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Early Payment Discount !
Early Payment Discount on Daily Rental Rates on all products!
If you book and pay in full by 10th September 2010
Only Available for bookings valued over $1,000
(Offer only applies if you pay by Bank Transfer, Cheque or Cash)
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* Terms & Conditions apply, please contact us for details.
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China Information
China, formally known as the People's Republic of China, is a vast country in Eastern Asia (about the same size as the United States of America) with the world's largest population.
With coasts on the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, in total it borders 14 nations, it borders Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam to the South; Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to the West; Russia and Mongolia to the North and North Korea to the East. Only Russia has more land borders in Asia.
Regions of China
North-east (Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang)
Dongbei, the "rust belt"
North (Shandong, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Henan, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin)
The Yellow River Basin area, historical heartland of Chin
North-west (Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang)
Grasslands and deserts, nomadic people, Islam
South-west (Tibet, Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou)
The exotic part, home to most of the Chinese minorities, with spectacular scenery
Southern-central (Anhui, Sichuan, Chongqing, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi)
Farming areas
South-east (Guangdong, Hainan, Fujian)
The traditional trading center
East (Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang)
The new economic center
Cities
China has many large and famous cities. Below is a list of the nine most important to travellers. Other cities are listed under their specific regional section. See the Dynasties and capitals section further down the page for a list of China's many previous capitals.
* Beijing - capital city, cultural center, and host of the 2008 Olympics. Beijing is the capital city of China and is a major tourist city with a fantastic railroad and highway system. Among its many attractions are The Great Wall and the Beijing Zoo with the best preserved section of The Great Wall located approximately 50 miles north at Badaling and the Beijing Zoo covering an area of 124 acres and housing such species as Giant Pandas, Monkeys and Brown Bears.
* Guangzhou - one of China's most prosperous and liberal cities
* Guilin - popular destination for both Chinese and foreign tourists, sensational mountain/river scenery
* Hangzhou - famously beautiful city, major center for the silk industry
* Kunming - capital of Yunnan, gateway to the villages of the ethnic minorities
* Nanjing - a renowned historical and cultural city with many historic relics
* Shanghai - famous for its riverside scenery, China's largest city is a major commercial center with many shopping opportunities. Shanghai is located on the southern banks of the mouth of the Yangtze River and is known as a shopping and gourmet paradise with many shopping areas and over 1,000 restaurants. There is also the Shanghai Museum and various Temples.
* Suzhou - "Venice of the East", old city, famous for canals and gardens
* Xi'an - terminus of the ancient Silk Road, captital of China during the Western Han and Tang Dynasties, and home of the terracotta warriors
You can travel to many of these cities using the lovely new fast trains. In particular, the Hangzhou - Shanghai - Suzhou - Nanjing line is a convenient way to see some historic areas.
Other destinations
Some of the most famous tourist attractions in China are:
* Great Wall of China
* Tibet
* Silk Road
* Hainan island, tropical paradise (??)
* Yangtze River - This river is the third longest waterway in the world and China's longest river which incudes the amazing Three Gorges with their magnificent scenery and majestic peaks.
UNESCO World Heritage sites:
* The Great Wall
* Mount Taishan
* Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (Forbidden City), Beijing, Shenyang
* Mogao Caves, Dunhuang
* Mausoleum of the First Qin Emporer (Xian)
* Peking Man site at Zhoukoudian
* Mount Huangshan
* Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve Scenic and Historic Interest Area
* Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area
* Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area
* Mountain Resort and its outlying Temples, Chengde
* Temple and cemetery of Confucius, and the Kong family mansion in Qufu
* Ancient building complex in the Wudang Mountains
* Historic ensemble of the Potala Palace, Lhasa: Potala Palace | Jokhang Temple Monastery | Norbulingka
* Lushan National Park
* Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area
* Old town of Lijiang
* Historic Centre of Macau
* Ancient city of Pingyao
* Classical gardens of Suzhou
* Summer Palace, an Imperial garden in Beijing
* Temple of Heaven: an Imperial sacrificial altar in Beijing
* Mount Wuyi
* Dazu - Buddhist carvings from 9th-13th century located in Chongqing municipality.
