Insight Guides China

Insight Guides

• Publisher: Insight Guides
• ISBN:
  9781786717719
• Edition: 13
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Travel

The emerging powerhouse of our times, China is a fascinating and complex country, taking in ultra-modern cities, dramatically varied scenery and ancient cultural treasures. This new edition of Insight Guide China is a comprehensive full-colour travel guide to this enigmatic destination, highlighting all the unique sights and experiences to have while you're there.

Inside Insight Guide China:
Lively features by a local writer cover a whole range of subjects: traditional medicine, Chinese literature, Red Tourism, and of course, the country's many cuisines.
Stunning photography brings this intriguing country and its people to life.
Highlights of the country's top attractions, including sights such as the incomparable Great Wall and Terracotta Warriors, the dazzling city of Shanghai and the dreamlike landscapes of Guilin.
Descriptive region-by-region accounts cover the whole country from the evocative capital Beijing and Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau to the mountains of Yunnan and Tibet and the spectacular landscapes of Guangxi and Sichuan.
Detailed, high-quality maps throughout will help you get around and travel tips give you all the essential information for planning a memorable trip.

A–Z

A

Accommodation

Choosing a hotel

China’s large cities have numerous modern hotels, most of them at the high end of the market, including many of world-class calibre. Many belong to international hotel chains, and their prices are in line with the West. Tour groups usually stay in well-appointed tourist hotels.

Finding rooms at hotels in the middle and lower price ranges can be difficult, particularly during Chinese New Year (a week or two in January or February), and during the May and October holiday periods, when hotels are often completely full.

Worth mentioning are a few well-preserved hotels built by the colonial powers in a few cities. These include the Peace Hotel (Heping Fandian) in Shanghai, the Astor (Lishunde Dafandian) in Tianjin and the Raffles Beijing Hotel (Beijing Fandian) in the nation’s capital.

In some of the more far-flung provinces, you may still come across some hotels that will not allow foreigners – usually because of rules imposed by Chinese travel agencies or the local police, who often determine where foreigners may stay. This is not a problem in the main tourist areas.

Websites www.ctrip.com and www.elong.net can be used to book hotels in advance, though the best prices can often be achieved by bargaining for a room in person at the front desk – particularly during low season or for longer stays.

Rates at all but the cheapest hotels are subject to 10–15 percent service surcharge.

Guesthouses

Individual travellers may be able to find cheap lodgings in guesthouses in smaller towns off the tourist track. They usually have rooms with two or more beds, or dormitories, shower and washing facilities.

Other accommodation

It is difficult for foreigners to find accommodation outside of hotels and guesthouses, although some universities and institutes have guesthouses where foreign visitors can find good, cheap lodging. Youth hostels in China can be viewed, and sometimes booked, online at www.hihostels.com.

Admission charges

Admission charges vary from Rmb 10 for a state run museum to Rmb 100 or so for larger theme parks and around Rmb 200 for some nature parks. Most temples charge only a few kuai.

B

Budgeting for your trip

In a vast country such as this prices, will vary considerably, not only between city and countryside but also between provinces. You might need as little as US$50 a day in, say, Yunnan province, to cover accommodation, meals, attractions and transport, but in Hong Kong you could pay four times that amount just for your hotel. Allowing for a reasonably good standard of accommodation away from the city hotspots, you would need around US$120 a day. Transport and food are very reasonably priced everywhere (see also Admission charges, above).

C

Climate

China is a huge country, covering 35 degrees of latitude, with a great variety of climates. It is generally warm and humid in southeastern and central China, but the west, the north and northeast are quite dry. Most of China has a summer rainy season and a winter dry season. The best times for travelling are generally spring (Apr/May) and autumn (Sept/Oct).

Northern China, north of the Chang Jiang (Yangzi River), has cold, dry winters – particularly cold in the northeast where temperatures remain well below freezing for months on end. Summers are warm or hot with variable humidity and some torrential rain. Beijing and Xi’an can be affected by sand blowing in from the Gobi Desert in spring.

In Central China summers are hot and humid, with a lot of rain. In low-lying regions around the Yangzi and along the coasts, winters are fairly mild but often damp (Shanghai is often grey and cool from December to March). The cities of Chongqing, Wuhan and Nanjing are notorious for their summer heat and humidity.

Most of Southern China has a subtropical climate, with long, hot summers and short, cool winters. There are spells of heavy rain in the summer, and typhoons can affect the coasts between July and September. Upland areas inland tend to get a lot of rain throughout the year and can be cold in winter. The exception is Yunnan, which has warmer, drier winters. Southern Yunnan (Xishuangbanna) and Hainan island have true tropical climates with year-round warmth.

In Western China, the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau has moderately warm summers, while winters can get very cold; there is little rainfall throughout the year. Most of Xinjiang is arid and fiercely hot in summer (Turpan is the hottest of all), frigid in winter. Northern areas are less hot in summer.

Typhoons

July to October is typhoon season in southern China. In Hong Kong, storm warnings are graded as 1, 3, 8, 9 and 10 – 1 signalling a mild possibility, 10 indicating a head-on, life-threatening storm. Never underestimate a typhoon.

What to wear

In the summer months, take light cotton clothes that are easily washed and not too delicate. Something warm is useful, even in the hottest season, as the air conditioning in hotels and shopping malls is often vigorous. Footwear should be comfortable and strong.

Most Chinese wear ordinary clothes to evening performances at the Beijing Opera, the theatre or the circus. It is best to follow this custom, especially at some of the venues in rural areas: the floor is often of compressed mud, making high-heeled shoes an unwise option. In contrast, urban discos and clubs call for more formal dress.

Rainwear is useful, especially during the summer months. China’s rainy season is from May to August.

Children

The Chinese are very fond of children, so travelling with a family in China can be a great pleasure. Facilities are mostly good. If you have toddlers or babies, note that disposable nappies and baby food in jars are available in all of the larger cities, but plan to pick up sufficient supplies for trips to more remote areas. Children travel at reduced cost on trains and planes, and some hotels will allow one or two children under 12 to stay in their parents’ room for no extra charge. Larger hotels usually offer some form of childcare, but expect to pay a fee.

D

Disabled travellers

Only in recent years have the needs of disabled people received attention in China. Regulations regarding rooms and other facilities for the disabled must be met by new hotels. In general, though, towns, institutions, public transport and sights offer little accessibility.

Travelling in a group for the ...