China: In the Country

Eating Out

Food Specialties: Chinese cuisine is rich and refined, with several regional varieties:

- Beijing and Shandong cuisine gives a lot of importance to steamed noodles and the specialities are Peking duck and Beggar's chicken (wrapped in lotus leaves and cooked over the embers for a whole day).
- Cantonese and Chaozhou cuisine is the most famous variety of Chinese cuisine abroad. It favours steam cooking, boiled or sauteed preparations. Among its specialities are dim-sum (small, steamed or fried dishes), snake soup, dog, rat or owl stew.
- Eastern Chinese cuisine specialises in spare ribs, seafood and soups.
- Sichuan cuisine is said to have 4,000 dishes, including gonbao jiding (chicken fried with peanuts and chili peppers), mapo doufu (pork with tofu and onions), guoba roupian (puffed rice served with pork in its gravy).
- Cuisine from Shanghai (where Northern and Southern culinary styles meet) is quite sweet. One of the most popular dishes is xiaolongbao.
Drinks: Beer (píjiÇ”) is very common in China and is served everywhere. The most popular label is Tsingtao. Chinese beers are light and generally have an alcohol content of 3%-4%. Their price is from CNY 2.5 to 4 in stores, CNY 6 to 20 in restaurants, about CNY 20 in a regular bar and CNY 30 to 60 in the trendiest bars. Red wine is common and reasonably priced at CNY 15 in stores and about CNY 100-150 in trendy bars. Great Wall, Chang Yu and Dynasty are some of the major labels, each with wines at different prices. The Chinese people often translate baijiu (white alcohol) as 'white wine,' but this sorghum spirit has 40-60% alcohol.
Dietary Restrictions: Culinary restrictions vary from one religion to another.
Table Manners: The guest is always seated facing the door, never with his back to the door. Allow the Chinese to seat you since they will show you where to sit.
It is a usual practice to serve you local specialties and to flood the table with a variety of dishes. In return, they will appreciate it if you taste all the dishes, show interest and above all appreciate the dishes.
It is common to talk about one's travel in China and abroad and also about family before starting to talk business. A meal offers a friendly atmosphere to not only talk business but to build a good relationship.

Getting Around

Means of Transport Recommended in Town

Urban transport services: Beijing Metro
Taxi services: Haibo Taxi
Guide to taxis in Shanghai

Transportation From Airport to City Centre:

Airport	Distance	Taxi	Bus	Train	Car Rental
Shanghai-Honggiao (SHA)	16 km / 10 miles	CNY 60-100/25-40 min	CNY 3 / 35-40 min	-	Available
Beijing-Capital (PEK)	28 km / 17 miles	CNY 135 / 30-40 min	CNY 16 / 45 min	-	Available

Travelling By Yourself

Car rental agencies: Alibabuy.com World
Website of the Avis car rental agency in China
Shanghai car rental, Shanghai car services

Time and Time Difference

Current Local Time: It is %T:%M %A In Beijing
Summer Time: No time change in China.

Map of the Time Zone

Time zone

Climate

Type of Climate: Owing to its large size, there is great diversity of climate in China. The climate ranges from hot and very humid (in the southern part of the country) to continental (in the north of the country).
Hotel reservation websites: World Meteorological Organisation

Average Annual Temperatures and Rainfall

Climate

Electrical Standards and Measurement Systems

System of Measurement Used: The metric system, but some traditional Chinese units are still in use.
Unit of Measurement of Temperature: Degree Celsius (°C)

Use our service Measurement converter.

Electricity
Voltage: 220 V
Frequency: 50 HZ
Type of Electric Socket: CL
Type of Telephone Socket: US RJ-11
DVD Zoning: Zone 6

Paying

Domestic Currency: Chinese Yuan (Renminbi)
ISO Code: CNY
To Obtain Domestic Currency: As the exchange rate is regulated, where you exchange your money is less important than it may be in other countries. Currency exchanges at Chinese airports tend to be good and may offer a more favourable exchange rate than a bank or company abroad. If you prefer, it is fairly simple to withdraw cash with an international card at a local ATM.
Possible Means of Payment: Cash is the primary method of payment, although American Express, Diners Club, Eurocard/MasterCard and Visa are accepted in authorised establishments in the main cities. The availability of ATMs is often limited outside of cities.

To Find a Cash Machine Where You Need, Use the ATM locator

Speaking

Official Language: The national language is Mandarin; however, there are many different dialects and variants of it.
Other Languages Spoken: There are more than a hundred dialects, with Mandarin in the north and Cantonese in the south of the country. The official language coexists with the other languages (Mongolian, Uyghur, Korean, Tibetan) of the autonomous regions.
Business Language: When the foreign party does not speak Chinese, business discussions will generally be held in English.

Emergency Numbers

Police	110
Fire Brigade	119
Ambulance	120 (or 999 in some places)
Road Accident	122
Directory Enquiries	114

Communications

Telephone Codes: To Make a Call From China, Dial 00
To Make a Call to in China, Dial +86
Mobile Telephone Standards: GSM; CDMA
National Mobile Phone Operators: China Unicom; China Mobile

Availability of Internet

Internet Suffix: .cn

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