GENERAL INFORMATION

Administrative Structure
China's administrative units are currently based on a three-level system dividing the nation into provinces, counties, and townships.
A province or an autonomous region is subdivided into autonomous prefectures, counties, autonomous counties, and / or cities;
A county or an autonomous county is subdivided into townships, national minority townships, and / or towns.
At present, China is divided into 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities directly under the Central Government, and 2 special administrative region.

Climate
China lies mainly in the northern Temperate Zone under the influence of monsoon. From September and October to March and April next year monsoon blows from Siberia and the Mongolian Plateau into China and decreases in force as it goes southward, causing dry and cold winter in the country and a temperature difference of 40 degrees centigrade between the north and the south. The temperature in China in the winter is 5 to 18 degrees centigrade lower than that in other countries on the same latitude in winter. Monsoon blows into China from the ocean in summer, bringing with them warm and wet currents, thus rain. Great differences in climate are found from region to region owing to China's extensive territory and complex topography. The northern part of Heilongjiang Province in the Northeast has no summer, while Hainan Island in the south has a long summer but no winter. The Huaihe River valley features four distinct seasons, and the western part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is covered by snow all year round. The southern part of the Yunan-Guizhou Plateau is spring-like in all seasons; and the north-western inland regions could see great variations of temperature within the day. Annual precipitation also varies greatly from region to region, which is as high as 1,500 millimetres along the south-eastern coast, and as low as 50 millimetres in the Northwest.

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Clothing
The following is a reference table for tourists to prepare clothing on their trips.
Autumn: 10-22C, Western suits, jackets, sports coats, light woollen sweaters, rain wear and travel shoes.
Spring: 10-22C, Western suits, jackets, sports coats, woollen jackets, long sleeve shirts and travel shoes.
Summer: 22C and above, T-shirts, short sleeve shirts, skirts, sandals, caps, rain wear.
Winter: 10C or lower, overcoat, cotton clothes, lined coats. In very cold areas a cap, gloves and cotton-padded shoes are required.

Communications
Since 1978 the development of posts and telecommunications has entered a new historical stage. The scale and volume of the telephone network and the level of technology and services have all realised qualitative leaps. China has built up its public telecommunications network to cover the whole nation and link it up with the rest of the world.
The public postal network now boasts of complete services and multiple transportation means. Many advanced methods are used, including optical cables, digital microwave networks, satellites, program-controlled exchanges, and mobile telecommunications and data telecommunications. All large and medium-sized cities provide international express mail service, and have developed international automatic telex, data transmission, express fax,and TV program transmission services. Besides, various services via the Internet, including e-mail and e-commerce are now available.

Crafts
China is a treasure house of arts and crafts, which are an important part of the Nation's cultural inheritance. Products such as carving, embroidery, pottery and porcelain, glassware and dyeing, replicas of ancient cultural relics are all exquisitely crafted. Other well-known crafts are weaving, printing and dyeing. Cloisonne is a special traditional handicraft of Beijing while Jiangxi Jingdezhen ware is a representative of China's fine porcelain. China's handmade carpets are much sought after in international markets. Suzhou, Hunan, Guangdong and Sichuan embroidery are four of China's best-known embroideries. Some of the regional art and craft specialities include the wood carving of Dongyang and the bamboo products of Shengxian from Zhejiang Province, the clay figurine of Master Zhang from Tianjin, the grass and wickerwork from Shandong Province, the three colour-glaze Tang ware of Luoyang from Henan Province, the batik from Guizhou Province and the Huishan clay figurine of Wuxi from Jiangsu Province. Also well-know are the four treasures of study of Xuan paper and ink stick from Anhui Province, Duan ink slab from Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, and Shanlianhu writing brush from Wuxing, Zhejiang Province. There are many other famous handicrafts, such as folk paper cuts created by women farmers.

