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The People's Republic of China (P.R.C.) has a communist government.
It is one of the world's largest and fastest growing economies.
Modern tourist facilities are not widely available, except in
major cities.
About China
China is the oldest continuous major world civilization, with
records dating back over 3,500 years. Successive dynasties developed
a system of bureaucratic control which gave the agrarian-based
Chinese an advantage over neighboring nomadic and hill cultures.
Chinese civilization was further strengthened by the development
of a common written language that bridged the gaps among the country's
many local languages and dialects.
There are several major Chinese dialects and many subdialects.
The Beijing dialect, often called Mandarin (or Putonghua), is
taught in all schools and is the medium of government. Almost
two-thirds of Han Chinese are native speakers of Mandarin; the
rest, concentrated in southwest and southeast China, speak one
of the other major Chinese dialects.
China's population in mid-1995 was over 1.2 billion, with an
estimated growth rate of 1.2%. The largest ethnic group is the
Han Chinese, who constitute about 93% of the total population.
The remaining 7% are Zhuang (16 million), Manchu (9 million),
Hui (8 million), Miao (8 million), Uygur (7 million), Yi (7 million),
Tibetan (5 million), Mongol (5 million), and Korean (1 million).
China is full of natural and man-made wonders. Its great rivers
include the Yellow and the Yangtze. There are also many mountain
ranges including the Himalayas along the southern border of Tibet
and the Kunlun Mountains stretching east and west along Tibet's
northern edge. Part of the Gobi desert is located in China's Inner
Mongolia.
China's most popular man-made wonder is the Great Wall. The
Great Wall was built in the 3rd century B.C. (completed in 204
B.C.). It extends for about 1500 miles from Gansu province to
the Bohai Gulf. The wall averages 20 to 50 feet high and 15 to
25 feet thick. The actual length, including branches and windings,
is more than 2000 miles.
Consular Information Program
For up-to-date travel information on the P.R.C., see the Department
of State's Consular Information Sheet for China. Consular Information
Sheets cover such matters as health conditions, unusual currency
and entry regulations, crime and security conditions, drug penalties,
and areas of instability. In addition, the State Department issues
Travel Warnings when we recommend Americans defer travel to a
country because of unsafe conditions. Travel Warnings are under
continuous review by the Department of State. Before you depart
for a country that has a Travel Warning, make certain that you
have the most recent revision of the Warning. The Department of
State also issues Public Announcements. Public Announcements are
issued as a means to disseminate information quickly about relatively
short-term and/or trans-national conditions which would pose significant
risks to the security of American travelers. At the time of publication,
there were no Travel Warnings nor were there any Public Announcements
issued for travel to China.
There are several ways to access Consular Information Sheets,
Travel Warnings and Public Announcements. You can listen to them
24-hours a day by calling 202-647-5225 from a touchtone phone.
You can receive copies of them by sending a self-addressed, stamped
envelope to Overseas Citizens Services, Room 4800, Department
of State, Washington, DC 20520-4818. (Write the name of the requested
country or countries on the outside of the envelope.) You can
also find Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings at the
13 regional passport agencies and at U.S. embassies and consulates
abroad. The information can also be accessed through an airline
or travel agent's computer reservation system, the Bureau of Consular
Affairs' 24- hour automated fax system at 202/647-3000, or through
many computer bulletin boards, including the Consular Affairs
Bulletin Board (CABB). You may call the CABB on modem number 301-946-4400.
The login is travel; the password is info.
Entry and Other Visa Requirements
To enter the People's Republic of China, a U.S. citizen must
have a valid U.S. passport and P.R.C. visa Most tourist visas
are valid for only one entry. Travelers required a new visa for
additional entries into China. Chinese authorities fine those
who arrive without a visa up to 5,000 renminbi (about $600 U.S.)
at the port of entry and may not allow them to enter China.
An application for a business visa should include an invitation
from the applicant's host or counterpart in China.
Visas for tour group members are often obtained by the travel
agent as part of the tour package. You may book China tours through
a number of travel agencies and airlines in the United States
and abroad. You can find advertisements for these tours in newspapers
or magazines, or you may contact the China National Tourist Office
at: 60 E. 42nd Street, Suite 3126, New York, NY 10165; (212) 867-0271.
Tourist visas for individuals are routinely issued at Chinese
embassies or consulates abroad. Expedited processing is often
available for an increased fee or by working through a Chinese
tour operator.
Apply for a visa at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C.,
or at a Chinese consulate in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New
York, or San Francisco. (Addresses are listed at the end of this
pamphlet.) At this time, the cost of a visa for China is $30 (not
including fees for expedited handling). To apply, each person
must send an application form, valid passport, two photographs
and the fee. U.S. citizens applying for visas outside the United
States may be requested to fill out visa application forms both
in English and in Chinese.
Whether you visit on your own or with a tour, allow several
weeks for visa processing. The Chinese Embassy and consulates
in the United States often require 10 working days to process
visas.
In addition to the requirements above, long-term visitors to
China may be required to provide evidence of an AIDS test. Negative
HIV exam results are required for students, teachers, and visiting
scholars who plan to stay 9 months or more and for business persons
who plan to stay over a year. If this applies to you, you may
have the medical exam done in the United States using blank forms
issued by the Chinese Embassy or a consulate. However, the test
results must indicate the test was done by a government facility
such as your states health department or, if done at a private
health facility, the results must be notarized by a notary public.
Attach your photograph to the test form. The notary seal should
be applied to the photograph and it should run off on to the page.
For individuals visiting Hong Kong en route, tours to China
depart regularly from that city and may be booked through China
Travel Service, LTD., 77 Queens Road, Central, Hong Kong (tel:
2525-2284, fax: 2541-9777) or 27-33 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong
Kong (tel: 2315-7149, fax: 2721-7757). (Cable address: TRAVEL
BANK.) For a handling fee, individual visas for travel originating
in Hong Kong may be obtained through these agencies in two working
days. If you have made travel arrangements and wish to obtain
your visa on your own, apply to the Visa Office of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, 5th Floor,
Low Block, 26 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong.
Note: Hong Kong is currently a British Crown Colony. It will
become a special administrative region of China on July 1, 1997.
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