
Collected and Archived by: China News Digest (cnd-ib@cnd.org)
(Bo Xiong)

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Subject: The Internet Travel Guide - China  (FAQ)
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From: geiser.peter@ch.swissbank.com (Peter M. Geiser)
Date: 9 Oct 1995 06:58:53 GMT
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Summary: This is a brief travel guide to China. It provides the reader with
 relatively new information about travel related subjects.
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Last-modified: 1995-10-08

                                   CHINA

                          The Internet Travel Guide

**************************************************************************

COPYRIGHT NOTICE:

The information provided within this document is the property of the
original authors. The author especially reserves the right to the
exclusive use of the term "The Internet Travel Guide". Following the
common practice of the Internet, this document may be freely redistributed
without any modification whatsoever.

However, it may NOT be sold for profit or included in any commercial
documents (e. g. books, esp. guide books,magazines, WWW-pages, or any
other form) without the prior written permission of the copyright
holders. This permission is only valid for the published version at the
time the permission was granted; it does not extend into the future.


Please direct questions, suggestions, comments and flames to

geiser.peter@ch.swissbank.com

Last change: 8. October 1995

**************************************************************************

The main objective of this FAQ is to provide the reader with the newest
travel information available, like what is the current situation on visa,
where to stay and what prices are reasonable, etc. It is not a guide to
the Chinese culture or history (although I started to include some
information about those subjects as well), for these non-changing facts
are much more pleasanlty presented in many good books (see the list in
section 4 in this FAQ).

Remember: Things change very fast, so by the time you get to China the
information in this FAQ may be outdated. If you encounter this, please
bear with me. Instead of being upset, rather share your experiences with
other people on the net. The next tourist will thank you if he or she can
rely on your new information. Also, if you find time during your travels
to write a postcard or a letter to me, I would greatly apreciate it.

Some paragraphs are led by the name of the author in brackets. This
doesn't mean that these are their only contributions, but rather that I
in that case I chose to leave the words as the author wrote them, adding
a more personal note to the FAQ.

**************************************************************************

CONTENTS
 
 1. GENERAL OVERVIEW
 1.1 GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
 1.2 CLIMATE
 1.3 PEOPLE
 1.4 HISTORY
 1.5 VISA
 1.6 EMBASSIES
 1.7 BORDER CROSSING
 1.8 MONEY
 1.9 MAIL
 1.10 ACCOMMODATION
 1.11 FOOD
 1.12 HEALTH

 2. TRANSPORTATION
 2.1 FLYING
 2.2 TRAIN
 2.3 BOAT
 2.4 BUS
 2.5 BICYCLE

 3. PLACES
     BEIJING
     CHANG CHENG (GREAT WALL)
     SHAOLIN MONASTERY
     XIAN
     URUMQI
     NANJING
     SHANGHAI
     HANGZHOU
     CHANG JIANG (YANGTSE)
     CHONGQING
     CHENGDU
     JIUZHAIGUO
     EMEI SHAN
     KUNMING
     GUILIN
     YANGSHOU
     GUANGZHOU (CANTON)
     SHENZHEN

 4. LITERATURE
 4.1 GUIDEBOOKS
 4.2 TRAVELLERS TALES
 4.3 HISTORICAL/ POLITICAL
 4.4 CHINESE CLASSICS
 4.5 AUTOBIOGRAPHY
 4.6 NOVELS
 4.7 MOVIES
 4.8 INTERNET

 A. CONTRIBUTORS

**************************************************************************

1. GENERAL OVERVIEW

1.1 GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Area          9'596'960 km2
Capital       Beijing
Borders       Afghanistan (76 km), Bhutan (470 km), Hong Kong (30 km),
              India (3380 km), Kazakhstan (1533 km), North Korea
              (1416 km), Kyrgyzstan (858 km), Laos (423 km), Macau
              (0.34 km), Mongolia (4673 km), Myanmar (2185 km), Nepal
              (1236 km), Pakistan (523 km), Russia (northeast)
              (3605 km), Russia (northwest) (40 km), Tadshikistan
              (414 km), Vietnam (1281 km)
              coastline 14500 km
Highest point Zhumulamafeng (Mt. Everest), 8848 m

Time          GMT plus eight hours

Measures      Metric
Electricity   220 V, 50 Hz

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2 CLIMATE

China is a huge country with a big variety of local climats. There is not
really a 'best' time to visit.

The north is rather dry, and quite cold in the winter.

In the south, the summers are hot and humid. There are ocasional typhoons
between July and September.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.3 PEOPLE

Population      1190 mio (est. July 1994) (annual growth rate 1.08%)
                92% Han Chinese, many minorities including Zhuang, Uygur,
                Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean
Life expectancy 68 years
Language        The official language within China is the Putonghua
                (Mandarin, based on the Beijing dialect.) Yue
                (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan
                (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority
                languages
Religion        Officially, China is atheistic, but religions are (again)
                tolerated. Mostly Daoism and Buddhism, often a blend
                between the two. 2% - 3% Muslim, 1% Chrisitan

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.4 HISTORY

(Thanks to Wuchun for this section)

                A brief Chinese chronology

Xia                          about 2100 b.c. -- 1600 b.c.
        *Hua Xia is used today by Chinese referring to China

Shang                        about 1600 b.c. -- 1100 b.c.
        *There is a very famous ancient book (written in Ming)
         about the end of Shang _Feng1 Shen2 Yan3 Yi4_
         (Yan Yi == historical novel)

Zhou
        Western Zhou          about 1100 b.c. -- 771 b.c.
        Eastern Zhou                 770 b.c. -- 226 b.c.
            Spring/Autumn            770 b.c. -- 476 b.c.
            Warring States           475 b.c. -- 221 b.c.
        *Western and eastern Zhou are the same dynasty, ruled by the
         same family.  The difference was eastern Zhou moved the capital
         to an eastern city.
        *Spring/Autumn time was one of the most important time in Chinese
         history.  Most Chinese philosophies developed at this time. Among
         them are: Confucianism and Taoism.
        *_Art of War_ was written at this time by Sun Zi
        *Eastern Zhou was very weak, and was divided into lots of smaller
         states (and bigger states, such as Jin, was later divided into
         several states) fighting with each other.
        *The account of this period of history was later written by
         Sima Qian of Han dynasty.  Shi3 Ji4 is one of the best Chinese
         history and literature book.  Lots of its section were in the
         literature text book.  Every Chinese is supposed to read it :)
        *Another book, "Dong Zhou Li Guo Zi" (How Eastern Zhou States
         Created), is supposed to be the text book for politicians.

Qin                            221 b.c. -- 207 b.c.
        *Perhaps the darkest time in Chinese history.  Qin was one of the
         warring state, but managed to united China again.  The worst
         thing they did was all the books were ordered to be burned.
        *Qin started building the Great Wall, although the one we see now
         was rebuilt much later in Ming.

Han
        Western Han            206 b.c. -- 24
        Eastern han             25 -- 220
        *Again, the two are considered to be the same dynasty.  Eastern
         Han had its capital in todays Luo-yang (Luo is a river. Yang
         refers to the shadow of river bank here, which means north of
         river Luo) which is EAST of the old capital, todays Xian.
        *The so called Han Chinese used when trying to distinguish other
         minorities inside China came from here.
        *China became strong at this time, especially after Wu Di.
        *Dong Zhongsu advised Wu Di to use Confucianism as the ONLY
         philosophy.  Other novel ideas developed at eastern Zhou
         was only only discouraged, but outlawed.  I list Dong most
         worst only next to Qin Shi Hunag.
         *China had many wars with Hun on north.  Wu Di started a new way
         of solving the problem: sending his daughter as wife of Hun Khan.

Three Kingdoms
        Wei                     220 -- 265
        Shu Han                 221 -- 263
        Wu                      222 -- 280
        *Once again, the last emperor could and control the kingdom again.
         China was divided into three parts fighting to be the Son of
         Heaven.
        *Three Kingdoms is a very famous historical novel about this period.

Jin                             265 -- 420
        *The winner of the fighting was the powerful general of Wei whose
         son started Jin dynasty.

Northern/Southern Dynasties
        *Jin did not have a good contral of China either.  China was
         divided in all kind of combinations.
   Southern Dynasties:
        Song                     420 -- 479
        Qi                       479 -- 502
        Liang                    502 -- 557
        Chen                     557 -- 589
   Northern Dynasties:
        Northern Wei             386 -- 534
        Eastern Wei              534 -- 550
        Northern Qi              550 -- 577
        Western Wei              535 -- 556
        Northern Zhou            557 -- 581

        *Some kings in northern dynasties were not Han.

