Kitajska - China

Za druge kraje z istim imenom glej Kitajska (večznačna opredelitev).

COVID-19 informacije: Vstop zavrne večina popotnikov. Tujim državljanom, ki imajo veljavna dovoljenja za prebivanje, vključno z delovnimi dovoljenji ali dovoljenji za srečanje družine in osebne zadeve, je dovoljen vstop, odvisno od države, iz katere prihajajo. Tujci, ki jim je dovoljenje za prebivanje poteklo po 28. marcu, lahko po hitrem postopku zaprosijo za novega. Vsi potniki, ki letijo na Kitajsko, morajo pred vkrcanjem pridobiti negativna potrdila COVID-19, ki bodo morda morala biti v angleščini in jih mora overiti kitajsko veleposlaništvo. Morda boste potrebovali tudi test protiteles. Za potnike bo v prvem mestu vstopne točke veljala 14-dnevna ali 21-dnevna obvezna karantena in bodo večkrat testirani na COVID. Poslovni potniki iz nekaterih držav so izvzeti iz karantene, vendar morajo imeti negativni test COVID-19 največ 48 ur pred vkrcanjem in se morajo tesno držati odobrenega vnaprej določenega načrta potovanja. Pravila se razlikujejo glede na državo, iz katere prihajate, in države, v katere prehajate; za podrobne informacije se obrnite na najbližje kitajsko veleposlaništvo. Na Kitajskem se nadaljujejo nekatere omejitve potovanja in dejavnosti, ki se zelo razlikujejo in se lahko spremenijo z malo obvestila. Številni hoteli in druga podjetja zavračajo storitve nekitajskim državljanom. Na nekaterih področjih so še vedno potrebne maske za obraz. Kitajske oblasti so sprejele nesmiseln pristop pri reševanju tudi najmanjših izbruhov, mesta ali celo celotne province pa lahko v kratkem času zaprejo, če se pojavi kakšna okužba, kar pomeni, da bi lahko obstali več tednov ali celo mesecev . Mejne pokrajine se lahko v kratkem zaprejo tudi kot odgovor na okužbe, ki se razvijajo. Kitajski center za nadzor in preprečevanje bolezni Nacionalna zdravstvena komisija LRK

(Podatki so bili nazadnje posodobljeni 12. mar. 2021)

Kitajska (中国; Zhōngguó) je ena najstarejših civilizacij na svetu. Njegova dolga in bogata zgodovina je prisotna v razmišljanju in vrednotah ljudi ter v umetnosti, arhitekturi in inženirskih podvigih, ki so ostali od preteklih dinastij.

Po razburkanem 20. stoletju se je Kitajska dramatično spet pojavila kot gospodarska sila. Njegov hiter razvoj je bil vzporeden z vzponom na mednarodni oder, zaradi katerega je postala velesila. Seveda naraščajoče bolečine naraščajo, ko se stolpnice in tovarne razrastejo do pritlikavih stoletnih pagod, vendar pa obstaja tudi močan občutek navdušenja in optimizma glede prihodnosti. Če obiščete zdaj, lahko vidite relikvije tisočletja zgodovine in doživite znake nadaljnjih preobrazb, ki potekajo.

Regije

Kitajska hierarhija upravnih delitev ima 22 provinc (省 shěng), ki imajo ponavadi lastne kulturne identitete, in 5 avtonomne regije (自治区 zìzhìqū), vsak z določeno manjšinsko etnično skupino. Te skupaj s štirimi občinami (直辖市 zhíxiáshì) sestavljajo tisto, kar je znano kot celinsko Kitajsko.

Za namene Wikivoyage so te province združene v naslednje regije:

Regije Kitajske

Severovzhodna Kitajska (Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang) V preteklosti znan kot Mandžurija, severovzhod je dežela step, prostranih gozdov in dolgih snežnih zim. V kulturnem vplivu Rusije, Koreje in Japonske vsebuje kombinacijo modernih mest in industrijskih mest, ki so postala zapostavljena.

Severna Kitajska (Shandong, Shanxi, Notranja Mongolija, Henan, Hebei, Peking, Tianjin) Ravnine severne Kitajske okoli plodnega porečja Rume so bile zibelka kitajske civilizacije. Že tisočletja so politično središče kitajskih imperijev, v njih pa živi sodobna prestolnica Peking.

Severozahodna Kitajska (Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang) Zgodovinsko obmejno območje s travniki, ki se umaknejo puščavam in goram, in s starodavno svileno potjo, ki povezuje Kitajsko z Evropo. Severozahodna Kitajska je dom številnim muslimanom in etničnim manjšinam, ki so včasih oblikovale neodvisna kraljestva.

Jugozahodna Kitajska (Tibet, Sečuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou) Manjšinski narodi, spektakularna pokrajina in zatočišča za popotnike.

Južno-osrednja Kitajska (Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi) Območje porečja Jangce, kmetije, gore, soteske, zmerni in subtropski gozdovi.

Južna Kitajska (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan) Tradicionalno trgovsko središče, proizvodna in tehnološka elektrarna.

Vzhodna Kitajska (Jiangsu, Šanghaj, Zhejiang, Fujian) "Dežela rib in riža", tradicionalna vodna mesta in novo svetovno gospodarsko središče Kitajske.

Mesta

Tiananmen, Peking

Tu je devet najzanimivejših kitajskih mest za popotnike. Drugi so navedeni v regionalnih člankih.

• 39.905116.391388888891 Peking (北京) - prestolnica, kulturno središče in dom Prepovedanega mesta, Poletna palača in druga pomembna zgodovinska mesta
• 30.657104.0662 Chengdu (成都) - kapital mesta Sečuan provinca, znana po pikantno začinjeni hrani in dom velikanskih pand
• 23.128795113.2589763 Guangzhou (广州) - eno najbolj uspešnih in liberalnih mest na jugu, blizu Hong Kongin glavno središče kantonske kulture

Reka Li blizu Guilin

• 30.25120.16754 Hangzhou (杭州) - zgrajena okoli Zahodnega jezera, ki je na Unescovem seznamu svetovne dediščine, in južnega konca Ljubljane Veliki kanal
• 45.75126.633333333335 Harbin (哈尔滨) - kapital mesta Heilongjiang, ki v času vroče mrzlih zim gosti festival kipov ledu in snega
• 39.4575.9833336 Kašgar (Kitajsko: 喀什, ujgurski: قەشقەر) - središče ujgurske kulture s čudovitim in dobro ohranjenim starim mestnim jedrom ter s slavno mošejo Id Kah
• 32.05118.766666666677 Nanjing (南京) - prestolnica v obdobju zgodnje dinastije Ming in Republike Kitajske, znano zgodovinsko in kulturno mesto s številnimi zgodovinskimi kraji
• 31.166666666667121.466666666678 Šanghaj (上海) - največje kitajsko mesto, ki slovi po mestni krajini ob reki, velikem trgovskem središču s številnimi možnostmi nakupovanja
• 34.266666666667108.99 Xi'an (西安) - najstarejše mesto in starodavna prestolnica Kitajske, zaključek antične Svilena cestain dom bojevnikov iz terakote

V nova mesta lahko potujete v številna mesta hitri vlaki. Še posebej proga Hangzhou - Šanghaj - Suzhou - Nanjing je primeren način za ogled teh zgodovinskih območij.

