main streets. They can also be
hired by telephone. The small taxis, either hatchback or with a trunk, costs for
the first four kilometers 10.40 yuan and add up 1.6 to 2.5 yuan per kilometer
thereafter. Very few taxis driver speak English, so it is strongly recommended
to have destinations written out in Chinese.
The taxi fare from Capital Airport to Jade Palace Hotel costs about 120 RMB (about 15 US$).
City bus provides a much cheaper way to get around Beijing. The buses are trolley
buses, tend to be crowded most of the time. Fares are just 50 fen. Please avoid
taking public transport in rush hours from 6:30 to 8 am or 5 to 7 pm.
Subway trains are fast and convenient. There are two lines. One circle city line
and the other extends to its far western suburbs. Straight Line runs from Xidan to
Pingguoyuan. Tourists can get off at Muxudi near the White Cloud Taoist Temple,
the Military Museum, or the Shijingshan Amusement Park. One way fare costs 50 fen.
Stations are marked in pinyin. The subway operates in short intervals from 5 am
to 11:30 pm, but you should avoid rush hours (7 to 9 am and 4:30 to 6 pm).
Click here for a subway map.
Bicycles provide a form of transportation for a majority of Beijingers, so
cycling are set aside on all major roads. The city proper is flat for easy
riding and there are repair stands with air pumps and spare parts on the way.
Bicycles can be rented from large repair chops as well as from hotels.
It takes only one and a half
hours to cycle from the Tiananmen Square to the Summer Palace. Rental charges
vary from 2 yuan per hour for top brand bikes to 25 yuan for 24 hours for average
ones.
VISAS
All visitors to China require a valid passport and visa. Visas must be arranged
beforehand through your nearest Chinese embassy. CTS and CITS, China's state
travel agencies, also arrange visas and have offices worldwide. There are a variety
of types of visas. Most tourists opt for a single entry
tourist visa, which is valid for 3 months and costs around US$40. Multiple
entry visas, business visas, and student visas are also available. The
CSSAR will fax a visa request form to each foreign participant, allowing him
to apply for a business visa.
If you are requested to give the name of a contact person in China, please use the
address provided on the workshop
main web page
The PRC Embassy in the US
website has useful information on all its offices in the US and links to Chinese
embassies worldwide.
Passports will be the prime means of identification - you will
need them to cash travelers checks, buy plane and train tickets and as general
identification. In case of theft or loss of a passport, it is a good idea to have
photocopies of your passport stashed strategically throughout your luggage.
WEATHER
Beijing has a continental climate. Annual rainfall averages nearly 700 millimeters,
most of it comes in July and August. May is mostly dry, with temperatures oscillating
between about 5 C and 25 C.
Click here
for a forecast in the Beijing area.
Last update, March 30, 2004
information partly extracted from http://www.chinaetravel.com/default.html
