Entry Information | Places to Visit | Best Time to Visit
Must-Know Info | Good-to-Know Info | Transportation

Entry Information

Visa Required. Foreign visitors can obtain individual or group visas from Chinese embassies and consulates in their country of departure, or China Travel Service offices in Hong Kong, usually within a day or two. For individual travelers, single-entry visas are valid for entry within three months. To apply for visa, the chinese consular office may require you to provide documents of stay in china - here we can assist you to issue hotel voucher as supporting document. Special Entry Permit. This is needed if you wish to visit Tibet or it's capital city Lhasa. We can assist you to arrange this entry permit - there are some paperworks involved. Visitors should carry their passports while in China as they are needed to check into hotels, make plane or train reservations, exchange money or establish the holder's identity.

Places To Visit

see map of china Shanghai - this is China's most modern metropolis. This city has retained a special appeal to visitors as a sophisticated and modern metropolis - its history is all the more colorful because of its nostalgic associations with its colonial past.  Must see places include: the Bund (the river promenade featuring the new and old Shanghai skyline in neon light), Nanjing Road (most famous shopping avenue in China), Peoples Square (centre of Shanghai), Shanghai Museum (some considered the best in China), Yuyuan Garden (classical Chinese garden), Huai Hai Road (where the old french concession is), others include the Temple of Confucius, former residence of Dr Sun Tat-Sen, old house of Premier Zhou Enlai, residence of Lu Xun, Soong Ching Lin Mausoleum etc Also visit Hangzhou and Suzhou (about 3 hours from Shanghai) - these are the two most ancient cities rich in culture and worth the short trip from shanghai. There is a saying in chinese that : "above there is heaven, below there is Su-Hang (referring to Suzhou and Hangzhou)". The legendary West Lake in Hangzhou is a must-see. We offer day trips to Hangzhou and Suzhou departing from Shanghai in the morning and returning to Shanghai in the evening - ideal for travellers tight on schedule. Beijing - the capital of China, Beijing is an old cultural city. The city has palaces, museums, temples and monuments, and streets filled with imperial pomp and contemporary energy. Must see places include :- The Great Wall (join our day tours), Tiananmen Square (the biggest plaza on earth), Forbidden City (imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties), Others include Beihai Park, Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, the Ming Tombs, Zhoukoudian (home of Peking Man), Fragrant Hills Park, Great Bell Temple, Marco Polo Bridge, Grand View Garden, Ten Ferries, Longqing Gorge, Beijing Observatory (built in 1442), Lamasery Temple of Harmony and Peace, White Cloud Temple, ruins of Yuanmingyuan, Recumbent Buddha Temple, Cloud and Water Cave etc Xian - this is a must-see destination for serious visitors. This city used to be the capital of eleven dynasties in its several thousands years of history. Must see places include :- Terra Cotta Warriors (china's greatest archaeological find, join our day tours to see more) Tomb of Qin Shi Huang (China's first emperor), Remains of Banpo Village (where the primative civilisation lived 6,000 years old), Qianling (tomb of Tang Emperor Gao Zong with Empress Wu Zetian), Wild Goose Pagoda (700 years history dating to Tang dynasty), Bell Tower (ancient time keeping) etc Guilin - china's most famous scenery. Guilin is a cultural city with a history of more than two thousand years. It has the most beautiful scenery in China due to its unique topography which gives rise to moody mountain height, pinnacles, peaks, caverns and subterranean river. Must see places :- the river cruise along Lijiang River (65 km from Guilin to Yangshuo - join our tours) here you see the many wonders of natural beauty like Solitary Beauty Peak, Elephant Trunk Peak, Folded Brocade Hill (the summit features a 360-degree panorama from its Catch-Cloud Pavilion), Underground Water Hill, Crescent Moon Hill, Seven-Star Cave (a million year old), Reed Flute Cave etc. Stay overnight in Yangshuo - a delightful township that will please you - you will not find such experience elsewhere ... worth the effort ... Other Places of Interest :- Sanya - china's sea resort with the most pristine beach. Sanya is situated in the southern tip of Hainan Island. Here the weather is tropical throughout the year, and a perfect resort to relax ... enjoy the sun, sea and tranquility ... (Sanya is known as end of the earth to ancient china due to its most southern geographical position). Sanya has daily flights through Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou or Hongkong. Kunming - the city of spring (best weather condition throughout the year). Here is the ancient cultural crossroads, blending the colors and customs of the 26 different ethnic groups who live harmoniously for generations in Yunnan Province. Also visit Lijiang where the Shangri-la of the world awaits the scenery lovers.