Druge destinacije

Nekatere najbolj znane turistične znamenitosti na Kitajskem so:

• 40.416666666667116.083333333331 Veliki kitajski zid (万里长城) - ta starodavna stena, daljša od 8000 km, je najbolj znana znamenitost Kitajske
• 20.03342110.323982 Hainan (海南) - tropski rajski otok, ki se močno razvija v turizem
• 33.2103.93 Naravni rezervat Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟) - znan po številnih večstopenjskih slapovih, pisanih jezerih in kot dom velikanskih pand
• 29.5854103.757554 Leshan - najbolj znan po ogromni rečni rezbariji Bude in v bližini Gora Emei
• 28.1811111186.803055565 Mount Everest - čez mejo med Nepalom in Tibetom je to najvišja gora na svetu
• 36.266666666667117.16 Gora Tai (泰山 Tài Shān) - ena izmed petih svetih taoističnih gora na Kitajskem in najbolj preplezana gora na Kitajskem
• 31.70555686.9402787 Tibet (西藏) - z večino tibetanskih budistov in tradicionalno tibetansko kulturo se počuti kot povsem drugačen svet
• 40.11143113.132338 Grottoe Yungang (云冈 石窟) - te gorske jame in vdolbine štejejo več kot 50 in so napolnjene z 51.000 budističnimi kipi
• 25.2667110.28339 Guilin kraški (桂林) - senzacionalne gorske pokrajine, ki so že dolgo predmet kitajskih slik

Kitajska ima na območju več kot 40 lokacij Unescov seznam svetovne dediščine.

Razumeti

Kapital	Peking
Valuta	renminbi (CNY)
Prebivalstvo	1,4 milijarde (2017)
Elektrika	220 voltov / 50 herc (NEMA 1-15, Europlug, AS / NZS 3112)
Koda države	86
Časovni pas	Kitajski standardni čas, UTC 08:00
Nujne primere	119 (gasilci), 110 (policija), 120 (nujna medicinska pomoč)
Vozna stran	prav
uredi na Wikidata

Kitajska je ena glavnih civilizacij na tem svetu in je dolga stoletja izstopala kot vodilna država s tehnologijami, ki jim Zahod ni uspel doseči do zgodnjega modernega obdobja. Papir in smodnik sta primera kitajskih izumov, ki se še danes pogosto uporabljajo. Kitajska je kot prevladujoča sila v regiji večino svoje zgodovine večino svoje kulture izvažala v sosednje države Vietnam, Koreja in Japonska, kitajski vpliv pa je še vedno viden v kulturah teh držav.

Kitajska civilizacija je preživela tisočletja burnih preobratov in revolucij, zlatih dob in obdobij anarhije. Z gospodarskim razcvetom, ki so ga sprožile reforme od osemdesetih let prejšnjega stoletja, se je Kitajska vrnila na mesto pomembne politične in gospodarske svetovne velesile, ki jo spodbuja veliko, marljivo prebivalstvo in bogati naravni viri. Globina in kompleksnost kitajske civilizacije je s svojo bogato dediščino navdušila zahodnjake kot npr Marko Polo in Gottfrieda Leibniza v preteklih stoletjih in bo še naprej navduševal - in zmedel - popotnika danes.

V kitajščini je Kitajska zhōng guó, dobesedno "osrednja država", vendar pogosto bolj poetično prevedeno kot "Srednje kraljestvo". Ljudje od drugod se imenujejo '' wàiguórén '' (外国人, "ljudje zunaj države") ali pogovorno lǎowài, "stari tujci" s "starimi" v smislu častitljivi ali spoštovani (v praksi se ti izrazi večinoma nanašajo na belci ali zahodnjaki in skoraj nikoli nobenemu tujcu kitajskega porekla).

Zgodovina

Glej Cesarska Kitajska za več informacij o predrevolucionarni Kitajski.

Starodavna Kitajska

Po legendi je izvor kitajske civilizacije mogoče izslediti do Trije suvereni in pet cesarjev (三皇 五帝), čeprav jih večina sodobnih zgodovinarjev šteje za mitske osebe.

Zapisana zgodovina kitajske civilizacije je mogoče izslediti do ... Rumena reka dolina, ki naj bi bila "zibelka kitajske civilizacije". The Dinastija Xia (夏朝, c. 2070 pr. N. Št. - c. 1600 p. N. Št.) Je bila prva dinastija, ki je bila opisana v starodavnih zgodovinskih kronikah, čeprav do danes ni bilo mogoče najti nobenega nespornega dokaza o njenem obstoju. Nekateri arheologi so naselja Erlitou povezali z dinastijo Xia, vendar je to sporno stališče.

Kip Laozija

The Dinastija Šang (商朝, okoli 1600 pr. N. Št. - 1046 pr. N. Št.), Prva arheološko potrjena kitajska dinastija, ki je vladala le čez porečje Rume. Nasledil jih je Dinastija Zhou (周朝, 1046 pr. N. Št. - 256 pr. N. Št.), Ki je razširil kitajsko civilizacijo proti jugu Reka Jangce kotlina. Zhou je fevdalizem sprejel kot svoj sistem upravljanja, v katerem so fevdalci gospodarili na svojih ozemljih z visoko stopnjo avtonomije, celo ohranjali lastno vojsko, hkrati pa plačevali poklon kralju in ga priznavali kot simbolnega vladarja Kitajska.

