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| Tourism
in China |
This page
offers general advice regarding Tourism in China (September
2008) |
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Planning
a Holiday or Visit to China?
Get the information you need here |
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Introduction
Exotic & Breathtaking, The
Land of the Dragon awaits intrepid explorers with a
wonderfully warm welcome...
China is a fantastic Country - Totally Wonderful &
Mind-Boggling, and real! Whether you come to take time
out for personal development, study, or just seek 'Something
Completely Different' - you will find everything and
so ... so much more in excess. China is also a very
old Country, steeped in tradition, ancient culture and
oriental mystery
Current archaeology has unearthed Chinese settlements
dating back over 20,000 years. Chinese writing existed
11,000 years ago, but has only become available to
common people within the last 100 years
Education in China has always been highly revered,
as have scholastic and artistic pursuits. Chinese
people have been responsible for many First's in World
History - Gunpowder, spinning Silk, Ceramics and special
glazes, Opera, and Personal Deportment
Modern China is a very advanced, with new cities being
built and cars everywhere. Rural China is still largely
peasant village based, but even this is changing.
This makes China unique, the mix of old and new, traditional
and modern
Looking forwards; China overtook UK as the World's 4th
largest economy in early 2007, and will supercede Germany
later in 2009. Japan will be the economys' next victim
Circa 2020 - leaving only a direct challenge to the
USA. China also has a space program, has successfully
sent several Astronauts into orbit, and plans a manned
mission to Mars Circa 2030
China is called so because of the Qin empire Circa 200bc.
Qin is pronounced 'Chin' in modern English, and 'Ah'
is a familiar term - hence 'Chin-Ah', or China. Qin
is also the family name of 'The Yellow Emperor' = The
first person to unite China into one Country, and a
figure highly revered even to this day, as the Original
Founder of China
Tourism
The International tourism industry is
very new to China. Apparently my home city of Foshan
is the Number 1 World destination for Kung Fu enthusiasts
worldwide - having World Leading Schools for Wong fei
hong (Huang Fai Hong) and Wushu disciplines. There is
absolutely no tourism industry to support this whatsoever
= nobody will understand what you are talking about!!!
So contact me if you want to come, or just need some
sensible information + a local guy walking these particular
streets - who understands what you want. 'Here is China!'
as we say...
On the other hand - mass tourism is exploited a little:
trips to The Great Wall, Forbidden City, and other things
Foreigners are presumed to want to see ... or endure?
If you do this 5/7-Star*, hire private drivers, eat
French one night, and experiment with Ukrainian the
next - then all I can say you may have walked on Chinese
soil, but you never left Europe or Milwaukee at all!
To know China, you first need to know their ordinary
people, so take time-out to meet them and share a drink
and some food on local back-streets - you will never
be disappointed. You will become enriched as a person
for sharing such simple things with them 'doing what
they are doing'.
Visas:
China has recently tightened the rules regarding issue
of Tourist (L type) visa's. Please check the Chinese
Embassy in your home Country for specific details.
Generally you will need:
1..Passport with blank pages and 9-months validity (Generalised
and conditional)
2. Return air tickets or itinerary (This is the flight
confirmation you receive in liu of tickets)
3. Confirmation of hotel booking in China (Also called
an itinerary) or a personal invitation
from a Chinese National which includes all their specified
personal details. Tip: It is practicable to make a hotel
reservation for the entire length of your stay and use
this re your visa application. You can then change the
booking after the visa is issued
4. If you are not staying in a hotel, you will need
to register with the local Police - it is a simple formality,
but requires passport type photos - and copies of your
personal passport page, current visa, and entry stamp;which
you should provide. Despite what regulations dictate,
the one local Police Office normally dealing, will usually
only work 'Bank Hours'
5. If you are visiting either Hong Kong or Macao, then
you will probably need a multi-entry visa, as each time
you re-enter the mainland from either Principality counts
as one visa entry to China
6. Special restrictions and additional permission are
needed to visit certain areas - such as Tibet
Please see our visa section for full
details
Your Destination:
Normally entry into China is fairly straight-forward
Entry from both Hong Kong and Macao, or via international
flight etc, to any major city is quite common and easy.
Initial Advice:
Please see our General Tourism page for 10
Tips concerning your first visit to China.
These are supported by in-depth fact sheets as below:
Info Sheets
Over the years I have written several information sheets
for first-time visitors to China. They cover all things
I can think of, including: Weather, Electricity (220
V), Customs and Practices, Food and Drinks, etc. I intend
to edit these into a single Word document and make it
available for download very soon. In the meantime, if
you would like the unedited version, then please ask
via our Contact Page
and I will return immediately
Sight-seeing
I have also produced several Word documents for general
and local sight-seeing, City Breaks, and tours of greater
China. Again, I wish to edit them before offering them
here, but if you would like one please Contact
Us and state places of interest
Notes for Independent Travellers Only:
We can offer practical advice and local knowledge, supported
by experiences from other independent travellers who
have gone before you. Contact
Us for further information, stating you
intended destination or what you would like to experience.
We can also give you a free point of contact whilst
in China = ourselves. We live here and understand how
China works!
See our dedicated page for Independent Travellers here |
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| Related
Pages: Ten
Tips Independent
Travellers China
Guides |
|
| This
information is as supplied by the Chinese Embassy in
UK, as dated 20th June 2008, and/or other reliable sources.
Please check this information yourself as it may alter
without notice, and whilst we try our best to ensure
it is correct, please do not hold us responsible for
any errors - this is intended as a simple guide only |
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