Best Time to Visit

The best time to visit china is during spring season (mar to may) and autumn season (sep to nov). Of course, these are also the most expensive periods to visit. Spread your visit throughout the year (if you do not mind the winter (Dec to Feb), this will save you monies and more importantly, you can enjoy the trip more ... Temperature (monthly average)   Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Cities Guangzhou 12 17 18 21 26 28 30 29 27 24 20 15 Chengdu 5 9 12 17 20 25 25 24 22 15 12 7 Guilin 7 11 13 18 22 26 27 28 25 19 15 10 Harbin -20 -12 -5 6 15 18 23 20 15 6 -6 -16 Kunming 7 11 14 17 19 21 21 20 14 13 12 9 Lhasa 0 1 5 8 12 15 16 15 13 8 3 -1 Nanjing 1 6 9 15 20 25 27 26 23 17 11 4 Beijing -4 2 8 14 21 25 26 25 21 13 4 -1 Shanghai 3 7 9 15 19 25 27 27 24 18 13 6 Urumqi -13 -8 0 9 14 21 23 21 16 7 -5 -12 Wuhan 2 4 10 17 20 27 27 26 24 18 10 6 Xian -2 4 8 15 17 25 26 24 21 14 6 1 Try to avoid National Holidays :- China observes 3 main holidays. They are the spring festival or chinese new year (which normally falls in Jan or Feb), the labour day holiday (may 1 to may 3) and the national day holiday (oct 1 to oct 3). These are the golden holiday weeks in China and many people go on tours within China. During these holiday periods, the major tourist cities (like Guilin, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Sanya and Haikou) are crowded. Hotel rates are high and prepayment is required. Rooms are allocated on first-come-first-serve basis. If you need to come during these periods, please book your hotel rooms early to avoid disappointment. Otherwise, avoid such periods