V drugi polovici obdobja Zhou se je Kitajska spustila v stoletja političnih pretresov, saj so se fevdalci številnih majhnih fevdov potegovali za oblast med Pomladno in jesensko obdobje (春秋 时代, 770 pr. N. Št. - 476 pr. N. Št.) In se kasneje ustalil v sedem velikih držav v Obdobje vojskujočih se držav (战国 时代, 475 pr. N. Št. - 221 pr. N. Št.). To burno obdobje je rodilo največje kitajske mislece, vključno s Konfucijem, Mencijem in Laozijem (tudi črkovno Lao-Tzu), ki so bistveno prispevali k kitajski misli in kulturi, pa tudi vojaškega stratega Sun Tzuja, katerega Umetnost vojne se preučuje do danes.

Cesarska Kitajska

Poglej tudi: Po poti Marca Pola

Kitajska je bila združena leta 221 pred našim štetjem pod vodstvom Qin Shi Huanga, "prvega cina Qin". Njegov Dinastija Qin (秦朝, 221 pr. N. Št. - 206 pr. N. Št.) Je na Kitajskem vzpostavil centraliziran sistem vladanja in poenotil uteži in mere, kitajske znake in valuto, da bi ustvaril enotnost. The Dinastija Han (汉朝, 206 pr. N. Št. - 220 n. Št.) Je prevzel leta 206 pr. N. Št. Po obdobju upora in državljanske vojne, ki je začelo prvo zlato dobo kitajske civilizacije. Do danes večina kitajske rase uporablja izraz "Han", da se opisuje, kitajski znaki pa se še naprej imenujejo "hanski znaki" (汉字 hànzì) v kitajščini. Dinastija Han je predsedovala začetku Svilena cestain izum papirja.

Propad dinastije Han leta 220 AD je privedel do obdobja političnih pretresov in vojne, znanih kot obdobje treh kraljestev (三国 时期, 220—280), ki jo je Kitajska razdelila na tri ločene države Wei (魏, 220–265), Šu (蜀, 221—263) in Wu (吴, 222—280). The Dinastija Jin (晋朝, 265—420) je ponovno združila Kitajsko leta 280 po Kr., Čeprav je bila ponovna združitev kratkotrajna in Kitajska bo spet hitro padla v državljansko vojno in delitev. Od 420 do 589 AD je bila Kitajska razdeljena na dva dela, južne in severne dinastije (南北朝). The Dinastija Sui (隋朝, 581—618) ponovno združila Kitajsko leta 581. Sui so bili znani po večjih projektih javnih del, kot je inženirski podvig Veliki kanal, ki se je postopoma razvil v kanal, ki je Peking na severu povezoval s Hangzhouom na jugu. Določeni odseki kanala so še danes plovni.

Veliki zid

Leta 618 našega štetja so Sui izpodrinili Dinastija Tang (唐朝, 618–907), ki je začela drugo zlato dobo kitajske civilizacije, ki jo je zaznamoval razcvet kitajske poezije, vzpon budizma in državne umetnosti. Po propadu dinastije Tang leta 907 je bila Kitajska ponovno razdeljena, dokler ni bila ponovno združena pod Dinastija Song (宋朝, 960—1279) leta 960 AD. Leta 1127 so Jurcheni pesem peljali južno od reke Huai, kjer so še naprej vladali kot južna pesem s sedežem v Linanu (临安 Lín'ān, sodobni Hangzhou). Čeprav je bila vojaško šibka, je dosegla visoko stopnjo trgovinskega in gospodarskega razvoja, ki ji na Zahodu ne bi bilo para do Industrijska revolucija. The Dinastija Yuan (元朝, 1271—1368, eden od štirih oddelkov Mongolsko cesarstvo) premagal Jurchene, nato osvojil Song leta 1279 in vladal velikemu imperiju iz Khanbaliqa (大都 Dàdū, današnji Peking).

Po porazu Mongolov je Dinastija Ming (明朝, 1368—1644), ki ga je ponovno vzpostavil etnični Han. Obdobje Ming je bilo opazno za trgovino in raziskovanje, s Zheng On je številna potovanja do Jugovzhodna Azija, Indija in Arabski svet, celo do vzhodne obale Ljubljane Afriko; glej Pomorska svilna pot. V tem obdobju so bile zgrajene znane stavbe v Pekingu, kot sta Prepovedano mesto in Nebeški tempelj. Zadnja cesarska dinastija, Dinastija Qing (清朝, 1644—1911), so bili etnični Manchus, ki so kitajsko cesarstvo nadalje razširili na približno sedanje meje z vključitvijo zahodnih regij Xinjiang in Tibet.

Dinastija Qing je propadla v 19. stoletju, Kitajsko pa so pogosto opisovali kot "bolnika v Aziji" (東亞 病夫 / 东亚 病夫). Zahodne sile in Japonska so ga grizle narazen, čas, ki so ga Kitajci poimenovali "stoletje ponižanja". Zahodnjaki in Japonci so ustanovili lastna pogodbena pristanišča v Guangzhouu, Šanghaju in Tianjinu. Kitajska je tujim silam izgubila več ozemelj, med drugim Hongkongu Britaniji in Tajvanu Japonski ter izgubila nadzor nad pritoki, Vietnamom, Korejo in otoki Ryukyu. To je tudi obdobje, ko je stereotipni videz Kitajcev, kot so pigtails, frizure Manchu in magua (nekakšna mančujska oblačila) se je zaradi navala tujih komunikacij po prepovedi morja ukoreninila v drugih tujih državah. Pretresi ob koncu dinastije Qing in obdobja Republike Kitajske so privedli do emigracije številnih Kitajcev, ki so ustanovili čezmorske kitajske skupnosti v mnogih drugih delih sveta. Večina tujih Kitajcev, ki so se izselili pred drugo svetovno vojno, je bila iz Fujian, Guangdong ali Hainan, da bi te province postale naravne kraje, če želite raziskati zapuščino čezmorskih Kitajcev.

Republika in druga svetovna vojna

Poglej tudi: Kitajske revolucionarne destinacije, Pacifiška vojna, Dolg marec

2000 let star cesarski sistem je propadel leta 1911, ko je Sun Yat-Sen ustanovil Republika Kitajska. Osrednja vladavina je propadla leta 1916, potem ko je umrl Yuan Shih-kai, drugi predsednik republike in samooklicani cesar; Kitajska se je spustila v anarhijo, saj so vojaški poveljniki vladali nad različnimi regijami Kitajske in med seboj borili vojne. Leta 1919 so študentski protesti v Pekingu zaradi zaznanih neugodnih pogojev Versajske pogodbe (odkar je Kitajska sodelovala pri Prva svetovna vojna kot del zaveznikov) je rodilo "gibanje četrtega maja", ki je kitajski družbi zagovarjalo reforme, na primer pisanje ljudskega jezika ter razvoj znanosti in demokracije. Intelektualno vrenje gibanja je rodilo reorganizirano Kuomintang (KMT) leta 1919 in Kitajska komunistična partija (CCP), leta 1921. Prav tako je postavil temelje za vzpostavitev standardne mandarinščine kot prve standardne govorjene oblike kitajščine za celotno državo.