Cuisine
Generally, the Han people take rice and noodles as their staple diet (in the south people prefer rice while those in the north prefer noodles). They love to eat vegetables, beans, meat, fish and eggs, and pay particular attention to cooking techniques. Mongolians often eat beef and mutton, and drink tea with milk. Tibetans take tsampa (roasted highland barley flour) as their staple food, and drink buttered tea, and highland barley wine, but Tibetan herdsmen mainly eat beef and mutton. The Uygurs, Kazakhs, and Uzbeks enjoy roast mutton kebabs, unleavened bread and rice. Koreans like sticky rice cakes, cold noodles and kimchi (hot pickled vegetables). The Li, Jing, Dai, Blang and Hani all chew betel nuts.

Table manners.
In China people tend to eat together usually the host will serve some dishes with his or her own chopsticks to guests to show his or her hospitality. For Westerners it is quite acceptable to leave the food uneaten if you feel too awkward. There some other rules that are suggested for you to follow to make your stay in China happier, though you will be forgiven if you have no knowledge of what they are.
Never stick your chopsticks upright in the rice bowl, since that usually appears on the funeral and is deemed extremely impolite to the host and seniors present.
Make sure the spout of the teapot is not facing anyone. The proper way is make it direct outward from the table.
Don't tap on your bowl with your chopsticks, since that will be deemed insult to the host or the chef.
Never try to turn a fish over and debone it yourself, since the host or a waiter will usually perform the separation of the fish skeleton from the lower half of the flesh. Superstitious people will deem bad luck will ensue and a fishing boat will capsize if you do so.

Food Symbolism.
In China foods are given particular meanings so that in certain occasion some specific individuals can, only eat a type of food or must be eaten in specific occasion.
Usually, an honoured guest will be served a snapper's head or shell to hail him and show warmly welcome in some districts.
Long noodle is the symbol of longevity in China, so that youngsters or seniors all will have a bowl of Long Life Noodle in the expectation of a healthy life.
In Central China, if a baby is born, his father will send Red Boiled Eggs to announce the news. An even number, usually six or eight Red Boiled Eggs with a black point dotted on one end will be delivered for a boy and an odd number, usually five or seven without black point for a girl.
Fish is always served to symbolise accumulations of prosperity and wealth with the New Year's Eve meals.
There are other foods and snacks, which symbolise good wishes under special circumstances. These include duck, chicken and melon seeds.
Colourful, aromatic and delicious are characteristics of China's varied cuisine. Wherever you find yourself in China, your senses are tested to the extreme whilst enjoying the unusual dishes, often unique for the area you are visiting.

Features.
Chinese cuisine's entree normally strives for three to five colours, made up of the main ingredient, with more secondary ingredients of contrasting colours and textures; these are prepared and cooked to enhance their own qualities, with the use of appropriate condiments and garnishing, enabling to chef to present a delicious platter of fragrant delicious art.
In prepared dishes, the stronger fragrant aroma stimulates one's appetite, by using scallion, fresh ginger, root garlic or chilli pepper; with the use of wine, aniseed, cinnamon, peppercorn or sesame oil. Complementary nuances are added. Soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and other seasonings may be used discreetly, adding to the complex play on the taste buds.
All chefs of the Chinese kitchens, professional or in the home, strive for harmony of sight, smell, taste, texture, so that each individual dish has it's unique features highlighted; contrasted and balanced if it is a dinner of many dishes, be it 3, 6, 9 or 12. The flavours must not overpower, yet subtle enough to meet the tastes of those dining. Complex or simple dishes may be prepared quickly or much longer, but the ultimate goal is to share with the guests the play on the eaters' real and imagined visions of the dishes and its ingredients.
A further point is that over festive periods, with the play of word's phonetics, well meaning felicitous names of dishes have many people trying to guess what they are about to eat, thereby adding fun to eating.

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Culture
China is a land of very unique and ancient culture. Philosophical ideas of Chinese philosophers like Lao Tzi, Confucius and others made enormous influence not only on traditional Chinese culture but also on a world culture. The military treatise "Sun U" is still widely used in military and economic activity. The worldwide known novel "The Dream of Red Mansions" by Zao Suezin is considered to be the masterpiece of classic Chinese literature. Today both in China and abroad there are lots of researchers of this novel and works of this author. The ancient Chinese scientists achieved great results in the fields of astronomy, mathematics, geography, medicine and pharmacology.
The treatise "Ganshi Sintzin" written in the epoch of Warring States was the first known star catalogue in history. The scholar of Han period Zhian Hen invented armillary sphere - the instrument for measuring the movement of planets and also seismograph for measuring the amplitude of the earthquakes. The mathematician Tzu Chungi (the epoch of Southern and Northern Dynasties) was the first who calculated the number with accuracy till the seventh sign after comma and gave its meaning between 3,1415926 and 3,1415926. The famous pharmacologist Li Shijzhen (XVI c) compiled the pharmacopoeia "Benzao Ganmu" where he described more than 1800 medicinal herbs and more than 10 thousand prescriptions on their basis.