Sui                              581 -- 618
        *Like Qin, this is a very short dynasty ruled by very cruel
         emperors.
        *But bad reader seems like to make big things. The longest channel
         was built at this time just like Great Wall was built in Qin.

Tang                             618 -- 907
        *This is perhaps the best time in Chinese time.  The oversea
         Chinese in early days like to use Tang Shan referring to their
         homeland.
        *Many good poems were written in this time.  I believe no one 
         so far has been able to top the great poets at that time.
        *Tnag was a very liberal (perhaps most liberal) period in Chinese
         history.

Five Dynasties
        Later Liang              907 -- 923
        Later Tang               923 -- 936
        Later Jin                936 -- 946
        Later Han                947 -- 950
        Later Zhou               951 -- 960
        *Can you believe the speed of dynasty change here?

Song
        Northern Song            960 -- 1127
        Southern Song           1127 -- 1279
        *Song is the turning point of Chinese history (More actually,
         after Song Shen Zong). The society became conservative from then.
         Lots of bad Chinese traditions started from here.
        *Zu Xi carried Confucianism forward.
        *Ci2, poetry written to certain tunes with strict tonal pattern
         and rhyme schemes in fixed number of lines and words, was
         fully developed now.   
        *Song was not a strong dynasty in history. It was consistently
         invaded by others from north.  Song was in war with Liao and was
         later defeated by Jin at north.  Song retreated to south of
         Yangtze. This was why northern and southern Song was named.
        *During southern Song period, north part of China was ruled
         by Jin (1115 -- 1234)

Yuan                            1271 -- 1368
        *Jin had not had the trance to win Song.  Mongolian was the 
         winner after all.
        *Chinese culture was preserved under Mongolian ruling.  It was
         Mongolian who were affected by Chinese culture.  
        *It was the time Chinese opera developed.
        *Beijing was the capital for the first time.

Ming                            1368 -- 1644
        *The Great Wall was rebuilt.  It was what we see today.
        *In literature, the novel was fully developed at this time.
         Some of the novels, such as Three Kingdoms, were the best ever.
        *In late Ming, the so called capitalism buds started in some
         developed areas such as lower Yangtze Delta.  Some quite big
         silk-making shops with one hundred some employee were recorded.

Qing                            1644 -- 1911
        *China was ruled by non-Han once again.
        *Although China started becoming conservative after Song, Qing
         made the development stopped.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.5 VISA

There are visa of various length. I have seen visa for 30, 90 and even 120
days. You normally get a visa from the embassy.

In Hong Kong, go to CITS (China International Travel Service), located in
Peking Streen in Tshim Sa Tsui. It takes up to three days (the shorter the
more expensive) to get a 90 days visa and costs about HKD 380.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.6 EMBASSIES

CHINESE EMBASSIES ABROAD

Australia
247 Federal Highway, Watson, Canberra, 2602 ACT

Laos
Wat Nak St., Vientiane, Tel 315100, 315101, 315103

Switzerland
Embassy:   Kalcheggweg 10, 3006 Bern, Tel (031) 3527334
Consulate: Bellariastr. 20, 8038 Zurich, Tel (01) 2011005, 2011073

USA
Embassy:   2300 Connecticut Av. NW, Washington DC 20008, Tel (202) 3282500
Consulate: 520 - 12th Avenue, New York 10036, Tel (212) 2794275
Consulate: 104 So. Michigan Av., Suite 900, Chicago 60603,
           Tel (213) 3802507
Consulate: 3417 Montrose Blvd., Houston, Tel (713) 5244311
Consulate: 1450 Laguna St., San Francisco 94115, Tel (415) 5634885
Consulate: 502 Shto Place, Suite 300, Los Angeles 90020, Tel (213) 3802507

Vietnam
Embassy:   46 Hoang Dieu St., Tel 253736, 253737

FOREIGN EMBASSIES IN CHINA

Laos
N23 Halgeng Rd., Room 501, Kunming, Tel 4141678 Ext 501-503, Fax 414396
11 Sanlifun Dongsijie, Beijing, Tel 5321224

Myanmar
Embassy:   No. 6, Dongzhi Men Wa Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing,
           Tel 5321584, 53521425
Consulate: 3rd Floor, Building No. 3, Camellia Hotel, No. 154
           East Dong Feng Road, Kunming 650041, Yunnan, Tel 3176609,
           3176309

Switzerland
Sanlitun Dongwujie 3, Beijing, Tel (10) 5322736/ 8, Fax (10) 5324353

USA
Diplomatic representation: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, Beijing, Tel (1) 5323831,
Fax (1) 5323178

Vietnam
32 Guangua Lu, Jianguomenwai Dajie, Beijing, Tel 5321125

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.7 BORDER CROSSING

You will have to fill out a form declaring all your valuables. You will
be required to keep one copy in order to exit the country.


Hong Kong

An easy way to cross into China is coming from Hong Kong. There are
several possibilities: by plane, by train, by bus of by boat. There are
four planes daily that take 35 minutes and cost HKD 500. The trains take
some 2.5 hours, while the bus need 4.5 hours. Two boats are available, a
jetfoil (3 hours), and an overnight ferry (about HKD 200.)

There is a boat between Shanghai and Hong Kong. It takes three days and
provides relaxation between two bustling cities.


Japan

There is a ferry service between Nagasaki and Shanghai. The ferry doesn't
run every day.
Leave Nagasaki      10:00
Arrive Shanghai     16:00 Next Day
Leave Shanghai      11:00
Arrive Nagasak      9:00 Two Days Later

The fares for one way and one person are per berth:

Special A class   JPY 41000
Special B class   JPY 37000
1A class          JPY 30600
1B class          JPY 25200
2B class          JPY 20700

Another ferry service runs from Kobe to Shanghai.


Vietnam
It is possible to cross from Vietnam at Ping Xiang. The railway doesn't
run through, however, so you have to walk or take a ride on a motocycle.

>From Kunming there is a train to Hekou where you can cross the bridge (by
foot) to Lao Cai.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.8 MONEY

The currency is the Chinese Yuan, divided into 10 jiao or 100 fen.

The exchange rate is about USD 1 = 8.3 CNY (Sep 1995)
(Historical development: 8.7 in Jan 1994, 5.762 in 1993, 5.5146 in 1992,
5.3234 in 1991, 4.7832 in 1990, 3.7651 in 1989)

The FEC (Foreign Exchange Certificate) was finally abolished in January
1994.

The disappearance of the FEC also caused the black market to virtually
disappear.

Travellers cheques denominated in most major currencies are accepted
in every bank. You normally get a better exchange rate than for cash.

Most larger hotels, restaurants and department stores accept credit cards.

There is an American Express business travel center in the Swissotel
Beijing Hong Kong - Macao Center in Beijing. It is a cooperative effort
between American Express and China International Travel Service (CITS).
American Express has four other travel service offices in Beijing,
Shanghai, Xiamen and Guangzhou and 23 representative offices throughout
China.

Remeber to always bargain. Chinese people are very good business people
that can smell money when it's lying around. They consider Westeners to be
living and walking money bags. Even if it is sometimes a nuisance, they
reason that even if you pay several times the price that a local pays, you
still can afford it. Always ask for the price first, especially in
restaurants. Otherwise you could end up having ordered this 'really
special soup' that costs you USD 100 (one hundred, no typing mistake, it
happened to a friend of mine!)

If you have a Chinese student card, you will be able to get Chinese prices
on public transport, etc. But since not many officials are sure how these
cards look like exactly, you can try to show an international student ID.
Once you get Chinese price tickets, keep them. Show them as a reference
that you are indeed 'entitled' to Chinese prices.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.9 MAIL

Post offices are efficiently run and very reliable. During the three
months I was in China I mailed 11 parcels and all of them arrived,
their contents complete. One or two things were broken, but from what
I packed I expected much more damage.

Surface mail to Switzerland takes about three to four weeks.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.10 ACOMMODATION

In China dormitories are widely known and by far the cheapest place. They
are generally ok. It is possible to get reasonable priced single or double
rooms. And then there are some very fine luxury hotels, with both, the
service and the prices being the same as in Western countries.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.11 FOOD

China has a variety of different local cuisines. It can be categorised
into the following main areas: Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan and Cantonese.
Shanghaiese and Cantonese are dominated by sea food, whereas the northern
Beijing style is leaning more towards noodles. Sichuan is very spicy.

Hou Guo
The Mongolian Firepot is available in Sichuan and in the north. It is
really hot (spicy), and certainly worth the experience.

Yoghurt
China has some of the best youghurt I ever had. They are sold on the
street in glasses and you drink (!) them with a straw. Make sure to
return the glass.

Don't drink tap water. Even in the smallest guest houses in the remotest
villages there are thermos bottles with boilt water. It is used to drink
tea. Beer is also available everywhere, as well as many soft drinks. Apart
from the well known American products like Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, etc.
there are many local versions of sweet lemonade. They are much cheaper
and cause no health problems.