Potem ko je bil večji del vzhodne Kitajske leta 1928 združen pod vladavino KMT, sta se KPK in KMT obrnili drug proti drugemu in KPK je v epskem epu pobegnila v Yan'an v Shaanxiju Dolg marec. Čeprav je Šanghaj v dvajsetih in tridesetih letih 20. stoletja postal eno najbolj uspešnih mest v vzhodni Aziji, so še vedno obstajali osnovni problemi po širnem podeželju, zlasti bolj notranjih delih države, kot so državljanski nemiri, skrajna revščina, lakota in spopadi vojskov.

Japonska je leta 1931 ustanovila lutkovno državo Manchukuo v Mandžuriji in leta 1937 sprožila obsežno invazijo na osrednje Kitajsko. Japonci so na vzhodni Kitajski uvedli brutalni sistem vladanja, ki se je končal z masakrom v Nanjingu leta 1937. Po begu proti zahodu v Chongqing je KMT s KPK podpisal trden sporazum o oblikovanju enotne fronte proti Japoncem. Po porazu Japonske ob koncu druge svetovne vojne leta 1945 sta vojski KMT in KPK manevrirali na položaje na severu Kitajske in tako postavili temelje za državljansko vojno. Državljanska vojna je trajala od leta 1945 do 1949. Kuomintangi so bili poraženi in prisiljeni pobegniti na Tajvan, kjer so upali, da se bodo nekega dne spet uveljavili in zavzeli celino.

Rdeča Kitajska

Vhod v cesarsko mesto je danes opremljen z Maovo sliko in rdečimi zastavami

1. oktobra 1949 je Mao Zedong razglasil ustanovitev Ljudska republika Kitajska (中华人民共和国). Po začetnem obdobju je tesno upoštevala sovjetski model težke industrializacije in celovitega centralnega gospodarskega načrtovanja, je Kitajska začela eksperimentirati s prilagajanjem marksizma večinoma agrarni družbi.

Obsežni socialni eksperimenti so pretresli Kitajsko od leta 1957 do 1976. Cilj Velikega skoka je bil hitro kolektivizirati in industrializirati Kitajsko. Kulturna revolucija je želela vse spremeniti z disciplino, uničenjem "štirih starih" (navad, kulture, navad, idej) in popolno predanostjo misli Mao Zedonga. Veliki preskok in kulturna revolucija se na Kitajskem na splošno štejeta za katastrofalni neuspeh, ki je povzročil smrt več deset milijonov ljudi. Še vedno lahko čutimo učinke kulturne revolucije: številni elementi tradicionalne kitajske kulture in ljudskih verovanj še naprej uspevajo v Hongkongu, Macau, Tajvanu in čezmorskih kitajskih skupnostih, vendar so v celinski Kitajski večinoma izginili.

Mao je umrl leta 1976, leta 1978 pa je Deng Xiaoping postal vodilni vodja Kitajske. Deng in njegovi poročniki so postopoma uvedli tržno usmerjene reforme in decentralizirano gospodarsko odločanje. Ena izmed novosti je bilo ustvarjanje Posebne ekonomske cone z davčnimi olajšavami in drugimi vladnimi ukrepi za spodbujanje naložb in razvoja; ti še vedno obstajajo in so precej uspešni.

Kitajska čudežna rast od leta 1978 je izjemen dosežek. Kljub temu ostajajo pomembni problemi, vključno z inflacijo, regionalno neenakostjo dohodka, kršitvami človekovih pravic, večjimi okoljskimi težavami, revščino na podeželju in etničnimi konflikti v Xinjiangu in Tibetu. Zlasti očitna korupcija je bila glavni vzrok za obsežna politična gibanja leta 1989, kar je posledično povzročilo krvavo zatiranje protestnikov v mestih Peking, pogosto znano kot Pokol na Tiananmenu. Incident je na Kitajskem še vedno občutljiva in zelo cenzurirana tema.

Hu Jintao, ki je bil najpomembnejši vodja približno od leta 2004 do 2012, je razglasil politiko za "harmonično družbo", ki je obljubila, da bo obnovila uravnoteženo gospodarsko rast ter usmerila naložbe in blaginjo v osrednje in zahodne kitajske province. Kitajska se je od devetdesetih let gospodarno razvijala z vratolomno hitrostjo in prehitela Japonska postati drugo največje svetovno gospodarstvo po Združene države leta 2010 ponovno utrdil svoje mesto kot glavna politična, vojaška in gospodarska svetovna sila. Kitajska je tudi razširila svojo mednarodno moč in postala glavni vir tujih naložb, zlasti v Franciji Jugovzhodna Azija, Srednja Azija, Afriko in vedno bolj v Latinska Amerika prav tako. Predsednik Xi Jinping je leta 2013 začel pobudo Belt and Road, ki poskuša razširiti mednarodne trgovinske mreže s kitajskimi naložbami v prometno infrastrukturo. V glavnem sledi poti starega Svilena cesta. Medtem ko so Xijevi upravi pogosto očitali, da je bolj diktatorska kot prejšnja, se je pod njim precej razširil tudi mednarodni vpliv Kitajske, očitna korupcija pa se je znatno zmanjšala. Poleg tega se v številnih revnejših regijah zahodne Kitajske, ki jih je gospodarski razcvet v veliki meri zapustil, zdaj začne več vlagati v infrastrukturo.

Dve nekdanji koloniji, Hong Kong (Britanski) in Macau (Portugalščina), se je Kitajska ponovno pridružila leta 1997 oziroma 1999. So Posebne upravne regije (SAR), drugače delujejo pod sloganom "Ena država, dva sistema". Ta članek jih ne zajema, ker za praktična potovanja delujejo kot različne države z lastnimi vizumi, valutami in zakoni.

