China travel guide: Things you should know about China

Capital: Beijing Government: Communist state
Currency: Yuan (CNY) or Renminbi (RMB)
Area: 9,596,960 km2 Population: 1,313,973,713 (July 2006 est.)
Language: Mandarin (Putonghua), Cantonese (Yue), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages
Religion: Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2% (officially atheist)
Electricity: 220V/50Hz (various plugs)
Calling Code: 86 Internet TLD: .cn Time Zone: UTC +8

Question: What are the most popular destinations in China?
Answer: Besides the popular cities (Beijing, Xian, Guilin and Shanghai), some routes, provinces and old towns are also popular. These include Yangtze River cruises, Silk Road adventures, Mystical Tibet, old town Lijiang, water town Zhouzhuang and Zhujiajiao.


Question: Is bike riding a good way of exploring city life in China?
Answer:Riding a bicycle means you have joined the Chinese. A bike will easily take you to places that other means of transportation can not usually access. You also have an additional advantage of freedom of movement-you can stop wherever you want.
In China, most hotels and travel agencies provide bike rental services for visitors. When renting a bike a valid ID, such as a passport, and a deposit are usually required for each rental. Bikes returned in good condition should receive the deposit refund together with a receipt.

Here are some tips for biking in China:

Always ride on the right side of the street
Make a gesture and let others know when you want to make a left or right turn
Obey instructions by traffic police, and when an accident happens, immediately go to the police
It is prohibited to carry person on the back seat or ride "hands-free"
Avoid the roads during the peak hours of 7:00-8: 30 in the morning and 4:00-6:00 in the afternoon.



Question: I'm quite interested in trekking; could you give me some information on mountains in China?
Answer: The five most famous mountains in China are Mt. Taishan in Shandong, Mt. Hengshan in Hunan, Mt. Hengshan in Shanxi Mt. Huashan in Shaanxi and Mt. Songshan in Henan. You will see when you visit the following link that we organize most of the China major attractions into different categories, like temples, mountain, rivers, ancient cities, etc.


Question: What lawful rights, interests and obligations are foreigners entitled to in China?
Answer:
The General Principles of the Constitution of PRC indicate definitely that "the People's Republic of China protects the lawful rights and interests of foreigners within Chinese territory, and while on Chinese territory foreigners must abide by the law of the People's Republic of China."

Within Chinese territory, the legitimate rights and interests of the foreign visitors are protected by the People's Republic of China. And the freedom of foreign visitors is as inviolable as that of the Chinese nationals. Similar to nationals, all foreign visitors must abide by the law of the People's Republic of China. Any activities that disrupt public order, threaten public security, or infringe upon the interests of the state, the society or the collective would be punished according to the laws of China.

Within the period of their visas, foreign visitors can freely travel the areas open to foreigners. They should, however, respect the traditions and customs of local areas. Those who want to visit areas that are not open to foreigners should apply for a Foreigners Travel Permit from the local public security organ. Only after the approval is granted, can they enter the area legally.




Question: How do foreigners go about protecting their rights and interests?
Answer:The People's Republic of China protects the lawful rights and interests of foreigners within Chinese territory. If your legal rights and interests are infringed or something unpleasant happens to you, you may complain to related organs.
Complain to the National Tourism Administrative Bureau directly or to the Institutions of Supervision over Quality in each province, when:

Your travel agents, hotels or other travel operators offer you poor service or do not follow the agreement
The guides or other travel staffs extort money from you
You are injured or your baggage is damaged/ lost due to the fault of the travel operators

Also, all large tourist cities have hot lines for tourists to voice their complaints. Most of the complainants were satisfied with the verdicts, which were determined after thorough investigations and verification of facts.