Chinese dance
Chinese dance was divided into two types, civilian and military, during the Shang and Chou periods of the first millennium BC In civilian dance, dancer held feather banners in their hands, symbolising the distribution of the fruits of the day's hunting or fishing.
In the large group military dance, on the other hand, the dancers carried weapons in their hands, and moved forward and backward in co-ordinated group motion. This later evolved into the movements of the hands and feet to express their veneration of the spirits of heaven and earth, to act out aspects of their everyday life, and to give expression to shared feeling of joy and delight.

Chinese Opera
A form of music drama often called Chinese opera is found on every city's cultural menu. Most local forms of opera offer dance or acrobats, while Beijing opera (jingxi) combines dance, song, mime, acrobatics, and dialogue and is the form most familiar in the West. It's not necessary to understand the language to appreciate this visually stunning art form. In fact, Chinese audience members sometimes require projected subtitles.

Painting and Calligraphy
Painting and Calligraphy represent Chinese art at its finest for some Westerners, who find it exotically different in style and spirit to European art. In theory the Chinese artist becomes one with his work, which means first mastering the materials - ink, ink-stone, brushes and rice paper before attempting to capture the essence of the subject with a few simple brush strokes or an intricate pattern.
Architecture, painting, calligraphy, embroidery, cloisonne, lacquer ware, ceramics, and sculpture all strive for the perfection dictated by a past expert. Such traditional arts are a highlight of China. Brush painting is one of the most revered arts, partly due to the intimate association between Chinese writing and painting.

Folk Art
Folk Art continues to flourish in China, providing visitors with unique souvenirs such as paper cuts, kites, fans, cloisonne ornaments, embroidered toys, pictures made from feathers or shells, and intricate carving in wood, bone, cork, stone and metal.

Acrobatics
Acrobats have been folk entertainment since ancient times. The centre for modern acrobatics is Wuqiao in Hebei Province, where a large number of the residents are born acrobats, who walk around the street juggling or balancing tools on their heads. There are regular shows in Beijing and Shanghai, while troupes perform occasionally in other cities. Chinese acrobatics are among the best in the world and transcend language barriers. Performances are exhilarating, with expert acrobats balancing on eight or ten stacked tables while juggling, singing, and dancing.

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Customs
On arrival in China from abroad, foreigners have to go through the following procedures, just as in other countries. The first check you have to pass is the Quarantine Check. At the checkpoint, you will be required to show your visa and passport and fill in a Health Declaration Form. Anyone with listed diseases such as yellow fever, cholera, VD, leprosy, infectious pulmonary tuberculosis or AIDS will be prohibited.

Duty Free
The following items may be imported into China by passengers staying less than six months without incurring customs duty:
400 cigarettes (600 cigarettes for stays of over six months);
Two bottles (up to 75cl) of alcoholic beverages (four bottles for stays of over six months);
A reasonable amount of perfume for personal use.

Prohibited items
They include arms, ammunition, pornography (photographs in mainstream Western magazines may be regarded as pornographic), radio transmitters / receivers, exposed but undeveloped film, fruit and certain vegetables, political and religious pamphlets (a moderate quantity of religious material for personal use is acceptable). Printed material directed against the public order and the morality of China is not advised to keep.
Note: Customs officials may seize audio and videotapes, books, records and CDs to check for pornographic, political or religious material. Baggage declaration forms must be completed upon arrival noting all valuables (such as cameras, watches and jewellery), a copy of which must be presented to customs upon leaving the country for checking. Receipts for items such as jewellery, jade, handicrafts, paintings, calligraphy or other similar items should be kept in order to obtain an export certificate from the authorities on leaving. Without this documentation such items cannot be taken out of the country.