Vlada in politika

Poglej tudi: Kitajske province in regije

Kitajska je avtoritarna država, ki ji vlada Komunistična partija Kitajske. "Vrhunski vodja" je generalni sekretar komunistične partije, ki ima več drugih funkcij, vključno s slavnostnim predsednikom. Državni svet tvori izvršilno vejo oblasti; naslednji najmočnejši vodja je premier državnega sveta, ki je šef vlade (kot premier). Zakonodajno vejo sestavlja enodomni Nacionalni ljudski kongres (NPC), največji zakonodajni organ na svetu s skoraj 3000 delegati. NPC je pogosto opisan kot telo z "žigosanjem"; na veteje skoraj ni vetov, člani pa se pritožujejo zaradi pomanjkanja moči.

Kitajska večinoma sledi centraliziranemu sistemu upravljanja in je upravno razdeljena na 22 provinc, 5 avtonomnih regij in 4 občine pod neposrednim nadzorom. Pokrajinske vlade imajo omejene pristojnosti v svojih notranjih in gospodarskih zadevah. Avtonomne regije imajo več pravne svobode kot province, na primer pravica do izjave dodatnih uradnih jezikov poleg mandarinščine. Občine pod neposrednim nadzorom so mesta, ki niso del nobene province, ki neposredno poročajo osrednji vladi v Pekingu. Pogosto imajo različna imena, prefekture ((地 级) 市 / 自治州 / 地区), okrožja (县 / (县级) 市 / 区) in občine (乡 / / names) so podrejene provincam.

Posebne upravne regije (SAR), Hong Kong in Macau, načeloma delujejo kot ločene jurisdikcije, pri čemer Peking nadzira le zunanjo politiko in obrambo, čeprav je v praksi ta avtonomija omejena.

LRK meni Tajvan ena od njenih provinc, vendar je bila tajvanska vlada (Republika Kitajska) popolnoma ločena od celinske kitajske od leta 1949. Obe vladi še naprej trdita, da je edina legitimna vlada za celotno Kitajsko. Na Tajvanu sicer podpirajo formalno neodvisnost, toda kitajska vlada je že večkrat zagrozila, da bo začela vojaški napad na Tajvan, če se otok razglasi za neodvisen. Glej Kitajske province in regije za več podrobnosti.

Ljudje in običaji

Kitajska ima 1,4 milijarde prebivalcev skoraj petino svetovnega prebivalstva in je najbolj naseljena država na svetu. Je raznolik kraj z velikimi razlikami v kulturi, jeziku, običajih in ekonomski ravni od regije do regije, pogosto pa tudi z različnimi kulturnimi in regionalnimi identitetami.

Gospodarska pokrajina je še posebej raznolika. Večja mesta, kot so Peking, Guangzhou in Šanghaj, so moderna in razmeroma bogata. Vendar približno 50% Kitajcev še vedno živi na podeželju, čeprav je le 10% kitajskih površin obdelovalnih. Na stotine milijonov podeželskih prebivalcev še vedno kmetuje z ročnimi deli ali vlečnimi živalmi. Približno 200 do 300 milijonov nekdanjih kmetov se je v iskanju dela preselilo v mesta in mesta. Revščina se je močno zmanjšala, toda proti koncu leta 2016 je Kitajska še vedno imela 43 milijonov ljudi pod uradno mejo revščine v višini 2300 JPY (približno 334 ameriških dolarjev) letnega dohodka. Na drugem koncu spektra bogati še naprej kopičijo nepremičnine in drugo premoženje z izjemno hitrostjo. Južna in vzhodna obalna območja so na splošno bolj bogata, celinska območja, skrajni zahod in sever ter jugozahod pa so precej manj razvita.

Tudi kulturna krajina je zelo raznolika. Kitajci Han so največja etnična skupina, ki zajema več kot 90% prebivalstva, vendar niso kulturno homogeni in govorijo široko paleto med seboj nerazumljivih narečij in jezikov. Številne navade in božanstva so značilna za posamezne regije in celo vasi. Praznovanja ob Luninem novem letu in drugi nacionalni festivali se od regije do regije močno razlikujejo. Tudi običaji, povezani s praznovanjem pomembnih priložnosti, kot so poroke, pogrebi in rojstva, se zelo razlikujejo. Kulturna revolucija je izbrisala večino tradicionalne kitajske kulture in religije, in čeprav še vedno do neke mere preživijo, so številne stare tradicije bolje ohranjene v Hongkongu, Tajvanu, Macau in čezmorskih kitajskih skupnostih kot v celinski Kitajski. Na splošno je sodobna mestna kitajska družba sekularna in tradicionalna kultura je bolj temeljni tok v vsakdanjem življenju. Kljub temu je v 21. stoletju prišlo do kulturne oživitve, ki so jo v glavnem vodili mladi Kitajci iz srednjega razreda, ki zdaj s pomočjo družbenih omrežij promovirajo različne vidike svojih tradicionalnih kultur.

Preostalih 10% prebivalstva predstavlja 55 priznanih etničnih manjšin, med katerimi so največje Zhuang, Manchu, Hui in Miao (Hmong) - ki imajo vsak svoje edinstvene kulture in jezike. Druge pomembne etnične manjšine so Korejci, Tibetanci, Mongoli, Ujguri, Kazahstanci in Rusi. Na Kitajskem živi največ korejskega prebivalstva zunaj Koreje in živi več etničnih Mongolov kot je Mongolija. Številne manjšine so bile asimilirane v različnih stopnjah, izgubile so jezik in navade ali se spojile s hansko tradicijo, čeprav Tibetanci in Ujguri na Kitajskem še vedno močno branijo svoje kulture.

Srečne številke

Številni Kitajci imajo radi homofone, več številk pa velja za ugodne ali neugodne na podlagi rim z drugimi kitajskimi besedami. "Šest" je dobra številka za posel, v mandarinščini zveni kot "gladka" ali "gladka", v kantonščini pa "dobra sreča" ali "sreča". "Osem" se sliši tako blizu besedi za "napredovati", da velja za zelo ugodno. "Devet" nekoč je bil povezan s cesarjem in se sliši tudi kot "dolgotrajen".

Medtem pa "štiri" je za večino Kitajcev tabu, ker je izgovorjava v mandarinskem, kantonskem in večini drugih kitajskih narečij blizu "smrti"; nekatere stavbe preskočijo tla in številke sob, ki vsebujejo 4.

Podnebje in teren

Hainan je priljubljena destinacija na tropski Kitajski

Podnebje je izredno raznoliko, od tropskih regij na jugu do subarktike na severu. Hainan Otok je približno na isti zemljepisni širini kot Jamajka Harbin, eno največjih mest na severu, je na približno zemljepisni širini Montreala in ima primerno podnebje. Severna Kitajska ima štiri ločene sezone z močno vročimi poletji in bridko hladnimi zimami. Južna Kitajska je ponavadi blažja in bolj mokra. Bolj ko potujete proti severu in zahodu, podnebje je bolj suho. Ko zapustite vzhodno Kitajsko in vstopite v veličastno tibetansko višavje ali prostrane stepe in puščave Gansu in Xinjiang, so razdalje velike in dežela je ostra.

