Local Time in China

Full country name: People's Republic of China
Area: 9,596,960 sq km (mainland)
Population: 1.25 billion (mainland)
Capital city: Beijing
People: Han Chinese (93%), plus 55 ethnic minorities
Languages: Putonghua (Beijing Mandarin dialect), Cantonese
Religion: Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism (no stats available); Muslim (14 million), Christian (7 million)
Government: Communist republic
Head of State: Jiang Zemin
Wild animals : China has a great variety of wildlife, over 4,400 vertebrates, more than 100 rare species of the world: the giant panda, the golden monkey, the white-lipped deer, the South China Tiger, Crossoplilon mantchuricum, the white-flag dolphin, the Chinese alligator, and the crowned crane.

  China isn't a country - it's a different world. From shop-till-you-drop metropolises to the epic grasslands of Inner Mongolia - with deserts, sacred peaks, astounding caves, and imperial ruins - it's a land of cultural and geographic schisms. It's not that China has completely done away with its Maoist past - it's more that the yin of revolutionary zeal is being balanced by the yang of economic pragmatism, and the oldguard communists are giving way to the new wave dot-commers.

  It's a land of towering mountains and epic landscapes - background scenery to the fall of dynasties, the rise of emperors and the turning of the revolutionary wheel. Unless you have a couple of years and unlimited patience, it's best to follow a loose itinerary here, such as Beijing to Tibet via Xi'an's terracotta warriors, following the Silk Road route, sailing down the Yangzi River, or exploring the Dr Seuss landscape of Guangxi Province.

Useful Information for Traveller
Health risks: Rabies, bilharzia, dengue fever, malaria and cholera are all present. Immunisation against cholera, hepatitis A and B, Japanese encephalitis, polio, rabies and typhoid is considered essential.
Time: GMT/UTC plus eight hours (the whole of China is set to Beijing time).
Electricity: 220V, 50 AC; plugs can be three-pronged angled, three-pronged round, two flat pins or two narrow round pins.
Weights & measures: Metric
Currency: Renminbi (RMB). The basic unit is the yuan

Weather
  Spring (March-April) and autumn (September-October) are the best times to visit China. Daytime temperatures range from 20°C to 30°C (68°F-86°F) in these seasons, but nights can be bitterly cold and it can be wet and miserable. Major public holidays, in particular Chinese New Year, are best avoided as it's difficult to get around and/or find accommodation.

Event
  Chinese New Year (or Spring Festival) starts on the first day of the lunar calendar, which usually falls in February. Although officially lasting only three days, many people take a week off. Ear plugs are handy at this time to dull the firecracker assaults, and prices of hotel rooms tend to go through the roof. The Lantern Festival isn't a public holiday, but it's big and it's colourful. It falls on the 15th day of the 1st moon (around mid-Feb to mid-March) and marks the end of the new-year celebrations. The famous lion dances occur throughout this period. Tomb Sweeping Day is in April, and sees Chinese families spend the day tending the graves of departed loved ones. Hong Kong hosts one of the liveliest annual Chinese celebrations - the Dragon Boat Festival. Usually held in June, the festival honours the poet Qu Yuan and features races between teams in long ornate canoes. Many Westerners take part in the races, but plenty of practice is needed to get all the paddles working as one.

  Special prayers are held at Buddhist and Taoist temples on full-moon and sliver-moon days. Temple and moon-based festivities include Guanyin's Birthday (late March to late April), Mazu's Birthday (May or June), Water-Splashing Festival (13-15 April), Ghost Month (late August to late September), Mid-Autumn Moon Festival (October) and the Birthday of Confucius (28 September).

Public holidays
In China there are 11 days of national public holiday out of the year:
- The New Year's Day (2 days)
- The Spring Festival (usually falling in late January or early and mid-February) (3 days)
- The May 1st Labor Day (3 days)
- The October 1st National Day (3 days)

It is customary for people to "borrow" weekends to make three-day holidays into three week-long holidays.

Offices and agencies in China follow the five-day week system.