Ecology
In the past 40-some years, China has improved 670,000 sq. km of soil-eroded areas, and the forest coverage rate has increased to 13.92 percent. Some achievements have also been made in natural environmental protection, with 151 model ecological zones. There are 1.146-nature reserves all over the country, including 137 national nature reserves. The largest project for the transformation of the ecological environment is the "Three-Norths" (Northwest, North and Northeast) Shelterbelt Project. Following the beginning of the construction of this 7,000-km "Green Great Wall" in 1978, more than 18 million ha of areas had been forested, 21 million ha of fields had been protected by trees and about 20 percent of desertified land had been improved by 1996. The construction of another two projects - The shelterbelts on the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the coastal shelterbelts - is being speeded up. At present, the Chinese natural ecological environment is still very weak, and water erosion, desertification and degeneration of grasslands are worsening with each passing day, thus weakening the ecological functions of windbreaks, sand fixation, water storage, soil preservation, and the protection of biological diversification. Hence, the Chinese government is taking measures to implement the National Program for the Construction of the Ecological Environment in an all-round way, while paying great attention to the prevention and control of pollution and the protection of the ecological environment.

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Economy
China's economy has developed quickly since early 1980s. With the entry into the WTO on December 11, 2001, China will involve into the world economy and the market will fully open to the world. It is expected that China will have faster economic growth than before.
China has various kinds of mineral resources scattered about over a wide area. The deposits of wolfram, tin, molybdenum, antimony, mercury, lead, zinc, iron, coal, sulphur, phosphorus, asbestos, graphite, fluorspar, siderite etc. stand among the forefront in the world. China also holds an important position in resources of copper, manganese, boron, rock salt, talcum, kaolin etc. and abounds in reserves of petroleum, chromium, nickel, titanium and a variety of rare and precious metals.
China has a vast area of shallow seas as well as a lot of rivers and lakes with abundant aquatic resources, and is one of the countries with the largest output of fish. There are found over 1500 species of sea fish and 500 species of freshwater fish in China.

Education
China's education system is composed of 4 components: basic education, occupational / polytechnic education, common higher education and adult education.
Chinese government has always listed basic education as one of its top priorities. Since 1986, primary schooling has prevailed in most areas of China, while junior middle schooling is being to be implemented in large cities and economically developed areas. Up to 1999, there were 582,300 primary schools countrywide with an enrolment of 135.5 million and moderate development had been made in junior middle schooling. More than half of the handicapped children had access to basic education. Common higher education is comprised of junior college, bachelor, masters and doctoral degree programs. Junior college programs usually last 2-3 years; bachelor programs 4 years (medical and some engineering and technical programs, 5 years); masters programs 2~3 years; doctoral programs 3 years.

Emblem
The national emblem features Tiananmen Gate beneath the five shining stars, encircled by ears of grain and with a cogwheel at the bottom. The ears of grain, stars, Tiananmen and cogwheel are golden; the field within the circle is red, as are the ribbons festooning the bottom of the circle. These two colours traditionally represent auspices and happiness.
Tiananmen symbolises the unyielding spirit of the Chinese people in their fight against imperialism and feudalism; the cogwheel and ears of grain represent the working class and the peasantry, respectively; the five stars, as above, stand for the great unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC.

Flag
The national flag is a red rectangle emblazoned with five stars.
The red of the flag symbolises revolution; the stars are yellow so that they will stand out brightly against the red ground. The larger star represents the CPC and the four smaller ones, the Chinese people. This expresses the great unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC.

Geography
China is situated in eastern Asia, bounded by the Pacific in the east. The third largest country in the world, next to Canada and Russia, it has an area of 9.6 million square kilometres, or one-fifteenth of the world's landmass. It begins from the confluence of the Heilong and Wusuli Rivers (135 degrees and 5 minutes east longitude) in the east to the Pamirs west of Wuqia County in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (73 degrees and 40 minutes east longitude) in the west, with about 5,200 kilometres apart. In the north, it starts from the midstream of the Heilong River north of Mohe (53 degrees and 31 minutes north latitude) and stretches south to the southernmost island Zengmu'ansha in the South China Sea (4 degrees and 15 minutes north latitude), with about 5,500 kilometres in between.
The Chinese border stretches over 22,000 kilometres on land and its coastline extends well over 18,000 kilometres, washed by the waters of the Bohai Sea, the Huanghai, the East China and the South China Seas. The Bohai Sea is China's only inland Sea.
There are 6,536 islands larger than 500 square meters, the largest being Taiwan, with a total area of about 36,000 square kilometres, and the second, Hainan. The South China Sea Islands are the southernmost island group of China.