Beer
There are numerous local brands available, the most famous being Tsingdao.
They are not only cheaper than the foreign ones, but most of the time
even better. Some brands I liked most: Yanqing, Nanqing, Emei. Avoid
'Pacific Ocean'; I would prefer the real thing (i.e. the Pacific Ocean
water).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.12 HEALTH

Chinese people are very aware of health problems. The Chinese medicine is
world famous and obtainable even in the smallest villages. However,
Western medicine is not very widely available.

Don't drink tap water. Even in the smallest guest houses in the remotest
villages there are thermos bottles with boilt water. It is used to drink
tea. See also section about drinking.

Malaria
Only in the south western part of China is malaria a problem. For the
rest of China you don't need to worry about it.
Malaria (from French 'mal air', bad air) is an infection of the blood
caused by the bite of moscitoes (Anopheles). The decay of the red blood
cells causes fever. Depending on the type of malaria these fever shocks
appear every three (malaria tertiana) or four (malaria quartana). Death
rate of malaria is less than 1%.
There have been many discussions on how to best deal with it and even
the doctors have not yet agreed on a single opinion. There are people
who vote strongly in favour of using prophylactics such as Lariam. Apart
from possible side-effects (like mental problems, nightmares, and a
higher photo-sensitivity of the skin), these drugs do not prevent you
getting malaria. You still have to go to a doctor and they make
treatment more difficult. Another problem is that the strains of malaria
get resistant after some time and another strain has developed for which
a cure still has to be found and the native population is not yet
resistant.
Another possibility, recomendable especially for longer trips or for
sensitive people is to carry an emergency package with you. If using
Lariam, an example, you use three pills as soon as you feel malaria
coming up, after twelve hours you take another two and after another
twelve hours the last pill. You have to go to a doctor as soon
aspossible.
 The most effective way to prevent malaria are mosquitoe repellant
(possibly with at least 20% DEET, or citronella.) Since mosquitoes are
only active after sundown and before sunset, make sure you wear
clothes that cover the skin and use a good mosquitoe net.

**************************************************************************

2. TRANSPORTATION

Generally, there is no need for travel permits. It may still be a problem
to get into Tibet, though. And if you stray from the main paths, make sure
you don't go to one of the few 'forbidden' areas.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.1 FLYING

There are four flights daily from Hong Kong to Guilin (HKD 500.)

There are now several Chinese airlines that operate within China. They
have split from the former CAAC. One is Shanghai Airlines, another is
China Southern. Both use Boeing 767.

There are different prices for foreigners and local people.

Some plane prices:

Guangzhou      Guilin          CNY  600
Shanghai       Hong Kong       CNY 1450
Shanghai       Shanzen         CNY 1100

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.2 TRAIN

There are four classes available: Soft sleeper, hard sleeper, soft seater,
and hard seater. Soft sleepers are four bed compartments with nice sheets
and generally good comfort. Hard sleepers are open six bed niches with no
door towards the corridor. Only a sheet is provided, but generally people
are much nicer (not beeing high comunist cadres or successful business
people). Soft seaters are very comfortable. Hard seaters are the lowest
class of them all, but also the cheapest. In contrast to the other
classes, there is no limit on how many people will travel. Even though
there are reservations one is supposed to move together, so that as many
people as possible are able to sit.

There are two prices for local people and foreigners. Foreigners pay 2 to
3 times the price of a local person. However, there is an exeception to
that rule: if you reside in China (e.g. as a student) you pay Chinese
price. It's not too difficult to pretend being a student, especially if
you speak a little Chinese.

At some place there is a black market for Chinese price tickets. The worst
that can happen to you is that the train personnel doesn't believe you're

Tickets are somtimes quite limited, so the best thing is to book your next
ticket at the same day you arrive at some place. If you stay at one place
for a couple of days don't forget to book at least two to three days
before your planned departure.

A good idea is to buy a railroad guide at one of the stations.

TIMETABLES

>From Beijing to Xian
 Train #   Depart      Arrive         Hard sleep fare    Soft sleep fare
     75      9:22    3:04 (2nd day)        81.00             160.00
     41     13:30    6:17 (2nd day)        81.00             160.00
    163     17:04   12:44 (2nd day)        74.00             153.00
     35     19:04   14:42 (2nd day)        80.00             156.00
     69     21:24   14:10 (2nd day)        81.00             160.00
      7     23:15   15:31 (2nd day)        81.00             160.00

>From Xian to Suzhou
 192/189     9:05    9:19 (2nd day)        83.00             173.00
 108/105     9:40   11:01 (2nd day)        83.00             173.00
 178/175    13:25   13:41 (2nd day)        83.00             173.00
 140/137    20:30   20:22 (2nd day)        83.00             173.00
  54/51     23:18   21:23 (2nd day)        91.00             181.00

>From Hangzhou to Guilin
     79     21:55    0:57 (3rd day)        91.00             181.00
    179     22:49    6:56 (3rd day)        83.00             173.00

>From Suzhou to Hangzhou
                                      Hard seat fare     Soft seat fare
 155/158     2:06    6:26                  13.00              21.00
   87/90     4:54    9:48                  15.00              23.00
 105/108    11:01   16:37                  13.00              21.00
      31    14:44   19:16                  15.00              23.00
 Tour  5     8:22   12:45                  32.00              49.00
 Tour 11    15:25   19:56                  32.00              49.00

The train from Guangzhou to Guilin takes 17 hours.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.3 BOAT

Boat trips are probably the nicest way of travelling through China.

The most important route is on the Chang Jiang (Yangtse) between Shanghai
and Chung Qing.

For travellers coming from Hong Kong and travelling through Guangzhou
(Canton) to Guilin, there is a combined ticket of boat and bus, costing
CNY 77 (buy the ticket directly at the ticket booth where the boat
leaves.) The boat goes to Wuzhou, where you have to change into a bus.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.4 BUS

There are two main type of busses: city busses and overland busses. Both
run frequently and are very cheap, but uncomfortable.

For a city bus you have to pay only some Jiao (less than CNY 1). Since
these busses are extremely crowded, you have to be very careful of
pickpockets. Take your bags in front of you, so that nobody can cut it
open.

The bus net is very extensive and the fares are quite low. There are no
differences between local and foreigner prices.

When going overland, try not to sit in the front of the bus. Within the
cities, I always thought that the horn was very loud, until I travelled
overland. There the honking was almost continous and deafening.

There is a bus from Golmud to Lhasa which takes about 40 hours on a bumpy
road.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.5 BICYCLE

One of the best ways to see a place is by bicycle. Chinese cities seem to
be made for cycling. You can rent a bicycle at your hotel or at one of the
many shops. It is only a couple of yuans per day.

**************************************************************************

3. PLACES

BEIJING

Beijing is the capital of China. It offers such a wide array of
attractions that one can easily spend a whole week without getting bored.
Some of the main attractions are:

Tiananmen Square
'The Square of The Gate of Heavenly Peace' is reportedly the largest
square of the world, with 1 km2. It is framed by the 'Great Hall of the
People' on its west side and the 'Museum of Chinese History' and 'Museum
of the Chinese Revolution' on the east. On the south part is 'Chairman
Mao's Mausoleum'.
At the north side is the entrance to the

Imperial Palace
The palace of the former emperors of the Qing dynasty is also called the
'Forbidden City'. This name is derived from the fact that nobody was
allowed inside the city, except the emperor himself, his wifes and
concubines and the eunuchs. The entrance is on the north side of the
Tienanmen Square.

Jinshan Park
Just behind the Imperial Palace is the Jinshan Park. On top of the hill is
a pagoda where you get a good view over the Imperial Palace and the city.

Bei Hai Park
Located just west of the Forbidden City, this park is set on the shores of
a nice lake. Its bright white pagoda on top of a hill is visible quite far
and dominates the park.

Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan)
The best time to see this park is when it opens at 6:30. It is a good
place to see Chinese people doing their numerous morning activities like
Taiqi, martial arts, ballroom dancing, playing musical instruments,
Mahjiang and Chinese Chess.

Lama Temple (Yong He Gong)
Located in the north of the city is the Lama Temple.

Summer Palace (Yu He Yuan)
The summer palace has been built be the mother of the last emperor, Xi Qi.
It is a pleasant garden with numerous imperial buildings on the whore of
a lake. The whole garden has been built out of taxes raised for building
a marine for China. o that nobody could accuse her of not building any
ships, the Emperor Dowager built one marble ship at a jetty.
It takes about an hour from the center to the Summer Palace.