V času komunistične načrtovane ekonomije so enotna pravila zahtevala, da se stavbe na območjih severno od reke Jangce pozimi ogrevajo, vse, kar je južno od nje, pa ne - to pomeni, da stavbe niso ogrevane v krajih, kot sta Šanghaj in Nanjing, kjer imajo temperature običajno nižje zmrzovanje pozimi. Pravilo je bilo sicer sproščeno že zdavnaj, vendar so učinki še vedno vidni. Kitajci na splošno uporabljajo manj ogrevanja in manj izolacije stavb ter nosijo več toplih oblačil kot zahodnjaki v primerljivih podnebjih. V šolah, stanovanjih in poslovnih zgradbah, tudi če so sobe ogrevane, hodniki niso. Dvojna zasteklitev je precej redka. Učenci in učitelji v razredu nosijo zimske jakne, pogosto pa je tudi dolgo spodnje perilo. Klimatske naprave so vse pogostejše, vendar se podobno ne uporabljajo na hodnikih in se pogosto uporabljajo pri odprtih oknih in vratih.

Kitajska ima v središču in na skrajnem zahodu številne celinske gorske verige, visoke planote in puščave; na vzhodu prevladujejo ravnice, delte in griči. The Delta Biserne reke regija okoli Guangzhouja in Hongkonga ter Delta Jangceja okoli Šanghaja so glavne svetovne gospodarske moči, prav tako severnokitajska ravnina okoli Pekinga in Rumena reka. Na meji med Tibetom (avtonomna regija Tibet) in Nepalom leži Gora Everest, na 8.850 m, najvišja točka na zemlji. The Turpan depresija na severozahodu Kitajske Xinjiang je najnižja točka na Kitajskem s 154 m pod morsko gladino, kar je druga najnižja točka na svetu po Mrtvo morje.

Merske enote

Kitajski uradni sistem meritev je metrični, vendar boste včasih slišali tradicionalni kitajski sistem meritev, ki se uporablja v pogovorni rabi. Tisti, na katerega boste najverjetneje naleteli v vsakdanji uporabi, je enota mase jīn (斤), danes enako 0,5 kg na celinski Kitajski. Večina Kitajcev bo svojo težo navedla v jīn če se to vpraša, so pogosto navedene cene hrane na trgih jīn.

Prazniki

Kitajska med letom opazuje dvotedenske počitnice, imenovane Zlati tedni. V teh tednih okoli Kitajsko novo leto (konec januarja do sredine februarja) in Dan državnosti (1. oktobra) se na stotine milijonov delavcev migrantov vrne domov in milijoni drugih Kitajcev potujejo znotraj države (vendar mnogi v storitvenem sektorju zaostajajo in uživajo dodatno plačilo). Poskusite se izogniti, da bi bili med večjimi prazniki na cesti, tirnicah ali v zraku. Če morate potovati, načrtujte vnaprej, zlasti za prevoz in potovanje z zahodne Kitajske ali vzhodne obale. Vsak način prevoza je izjemno natrpan; do vstopnic je zelo težko priti in vas bodo stale veliko več. Letalske karte se zaradi višjih cen prodajajo počasneje. Obdobje kitajskega novega leta je največja letna selitev ljudi na Zemlji.

Kitajsko novo leto

Kitajska ima sedem državnih praznikov:

• Novo leto (元旦 Yuándàn) - 1. januarja
• Pomladni festival (春节 Chūn Jié), a.k.a. Kitajsko novo leto - 1. dan 1. luninega meseca, konec januarja do sredine februarja (12. februarja 2021)
• Dan pomivanja grobnic (清明节 Qīngmíng Jié) - 15. dan od pomladanskega enakonočja, 4. do 6. aprila (4. aprila 2021). Cemeteries are crowded with people who go to sweep the tombs of their ancestors and offer sacrifices. Traffic on the way to cemeteries can be very heavy.
• Labor Day (劳动节 Láodòng Jié) — 1 May
• Dragon Boat Festival (端午节 Duānwǔ Jié) — 5th day of the 5th lunar month, late May to June (14 June in 2021). Boat races and eating rice dumplings (粽子 zòngzi, steamed pouches of sticky rice) are a traditional part of the celebration.
• Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节 Zhōngqiū Jié） — 15th day of the 8th lunar month, September to early October (21 September in 2021). Also called the "Mooncake Festival" after its signature treat, mooncakes (月饼 yuèbǐng). People meet outside, put food on the tables and look up at the full harvest moon.
• National Day (国庆节 Guóqìng Jié) — 1 October

Znan kot Golden Weeks, Chinese New Year and National Day holidays span multiple days; nearly all workers get at least a week for Chinese New Year and some of them get two or three. For many working Chinese, these are the only times of the year they get to travel. Students get four to six weeks of holiday.

Chinese New Year is a traditional time to visit family, and the entire country pretty well shuts down. Many stores and other businesses will close from a few days to a week or longer.

In early July, around 20 million university students will return home and then in late August they will return to school. Roads, railways and planes very busy at these times.

Many areas or ethnic minorities have their own festivals. See listings for individual towns for details. Here are some other nationally important festivals:

• Lantern Festival (元宵节 Yuánxiāo Jié or 上元节 Shàngyuán Jié) — 15th day of the 1st lunar month, traditionally the last day of the Chinese New Year, February to early March (26 February in 2021). In some cities, such as Quanzhou, this is a big festival with elaborate lanterns all over town.
• Double Seventh Day (七夕 Qīxī) — 7th day of the 7th lunar month, usually August (14 August in 2021). This romantic holiday is similar to Valentine's Day.
• Double Ninth Festival or Chongyang Festival (重阳节 Chóngyáng Jié) — 9th day of the 9th lunar month, usually October (14 October in 2021)
• Winter Solstice (冬至 Dōngzhì) — 21 to 23 December (21 December in 2021)

Some Western festivals are noticeable, at least in major cities. Around Christmas, one hears carols — some in English, some in Chinese, and one from Hong Kong that goes "Lonely, lonely Christmas". Some stores are decorated and many shop assistants wear red and white elf hats. Chinese Christians celebrate services and masses at officially sanctioned Protestant and Catholic churches as well. For Valentine's Day, many restaurants offer special meals.

