Hot answers tagged china
15
I'm Chinese so I can probably tell you this. As you're a foreigner they know already that you're not used to their culture. So, be yourself and you'll be fine. If anything, I guess it must be you to prepare for culture shock. As most of my foreigner friends complain about the spitting and toilets. So be prepared. Another thing is they smoke everywhere, if ...
9
China has lifted most of the restrictions on trade in Chinese currency, so it has been possible to (legally) obtain renminbi outside China for a few years. When entering and leaving China, you are allowed to bring 20,000 CNY in local currency (appr. 3,200 USD) and 5,000 USD or equivalent in foreign currency (source: Chinese Customs).
Assuming that you are ...
8
There's really only one choice: the Karakorum Highway.
Regular buses travel between last Pakistani town on the highway, Sust, and Kashgar. The only caveat is that the highway is subject to closure during the cold season, so it is best to arrange for travel before November. Sust is not a particularly nice place, so if possible try and get tickets before ...
8
Yes, yes it does. If you click layers on Google Maps, and the Wikipedia layer, you'll also get photos taken in the area. Several are from Panoramio, and are labelled "Zheng Cheng Gong" - see an example.
From Wikipedia:
Koxinga (Lord of the Imperial Surname) is the customary Western
spelling[8] of the popular appellation of Zheng Chenggong,
So it ...
7
Your visa will indicate how many times you are permitted to enter China under that visa. On the first line, there should be a field "ENTRIES" with a letter and a chinese character following it. If that letter is M, you are eligible for multiple entries. China also has single and double-entry visas; presumably, those would be the letters S and D respectively. ...
7
These are entirely different classes of travel. Portugal+Spain is an easy trip within the usual Western world, close to home and without any significant apparent dangers other than the usual pickpockets and the expensive Euro zone. You can easily get home if needed (regular flights from Madrid and Barcelona directly to TLV, connections through all around ...
7
Yes, you are usually required to submit flight and hotel reservations. They do not have to be paid reservations, so you can cancel them afterwards. (VisaRite has some handy samples of what is accepted.)
Nobody will care once you're in China as long as you stay out of sensitive regions in western China (Tibet, Tibetan bits of other provinces, Xinjiang, ...
6
Well a good way is to look for a site which specializes in independent reviews.
One such which specializes in accommodation and dining, is "tripadvisor".
I wasn't sure if they also covered reviews of tours but just in case I Googled for tripadvisor thedragontour and indeed they do cover it:
The Dragon Trip ... Ranked #15 of 39 tours in Shanghai
Now ...
6
I lived in Beijing for a couple months in 2008:
Get there at least 20-30 minutes before sunrise, you don't need to be there much earlier but having a bit of extra padding won't hurt.
I can't say for sure, but I don't think there will be much of a difference on International Workers Day.
Visit the Forbidden City. It's just across the street from the square. ...
6
There is no single answer for China. As with everything else, you have to know where you are and how to behave. Examples:
Be in a wet market and take a picture of a market vendor and the food. The vendor will most of the cases be proud and surprised that you take a photo. You make them very happy. Some others will be frustrated and ask you to buy their ...
6
Short:
Very few problems are likely when taking 'street photos' in China in most cases in most areas with even half sensible behaviour. People in China tend to be more likely to be happy with strangers taking their photo than do people in the West - presumably white face + large camera = tourist provides ample reason :-).
Parents and people minding ...
5
China and Taiwan, even though China does not officially acknowledge Taiwan's existence, do allow citizens from each others' country to visit. Yes, they have to jump through hoops, but it's allowed. In fact from what I've heard during my travels in Taiwan, there's a lot of economic interdependence between the two countries now.
I've also met travellers ...
5
Depends on the nationality of your passport but if its UK or American you should be fine (ie http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/asia/300230-any-problems-entering-china-w-taiwan-passport-stamp.html)
5
Your residence permit allows you to re-enter China. There is no need for an additional Z-Visa since the residence permit - as long as it is still valid - replaces the single-entry Z-Visa.
You can understand the Z-Visa as a gate-way visa to get your residence permit. It is not needed afterwards anymore. Your residence permit works as a multiple entry visa.