Hotels

The main tourist hangout is the Qiao Yuan Hotel in the south of the city,
just opposite the Taoranting Park. It is near the Yongdingmen Railway
Station. However, it's currently undergoing major renovations, so the
remaining space may already be full.

Another cheap, but good place is the Long Tan Hotel, just opposite the
Long Tan Park.


Food

Along the canal near the Qiao Yuan Hotel are many small restaurants that
cater to the special needs of budget travellers (i.e. cheap meals and
beer, fixed prices on a menu, so there is no haggling, laundry service,
black market railway tickets, etc.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANG CHENG (GREAT WALL)

The Chinese Wall or Great wall was built as a protection against the
Mongols from the north. It has been built in several stages and was at its
prime time more than 8000 km long. Today, most of it is in a state of bad
disrepair, and at some stretches even nearly invisible. However, the
Chinese government has recognised its value as a tourist attraction and a
place of historical significance, so it's starting to restore at least
part of it. There are several spots to visit it.

Ba Da Ling
The most famous and best known is Ba Da Ling. It is located 70 km north-
west from Beijing and easily reachable by tours. The wall is well
restored, but also extremely crowded.

Ming Ling
Less impressive than Ba Da Ling, but also less crowded.

Mu Tian Yu
Less crowded than Ba Da Ling, this place is very scenic.

It is possible to walk along parts of the wall. You have to get
permission if you want to go astray the usual tourist spots. Also, in
theory you'd have to get permission to camp outside (but you're probably
better off not mentioning your plans.)

It is possible to ride a mountain bike over at least parts of the great
wall. Getting permission requires a _lot_ of red tape with the
government. Since the wall is not too well preserved for most of its
lenght you will have to bring more than enough repair material with you.
Your tires are likely to get punctured more than 20 or 30 times a day.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHAOLIN MONASTERY

The Shaolin monastery is said to have been the home of monks that
developed the Shaolin Kung Fu. Nowadays it is one of the big tourist
attractions with Chinese spurred on by recent movies set in this
monastery.

Nowadays, there is a school for martial arts in the surrounding
buildings. When I was there, I was astonished at the huge number of
classes full of eager students learning martial arts. There must be
several hundreds, if not thousands, at any one time.

The easiest way to go to this monastery is to use one of the many tour
busses from Zhengzhou.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
XIAN

Xian was in olden times the capital of China and the biggest city in the
world. Nowadays it is only a small part of its former self. It has a lot
of Muslim, adding an interesting shade to the cuisine. Don't miss the
market!

Terracotta Warriors
In 1974, some peasants digging a well uncovered one of the greatest
archeological sites in the world. In the tomb of Qin Shihuang, the first
emperor of China built himself a memorial with more than 8000 terracotta
warriors guarding his dead body, not two of them looking the same.
The entrance fee is exorbitantly high, but still worth it. It is possible
to buy small replica of the figures. Remember to barter.

Banpo Neolithic Viallage
The remains of the earliest settlers in the area are beautifully displayed
with labels in both, Chinese and English.


Hotels

The main traveller hangout is the Victory Hotel in the south of the city.
It is very cheap and dirty.

Many hotels offer tours to the Terracotta Warriors and other sights around
Xian. However prices differ considerably, as does quality. Ask if the
entrance tickets to the sights are included or not. Also, be careful if
the guide offers to buy tickets for you, since some try to charge you more
than what you would pay at the ticket booth. Of course, you may be lucky,
and the guide buying you Chinese tickets saves you some money.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
URUMQI

Urumqi is a boom town profiting from the railway. There are no big sights,
but the city itself has a unique atmosphere. Apart from the Han Chinese,
Urumqi is also home to the Uygurs.

There are dorm beds for CNY 30.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
NANJING

Nanjing was the old capital in the south (hence its name which means
'South Capital'). It is one of the most beautiful cities in China, with
wide tree lined avenues.

It has an interesting historical museum and an old tomb from one of the
Ming emperors.

Sun Yatsen Memorial
A short way outside the city is the memorial to the father of the modern
China.

Chang Jiang (Yangtse) River Bridge
When the Chinese wanted to build a bridge in the fifties, they naturally
looked for help towards the Sowjet Union. But it was about the time that
relations became increasingly distorted, so that China instead turned to
the Americans. After some studies, they declared it impossible to build a
bridge over the Chang Jiang. So the Chinese, stubborn as they were,
started to build by themself. Finally, after many years of constructions,
the bridge could be opened on 23 December 1968. It is a double-decker,
with a 4500 m long road on the upper floor and a 6700 m long railway
below. In one of the bridgeposts is a museum, depicting this triumph of
Chinese communism over American capitalism.


Hotel
Both, Nanjing University and Nanjing Normal University have dormitories
available for budget travellers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUZHOU

Also called 'The Venice of China', this town indeed resembles its
counterpart in Italy. There are many canals laid out in checkerboard
style throughout the city.

Suzhous main attraction are its many beautiful gardens. Some of the
biggest and  best known are: Zhouzheng Yuan (a humble administrator's
garden), Shizilin (Lion's Grove), Changlangting (Surging Wave
Pavillion), Yiyuan (Garden of Harmony), Hanshan Si (Cold Mountain

North Temple
Located in the north of the old part of Suzhou is the North Temple with
its nine story pagoda. There is also a museum of traditional handicraft.

Silk Factory
Suzhou is famous for its silk production. It is possible to visit a
factory and see how the silk is processed from the silk worm to the
final woven cloth. At the end of the tour you'll be able to buy the
final products in the factory shop. Make sure you check the prices, they
indeed have special prices as anounced, but especially high for
foreigners.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHANGHAI

Shanghai is the new rising star in the East. It is a gigantic bustling
city with a lot of cunning entrepreneurs. Being the largest city in
China, it hosts over 12 million inhabitants. It's famous Nanjing Lu is
the best known shopping street in China.

The center is dominated by colonial buildings, culminating in 'The Bund'.
Nowadays, Shanghai starts to transform itself into a city of modern
high-rise glass and steel buildings of the same internationality found
all over the world.

The old part of the city was the Chinese part during the occupation and
during the daytime is transformed into a market selling everything that
a tourist might want to buy.

The Bund
The Bund is the beautiful waterfront dominated by the huge buildings of
the banks and former trading houses. Get a view of it in the evening
when it is beautifully lighted and the river front bustles with live.

Yu Yuan
The Yu Yuan is probably the most beautiful and certainly the most famous
of all the gardens in China. In front of it is the famous tea house.

Jade Buddha Temple
House of a 19 meter high white jade Buddha, this temple still is
actively used. Interestingly enough, except in the Jade Buddhas room,
photography is permitted.


Hotels

The cheapest hotel in town is the Pujiang Hotel, just across the Wusong
River (Suzhou Creek) from the Bund. It is a bit shabby, but they have
good dormitories with air conditioning, and also single and double rooms.

Another cheap hotel is the Music Conservatorium (Yinyue Xueyuan) in
Fenyang Lu.

More expensive is the Donghu Binguan at USD 60 for an air-conditioned
room.


Food

When I was in Shanghai, eating became a bit of a problem. I had trouble
finding a restaurant that still had open after 8 pm. Of course, I could
always have gone to one of the big hotels, but I prefered the normally
priced Chinese restaurants.

A good place to look for resturants is in the small streets just north of
Wusong River.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
HANGZHOU

Hangzhou is a pleasant town with many parks and the beautiful West Lake.
Within the lake there are some island connected by causeways.

In old China Hangzhou was famous for the beauty of its women.

Longjing
A short bus ride away from Hangzhou is the tea village Longjing (Dragon
Well). When I was there, a nice woman was showing me the tea plantation
and how she processed tea in her own house. Of course there was a higher
motive to this tour: she wanted to sell me some of her tea. Since the tea
was very good and fresh, and the price was ok, this was a good deal.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANG JIANG (YANGTSE)

The Chang Jiang is Chinas longest river. Currently, 40 km upstream of
Yichang, there is a new dam under construction that will put the Three
Gorges between Yichang and Chongqing under water.

There are four classes on the regular boats: second to fifth. In communist
China there is no first class, as this is consieder bourgois. Second class
is a double room and public showers and toilets that are lockable (in
contrast to the other showers and toilets that are in one big room with
everybody watching everybody else.) Third class is in an eight berth room,
while fourth class is in 14 berth rooms. Fifth class is no berth at all
and probably not quite official.
When I took the boat I was bold enough to use the second class shower and
toilet and most of the time stayed in the second class part anyway. Since
I was a foreigner nobody dared to say something (or they didn't know that
I stayed in third class.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHUNGQING

Chongqing is one of the biggest cities in China and also one of the most
polluted cities in the world (it made the top ten!). It is situated on a
hill at the confluence of the Chang Jiang and the Jialing Jiang. To get
a beautiful view you can take the cable car across the Jialing river.


