Visas

Visas are required for all foreigners.
Application of a tourist visa requires travel information including return airline ticket, hotel booking and itinerary in China.
A single or double entry visa is usually valid for entry within 3 months from the date of issue.
Multi-entry visas are normally valid for 6 months and only issued according to official invitation letters for business visitors.

Money Matters

The official currency of China is the Renminbi (RMB).
The basic unit is known as the yuan.
A yuan is divided into 10 jiao.
A jiao is subdivided into 10 fen.

The Bank of China issues RMB notes in denominations of 2, 5, 10, 50 and 100 yuan and notes in values of 1 yuan, 5 jiao and 1, 2 and 5 fen.

Foreign Currency and Travelers' Checks:

They can be changed at the main branches of the Bank of China, major hotels, Friendship Stores, and major department stores.
Exchange receipts should be kept to enable the conversion of any remaining RMB at the end of your trip.
The exchange rate for travelers'checks is more favorable than that of cash.
Thomas Cook, American Express and bank of America are generally accepted.

Credit Cards:

Their acceptability is improving in China.
Branches of major credit card companies are located in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen.

Tipping

This is not practiced in mainland China.
Consumer taxes are included in the price tag of goods but big hotels and fine restaurants may charge a service tax of 10% or more.
Tip only upon receiving the service.
As a foreigner, the locals may overcharge you.
Bargaining is expected almost everywhere except in larger stores.

Health Matters

Immunization is not required for visitors to China except for yellow fever if coming from parts of Africa and South America. Vaccinations might be considered for cholera, hepatitis A and B, Japanese encephalitis, polio, rabies and typhoid. The common cold is of particularly high incidence in China and visitors are advised to bring along a few cold remedies.

Medical services are generally cheap in China and foreigners are likely to get better service than regular Chinese patients.

Electricity

The supply is at 220V, 50 AC. Plugs can be three-pronged angled, three-pronged round, two flat pins, or two narrow round pins. Conversion plugs may be difficult to find in China.

Telecommunications

Domestic calls are relatively cheap and can be made from public pay phones or privately run phone booths. Hotels usually allow local calls to be made free. International calls are usually not possible from the phone booths and can be made from main communications offices. It is often cheaper to make a reverse charged call if the call is international, as Chinese international call rates are generally quite high.

Popular Places in Beijing 
 
History

500,000 years ago, Beijing was a centre trading town for the Mongols, Koreans and tribes from Shandong and central China. The city was ground by Genghis Khan around 1200 AD, he passed on to his grandson Kublai Khan as Dadu, or Great Capital. In 14th century, Zhu Yanhang take over the city and ushering in the Ming Dynasty. The city was renamed Beiping and for the next 35 years the capital was shifted to Nanjing. When Beiping was announced as capital, it was renamed to Beijing. Under the Manchu invaders in the 17th century, Beijing was thoroughly renovated and expanded. In 1949, Mao Zedong's proclamation of a `People's Republic' in Tiananmen Square, there begin the Communists.

Beijing is located in the north-eastern part of China. The city limits of Beijing extend to 80km , including the urban and the suburban areas and the nine counties under its administration. Beijing municipality has a total area of 16,800 sq km, is a place of very orderly design. Places of interest are either very easy to find if they're situated on the avenues, or very difficult to find if they're situated down the narrow alleys. The Beijing Municipality is carved up into 10 districts and eight counties.

Forbidden City
The Forbidden City is the biggest and the most preserved ancient buildings in China. The old world of beautiful concubines and priapic emperors, eunuchs and conspicuous wealth, still hovers around the lush gardens, courtyards, pavilions and great halls of the palace. Most of the buildings are post-18th century. A permanent restoration squad takes about 10 years to renovate its 720,000sq metres, 800 buildings, and 9000 rooms, by which time it's time to start all over again.

Summer Palace
The Summer Palace with its cool features - water, gardens and hills - was place of choice for vacationing emperors and Dowager Empresses in the old times. Today, the place is packed in summer with Beijing residents taking full advantage of Kunming Lake which takes up three quarters of the park. The main building is the lyrically named Hall of Benevolence & Longevity, while along the north shore is the Long Corridor. It is named as "Long Corridor because there are over 700m (2300ft) of corridor, filled with mythical paintings and scenes.

Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square is Mao's creation, as is Chang'an Jie. It was a gathering place and the site of government offices in the imperial days. Today the square is a place for people to wander and fly kites or buy balloons for the kids. Surrounding or studding the square is a mish-mash of monuments past and present: Tiananmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace), the Chinese Revolution History Museum, the Great Hall of the People, Qianmen (Front Gate), the Mao Mausoleum, where you can purchase Mao memorabilia, and the Monument to the People's Heroes.

Tiantan Park
Tiantan Park is an icon of the entire city, set in a 267 hectares park, with four gates at the cardinal points, and abounded by walls to the north and east. All of the buildings in the park, including the Round Altar, the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests are tangible conversations between the gods and mortals. Thel construction is an awesome display of god in the architecture and the devil in the detail. Tiantan Park remains an important meeting place and many city dwellers start the day with a spot of t'ai chi, dancing or game-playing in the park. By 9am, come and visit this park, you will be able to see what Beijingers do before breakfast.

The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall was originally built 2000 years ago by the Qing dynasty.Today it's a tourist attraction and the Wonder of the World. Majority of visitors climb the wall at Badaling, along with the tourist packs, the touts, and the sellers. If you want to experience the wall far from this madding crowd, you'd do better to travel a little farther and take a walk on the wilder side of the Huanghua section, 60km north of Beijing. It's a classic and well-preserved example of Ming dynastry.