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| Travel to Shanghai, China
Here just give a profile of Shanghai, hope it can help...
Airport
Hongqiao International Airport in western Shanghai, about 15 kilometers from the city center, handles all international flights. By taxi, the trip from the airport will take you about 30 min. to an hour.
The new Shanghai Pudong International Airport is about 1 hour taxi away from the downtown Puxi area.
Visas
Consult the Chinese embassy or consulate in your home country to arrange for a visa. A tourist visa is valid for 90 days but can be extended for 30 days. For business visa extensions, you'll need to bring your passport and registration of
temporary residency from your hotel, plus a letter from the business that invited you, to the Public Security Bureau (PSB) Division for Aliens at No.1500 Minsheng Road, Pudong District, (tel: 28951900) on weekdays from 9 to 11 a.m. and 2 to 5 p.m..
Currency
The RMB (Renminbi) is the official currency. The basic unit of RMB is the yuan ( also known as "kuai," divided into 10 jiao, which is again divided into 10 fen. Yuan notes come in 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, and 100. Now RMB value is seeing a rising trend against US dollar. In the second half of 2007, RMB's exchange rate is about 7.5 RMB/USD.
Credit Cards
Most major credit cards -- including American Express, Diner's Club, Federal Card, JCB, MasterCard and Visa -- are accepted at hotels and certain restaurants and shops.
Tipping
Tipping is generally not expected in mainland China. However in some high-class hotels & restaurants, tipping is expected by servants.
Useful Numbers
Police: 110
Fire Department: 119
Visa Card Hotline: 10-800-110-2911
MasterCard Hotline: 10-800-11-0-7309 (only in certain provinces)
Time Zone
GMT + 8 hours, same as Singapore. The whole of China, including Hong Kong, is set to Beijing time.
Banking Hours
Banks: Mondays to Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., although all foreign banks have slightly different hours (Japanese banks tend to close at 4:30 p.m. and American ones at 6 p.m.). Half days are the rule on Saturdays.
Climate
Shanghai summers are hot and humid with temperature reaching 40 degrees Celsius. The rainy season begins in June. Fall is mostly mild. In winter (January to February) temperatures can reach below freezing. Spring begins again in March.
Clothing
Shanghai was once famous for its stylishness, but has been overtaken by a more laid-back fashion sense over recent years. Recently, however, young executives are trying to recapture the bygone era, what with more disposable income and the arrival of brand-name fashion products.
Metro
The Shanghai subway is one of the youngest in the world and is among the most rapidly expanding. After the first line opened in 1995 as a north-south axis from the downtown railway station to the southern suburb, other metro lines No. 2, No.3, No, 4 , etc. followed quickly several years later. Shanghai will have 11 Metro lines in 2010, totaling 400 kilometers, in which five lines, No. 4, 6, 7, 8 and 13, will have stops in the 5.28-square-kilometer World Expo site.
Geography
China is the fourth largest country after Russia, Canada and the United States. It is located in Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam.
Land area: 9,326,410 sq. km.
Shanghai occupies 6,200 sq. km. and lies in central-eastern China, facing the East China Sea.
Population
China: 1.28 billion
Shanghai: 13.4 million
Language
The official language in China is Mandarin but distinct dialects are spoken throughout the country. Shanghainese speak Mandarin or Shanghaihua, however most tourist hotels have staff who are fluent in foreign languages.
Major Holidays
In China, there are three most important holidays: May Holiday (May 1 to May 7), National Holiday (October 1 to October 7), and Spring Festival (Date varies, but normally be late Jan or early Feb, and lasting for 7 days).
The public holiday is actually only 3 days for each of the three holidays, but the common practice is for people to work the weekend before the one week holiday so that they can enjoy a week long holiday in the week of the May/National/Spring Festival Holiday. Spring Festival falls on the 1st day of the first month to the Lunar calendar.
Accommodation
If you wanna be unique and special, try homestay! www.homestayglobal.com
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10-16-2009 06:10AM
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