Getting There & Away
  Despite over 115 ports of entry and exit, most visitors to China travel via Hong Kong or Shanghai. The national carrier is the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC, known on international routes as Air China), which also operates a company called Dragonair as a joint venture with the Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific (bookable through Cathay Pacific worldwide). If you are leaving China by air, there's a departure tax of Y90, payable only in local currency, so be sure you have enough yuan to avoid a last-minute scramble at the airport moneychanging booth.

  You can travel to China and back from Europe or Asia without having to leave the ground. Exotic routes include Vietnam-China, the Trans-Siberian railway, Tibet-Nepal, Xinjiang-Pakistan and Xinjiang-Kazakstan - but don't even think about bringing your own car, as foreigners are rarely allowed to drive in China. Other entry points include Zhuhai-Macau, Kashgar-Islamabad (Pakistan) via the Karakoram Highway, Urumqi-Almaty (Kazakstan), Kashgar-Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Beijing-Pyongyang (North Korea) and Pinxiang/Hekou-Dong Dang/Lao Cai (Vietnam). You can take a slow boat to China from Japan or South Korea. Popular places to sail to and from include Shanghai, Xiamen (opposite Taiwan), Tanggu (near Tianjin), Macau and - of course - Hong Kong.

Getting Around
  Now that private carriers have been allowed to set up operations in China, CAAC has assumed the role of `umbrella organisation' over airlines including China Eastern, China Southern, China Northern, Great Wall, Yunnan Airlines and several others. There is no such thing as a discount, no matter where you buy your ticket and you'll usually be slugged with an agents commisioning fee. There is an airport tax of Y50 payable on all domestic flights.

  Long-distance buses are one of the best means of getting around on the ground; they're frequent and cheap (which also translates as crowded and stuffy) but there's extensive services, passable roads and interesting towns and villages en route. An even better mode is the train, which reaches into every province (apart from Tibet) along a 52,000-km network. It's cheap, relatively fast and a safer proposition than buses; the only dangers on the trains is getting your luggage pinched or dying from shock at the state of the toilets.

  As land transport improves, the romantic days of domestic boat travel are fading. But there are still a number of popular boat trips to be had between Hong Kong and the mainland. The best known river trip is the three-day cruise along the Yangzi River from Chongqing to Wuhan.
  
 Taxis don't cruise the streets except in the largest of cities, and while most cabs have meters they usually only get switched on by accident. Motorcycle taxis, motor-tricycles and/or pedicabs hunt in packs around most major train and bus stations. They're a motley bunch, but they're cheap and useful if you don't mind sudden traffic-induced adrenalin rushes. But really, once you've settled in somewhere, the best way to get around is by renting a bike and joining the pedalling throng.

Activities
The bicycle is the unofficial symbol of China, and with more than 300 million trundling about you'll have no trouble hiring anything from a rattly old local Forever brand to a half-decent multi-speed mountain bike. Even in towns that don't see many tourists, there are hire shops catering to Chinese who are passing through. Cycling tours are popular and many Chinese and Western travel agents offer short and long-term biking jaunts. Camping along the way is also possible if you can find a few spare blades of grass.

If it wasn't for the ubiquitous and ridiculously expensive permits, mountaineers, white-water rafters, hang-gliders and other adventurous types would be over China like a rash. Instead you're far more likely to encounter mountains of red tape. At least hikers can carry on regardless without having to obtain a permit, as they don't need much equipment. But opportunities for hardcore hiking can be limited to trails fitted out with handrails, steps, souvenir vendors and restaurants. One solution is to go underground. Caving, particularly in the south-west provinces, can be a lot of fun - but be prepared to get wet and muddy.

Camel rides are popular in Inner Mongolia and in the deserts around Dunhuang (Gansu province), and horse riding in the hills of Xinjiang and west of Beijing can be a beautiful way to spend the day. Winter offers ice skating on Beijing's lakes and skiing (downhill and cross-country) in the northeast provinces, but Westerners with big clodhoppers may have to bring their own boots.

More sedate pursuits include tai chi, a popular form of slow-motion aerobics practised in nearly every town park in the early morning throughout the land. Novices are always welcome. For brain exercising, most universities offer courses to fee-paying foreign students; possible subjects include Chinese language study, Chinese medicine, acupuncture, brush painting and music.

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