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China River photo taken by Linda Barber, Travelwizard.com
SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES:
TRAVEL TO TIBET - It is possible to make travel arrangements to Tibet from outside of China. Once in China, travelers wishing to visit Tibet must join a group, which can be arranged by almost any Chinese travel agency. The travel agency will arrange for the necessary permits and collect any fees. The Chinese Government requires foreigners (including U.S. citizens) wishing to visit Tibet to apply in advance for approval from the Tourist Administration of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. More information is available from the Chinese Embassy or one of the Chinese consulates in the United States, or, while in China, from the U.S. Embassy or nearest U.S. Consulate General. (Please see the above section on ENTRY REQUIREMENTS.) Recently, some Americans with long-term Chinese visas have experienced difficulty obtaining permits to visit Tibet.
REGISTRATION/EMBASSY AND CONSULATE LOCATIONS: U.S. citizens other than tourists at major hotels are encouraged to register at the U.S. Embassy or at one of the U.S. Consulates General in China. They may also obtain updated information on travel and security within the country at the Embassy or Consulates General.
China Pagoda photo taken by Linda Barber, Travelwizard.com
Health Requirements
Visitors to China must complete a Health Declaration form upon arrival. No special vaccinations are required, but those who have traveled from an infected area before coming to China should have vaccination records available. Although China does have excellent preventative healthcare products available and modern healthcare systems in major cities, travelers should bring with them any special health remedies or medications they require, as well as over-the-counter items. Elderly travelers, or those with medical problems, are advised to check with their healthcare professional before visiting China. Travel to high-altitude areas such as Tibet is not recommended for those with pulmonary or heart problems.
Tipping & Gift-Giving
Tipping is not customary in China, but visitors should be aware that local attitudes on tipping are changing, and vary with the occasion. Many tourists bring along inexpensive giveaways to show their appreciation to guides, drivers or others who have been helpful. To find out what is proper, it is best to ask you travel agent, China tour operator, or check protocol with your guide while in China. Crayons, balloons and US postcards are ideal giveaways for children, but giving money is not advisable or proper.
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: People's Republic of China
conventional short form: China
local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
local short form: Zhong Guo
abbreviation: PRC
Data code: CH
Government type: Communist state
Capital: Beijing
Independence: 221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty 221 BC; Qing or Ch'ing Dynasty replaced by the Republic on 12 February 1912; People's Republic established 1 October 1949)
Legal system: a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal law; rudimentary civil code in effect since 1 January 1987; new legal codes in effect since 1 January 1980; continuing efforts are being made to improve civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador LI Zhaoxing
chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph W. PRUEHER
embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing
mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002
telephone: [86] (10) 6532-3831
FAX: [86] (10) 6532-6422
consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang
Economy
Economy - overview: Beginning in late 1978 the Chinese leadership has been moving the economy from a sluggish Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented economy but still within a rigid political framework of Communist Party control. To this end the authorities have switched to a system of household responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprise in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978. In 1999, with its 1.25 billion people but a GDP of just $3,800 per capita, China became the second largest economy in the world after the US. Agricultural output doubled in the 1980s, and industry also posted major gains, especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment helped spur output of both domestic and export goods. On the darker side, the leadership has often experienced in its hybrid system the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy, lassitude, corruption) and of capitalism (windfall gains and stepped-up inflation). Beijing thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. In late 1993 China's leadership approved additional long-term reforms aimed at giving still more play to market-oriented institutions and at strengthening the center's control over the financial system; state enterprises would continue to dominate many key industries in what was now termed "a socialist market economy". In 1995-99 inflation dropped sharply, reflecting tighter monetary policies and stronger measures to control food prices. At the same time, the government struggled to (a) collect revenues due from provinces, businesses, and individuals; (b) reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and (c) keep afloat the large state-owned enterprises, most of which had not participated in the vigorous expansion of the economy and many of which had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 50 to 100 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time low-paying jobs. Popular resistance, changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's population control program, which is essential to maintaining growth in living standards. Another long-term threat to continued rapid economic growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table especially in the north. China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development. The next few years will witness increasing tensions between a highly centralized political system and an increasingly decentralized economic system.
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -1.3% (1999 est.)
Industries: iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications
Agriculture - products: rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed; pork; fish
Currency: 1 yuan = 10 jiao
Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 110 million (1999 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 23.4 million (1998)
Telephone system: domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and many towns
domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place
international: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); several international fiber-optic links to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany
Radio broadcast stations: AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)
Radios: 417 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997)
Televisions: 400 million (1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (1999)
Transportation
Railways:
total: 65,650 km (including 5,400 km of provincial "local" rails)
standard gauge: 62,050 km 1.435-m gauge (12,150 km electrified; 20,250 km double track)
narrow gauge: 3,600 km 0.750-m gauge local industrial lines (1998 est.)
note: a new total of 68,000 km has been estimated for early 1999
Highways:
total: 1.21 million km
paved: 271,300 km (with at least 24,474 km of expressways)
unpaved: 938,700 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: 110,000 km navigable (1999)
Pipelines: crude oil 9,070 km; petroleum products 560 km; natural gas 9,383 km (1998)
Ports and harbors: Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huangpu, Lianyungang, Nanjing, Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shantou, Tianjin, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang
Merchant marine:
total: 1,746 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,637,023 GRT/24,552,567 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 325, cargo 840, chemical tanker 21, combination bulk 11, combination ore/oil 1, container 125, liquified gas 20, multi-functional large load carrier 5, passenger 8, passenger/cargo 46, petroleum tanker 251, refrigerated cargo 24, roll-on/roll-off 21, short-sea passenger 43, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 1 (1999 est.)
Airports: 206 (1996 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 192
over 3,047 m: 18
2,438 to 3,047 m: 65
1,524 to 2,437 m: 90
914 to 1,523 m: 13
under 914 m: 6 (1996 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 14
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 1 (1996 est.) |
