Country basics and overview

Some facts and figures

Geographical Area:
Population:
Population Density:
Capital City:
People:

9,596,960 sq km
1,246,871,951 (July 1999 est.)
130/km2 (July 1999 est.)
Beijing
Chinese, Mongol, Zhuang, Manchu and Uighur minorities

Language:

Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Wu (Shanghaiese), Yue (Cantonese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, & minority languages

Religion:
Government:

Daoism (Taoism), Buddhism, Muslim 2%-3%, Christian 1% (est.)
Communist Republic

Visas:

Visas are required by all foreigners entering mainland China. Visas valid for more than 30 days are usually difficult to obtain.

Time Zone:
Currency:
Weights & measures:
National Airline:

GMT/UTC plus eight hours
1 yuan (¥) = 100 fen   (1USD = 8.3 CNY)
Metric
Air China

If you are interested in seeing where in China I have been and when then look at my visit pages.

General travel tips for China

Before you go

Guidebooks:
Start with looking at a selection of books at your local library, then buy ones to suit your needs. Today the internet contains plenty of information about all destinations. Plan your journey, make checks lists. How much you do in advance is an individual choice but is half the fun of travelling. One thing you will find is that you will have plenty of chances to deviate from your plans once you get to China. Don’t be too fixed in your itinerary and don’t make it too tight. Domestic travel can be subject to delays, usually due to poor weather conditions.

Lonely Planet China

China (Rough Guide China)

Fodor’s China

It goes without saying that many of these experiences are generic and are valid wherever in the world you will travel. These are the things that I have found to be useful.

The three essentials are:

Passport:
Make sure it has a validity of six months after your last expected day of travelling and that there are a few empty pages in it. Some countries will not grant visas if your passport expires within that time. Remember to take photostat copies of your passport and the page with your visa. Keep a copy in your pack and a copy at home with friends.

Air Tickets:
If your trip is a long one, buy your airline tickets at home and try to get as much as possible in the one ticket. This means you need to plan your route fairly well. Again, make copies. Most airlines allow changes to be made but it depends on who you are flying with. Domestic flights in China cannot be booked outside China yet, but that is something that will change. Tickets are easy to buy but buy through a travel agent as there are many rebated flights available. If you buy at the airport you will pay full fare. The popular routes, Beijing - Shanghai, Shanghai - Guangzhou, are nearly always full but luckily there are many of them.

Money:
China is a cash country. The largest denomination of note in general usee is 100 CNY (about 12 USD) so be prepared to carry loads of them around with you. In the major cities you can find ATM’s for international credit cards. There are banks everywhere and the larger ones will changes travellers checks, as will hotels, at a poorer exchange rate. Remember to keep the exchange receipt as you cannot change back to foreign currency without it unless you are in Hong Kong where you can change your Reminbi for Hong Kong Dollars.

Other things of importance are:

Visa:
It is possible to get this upon arrival at Beijing and Shanghai airport if you are travelling directly from Europe. If you arrive in Hong Kong first, you can get a visa there, but you need 24 hours. My advice is to get it sorted out before you leave home.

Inoculations:
Get these done in good time. I can’t remember what I have taken specifically for this region more than Hepatitis A, B, Japanese beta encephalitis. Naturally, I have had other inoculations for typhoid, tetanus, etc. I used to take malaria tablets but was told that malaria was not a problem in the cities. During the first summer I spent in Shanghai, I collected over eighty bites in one day, before getting mosquito spray and a couple of very effective electric liquid mosquito repellents. The bites were huge and itched terribly. That is saying something for a person that lives in Sweden and is used to mosquitoes. Naturally, if you are in the south and outside cities mosquitos are an even bigger problem so take repellent with you and your malaria tablets well in advance if you expect to be in the country during the hot months

Insurance:
Get this sorted out well in advance and if you have expensive items with you, such as cameras/video cameras, or intend to do something dangerous, like rock climbing, get extra cover. Shop around.

What to pack

The Backpackers Handbook

Are you a backpacker or a suitcase traveller? Whichever category you find yourself in it pays to travel as light as possible. Railway stations in China do not have lifts (elevators) and you will find that a heavy suitcase becomes a challenge when the temperature is well above 30 degrees centigrade.

Main backpack or suitcase:
The choice is yours. I will repeat what everyone else says. Try to keep it as small and light as possible.

Travel Clothing - This is a topic that can be rather lengthy. My personal choices are given here for holiday travel rather than business travel. Firstly, as mentioned in the introduction. Take as little as possible. The basic items are the same whatever the weather conditions. For cold and wet climates you just need some additional layers and one or two extras. Basically the time of year is the deciding factor. China gets cold in the winter but if you are in Beijing or other northern cities, winter clothing is cheap (all famous brand copies but of varying quality so shop around).

Raincoat/ Umbrella - An umbrella is an ideal choice if you are looking for the minimum weight/space consideration. Also, you can buy an umbrella for a much lower price than a good raincoat and it doesn’t matter so much if you lose it. On business travels I take an umbrella which I normally manage to leave on trains, in taxis, in restaurants and so on. but if you are trekking in cool, wet and windy countries then a raincoat is preferable. My experience has been with lightweight Goretex raingear. I like it.