Around the longer holidays (especially the two Golden Weeks and sometimes Labor Day), surrounding weekends may be rearranged to make the holiday longer. This means that around major holidays, places may be closed when they're usually open or open when they would usually be closed.

Časovni pasovi

Despite geographically spanning five time zones, all of China officially follows Beijing Time (GMT 8). However, in the restive province of Xinjiang, while the official time is Beijing Time, some ethnic Uyghurs use the GMT 6 time zone as a sign of defiance against Beijing.

Preberite

• Wild Swans by Jung Chang (ISBN 0007176155 ) - a biography of three generations, from the warlord days to the end of Mao's era, illustrating life under China's version of nationalism and communism. This book is banned in China.
• The Search for Modern China by Jonathan Spence - a standard history book on modern China from the late Ming to the current period.

Govori

Poglej tudi: Kitajski zvezek izrazov

Map of Chinese dialects

The official language of China is Standardna mandarina, known in Chinese as Pǔtōnghuà (普通话, "common speech"), which is based on the Beijing dialect; Chinese in general is known as Zhōngwén (中文). Standard Mandarin is the main language for government and media, as well as the national lingua franca. While the official language is standardized, local pronunciation of Mandarin does vary by region. Unless otherwise noted, all terms, spellings and pronunciations in this guide are in Standard Mandarin. While national media is broadcast in Mandarin, each area often has its own local media that broadcasts in the local language.

Chinese is written using Chinese characters (汉字, hànzì, osvetljeno. "Han characters"). Unlike an alphabet that represents individual sounds without any inherent meaning, each Chinese character represents a meaningful syllable: a specific word or part of a word. Although they look impenetrable at first, there is some method to the madness: most characters are composed from base components combined with other characters (often giving clues to both pronunciation and general meaning). The same characters are used in Japan and Korea with usually similar meanings, albeit different pronunciations. However, since the 1950s mainland China has used simplified characters, kot naprimer 龟 namesto 龜, in an attempt to eradicate illiteracy. Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and many overseas Chinese still use the traditional characters, which are also sometimes used on the mainland as an aesthetic choice. As a result, a word like "bank" will be written 銀行 as often as 银行. The simplification was fairly systematic, and you may deduce at least some of the simplifications on your own just from seeing them frequently. Cursive forms of Chinese characters, often used for effect in logos, range from "looks familiar if you squint" to "impenetrable scribbles".

The standard way of romanizing Mandarin is pinyin (汉语拼音 hànyǔ pīnyīn). It's a fairly logical system, although it has a few idiosyncrasies, including using some letters in ways that are different from English (such as q which is similar to English "ch" and x which is like English "sh"). Mandarin is also tonal, meaning each syllable has to be pronounced with the correct tone — high, rising, falling-rising, falling, or neutral — to be understood; tones are marked in pinyin using diacritics that graphically mimic the tones patterns (as in mā, má, mǎ, mà, in ma). With just a few hours of practice, you can learn to pronounce Mandarin words accurately using pinyin. However, as Chinese has many homophones, pinyin is useful for pronunciation but not practical for communicating meaning; for something like a street address, you need to use Chinese characters.

Although Chinese is written nearly the same across the country, spoken Chinese has a huge array of dialects, of which Standard Mandarin is just one. Verbally, Chinese dialects are as different from each other as English and Dutch, or French and Italian — related, but not mutually intelligible. Two people who speak different Chinese dialects read and write the same, but they would pronounce the written text differently, and can't carry on a conversation with each other. However, thanks to heavy emphasis in the education system, most people can comfortably carry on a conversation in Standard Mandarin, though sometimes with a strong accent. In some areas, younger people are more likely to speak Mandarin than dialects, due to previous education policies that prohibited the use of dialects in school.

A variety of (mainly northern) dialects closely related to the standard are classified as Mandarin and account for the majority of China's population. Other large groups of dialects include Wu (spoken in Shanghai, Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu) in Yue (Guangdong), which includes Kantonski (spoken in much of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau). The Min (Fujian) group includes Minnan (Hokkien, spoken in South Fujian and in Taiwan), Fuzhou dialect (Foochow or Hokchiu, spoken around Fuzhou), Teochew (Chiuchow, spoken in Chaoshan) in Hainščina (spoken in the island province Hainan). Hakka is spoken in several parts of southern China but is more related to northern dialects. Like Mandarin, these are all tonal languages.

Most Chinese are bilingual or even trilingual, speaking Mandarin as well as regional or local dialects. Some who are older or less educated may speak only the local dialect. While you can easily get by in most of China speaking Mandarin, learning a bit of the local dialect is always appreciated, and may get you preferential treatment in shops and restaurants.

Besides dialects of Chinese, various regions also have ethnic minority languages. The west has Turkic languages such as Ujgurski, Kirgiški, in Kazahstanski as well as other languages such as Tibetanski; the north and northeast has Manchu, Mongolski, in Korejski; the south has many other ethnic minorities who speak their own languages. However, except for some older folks, Mandarin is generally usable in these regions and many people are bilingual. In areas with large ethnic minority populations, the relevant ethnic minority language is sometimes co-official with Mandarin, and you may see bilingual road signs.

Chinese Sign Language (CSL or ZGS, 中国手语 Zhōngguó Shǒuyǔ) is the dominant sign language. There is an official version of CSL standardized by the government. There are also two regional dialects, Southern (from Shanghai) and Northern (from Beijing); these and official CSL are largely mutually intelligible. CSL is not mutually intelligible with Hong Kong, Taiwanese, or Malaysian Sign Languages, nor with any others. Tibetan Sign Language (藏语手语 Zàng yǔ shǒuyǔ) is an independent sign language used in Tibet, not mutually intelligible with any others; it too is standardized by the government based on existing regional sign languages.

angleščina

Chinese students study English from primary school to high school, and are required to pass an English test in order to graduate from university. However, the focus is mainly on formal grammar and writing, with less emphasis on reading, and even less on speaking or listening. While knowledge of basic words and phrases such as "hello," "thank you", "OK" and "bye-bye" appears nearly universal, the ability to participate in an English conversation can be limited.

It's generally rare to find locals conversant in English. Staff at airports, hotels, and popular tourist attractions can sometimes speak basic to conversational English. As China's tourism industry primarily caters to the domestic market, outside major international tourist cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an, even staff at tourist attractions may not be conversant in English.

