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| Travel Essentials | |||||||||
Entry Regulations |
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| 1. Visa -- Foreign tourists must apply for visas at China's foreign affairs offices, consulates or other organizations authorized by | |||||||||
| the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A group of five tourists or more can apply for a group tourist visa. A passport is required for visa application.The passport shall be valid for at least 6 months beyond the duration of the tour. | ||||
| 2. Health Condition -- You should take into account all international travel risks and familiarize yourself with health requirements applicable to the areas you intend to visit. You are recommended to bring your medical records along with you during your traveling in China. The absence of your medical records would make you disoriented when emergency occurs. The medical record should include your blood type, immunization record, allergies, medications you are currently taking (both prescription and non-prescription), your doctor's name, address, phone number, emergency contact name and phone number, and your insurance company's name, address and phone number. | ||||
| 3. Customs Declaration
-- There are two channels, red and green, in China customs. Take the
red one if you have something to declare, otherwise the green one.
If you are uncertain which channel you should take, then take the
red one. If you take the red channel, the customs officer will check it to see whether you have to pay duty or you have to deposit the things at the Customs, or whether you can take them into China but have to take them out on your departure. If you take things such as computers, cameras, video cameras, gold and silver, printed or recorded materials, or anything more than you need during your travel in China, or something that you will not take out of China when you leave, you have to fill in the Customs Luggage Declaration Form to declare. Visitors are allowed to carry into China a limited quantity of duty-free goods including: |
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| 2 liters of alcoholic beverages 400 cigarettes 50g (2 ounces) of gold or silver US$ less than 5,000 Chinese RMB with a total value less than 6000 yuan Reasonable amount of perfume 1 still camera and reasonable amount of film |
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| Prohibited imports include: |
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| fresh fruit, arms, ammunition and explosives, printed matter, films or tapes "detrimental to China", narcotic drugs, animals and plants. | ||||
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Travel Notes |
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| 1. Insurance -- All the
mentioned Piers2005 tour programs conducted by China Hangzhou OTC
travel includes China Life Tourist Accident and Casualty Insurance
up to a maximum of $24,000 . However, the tour package is exclusive
of the aviation insurance, which is highly recommended to be purchased
when you fly with the carrier . 2. Luggage Allowance -- In accordance with regulations of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, the free baggage allowance for domestic flight is 20kg for the economy class, 30kg for the business class, and 40kg for the first class, plus limited carry-on luggage. Excess baggage charges are the sole responsibility of the client. Regulations within China specify that all suitcases must have a locking device attached. Failure to follow this regulation may result in refusal by airport staff to load suitcases onto the aircraft. 3. Airport Tax – When you travel by air, you need to buy the airport tax, which is required to be paid in cash before check at the airport. The airport tax is 50Yuan p/p, or about $6 p/p for domestic departure and 90Yuan p/p or about $11 p/p for international departure. |
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Travel Information |
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| Weather -- China is almost on the same latitude zone as the US. All major tourist cities, Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai, Hnagzhou, Nanjing share similar weather. In spring, a sweater would be more than adequate. Summer is typically hot, but most sightseeing areas are air conditioned unless in the open. Fall is usually considered the best weather. Winter is long and cold, but usually not as cold as in the most area of Euroup. | ||||
| Currency -- Chinese money is called Renminbi (RMB) .The popular unit of RMB is yuan" .1 yuan equals 10 jiao, 1 jiao equals 10 fen. There are parts of China where the yuan is also known as Kuai and Jiao is known as mao. Chinese currency is issued in the following denominations: one, two, five, ten, twenty, fifty and one hundred yuan; one, two and five jiao; and one, two and five fen. Foreign currencies can not be directly used in China. You can exchange traveler's checks or cash at most banks and your hotel at the exchange rate quoted on the foreign exchange marker on the day.The official exchange rate between U.S. dollar and Renminbi yuan currently is about 1:8.2 (1 dollar = 8.2 yuan) You can also get a cash advance on most common credit/debit cards e.g. American Express/Visa/Master card, but this facility is available only at the main branch of the Bank of China in most of the cities in China. The Bank of China has an ATM network that will allow cash advances from major credit / debit cards . Most of the hotels and some of the tourist shops accept credit cards. | ||||
| Language -- The national language is Putonghua (the common speech) or Mandarin, which is one of the five working languages at the United Nations. Most of the 55 minority nationalities have their own languages. Cantonese is one of the local dialects of southern China. As a written language, Chinese has been used for 6,000 years. | ||||
| Religioms -- China is a multi-religious country. Buddhism, Taoism and Islam are the three major religions. Catholicism and Protestantism have smaller but substantial followers too. Different ethnic groups usually follow different religions. Islam is followed by the Hui, Uygur, Kazak, Kirgiz, Tatar, Dongxiang, Salar and Bonan peoples; Buddhism and Lamaism are followed by the Tibetan, Mongolian, Dai and Yugur nationalities; Christianity is followed by the Miao, Yao and Yi nationalities; Shamanism is followed by the Oroqen, Ewenki and Daur nationalities; and the majority Han nationality believes in Buddhism, Taoism and Christianity. | ||||
| Civil Electrical Power -- AC 220 V, 50 Hz (bathrooms of many luxury and medium-grade hotels may have 110-volt sockets). | ||
| Telephone Area Code -- Mainland China 86; Hong Kong 852; Taiwan 886. (Special Telephone Numbers: Police 110; Fire 119; Emergency 120.) | ||