Travel Footwear - If it has to be for business or mixed business with weekend activities go for a pair of worn in comfortable black shoes. If you are on a private trip then go for a pair of low/medium trekking boots. Again, make sure they are worn in. Also take with you a nylon stuff bag to put them in so you don’t mess up the rest of the stuff in your backpack/suitcase. For warm climates then a pair of comfortable sandals is preferable.

Visor or Brimmed Hat - Good for protection against strong sun and rain. I personally hardly ever wear a hat but when it gets really hot a hat with a visor helps protect my eyes from the light.

Camera, Lenses, Film - In the past I have carried around an SLR camera around with me and been frustrated by its size and weight plus the risk of theft as it is not easy to hide. I had a period where I carried a small APS camera, which is convenient to carry and not so noticeable to potential thieves, but then I got frustrated by the poor quality of the photos as compared with the SLR. For taking “snaps” of people and so on they are fine. Today I carry around a full size digital camera, because I chose one with a wide angle/zoom lens. So I am now considering getting a pocket size digital camera for the same reason I ditched the SLR. Make sure to have at least two memory cards with you, with as large a capacity as you can afford. If I have my laptop with me, I can take loads of photos and save them on the laptops hard drive every evening. Getting films developed in China was a problem and still can be in the smaller places. It’s no problem in Shanghai except that they were not fully geared up to developing APS film when I lived there.

Radiation Shield for Film - If you are going to be doing a lot of flying in China you have the choice of keeping all your films in your carry on bag or putting them in your checked luggage. In the latter case invest in a lead lined plastic film bag although most X-ray machines are relatively safe for films these days.

Binoculars - From time to time I carry a small pair with me and on some occasions I have actually used them!

Electric/ Phone Converters - The first is a must. There are not so many different types that you need to have with you but for if you have electrical gear with you of any kind there is nothing more frustrating than not being able to use it due to incompatibilities with the power system where you are. I have seen three or four different types of sockets in China. Similarly, if you have a laptop with you, you need adaptors for the telephones. More on this on my business pages.

Travel Alarm - Indispensable, if you don’t have a mobile phone that doubles up for this purpose. The advantage of a travel alarm over the mobile phone is that they are cheap and not so likely to get stolen.

Language Books - Rather than carry such a book with me I read the chapter in a travel book on language and stay happy with that. If there is something of particular interest I take a copy of the page with me and discard it after use to keep the weight down.

Reading Materials - I usually buy a paperback at the airport, read it on the plane and if I haven’t fallen asleep before I have finished it I dispose of it after reading. Otherwise, I keep it until I have finished it then dispose of it in some way.

Address Book - This is something I always have with me even though some people advocate making pre-printed labels for sticking on postcards. In my opinion that is overkill and a little impersonal but if you have the knowledge and the labels why not?

Travel Journal - A small notebook is invaluable. If you have the right trousers you will have a pocket on your leg. Keep it there. There are many times where you will want to write something and tearing out a piece of paper from a little notebook to scribble something on can be a lifesaver when you are trying to find directions for example or noting the name of a newly made friend.

Pen/Pencil - See above. Also depending on where you travel you may need to fill in landing cards and so on.

Scarf/ Bandana - This can give protection against wind and dust, or cold and rain. It takes hardly any place in your packing, and can also serve as napkin, handkerchief, towel, curtain, toothbrush! The uses are endless. An alternative that is gaining popularity is a buff, a tube of material, usually cotton, that does most of what the bandana does.

Snacks - Many has been the time when I have been hungry but not enough to want to buy a full meal and on some occasions in places where food hasn’t been available. Muesli bars or a packet of biscuits or a box of raisins are OK to carry. Put the biscuits in a plastic bag if you are in a humid climate.

Water Bottle - These are easily obtainable on your journey and it is always a good idea to have one with you. Don’t carry 2 litre bottles, they are too heavy. On the other hand ½ litre bottles don’t last long.

Hand Sanitizer/ Towlettes - It is better if you buy the individually wrapped ones if you can. Sometimes you can find these on the international flights, either given out or scrounged from the toilets. Useful on many occasions.

Travel Neck Pillow - This is really valuable on long flights if you want to sleep. It takes little space but can mean the difference between a restful journey and a difficult one.

Eye Shade/ Ear Plugs - Once you have your comfortable pillow, you will still find it difficult to sleep because of light and noise. These are very cheap and very easily packed extras that make your journey more comfortable. They are also useful when travelling on other forms of transport, such as long distance busses and trains. Keep them with your travel pillow in a stuff bag.

Portable Door Lock - If you are living in cheap accommodation you may not get a lockable door to your room, but there may be a hasp. A combination lock could be a useful insurance. If you are able and don’t mind the extra weight there are small portable alarms that you can get and hang on the door handle that sense electrically if anyone touches the handle.

Tissues/ Toilet Paper - An essential. Always make sure you have the latter in your back pocket at all times. It can be a lifesaver! Chinese public toilets are to be avoided as far as possible.

Keys - Personally, I leave these at home or with a neighbour. They fulfil no function on the trip and only pose a problem if you lose them.