Must-Know Information

Hotels. In major cities, there are many choices of hotels. Five star hotels provide the most complete range of facilities and room amenities. There are also many hotels in the three and four star category situated throughout the country. The locally managed hotels are equally good as foreign managed ones (except for brandnames). In China, there are also many non-rated hotels - these hotels are built to hotels of similar star category. They are less expensive than rated hotel in similar class. Bed Type. Please be familar :- single bed (measure 1.2 or 1.3 metres wide by 2 metres long) double bed (measure 1.5 or 1.8 metres wide by 2 metres long) the hotel room can house 1 single bed (known as single room), 2 single beds (known as twin room) or 1 double bed (double room). There are few hotels (in Beijing) that can house 2 double beds in the room. This is ideal for family stay of 4 adults - please check out Beijing Hotel. most hotels in China have more twin rooms than double rooms. This is especially so in the lower room category. The higher category of rooms has more double rooms than twin rooms. Special Request. Hotels will not guarantee bed types as it is subject to daily availability. Request for bed types is confirmed on best effort basis Service Apartment. When in china, you should also try staying in service apartment - these are like regular hotels but have much larger room space - each apartment include a common living hall + regular bedrooms. In addition, most apartment comes with a small kitchen with amenities like refrigerator, cooking utilities etc. Service apartments are ideal for family stay together and less costly than regular hotels - think about it. Boutique Hotels. These hotels are unique to China and favorite amongst foreigners :- Nostalgic - Shanghai's Peace Hotel and Beijing's Beijing Hotel Greenery - Shanghai's Ruijin Hotel and Shanghai's Hongqiao State Hotel and Suzhou's Suzhou Hotel Classical Chinese Style - Beijing's Grand View Garden Hotel. Asia Travel offers reservation services in 30 over chinese cities in all tourist-class hotels. When you book with Asia Travel, you can choose to pay directly to hotel (here you need to guarantee with credit card) or you may choose to prepay (in which case you get special discount). Words of Advice - to make your hotel stay in China more memorable Inform Asia Travel of changes as soon as possible. We understand that you may cancel, extend, shorten or change your plan. Do inform Asia Travel to avoid penalty imposed by hotel. Do not double book ie book with more than 1 agent - this will lead to confusion at hotel. Hotel may ignore double booking and guest ended up paying counter rates. Book hotel using guest's passport names and check in using the same passport name. If hotel cannot locate guest's name in their computer system, you will be charged counter rates. Check-in before 6 pm. If your flight arrives after 6 pm, please inform Asia Travel early so that room will be retained for you. Ask for address of hotel in chinese - this will be provided in our confirmation email to you but ask for it if we miss out. This is important as most taxi drivers do not speak english. Be careful of unauthorised "agents" at the airport and railway - these poachers would solicit passengers on pretext of cheaper accommodation for same hotel - only to send guests to different hotel. If you encounter problem during check-in, please ask the hotel staff to call Asia Travel at our Shanghai office. If the day falls on weekend and our office is closed, ask to be checked in first and insist hotel staff call Asia Travel the next working day to settle the problem. Remember we are here to serve you ! Please call or email us when you have problems in China. Yours Sincerely, wu@asiatravel.com Asia Travel Shanghai Office Tel : (86-21) 6322-3855 Fax : (86-21) 6322-9542, 6360-0967 Working Hours : Monday to Friday - 9 am to 6 pm (Shanghai Time) Saturday - 9 am to 1 pm (Shanghai Time)

Good-to-Know Information

People All Chinese people are generally friendly to visitors and most are keen to learn from foreigners. Many students and young people study English or other foreign languages (there are daily television language classes), however few have a chance to practice speaking them. This means that visitors might be approached for impromptu lessons on foreign languages. In major cities like Shanghai, it is quite easy to move around with a map and some help from friendly locals. Time All of China observes Beijing Time, GMT+8 hours that is adjusted to daylight saving time during the summer. When it's 12 noon in Beijing, it's :- 4.00 pm Wellington 2.00 pm Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane 1.00 pm Tokyo, Seoul 12.00 noon Hongkong, Taipei, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila 11.00 am Bangkok, Jakarta 9.30 am New Delhi 7.00 am Riyadh 5.00 am Paris 4.00 am London 11.00 pm New York 10.00 pm Chicago 8.00 pm Los Angeles Money & Banking (click her for live exchange rate) The Chinese currency is the renminbi (RMB) or chinese yuan which is divided into fen. There are Y100, Y50, Y10, Y5, Y2, Y1, 50 fen, 20 fen and 10 fen banknotes. The smaller denominations are being replaced with coins, valued at 10 fen, 20 fen, 50 fen, and 1. Travelers cheques and money can be exchanged in all major hotels and banks. American Express offices will provide such services as Emergency Card Replacement and Global Assist. Emergency Cheque Cashing and Travelers Cheque Replacement services are offered by local banks in all major destinations. Most ATMs in china are able to dispense RMB cash through money links like plus, cirrus, maestro or major credit cards etc. In addition, most hotels in china will accept international credit cards (visa, amex, mastercard) for payment. Hence, you should bring sufficient cash for miscellaneous expenses. Exchange Control. Do not bring too much RMB cash into China as there is a law that limits the amount of cash you can bring into this country (currently equivalent of US$ 2000). Note the limit may change over time - check with your local consular office to be sure).