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China is one of the world's most fascinating countries, mysterious and typical oriented, after 5000 years of culture evolution, it is now opening to the outside world and economically growing at rocket speed, come to explore the dragoon-land insight with China View Education Center.
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| Travel Tips |
· Food and Drink
The Chinese eat in-groups, and the number of dishes is based on the number of people, usually one per person in the group. Beijing is famed for having 100,000 restaurants.
Eating western food in China is expensive. Western food here costs the same as it costs in the western, when Chinese food here is much cheaper.
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• Don’t drink tap water in China. There is a thermos in each room for boiled water. The boiled water is available from the kitchen. Bottled water is available everywhere. Buy the bottled water in a store and make sure the cap is not broken. Be careful of ice.
• Chinese food is better being eaten in hot. Vegetables should be cooked and served hot. Eat fruit that you can peel: watermelon, bananas, apples, peaches, etc.
• Wash your hands before eating.
· Pre-departure
• Carry your valuables (passport, ticket, travelers check, camera, prescriptions, laptops, etc) in your carry-on luggage. You can buy everything in China.
• Luggage is limited to two pieces of checked and one carry on bag. Check with your airline about the total weight allowed.
• Voltage in China is 220v different from 100v in the States.
· What to bring ?
• Bring 4 2x2 and 4 1x1 face photos for your student ID card and/or any visa extensions.
• Travel alarm clock.
• Basic medicine and first aid: cold, headache, indigestion, Band-Aids, ointment for cuts, burns, etc.,
• Dress is informal in Beijing, you may dress as your would at your own university.
• Large sizes in shoes and clothing are difficult to find in China. Slippers for in bed room. A week’s worth of underwear.
• Personal checks cannot be used for payment in China
· Daily Life
For recreational enthusiasts, there are outdoor basketball courts, volleyball courts, track and soccer field which are free.
There is a nominal fee for the tennis courts. In host university there are over 50 different clubs and organizations ranging from sports to music, and you are welcome to join. |
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· Transportation
For distance travel, trains are recommended over long distance buses mainly for safety reasons. There are several classes on the Chinese trains: hard seats, soft seats, hard sleepers, and soft sleepers. For long trips hard sleepers are recommended. You will learn more than you ever wanted to know about hard sleepers during the field trip.
· Communications
Internet is cheap in China averaging around $1 per hour of usage. Students have Internet service in their rooms as well as free Internet café on the first floor of the residence hall.
For international call, check with your international carrier before coming about special deals. Some carriers have special rates for specific countries.
Be sure to let your friends and family know the time difference between your home and Beijing.
· Shopping
Beijing has about everything you could think of buying. From shopping mall to flea market, there are a lot of place to buy something.
· Reading
To adjust to the Chinese different with Western values:
• Cultural Shock!: China by Kevin Sinclair et al. (1991);
• Schweiter's The Joy of Getting Along with the Chinese (1992),
• Hu Wenzhong & Cornelius Grove's Encountering the Chinese: A Guide for Americans (1991).
here are some suggestions
for back-ground readings that will help you prepare for your Chinese adventure:
－Introduction to China
John King Fairbank, The Great Chinese Revolution 1800-1985. Harper & Row (1987)
Peter Fleming, One's company: A Journey to China. Scribner (1934).
Peter Hessler, River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze. HarperCollins Publishers (2001).
Ma Jian, Red Dust: A Path through China. Pantheon Books (2001)
Richard Madsen, China and the American Dream: A Moral Inquiry. University of California Press (1995)
－Chinese Literature
Lao She, Blades of Grass: The Stories of Lao She University of Hawaii Press (1999)
Lu Xun, Diary of a Madman: And Other Stories. University of Hawaii Press, (1990)
Stephen Owen, The Great Age of Chinese Poetry: the High T'ang Yale University Press (1981)
Wu Cheng-en, Monkey: Folk Novel of China. (translated by Arthur Waley)
－Tibet
Patrick French, Tibet: A Personal History of a Lost Land. HarperCollins (2003).
H. Harrier, Seven Years in Tibet G.K. Hall (1998)
Alec Le Sueur, The Hotel on the Roof of the World: From Miss Tibet to Shangri-la. RDR Books (2003)
Orville Schell, Virtual Tibet: Searching for Shangri-La from the Himalayas to Hollywood. Metropolitan books (2000)
－Silk Road
Peter Hopkirk, Foreign Devils on the Silk Road: The Search for the Lost Cities and Treasures of Chinese Central Asia. Oxford University Press, (2001)
Frances Wood, The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia. British Library (2003)
Try to learn as much as possible about China before your arrival. That will make your stay more worthwhile.
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