Hotels

Located conveniently in the center of the town is the Huixian Hotel. It
has cheap, but nice dormitories.

More expensive is the Three Gorges Hotel (San Xia Bingua) with CNY 240
for a double.

Worth a visit even just to look at it is the Renmin Hotel, modelled
after the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHENGDU

The capital of Sichuan is a beautiful city with some wide streets and some
nice old parts.


Hotels

The place to be is the Traffic Hotel. It is pleasantly located just south
of Nanhe River.


Restaurants

Between the main road Renmin Nanlu and the Traffic Hotel there is a nice
footpath along the Nanhe River with many cheap restaurants. These
restaurants also offer excursions to various attractions all over Chengdu,
like visiting factories, a traditional Chinese hospital and Sichuan Opera
(where you can dress up like an actor and sometimes even take part) in the
opera.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
JIUZHAIGUO

This beautiful nature resort in northern Sichuan closesl resembles
Alpine regions with snow covered mountains, beautiful lakes and many
waterfalls. There are many Tibetan settlements. The altitude is about
3000 m warranting cold nights and tempertures could drop below zero
degrees. Bring along warm clothes!

To make the trip, count at least five days, better a week or more. If you
have more money than time, you might also consider flying with a
helicopter from Chengdu.

There is an entrance fee of several USD. Inside the park, cheap
accommodation is available. Make sure you bargain!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
EMEI SHAN

South of Chengdu, this is one of the four sacred mountains of China. You
can be sure that there are scores of tourists, mostly Chinese. The typical
tour is to get up one day, spend the night at the monastery on top, view
the sun rise on top of the mountain and then get back down again.

There are several cheap hotels. You can also try your luck at one of the
monasteries, usually the cheapest places, but also the most crowded.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
KUNMING

Situated at an altitude of 1890 meters near the pleasant Lake Dian, the
capital of Yunnan offers a mild climate all year round.

Stone Forest
Some way outside Kunming is the Stone Forest, a collection of stone
pillars remotely resembling trees. There are daily tours leaving Kunming
sometime around 7 to 8 am. The bus takes about 3 hours one way.

Hotels

The Kunhu Hotel has cheap rooms.

The Jin Long Hotel (Golden Dragon) has a Anglo-American breakfast buffet
(for those of you that are starving of Western food.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
GUILIN

Guilin is in the middle of one of the world's most stunning landscapes.
There are innumerable hills jutting out of the flat earth at random.

There are tours on the Li River to Yangshou where you can admire the
beautiful landscape.

Elephant Rock
One of the mountains in the center of the town is aptly named 'Elephant
Rock'. It indeed resembles an elephant with its big trunk hanging over a
small part of the river.

Reed Flute Cave
One of Guilins main tourist spots, the Reed Flute Cave appeals perfectly
to the Asian taste of Kitsch. It is lit by neon lights in all possible
colours. However, it is still worth a visit.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
YANGSHOU

Yangshou is located some 90 km south of Guilin. It is a small town located
in the midst of one of the world's most stunning landscapes. Whereas
Guilin is a big expensive city, Yangshou is the backpacker hangout.

Moon Hill
Some km south of the town is a strange mountain with a big hole right
through its middle. This shape gave it its name, Moon Hill. There is a
footpath to the top, and the view from the top is breathtaking.
When I was there, an old woman was selling drinks. Of course, I was
thirsty. As soon as I had taken the first couple of gulps, I noticed the
sweat pouring out of my pores. I was so occupied by the view that I
simply forgot that I was dehydrating.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
GUANGZHOU (CANTON)

In former times the foreigners were confined to their trading outpost on
Shamian Island where they hung up plates stating that dogs and Chinese
were not allowed on it. Nowadays, everything is Chinese and foreigners
are welcome everywhere as long as they bring money.

Market
Cantons market is an experience in itself. There is a saying about the
Cantonese that they eat everything that flies, except a plane,
everything that swims, except a ship and everything with four legs,
except a car. So you'll be likely to find every imaginable kind of food
somewhere around.
If you consider buying a pet, the market is the place to get it. But do
make sure you get it alive. A British student was thinking of buying a
puppy to keep her company, and after finally agreeing on a price, the
Chinese selling it wanted to be nice and helpful and, to the horror of
the student, started to prepare it!

Yuexiu Park
Guangzhou's largest park covers 93 hectares. It includes the Sun Yatsen
Memorial Hall, the Zhenhai Tower and the Sculpture of the Five Rams.

Orchid Garden
This pleasant garden, constructed in 1957, shows over 100 variants of
orchids.


Hotels

The main backpacker hangout is the Guangzhou Youth Hostel, located on
Shamian Island.

Just opposite is the famous White Swan, one of the best hotels in China,
and probably also in the world. Even if you don't stay there, make sure
you visit its stunning entrance hall.


Food

A specialty of Guangzhou are its Dim Sum, little snacks eaten whenever
one feels like it. A good place to sample a wide variety is the Taotaoju
(Abode of Tao Tao) restaurant. On its three (or were it four?) floors
you select the Dim Sums directly from trolleys wheeled about as you are
going on with your meal.

On Shamian Island there are many small restaurants where you can eat
well and quite cheap.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHENZHEN

Shenzhen is Chinas boomtown with a growth rate of over 40%. While it had
only 30'000 people a few years ago, it boasts of a population of over 2
million!


Hotels
There is a Shangri La Hotel.

**************************************************************************

4. LITERATURE

4.1 GUIDEBOOKS

CHINA - A Travel Survivel Kit, Lonely Planet. March 1994.
  ISBN 0 86442 207 5
  Contains many good hints about travelling. Has good lists of hotels,
  restaurants, etc.

Collins Illustrated Guide to All China, Charis Chan (Collins 1988).
  Many nice pictures, good reading for an accompanied tour or at home.

Chengdu Guidebook. 92 p., Sichuan People's Publishing House.
  For only a couple of yuans, you get an excellent guidebook on Chengdu.
  Apart from some pictures and a good coverage of the sites, is also
  contains many ideas for off-the-beaten-track tours and useful
  addresses. It is in English, but has been written and published in
  China.

China. Geo Special. October 1987 (German).
  Contains many beautiful pictures and interesting articles on various
  topics.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.2 TRAVELLERS TALES

Grigsby, Roger. China by Bike. Mountaineers: Books, Seatle.

Theroux, Paul. Riding the Iron Rooster. Starting in Europe, the author
includes his experiences on the Transsibirian Railroad as well as the
subsequent months travelling by train throughout China.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.3 HISTORICAL/ POLITICAL

Die Krallen der Tiger und Drachen. Wirtschaftsboom und Selbstbewusstsein
in Asien. Sabine Stahl/ Ulrich Mihr (Hrsg.). Droemer Verlag 1995.
  An excellent book about the current political and economical
  developments in Asia.

China - Ein politisches Reisebuch. Karl Grobe-Hagel. (German) VSA-Verlag
1987.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.4 CHINESE CLASSICS

I Ging.
  More than four thousand years old, the 'Book of Changes' still is in
  wide use. It is used as a source of wisdom as well as to predict the
  future. The best translations into Western languages are based on the
  translation by the German Richard Wilhelm, who used nearly ten years
  of his life to translate it into German.

Sun Tse. The Art of War.
  The classic account on how to conduct war. Mao studied it extensively
  and used many of the desribed tactics and strategies to succeed in the
  Chinese revolution.

Wang, Shicheng. Djin Ping Meh.
  About 400 years old, it describes the life of a rich Chinese with his
  six wives and his many friends.

Wu, Chengen. Journey to the West. Foreign Language Press, Beijing
  Based on many centuries of traditional mythology, this classical book
  was put into its present form in the 1570s. It tells the story of the
  good monk Sanzang who went to the West to fetch the Holy Scriptures.
  Accompanied by his three disciples, the Monkey King, Brother Pig and
  Friar Sand, he has to survive many adventures.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.5 AUTOBIOGRAPHIES

Cheng, Nieh.  Live and death in Shanghai.