Health
The total number of hospitals and clinics is 320,000, the total number of doctors - 1.39 million, nurses and technicians - 1.05 million.
China is a remarkably healthy country despite its relative poverty and climatic variations. Standards of hygiene varies from place to place so all visitors must be aware of potential hazards and act cautiously. Tap water is not safe; all water consumed must be boiled or filtered unless it is bottled mineral water. Boiled water is available in all Chinese hotels and restaurants. Although food is prepared fresh and cooked or cleaned thoroughly, stomach upsets are possible so it is advisable to take some medicine with you.
Ailments such as sore throats and chest colds are also possible and can occur at any time of year considering China's climatic extremes. The summer months are brutally hot so it is imperative to combat the harmful summer heat with a sufficient supply of liquids to prevent dehydration.
Prior to departing for China, it is recommended that you get accident and medical insurance coverage for any medical expenses that may arise during a trip.
No vaccinations are required for travel to China but it is advisable to check with your doctor for current information. Tetanus and typhoid vaccines are essential for travel anywhere, and rabies and hepatitis vaccinations are recommended. Please note that there is a risk of malaria in remote areas of south China, so take precautionary measures before you go.
For Health Regulations please check with your local health unit for required vaccinations and inoculations.

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Holidays
January 1 - New Year's Day
The Spring Festival (Chinese Lunar New Year's Day - between January and February: The exact date varies, depending on Chinese Lunar Calendar.
May 1 - Labour Day
October 1 - National Day

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.

Money
Chinese currency is called Renminbi (people's money), often abbreviated as RMB. It is issued by The Bank of China and is the sole legal tender within the People's Republic of China.
The unit of Renminbi is a yuan and with smaller denominations called jiao and fen.
The conversion among the three is: 1 yuan = 10 jiao =100 fen. RMB is issued both in notes and coins. The denominations of paper notes include 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 yuan; 5, 2 and 1 jiao; and 5, 2 and 1 fen. The denominations of coins are 1 yuan; 5, 2 and 1 jiao; and 5, 2 and 1 fen.
Note: in spoken Chinese, yuan is often called as kuai and the jiao as mao.

Traveller's Cheques
Traveller's cheques provide a fairly secure way of carrying your money. Always remember to keep the record of cheque numbers separate from the cheques for reference in the event of loss. For the convenience of tourists, the Bank of China can cash traveller's' cheques sold by international commercial banks and traveller's' cheque companies in the United States, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Britain, France, Switzerland, Germany as well as many other countries. Also the Bank of China sells traveller's' cheques for other banking institutions such as American Express, Citibank, Tongjilong Travellers' Cheque Co., the Sumitomo Bank of Japan, the Swiss Banking Corporation, to name a few.

Currency Converter
Money exchange facilities for both currency and traveller's' cheques are available at major airports, hotels, and department stores. Please note that hotels may only exchange money for their guests. Exchange rates fluctuate in line with international financial market condition and are published daily by the State Exchange Control Administration. Keep your currency exchange receipts because you will need to show them when you change RMB back to your own currency at the end of visit to the Republic. Cash rather than credit cards is essential in remote areas and you should ensure that you carry sufficient RMB and traveller's' cheques to cover your requirements.

Credit Card and ATMs
At present, the following credit cards are accepted in China: Master Card, Federal Card, Visa, American Express, JCB, and Diners Card. Cardholders can withdraw cash from the Bank of China and pay for purchases at exchange centres of the Bank of China, appointed shops, hotels, and restaurants. However, this applies only in major cities and they are not always accepted in remote areas. Credit cards are not always accepted for the purchase of rail and air tickets. ATMs that accept foreign cards are few and far between.