4
If you're with a local I think you'll be fine already. If I recall correctly there's one international hospital in Beijing so you should be ok in case of any emergency. http://www.thebeijinger.com/directory/china-japan-friendship-hospital
Also it would be nice if you learn some Chinese as talking to the locals might be difficult. Learn just to say "yes" and ...
4
Sounds like your main issue is whether or not you should apply for a Japanese visa before buying a plane ticket there. I would say this is the right way to go, and at worst you will be out the cost of the visa application fee.
Once you get your Japan visa, which you should apply for at least 2-4 weeks before you want to travel, then book your travel to ...
4
I had the best travel experiences, while traveling alone. I can at least confirm that China can be traveled alone.
Traveling alone is also the way to meet people. Buy yourself à lonely planet and you'll see that you'll have an instant new social network. You'll keep meeting people you already met in previous visited hostels/hotels/places
4
I would recommend Intrepid Travel. They do both urban and nature small group tours. While they don't focus 100% on under-30 travelers, that's their target group. I don't know of any company that does good singles-only group travel. There are a number of woman-only room sharing companies but that doesn't sound like what you were looking for.
4
Currently, the most safe region is Hunza and towards China.
Take a NACTO bus from Gilgit city. I don't think there any any issues related to security in the region.
Afghanistan and Kashmir are not on the way to China :)
The people there live above 2000m altitude, no terrorist can breath in these regions :).
To enjoy and know more be with a local.
4
It will be difficult. It is not even possible to drive with a Hong Kong license plates in China. There, you need to get a Guangdong transit License plate, which you do not want to pay for. For Hong Kong vehicles for example the prices are astronomical (currently around 100K USD).
So in the end it depends on the provinces you want to cross. Each province is ...
4
China is notorious for having much heavier tourism during public holidays. I would expect much more people than the other days. Here is an image from the 2012 labor day flag raising:
This here is from the forbidden city 30th April 2012:
And this here from the great wall May 1st:
I would therefore strongly advise you NOT to go there before 4th of May. You ...
4
In fact, there are some China visa policies since 2013, and one of them is the Visa Exemption for Pearl River Delta RegionVisa Free To China, saying that:
Visitors travelling in a group, upon arrival in Hong Kong, can get a group Visa or 144-hour Convenient Visa to travel to Guangdong Province. This is a separate piece of paper (not attached to any ...
4
I've been living in Shenzhen, China, for over a year, here's my experience:
VPN: I believe a safe choice now would be www.julyrush.com. It's the one I've used the most and it works reasonably well.
The most stable protocol is usually Cisco IPSec, since it seems that it's the one with which the Great Firewall has the hardest time blocking, so try to get ...
4
One would always have to take news with the grain of salt they are in the business of selling themselves and keeping you glued to the screen/radio/computer.
According to WHO there is no ongoing evidence of human to human transmission so one would need to take caution as far as handling the birds and as far as general hygiene is concerned but as of today ...
4
What you have to know about bird flu is that it is first of all a transmission issue between live birds to humans, and then from those humans to others. So the people affected in the first line are the ones who go to open markets or deal with livestock. If you need to go to such markets or deal with live poultry, you might want to take a distance from this ...
4
It primarily depends on where you apply for a visa and secondarily on what your nationality is.
Visa requirements for China differ from embassy to embassy. Typically, in 'the west' they are less strict.
You will, most likely be asked to hand over your flight plan, with proof, for entering and leaving the country and you might be asked to show some proof ...
4
I assume you are applying for your first tourist (L) visa. I did provide my hotel for my very first visa (a double entry), however for subsequent visas (such as the one year version) I have not been asked by my agent to provide any itinerary at all.
Also note that the Chinese visa requirements can change at short notice. My experience is current, and other ...
3
I have travelled alone to Cuba, Spain and China and I didn't have any problems in any of those countries. Like the previous answers have stated, Cuba would not be a wise choice for that time of year. Otherwise, that would have been my first choice. Spain and Portugal are easy places to travel in. China, on the other hand was a little more challenging to get ...
3
There are loads of tour companies that accommodate single travellers. I find it best to read up about the tour company before hand, some companies have a reputation for being all about partying and not about sight seeing and some, the opposite.
With any review make sure it's recent and for the same region as your going to. For example, a Contiki America ...
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