* Mount Qincheng and the Dujiangyan irrigation system, near Chengdu
* Ancient villages in Southern Anhui - Xidi and Hongcun
* Longmen Grottoes (Luoyang)
* Imperial tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties: Xianling tomb, Zhongxiang | Eastern Qing tombs, Zunhua | Western Qing tombs, Yixian and Baoding | Ming tombs, Changping | Xiaoling, Chang Yushun, Qiu Cheng, Wu Liang, Wu Zhen, Xu Da and Li Wenzhong tombs, Nanjing
* Yungang Grottoes (Datong)
* Three parallel rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas: Gaoligong and Yunling Mountains, Nujiang | Baimang-Meili and Haba Snow Mountains, Red and Qianghu Mountain, Diqing | Laowoshan, Nujiang and Diqing | Laojunshan, Lijiang
* Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom Huanren County (Liaoning Province) and (Ji’an, Jilin Province)
* Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries
* Yin Xu (Anyang)
* South China Karst, in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi Provinces
* Kaiping Diaolou and Villages
Sacred sites
Several sites in China have famous Buddhist art:
* Yungang Grottoes (near Datong) in Shanxi Province - more than 51,000 Buddhist carvings, dating back 1,500 years, in the recesses and caves of the Yangang Valley mountainsides
* Mogao Caves (near Dunhuang) in Gansu province - art and manuscripts dating back to the 4th century
* Dazu Rock Carvings near Chongqing, dating from the 7-13th century
* Longmen Grottoes - near Luoyang, 5-10th century
Driving in China
PRC laws say that foreign residents can have driver's licences and that an IDP can be converted to a local licence, possibly with an additional examination. Actually getting a license may be complicated. The particular complications seem to vary from place to place and over time. Some people have been asked to take a written test in Chinese. Others get a bilingual test form, or are allowed to bring a translator. Sometimes you can be excused the actual driving test if you have a foreign license, sometimes not. Some foreigners report that Chinese friends suggested a small gift to the local officials and it helped greatly; others have been told by their Chinese friends that such a move would be foolish and dangerous.
Rented cars often come with a driver; this is probably the best way to travel China by car. Driving in China is not recommended unless you are used to extremely chaotic driving conditions. Traffic moves on the right in mainland China. Many neighbours, such as India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan as well as the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau have traffic that moves on the left.
English directional signs are ubiquitous in Beijing, Shanghai and other major cities which see many Western tourists. However, they are spotty at best in other cities and virtually non-existent in the countryside. As such, it is always a good idea to have your destination written in Chinese before you set off so that locals can point you in the right direction should you get lost.
Road Conditions
The physical condition of roads and road maintenance varies greatly from municipality to municipality. WARNING to drivers and cyclists: it is not uncommon to find an open man hole cover or large crevice on a newly paved or otherwise smooth road.
Turning off of main roads may require technical off-road driving skills and equipment.
In major city roads traffic is often congested, even on the myriad of city ring roads (except those on the outer fringes of the city). Beijing comes in at the worst (comparatively), despite five ring roads and nine arterial expressways. Shanghai ranks relatively better, with elevated expressways and tunnels.
The congestion is far more complex than that in Western countries. Bicycles swarm everywhere. In many areas, there are also lots of motorcycles. In the smaller cities, anything from tractors to bullock carts may turn up.
China National Highways
Beijing municipality is the only administrative unit where tolls are not charged for China National Highways. Elsewhere, though, these are toll roads on the national, and sometimes on the provincial level as well.
G-level (national) China National Highways are a pleasure to drive on. The speed limit is 80 km/h (50 mph) but cars often zip at speeds over 100 km/h (62 mph), thanks to the relative absence of speed detection cameras.
S-level (provincial) highways may be less smooth to drive on. Unlike national highways, sometimes there is no central reservation or road separation, and you may be limited to one lane per direction.
X-level (county) highways are not necessarily the worst to drive on, but they are challenging. More challenging are township-level highways. Some of these roads may be in areas officially cordoned off to the visiting foreigner.
Expressways
Expressways and express routes in China are a godsend, with traffic signs in both English and Chinese, emergency facilities, service areas, sufficient filling stations, plenty of exits, high speed limits, and the relative lack of traffic jams.
Although in English, both express routes and expressways are referred to as "expressways", their Chinese counterparts are named differently. "Express routes" are written ????, whereas expressways are written as ????. The idea is that express routes liaise inside of cities and larger municipalities, whereas expressways do the national work, liaising from one centre to another.
Express routes have lower speed limits than expressways. In Beijing, a few expressways have speed limits below express routes: these are the Jingjintang Expressway (Beijing segment) and the Jingha Expressway (Beijing segment). They are clocked at 90 km/h (56 mph).
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