Jung, Chang.  Wild Swans - Three Daughters of China.
  The story of Chinese family from the beginning of the 20th century until
1978.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.6 NOVELS

Buck, Pearl S. Although born in the USA, Pearl S. Buck grew up in China.
She went to college in Nanjing and felt more Chinese than American. She
has written many books about China.
 - Imperial Woman. 1956

Ding, Ya.  Les Heritiers des Sept Royaumes. Editions Stock, Paris, 1988.
           Die Erben der Sieben Reiche. Benziger, Zurich. 1990.
  A history of the beginning of the democratic movement in Beijing at the
  end of the 80s.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.7 MOVIES

During the last decade, Chinas movie industry has become increasingly well
known all over the world. One of the main reasons for that was the work of
the actor/ director duo fo Gung Li and Zhang Yimou. Their movies are:
Red Sorghum (? German title: Das rote Kornfeld), 1988
Ju Dou, 1990
Raise the Red Lantern, 1991
The Story of Qiuju, 1992
The Haunted Soul of a Woman Artist, 1993
Live, 1994
Shanghai Triad, 1994

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.8 INTERNET

An archive with many tips and a lot of stories is
ftp://ftp.cc.umanitoba.ca/pub/rec-travel  (130.179.16.8)

**************************************************************************

A. CONTRIBUTORS

I have been able to include a lot of information from other people and
sources. Where it is necessary to do so, I put the author in front of the
paragraph, mostly so when personal experiences/ feelings are important.
Whenever possible I tried to contact the author of the information to get
permission and I include his/ her e-mail address for reference.

Wuchun Wu        wuwu@phys.ksu.edu

*********************************************************************
Peter M. Geiser
Seeblickstr. 10
9010 St. Gallen
SWITZERLAND
geiser.peter@ch.swissbank.com
*********************************************************************




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                                  CHINA

                          The Internet Travel Guide

                              Peter M. Geiser

**************************************************************************

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

The information provided within this document is the property of the
original authors. The author especially reserves the right to the
exclusive use of the term "The Internet Travel Guide".

This document or parts thereof may NOT be sold for profit or included in
any commercial documents (e. g. books, esp. guide books, magazines,
WWW-pages, the Microsoft Network or any other form) without the prior
written permission of the copyright holders. This permission is valid
exactly for the agreed version (or if no version was stated at the
published version on the date of the agreement) at the time the permission
was granted; it does not cover future or any other versions. However,
following the common practice of the Internet, this document may be freely
redistributed without any modification whatsoever, especially concerning
this copyright notice.


Please direct questions, suggestions, comments and flames to

Peter.Geiser@student.unisg.ch

Last change: 7. November 1995

**************************************************************************


3. PLACES

BEIJING

Beijing is the capital of China. It offers such a wide array of
attractions that one can easily spend a whole week without getting bored.
Some of the main attractions are:

Tiananmen Square
'The Square of The Gate of Heavenly Peace' is reportedly the largest
square of the world, with 1 km2. It is framed by the 'Great Hall of the
People' on its west side and the 'Museum of Chinese History' and 'Museum
of the Chinese Revolution' on the east. On the south part is 'Chairman
Mao's Mausoleum'.
At the north side is the entrance to the

Imperial Palace
The palace of the former emperors of the Qing dynasty is also called the
'Forbidden City'. This name is derived from the fact that nobody was
allowed inside the city, except the emperor himself, his wifes and
concubines and the eunuchs. The entrance is on the north side of the
Tienanmen Square.
There are tapes with an audio tour, available in about 30 languages. It is
excellent and uses people native to the respective language. It costs you
another CNY 20. This tape guides you through a very narrow strip of the
Imperial Palace, and if you are not careful you find yourself suddenly at
the back and outside the Place, and there is no way back in except buy
another ticket. If you would like to explore the more hidden places, make
sure you quit the tour before the end.

Jinshan Park
Just behind the Imperial Palace is the Jinshan Park. On top of the hill is
a pagoda where you get a good view over the Imperial Palace and the city.

Bei Hai Park
Located just west of the Forbidden City, this park is set on the shores of
a nice lake. Its bright white pagoda on top of a hill is visible quite far
and dominates the park.

Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan)
The best time to see this park is when it opens at 6:30. It is a good
place to see Chinese people doing their numerous morning activities like
Taiqi, martial arts, ballroom dancing, playing musical instruments,
Mahjiang and Chinese Chess.

Lama Temple (Yong He Gong)
Located in the north of the city is the Lama Temple.

Summer Palace (Yu He Yuan)
The summer palace has been built be the mother of the last emperor, Xi Qi.
It is a pleasant garden with numerous imperial buildings on the whore of
a lake. The whole garden has been built out of taxes raised for building
a marine for China. o that nobody could accuse her of not building any
ships, the Emperor Dowager built one marble ship at a jetty.
It takes about an hour from the center to the Summer Palace.


Hotels

The main tourist hangout is the Qiao Yuan Hotel in the south of the city,
just opposite the Taoranting Park. It is near the Yongdingmen Railway
Station. However, it's currently undergoing major renovations, so the
remaining space may already be full.

Another cheap, but good place is the Long Tan Hotel, just opposite the
Long Tan Park.


Food

Along the canal near the Qiao Yuan Hotel are many small restaurants (like
the Pink Cafe) that cater to the special needs of budget travellers (i.e.
cheap meals and beer, fixed prices on a menu, so there is no haggling,
laundry service, black market railway tickets, etc.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANG CHENG (GREAT WALL)

The Chinese Wall or Great wall was built as a protection against the
Mongols from the north. It has been built in several stages and was at its
prime time more than 8000 km long. Today, most of it is in a state of bad
disrepair, and at some stretches even nearly invisible. However, the
Chinese government has recognised its value as a tourist attraction and a
place of historical significance, so it's starting to restore at least
part of it. There are several spots to visit it.

Ba Da Ling
The most famous and best known is Ba Da Ling. It is located 70 km north-
west from Beijing and easily reachable by tours. The wall is well
restored, but also extremely crowded.

Ming Ling
Less impressive than Ba Da Ling, but also less crowded.

Mu Tian Yu
Less crowded than Ba Da Ling, this place is very scenic.

There are several tours from Beijing to the Great Wall (mostly Badaling).
CITS charges USD 30 for transport, tickets to both the Great Wall and the
Ming Tombs, Lunch and Shopping (they will bring you to a tourist shop
where you are supposed to buy overpriced goods, so that the driver gets a
commission.) It should be possible to get cheaper tours. Check out the
small restaurants near the Qiao Yuan Hotel in Beijing.
ANother possibility is to go by subway to Xizhimen station and then by
train to Badaling. This should cost about USD 2.

It is possible to walk along parts of the wall. You have to get permission
if you want to go astray the usual tourist spots. Also, in theory you'd
have to get permission to camp outside (but you're probably better off not
mentioning your plans.)

It is possible to ride a mountain bike over at least parts of the great
wall. Getting permission requires a _lot_ of red tape with the
government. Since the wall is not too well preserved for most of its
lenght you will have to bring more than enough repair material with you.
Your tires are likely to get punctured more than 20 or 30 times a day.

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SHAOLIN MONASTERY

The Shaolin monastery is said to have been the home of monks that
developed the Shaolin Kung Fu. Nowadays it is one of the big tourist
attractions with Chinese spurred on by recent movies set in this
monastery.

Nowadays, there is a school for martial arts in the surrounding
buildings. When I was there, I was astonished at the huge number of
classes full of eager students learning martial arts. There must be
several hundreds, if not thousands, at any one time.

The easiest way to go to this monastery is to use one of the many tour
busses from Zhengzhou.

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XIAN

Xian was in olden times the capital of China and the biggest city in the
world. Nowadays it is only a small part of its former self. It has a lot
of Muslim, adding an interesting shade to the cuisine. Don't miss the
market!

Terracotta Warriors
In 1974, some peasants digging a well uncovered one of the greatest
archeological sites in the world. In the tomb of Qin Shihuang, the first
emperor of China built himself a memorial with more than 8000 terracotta
warriors guarding his dead body, not two of them looking the same.
The entrance fee is exorbitantly high, but still worth it. It is possible
to buy small replica of the figures. Remember to barter.

Banpo Neolithic Viallage
The remains of the earliest settlers in the area are beautifully displayed
with labels in both, Chinese and English.


Hotels

The main traveller hangout is the Victory Hotel in the south of the city.
It is very cheap and dirty.

Many hotels offer tours to the Terracotta Warriors and other sights around
Xian. However prices differ considerably, as does quality. Ask if the
entrance tickets to the sights are included or not. Also, be careful if
the guide offers to buy tickets for you, since some try to charge you more
than what you would pay at the ticket booth. Of course, you may be lucky,
and the guide buying you Chinese tickets saves you some money.

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URUMQI

Urumqi is a boom town profiting from the railway. There are no big sights,
but the city itself has a unique atmosphere. Apart from the Han Chinese,
Urumqi is also home to the Uygurs.

There are dorm beds for CNY 30.

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NANJING

Nanjing was the old capital in the south (hence its name which means
'South Capital'). It is one of the most beautiful cities in China, with
wide tree lined avenues.

It has an interesting historical museum and an old tomb from one of the
Ming emperors.

Sun Yatsen Memorial
A short way outside the city is the memorial to the father of the modern
China.

