Useful local information for Beijing
Weather
Weather Report | Mean Monthly Temp. in degree Celsius | Beijing weather
Beijing's four seasons
The time difference between Beijing and the Greenwich
Mean Time is 8 hours (Beijing is ahead of GMT).
China uses only one standard time, i.e. Beijing time, throughout the
country.
Currency
RMB (Renminbi) is the only currency to be used in China. Money exchanges by cash or traveler's cheques can be made at the branches of Bank of China at Beijing International Airport, hotels and tourist stores. Please remember to keep the currency exchange receipt with you as it has to be shown to the bank clerk if you are going to convert the remaining amount of RMB back into foreign cash when leaving China.
Conversion services are available for the following foreign currencies: US Dollar, British Pound Sterling, French Franc, Deutsche Mark, Japanese Yen, Australian Dollar, Austrian Schilling, Belgian Franc, Canadian Dollar, Hong Kong Dollar, Swiss Franc, Danish Krone, Guilder (or Florin), Norwegian Krone, Swedish Krone, Singapore Dollar, Malaysian Ringgit, Italian Lira, Macao Pataca, and Finnish Markka. But note that not all these currencies are accepted at some small money exchange outlets.
Credit cards such as American Express, Diners Club, JCB, Master and Visa are acceptable for payment at hotels or tourist stores. But it is difficult to draw cash with credit cards.
When visitors leave China, they can change the remaining amount of Renminbi back into foreign cash and take out of China within a grace period of six months prior to departure from China, but in doing so they have to display foreign currency conversion receipts.
Visa
Valid passports, preferably not expiring in six months from entry into China, and entry visas are required to enter China. Visas are not required for visitors from some countries, and delegates are advised to consult the nearest Chinese diplomatic mission for details. For the contact information of Chinese diplomatic missions, visitors may visit the web site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and click the ministry, and then missions overseas.
A single-entry visa is valid for three months, and can be extended for a month at the Foreigners Section of the Beijing Public Security Bureau if necessary.
Once in China, the delegates are advised to carry their passports on them wherever they are in China as the passports may be needed to check into hotels, book air tickets, and change money.
In some countries, to apply for visas, delegates may need to show your formal invitation letter to the Chinese diplomatic mission. Delegates are advised to consult the nearest Chinese diplomatic mission for details. If a formal invitation letter is needed, delegates should first fill out the registration form and request the letter from the local organizing commitee (LOC). The organizer (LOC) of the Conference will then mail a formal invitation with which the delegate can make visa application at the Chinese diplomatic mission appointed in the invitation.
On the other hand, the delegates may also ask their travel agents to arrange their travel to China including tourist visa acquisition whether they have registered with the Conference or not.
Visa Application
Take the Visas of China Take the Visas of China and Beijing.
Insurance
The organizers cannot accept responsibility for personal accidents or damage to the private property of Conference participants or guests. It is advisable to arrange personal insurance for the Conference and/or post Conference period.
Traffic Map
Beijing Capital International Airport is to the northeast of the city, about 35 km to XIJIAO HOTEL, the proposed site of conference venue. Taxi is always available at the airport whenever there are flights, and there are shuttle buses from the airport to the main points of the city every half hour. The cost of a taxi from the airport to the confence site or congress hotels is about 120 yuan, or US$ 15.
Water and Electricity
Voltage 220 electricity is used in China. Potable water is available
only at a few best hotels, so visitors should always ask to make sure.
Tipping
Tipping is not customary outside of the foreign
joint-venture hotels and is officially discouraged. But hotel bellboys
usually expect RMB 2-5 per bag.
Language
The standard spoken Chinese is Putonghua (Mandarin). What is Pinyin?
- Pinyin is the official romanization system of the Chinese characters.
English can be understood by many young people and is used in hotels and
big restaurants.