China (中国; Zhōngguó), officially known as the People’s Republic of China (中华人民共和国 Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó) is a huge country in Eastern Asia (about the same size as the United States of America) with the world’s largest population.


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No spitting please
Smoking: almost anywhere, including areas with “no smoking signs” including health clubs, football pitches and even hospitals. Few restaurants have no smoking areas although Beijing now forbids smoking in most restaurants. Enforcement of smoking bans can vary but with the exception of Hong Kong, they most likely will not be. Lower class establishments often do not even have ashtrays. Western restaurants seem to be the only ones who consistently enforce the ban. Masks would be good idea for long distance bus trips. It is perfectly common for someone to smoke in a lift, restroom, in a massage parlor, even in the hospital. If your country of origin has banned smoking in most public places, then this aspect of China may be shocking.

Anyone who does not look Chinese will find that calls of “hello” or “laowai” are common: lǎowài (老外) literally means “old outsider”, a colloquial term for “foreigner”; the more formal term is wàiguórén (外国人). Calls of “laowai” are ubiquitous outside of the big cities (and even there, occasionally); these calls will come from just about anyone, of any age, and are even more likely from the very young and can occur many times in any given day. Dark skin discrimination is quite a common issue to deal with in China.

Staring: This is common through most of the country. The staring usually originates out of sheer curiosity, almost never out of hostility. Don’t be surprised if someone comes right up to you and just looks as if they are watching the TV, no harm done!

Sanitation: Many Chinese do not cover their mouths when they sneeze. Also, it is not uncommon for small children (2-4 years old) to eliminate their waste in public.

On the whole, however, the Chinese love a good laugh. Because there are so many ethnic groups and outsiders from other regions, they are used to different ways of doing things and are quite okay with that. Indeed the Chinese often make conversation with strangers by discussing differences in accent or dialect. They are very used to sign language and quick to see a non-verbal joke or pun wherever they can spot one. Note that a laugh doesn’t necessarily mean scorn, just amusement. The Chinese like a “collective good laugh” often at times or circumstances that westerners might consider rude. Finally, the Chinese love and adore children, allow them a great deal of freedom, and heap attention upon them. If you have children, bring them!

Climate and Nature




Time & Date: GMT +8

The renminbi (Ab.: RMB; Chinese: 人民币; pinyin: About this sound rénmínbì; literally: “people’s currency”; sign: 元; code: CNY) is the official currency of the People’s Republic of China. The yuan (Chinese: 元; pinyin: yuán) is the basic unit of the renminbi, but is also used to refer to the Chinese currency generally, especially in international contexts where “Chinese yuan” is widely used to refer to the renminbi. The distinction between the terms renminbi and yuan is similar to that between sterling and pound, which respectively refer to the British currency and its primary unit One yuan is subdivided into 10 jiao (Chinese: 角; pinyin: jiǎo), and a jiao in turn is subdivided into 10 fen (Chinese: 分; pinyin: fēn). The renminbi is issued by the People’s Bank of China, the monetary authority of China

Chinese (漢語) comprises of seven main dialects, Mandarin (官話), Cantonese (廣州話, 廣府話), Hakka (客家話), Wu (吳語), Min (閩語), Xiang (湘語), and Gan (贛語) (figure). The variety of Mandarin based on the speech in the capital Beijing is the official national language of mainland China and is termed Pŭtōnghuà (普通話, Common language). The common language in Hong Kong and overseas Chinese communities is Cantonese. The major languages spoken in Taiwan are Mandarin, Taiwanese (a variety of Min), and Hakka. Six of the seven main dialects are in the southeast of Chinese, south of the Yangtze river. Mandarin is spoken in most of northern China and part of western China. Linguistc map of China

The Chinese dialects are not mutually intelligible but are termed dialects from sociological and political points of view. Most of the dialects are themselves composed of a number of non-mutually-intelligible subvarieties.

Han Chinese represent about 92 percent of the total Chinese population. About two-thirds of the Han population speaks a variant of Mandarin as their native tongue. A significant part of the Han population is therefore bilingual. Under these circumstances the Common language is used as a second language for formal communication in government, media, and education. The mother tongue is used for less formal occasions such as conversation at home, between friends and relatives, entertainment, etc.

All varieties of Chinese belong to the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. Members of the Sinitic family are typically tonal, meaning that different tones, or intonations, distinguish words that otherwise are pronounced identically. Chinese by origin is monosyllabic. The vocabulary of dialects more recent in the linguistic tree such are Mandarin tend to become more polysyllabic (compound words) as an adjustment to the loss of a number of sounds compared to ancient Chinese.

Despite the diversity of speech the Han Chinese share one common script making written communication possible between people speaking mutually unintelligible dialects.

Travel Insurance:
When buying your travel insurance, always check the small print – some policies specifically exclude ‘dangerous activities’, which could be anything from scuba diving to horse riding. You should check whether the medical coverage is on a pay first, claim later basis and, more importantly, ensure that your medical coverage includes the cost of medical evacuation.

General Requirements:
1. Original passport with at least one pair of blank facing visa pages and at least 6 months validity, and a photocopy of the passport’s data page and photo page if it is separate.
2. One completed Visa Application Form attached with a recently-taken passport photo (bare-head, full face, and against a light background).
3. Proof of legal stay or residence permit (for applicants who apply in a third country other than their country of citizenship). You must provide the original and photocopy of your valid certificates or visa of stay, residence, employment or student status, or other valid certificates of legal staying provided by the relevant authorities of the country where you are currently staying.
4. For foreign passport holders who were Chinese citizens and obtained foreign citizenship, a photocopy of previous Chinese passport or previous Chinese visas is required. If you are applying for the first time, you should provide your previous Chinese passport held and a photocopy of its data page. If you have been issued Chinese visas before and apply this time with a renewed foreign passport, you should present the photocopy of the previous passport’s data page and the photo page if it is separate, as well as the previous Chinese visa page. (In case your name on the current passport differs from that on the previous one, an official document of name change is required.)

Additional Materials for Major Visa Types
As explained in Chinese visa types, additional documentation must be submitted.

Tourist (L)
Round-trip air ticket booking record and proof of a hotel reservation, or an invitation letter issued by a relevant entity or individual in China with following information:
a. Information on the applicant (full name, gender, date of birth, etc.)
b. Information on the planned visit (dates of arrival and departure, places of visit, etc.)
c. Information on the inviting entity or individual (name, contact number, address, official stamp, signature of the legal representative or the inviting individual)

International Airports:
Beijing Capital International Airport
Xi’an Xianyang International Airport
Hohhot Baita International Airport
Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Harbin Taiping International Airport
Changsha Huanghua International Airport
Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport
Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport
Changchun Longjia International Airport
Guiyang Longdongbao International Airport
Kunming Changshui International Airport
Wuhan Tianhe International Airport
Sunan Shuofang International Airport
Fuzhou Changle International Airport
Nanning Wuxu International Airport
Huangshan Tunxi International Airport
Hefei Xinqiao International Airport

Capital: Beijing
Currency: Renminbi
Population: 1.357 billion
Official languages: Mandarin Chinese, Standard Mandarin

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