Chang Jiang (Yangtse) River Bridge
When the Chinese wanted to build a bridge in the fifties, they naturally
looked for help towards the Sowjet Union. But it was about the time that
relations became increasingly distorted, so that China instead turned to
the Americans. After some studies, they declared it impossible to build a
bridge over the Chang Jiang. So the Chinese, stubborn as they were,
started to build by themself. Finally, after many years of constructions,
the bridge could be opened on 23 December 1968. It is a double-decker,
with a 4500 m long road on the upper floor and a 6700 m long railway
below. In one of the bridgeposts is a museum, depicting this triumph of
Chinese communism over American capitalism.


Hotel

Both, Nanjing University and Nanjing Normal University have dormitories
available for budget travellers.

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SUZHOU

Also called 'The Venice of China', this town indeed resembles its
counterpart in Italy. There are many canals laid out in checkerboard
style throughout the city.

Suzhous main attraction are its many beautiful gardens. Some of the
biggest and  best known are: Zhouzheng Yuan (a humble administrator's
garden), Shizilin (Lion's Grove), Changlangting (Surging Wave
Pavillion), Yiyuan (Garden of Harmony), Hanshan Si (Cold Mountain

North Temple
Located in the north of the old part of Suzhou is the North Temple with
its nine story pagoda. There is also a museum of traditional handicraft.

Silk Factory
Suzhou is famous for its silk production. It is possible to visit a
factory and see how the silk is processed from the silk worm to the
final woven cloth. At the end of the tour you'll be able to buy the
final products in the factory shop. Make sure you check the prices, they
indeed have special prices as anounced, but especially high for
foreigners.

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SHANGHAI

Shanghai is the new rising star in the East. It is a gigantic bustling
city with a lot of cunning entrepreneurs. Being the largest city in
China, it hosts over 12 million inhabitants. It's famous Nanjing Lu is
the best known shopping street in China.

The center is dominated by colonial buildings, culminating in 'The Bund'.
Nowadays, Shanghai starts to transform itself into a city of modern
high-rise glass and steel buildings of the same internationality found
all over the world.

The old part of the city was the Chinese part during the occupation and
during the daytime is transformed into a market selling everything that
a tourist might want to buy.

The Bund
The Bund is the beautiful waterfront dominated by the huge buildings of
the banks and former trading houses. Get a view of it in the evening
when it is beautifully lighted and the river front bustles with live.

Yu Yuan
The Yu Yuan is probably the most beautiful and certainly the most famous
of all the gardens in China. In front of it is the famous tea house.

Jade Buddha Temple
House of a 19 meter high white jade Buddha, this temple still is
actively used. Interestingly enough, except in the Jade Buddhas room,
photography is permitted.


Hotels

The cheapest hotel in town is the Pujiang Hotel, just across the Wusong
River (Suzhou Creek) from the Bund. It is a bit shabby, but they have
good dormitories with air conditioning, and also single and double rooms.

Another cheap hotel is the Music Conservatorium (Yinyue Xueyuan) in
Fenyang Lu.

More expensive is the Donghu Binguan at USD 60 for an air-conditioned
room.


Food

When I was in Shanghai, eating became a bit of a problem. I had trouble
finding a restaurant that still had open after 8 pm. Of course, I could
always have gone to one of the big hotels, but I prefered the normally
priced Chinese restaurants.

A good place to look for resturants is in the small streets just north of
Wusong River.

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HANGZHOU

Hangzhou is a pleasant town with many parks and the beautiful West Lake.
Within the lake there are some island connected by causeways.

In old China Hangzhou was famous for the beauty of its women.

Longjing
A short bus ride away from Hangzhou is the tea village Longjing (Dragon
Well). When I was there, a nice woman was showing me the tea plantation
and how she processed tea in her own house. Of course there was a higher
motive to this tour: she wanted to sell me some of her tea. Since the tea
was very good and fresh, and the price was ok, this was a good deal.

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CHANG JIANG (YANGTSE)

The Chang Jiang is Chinas longest river. Currently, 40 km upstream of
Yichang, there is a new dam under construction that will put the Three
Gorges between Yichang and Chongqing under water.

There are four classes on the regular boats: second to fifth. In communist
China there is no first class, as this is consieder bourgois. Second class
is a double room and public showers and toilets that are lockable (in
contrast to the other showers and toilets that are in one big room with
everybody watching everybody else.) Third class is in an eight berth room,
while fourth class is in 14 berth rooms. Fifth class is no berth at all
and probably not quite official.
When I took the boat I was bold enough to use the second class shower and
toilet and most of the time stayed in the second class part anyway. Since
I was a foreigner nobody dared to say something (or they didn't know that
I stayed in third class.)

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CHUNGQING

Chongqing is one of the biggest cities in China and also one of the most
polluted cities in the world (it made the top ten!). It is situated on a
hill at the confluence of the Chang Jiang and the Jialing Jiang. To get
a beautiful view you can take the cable car across the Jialing river.


Hotels

Located conveniently in the center of the town is the Huixian Hotel. It
has cheap, but nice dormitories.

More expensive is the Three Gorges Hotel (San Xia Bingua) with CNY 240
for a double.

Worth a visit even just to look at it is the Renmin Hotel, modelled
after the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.

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CHENGDU

The capital of Sichuan is a beautiful city with some wide streets and some
nice old parts.


Hotels

The place to be is the Traffic Hotel. It is pleasantly located just south
of Nanhe River.


Restaurants

Between the main road Renmin Nanlu and the Traffic Hotel there is a nice
footpath along the Nanhe River with many cheap restaurants. These
restaurants also offer excursions to various attractions all over Chengdu,
like visiting factories, a traditional Chinese hospital and Sichuan Opera
(where you can dress up like an actor and sometimes even take part) in the
opera.)

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JIUZHAIGUO

This beautiful nature resort in northern Sichuan closesl resembles
Alpine regions with snow covered mountains, beautiful lakes and many
waterfalls. There are many Tibetan settlements. The altitude is about
3000 m warranting cold nights and tempertures could drop below zero
degrees. Bring along warm clothes!

To make the trip, count at least five days, better a week or more. If you
have more money than time, you might also consider flying with a
helicopter from Chengdu.

There is an entrance fee of several USD. Inside the park, cheap
accommodation is available. Make sure you bargain!

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EMEI SHAN

South of Chengdu, this is one of the four sacred mountains of China. You
can be sure that there are scores of tourists, mostly Chinese. The typical
tour is to get up one day, spend the night at the monastery on top, view
the sun rise on top of the mountain and then get back down again.

There are several cheap hotels. You can also try your luck at one of the
monasteries, usually the cheapest places, but also the most crowded.

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KUNMING

Situated at an altitude of 1890 meters near the pleasant Lake Dian, the
capital of Yunnan offers a mild climate all year round.

Stone Forest
Some way outside Kunming is the Stone Forest, a collection of stone
pillars remotely resembling trees. There are daily tours leaving Kunming
sometime around 7 to 8 am. The bus takes about 3 hours one way.

Hotels

The Kunhu Hotel has cheap rooms.

The Jin Long Hotel (Golden Dragon) has a Anglo-American breakfast buffet
(for those of you that are starving of Western food.)

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GUILIN

Guilin is in the middle of one of the world's most stunning landscapes.
There are innumerable hills jutting out of the flat earth at random.

There are tours on the Li River to Yangshou where you can admire the
beautiful landscape.

Elephant Rock
One of the mountains in the center of the town is aptly named 'Elephant
Rock'. It indeed resembles an elephant with its big trunk hanging over a
small part of the river.

Reed Flute Cave
One of Guilins main tourist spots, the Reed Flute Cave appeals perfectly
to the Asian taste of Kitsch. It is lit by neon lights in all possible
colours. However, it is still worth a visit.

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YANGSHOU

Yangshou is located some 90 km south of Guilin. It is a small town located
in the midst of one of the world's most stunning landscapes. Whereas
Guilin is a big expensive city, Yangshou is the backpacker hangout, with a
Western orientation and few rip-offs (people there know that most
travellers know the prices and wouldn't buy at their place anymore.)

Moon Hill
Some km south of the town is a strange mountain with a big hole right
through its middle. This shape gave it its name, Moon Hill. There is a
footpath to the top, and the view from the top is breathtaking.
When I was there, an old woman was selling drinks. Of course, I was
thirsty. As soon as I had taken the first couple of gulps, I noticed the
sweat pouring out of my pores. I was so occupied by the view that I
simply forgot that I was dehydrating.

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GUANGZHOU (CANTON)

In former times the foreigners were confined to their trading outpost on
Shamian Island where they hung up plates stating that dogs and Chinese
were not allowed on it. Nowadays, everything is Chinese and foreigners
are welcome everywhere as long as they bring money.

Market
Cantons market is an experience in itself. There is a saying about the
Cantonese that they eat everything that flies, except a plane,
everything that swims, except a ship and everything with four legs,
except a car. So you'll be likely to find every imaginable kind of food
somewhere around.
If you consider buying a pet, the market is the place to get it. But do
make sure you get it alive. There is a story (nobody knows if it is really
true, but it's a nice story anyway.) of a British student who was thinking
of buying a puppy to keep her company. After finally agreeing on a price,
the Chinese selling it wanted to be nice and helpful and, to the horror of
the student, started to prepare it!

Yuexiu Park
Guangzhou's largest park covers 93 hectares. It includes the Sun Yatsen
Memorial Hall, the Zhenhai Tower and the Sculpture of the Five Rams.

Orchid Garden
This pleasant garden, constructed in 1957, shows over 100 variants of
orchids.


Hotels

The main backpacker hangout is the Guangzhou Youth Hostel, located on
Shamian Island.

Just opposite is the famous White Swan, one of the best hotels in China,
and probably also in the world. Even if you don't stay there, make sure
you visit its stunning entrance hall.


Food

A specialty of Guangzhou are its Dim Sum, little snacks eaten whenever
one feels like it. A good place to sample a wide variety is the Taotaoju
(Abode of Tao Tao) restaurant. On its three (or were it four?) floors
you select the Dim Sums directly from trolleys wheeled about as you are
going on with your meal.

On Shamian Island there are many small restaurants where you can eat
well and quite cheap.

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SHENZHEN

Shenzhen is Chinas boomtown with a growth rate of over 40%. While it had
only 30'000 people a few years ago, it boasts of a population of over 2
million!

Since there are not many tourists, people are friendly and tend not to
cheat Westeners.


Hotels

There is a Shangri La Hotel.

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4. LITERATURE

This section presents a small extract of the literature about and from
China. It is by no means complete, nor does it necessarily present the
best books available. Most of the books listed are there because I happen
to own them.

4.1 GUIDEBOOKS

COUNTRY

Lonely Planet. China - A Travel Survivel Kit. Robert Storey, Chris Taylor,
Clem Lindenmayer. March 1994. 4th Ed. ISBN 0-86442-207-5. 1064 p, 202 maps
Contains many good hints about travelling. Has good lists of hotels,
restaurants, etc. It is considered to be the 'Bible' of independent
travel in China.

Collins Illustrated Guide to All China, Charis Chan (Collins 1988).
Many nice pictures, good reading for an accompanied tour or at home.

China. Geo Special. October 1987 (German).
Contains many beautiful pictures and interesting articles on various
topics.

CITY GUIDES

Chengdu Guidebook. 92 p., Sichuan People's Publishing House.
For only a couple of yuans, you get an excellent guidebook on Chengdu.
Apart from some pictures and a good coverage of the sites, is also
contains many ideas for off-the-beaten-track tours and usefuladdresses. It
is in English, but has been written and published in China.

Beijing. Robert Storey. Lonely Planet. ISBN 0-86442-206-7. 292 p, 24 maps

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.2 TRAVELLERS TALES

Grigsby, Roger. China by Bike. Mountaineers: Books, Seatle.

Theroux, Paul. Riding the Iron Rooster. Starting in Europe, the author
includes his experiences on the Transsibirian Railroad as well as the
subsequent months travelling by train throughout China.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.3 LANGUAGE

LANGUAGE COURSES

Practical Chinese Reader. Commercial Press, Beijing. 1981, 6th Ed 1989.
An excellent book series consisting of at least 6 volumes. There are also
the Chinese Character Excercise Books.

Chinesisch. Kessler Verlag. 1988.
A Greman translation of the Practical Chinese Reader. This version is used
at the University of Zurich.


PHRASEBOOKS

Cantonese. Kam Lau. Lonely Planet, 2nd Ed. Oct 1995. ISBN 0-86442-340-3.
224 p.

Mandarin (Chinese). Chris Taylor. Lonely Planet, 2nd Ed. ISBN
0-86442-086-2. 184 p.


DICTIONAIRIES

Consise English-Chinese, Chinese-English Dictionary. Oxford University
Press 1980. The Commercial Press. ISBN 7-100-00589-2
This small dicionary has still 600 pages. Since the paper is very thin it
is the ideal companion for your travels. Buy this book in China; it should
cost about CNY 8.45.

Das neue Chinesisch-Deutsche Woerterbuch. 1985.
The large, 1162 pages thick book costs an incredible low CNY 14.20 and is
probably the most comprehensive dictionary available.

Deutsch-Chinesisches Taschenwoerterbuch. 1986.
Published in China, this pocket book costs only CNY 1.15. It has only 240
pages and is good for carrying around.

Das kleine deutsch-chinesische Neologismenwoerterbuch. ISBN 7-5600-0210-2.
190 p. CNY 1.50.
This extremely small dictionary contains mostly new words with Western
origin, like Eurovisionssendung, or Wehrdienstverweigerung, etc.

Fun with Chinese Characters 1, 2, 3. The Straits Times Collection. Federal
Publications. Singapore. 1980, 1982, 1983. ISBN 981-01-3004-X, ISBN
981-01-3005-8, and ISBN 981-01-3006-6.
The tree volumes with together about 480 pages presents the origin of the
Chinese characters in many humorous cartoons and descriptions. Excellent
for students.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.4 HISTORICAL/ POLITICAL

Die Krallen der Tiger und Drachen. Wirtschaftsboom und Selbstbewusstsein
in Asien. Sabine Stahl/ Ulrich Mihr (Hrsg.). Droemer Verlag 1995.
An excellent book about the current political and economical developments
in Asia.

China - Ein politisches Reisebuch. Karl Grobe-Hagel. (German) VSA-Verlag
1987.

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4.5 (AUTO) BIOGRAPHIES

Cheng, Nieh.  Live and death in Shanghai.
A former director with a big American company, she had to serve several
years in prison during the cultural revolution. A gripping account of the
time.

Jung, Chang.  Wild Swans - Three Daughters of China.
The story of Chinese family from the beginning of the 20th century until
1978.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.6 CHINESE CLASSICS

I Ging.
More than four thousand years old, the 'Book of Changes' still is in wide
use. It is used as a source of wisdom as well as to predict the future.
The best translations into Western languages are based on the translation
by the German Richard Wilhelm, who used nearly ten yearsof his life to
translate it into German.

Sun Tse. The Art of War.
The classic account on how to conduct war. Mao studied it extensively and
used many of the desribed tactics and strategies to succeed in the Chinese
revolution.

Wang, Shicheng. Djin Ping Meh.
About 400 years old, it describes the life of a rich Chinese with his six
wives and his many friends.

Wu, Chengen. Journey to the West. Foreign Language Press, Beijing
Based on many centuries of traditional mythology, this classical book was
put into its present form in the 1570s. It tells the story of the good
monk Sanzang who went to the West to fetch the Holy Scriptures.
Accompanied by his three disciples, the Monkey King, Brother Pig and Friar
Sand, he has to survive many adventures.

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4.7 NOVELS

Buck, Pearl S. Although born in the USA, Pearl S. Buck grew up in China.
She went to college in Nanjing and felt more Chinese than American. She
has written many books about China.
 - Imperial Woman. 1956

Ding, Ya.  Les Heritiers des Sept Royaumes. Editions Stock, Paris, 1988.
           Die Erben der Sieben Reiche. Benziger, Zurich. 1990.
A history of the beginning of the democratic movement in Beijing at the
end of the 80s.

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4.8 MOVIES

During the last decade, Chinas movie industry has become increasingly well
known all over the world. One of the main reasons for that was the work of
the actor/ director duo fo Gung Li and Zhang Yimou. Their movies are:
Red Sorghum (? German title: Das rote Kornfeld), 1988
Ju Dou, 1990
Raise the Red Lantern, 1991
The Story of Qiuju, 1992
The Haunted Soul of a Woman Artist, 1993
Live, 1994
Shanghai Triad, 1994

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4.9 INTERNET

Both, this Internet Travel Guide and the FAQ of soc.culture.china can be
found on WWW at
http://www.seas.ucla.edu/~tcyang/html/China_faq.html

**************************************************************************

A. CONTRIBUTORS

I have been able to include a lot of information from other people and
sources. Where it is necessary to do so, I put the author in front of the
paragraph, mostly so when personal experiences/ feelings are important.
Whenever possible I tried to contact the author of the information to get
permission and I include his/ her e-mail address for reference.

Wuchun Wu        wuwu@phys.ksu.edu

**************************************************************************

Peter M. Geiser
Seeblickstr. 10
9010 St. Gallen
SWITZERLAND

Peter.Geiser@student.unisg.ch

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