Kdaj using English, simplify and speak slowly. Chinese grammar is very different from English, as verbs, pronouns, and other words essentially don't inflect at all. Although it sounds abrupt in English, simple declarative sentences like "Give me two beers" are quite similar to Chinese, and thus more readily understood than roundabout constructions like "Could we have a pair of beers please?".

A typical "Chinglish" sign

While English signage or menus are increasingly widespread in China, especially at or near tourist attractions, they are often written in incorrect English. Such signage can be difficult to read, but as "Chinglish" follows certain rules, it can usually be deciphered. Oftentimes, translations are simply a word-by-word equivalent of a Chinese expression which, like a word puzzle, can sometimes be pieced together with some thought, but in other cases may be utterly baffling.

Many places have English Corner, informal gatherings for practicing oral English, which can be a good way to meet locals. They're often held at schools and colleges on Friday afternoons, and on Sundays in public parks, English schools, and bookstores, and universities. Topics often include cultural activities like holidays and festivals from English speaking countries, such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Drugi tuji jeziki

Although not as widespread as English, there are some foreign languages that are of use in China. Korejski is spoken as a native language by the ethnic Korean minority in the north east of the country, while Mongolski is the native language of the ethnic Mongol community in Inner Mongolia. Japonski is spoken by some professionals in international businesses. Nemško is a popular language for engineering professionals. Some people in border areas and some older people are able to speak Rusko. arabsko is commonly studied among Muslim communities.

Vstopi

	Visa restrictions: As of 31 January, 2020, Chinese authorities do not recognize British National (Overseas) (BNO) passports. BNO passport holders should use appropriate travel documents (foreign passport/home return permit) to enter China.
	(Information last updated Jan 2021)

Vizumi

COVID-19 informacije:Entry will be denied to most travelers, including those with valid visas or residence permits and those who are normally permitted visa-free transit. Entry by foreign nationals with APEC Business Travel Cards is suspended. Visa on arrival, 24/72/144-hour visa-free transit policy, Hainan 30-day visa-free policy, 15-day visa-free policy for foreign cruise-group-tour through Shanghai Port, Guangdong 144-hour visa-free policy specified for foreign tour groups from Hong Kong or Macao SAR, and Guangxi 15-day visa-free policy for foreign tour groups of ASEAN countries are also temporarily suspended. Entry with diplomatic, service, courtesy or C visas is not affected. Foreign nationals coming to China for necessary economic, trade, scientific or technological activities or out of emergency humanitarian needs may apply for visas at Chinese embassies or consulates. Visas issued after 26 March 2020 will be accepted. Meanwhile, healthy Chinese, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan travellers who have not visited any foreign countries in the past 14 days can visit parts of Guangdong from Macau (including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen in Zhaoqing) after declaring their COVID-19 test as negative through Guangdong's health code app.

(Information last updated 27 Jan 2021)

Map showing visa requirements for visitors to China. Green, blue and purple countries can have visa free travel, while all other countries need a visa.

Most travelers will need a visa (签证 qiānzhèng) to visit mainland China. In most cases, it should be obtained from a Chinese embassy or consulate before departure. Visas for Hong Kong in Macau may be obtained from a Chinese embassy or consulate, but they must be applied for separately from the mainland Chinese visa; there is no visa that serves both mainland China and either of those areas. A single-entry mainland China visa is terminated if you go to Hong Kong or Macau, so ensure that you have a multiple entry visa if you plan to return to mainland China.

You must submit your fingerprints during the visa application process. Children under 14, and senior citizens over 70 are excepted. Your fingerprints may also be taken when you enter China.

30-day single- or double-entry visas for the mainland can sometimes be acquired in Hong Kong or Macau. You can generally fly from overseas to Hong Kong and spend a few days there to get a visa for the mainland. This is supposed to be available only to residents of Hong Kong or Macau. Exceptions are often made but they vary over time, and are not reliable. Macau's visa office is less crowded and the hotels are a bit cheaper, but it takes just as long. In general, only single- and double-entry visas are granted to visitors without Hong Kong ID cards, although foreigners with previous entries into the mainland and Hong Kong student or work visa holders have been known to be approved for multiple entries. Many Hong Kong travel agencies (such as China Travel Service) offer a faster visa turnaround service for a fee. In addition, a travel agency has some capacity to negotiate on the length of your visa. You might apply for a one-year visa and have that rejected; however, they may well be able to get a 6-month visa for you instead.

Visas are sometimes denied to travelers with passport stamps from Turkey and nearby Middle Eastern countries; glej Visa trouble#China za več informacij.

Visa-free travel: Nationals of Brunej, Japonska, in Singapur can visit China without a visa for up to 15 days; nationals of Bahami, Barbados, Belorusija, Fidži, Grenada, Katar, Srbija, Sejšeli, Tonga, in Združeni Arabski Emirati for up to 30 days; nationals of Mavricij for up to 60 days; and nationals of Bosna in Hercegovina, Ekvador, in San Marino for up to 90 days. (Nationals of Bosnia and Herzegovina can only stay 90 days within a 180-day period.)

To visit mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau residents of Chinese nationality must apply at the China Travel Service, the sole authorized issuing agent, to obtain a Home Return Permit (回乡证 húixiāngzhèng), a credit card-sized ID allowing multiple entries and unlimited stay for ten years with no restrictions including on employment. Taiwanese citizens are required to obtain a Taiwan Compatriot Pass (台胞证 táibāozhèng), which is typically valid for five years, and may live in mainland China indefinitely for the duration of the permit's validity with no restrictions including on employment. Travelers should check the most up-to-date information before traveling.

Transit without a visa

Map showing visa waiver program eligibility for visitors to China.

Exceptions from visa requirements may be available for those transiting through some airports, to enable you to take short visits to many metropolitan regions of the country. These rules are dizzyingly complicated and subject to sudden changes, so check with your airline shortly before attempting this method of entry.

Citizens of the designated countries who arrive at airports in Peking, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Hangzhou, Kunming, Nanjing, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Šanghaj, Shenyang, Shijiazhuang, Tianjin, Wuhan, Xiamen, in Xi'an can stay in the city of arrival for up to 144 hours provided they depart from an airport of the same city. The onward ticket must be to a country other than the country from which their arriving flight originated and they must have the required entry documents for the third country or countries. V Guangdong, this arrangement applies to the whole province. A similar policy in Guilin, Harbin, in Čangša allows stays of up to 72 hours. Passengers without a visa who intend to leave the transit area will typically be directed by an immigration officer to wait in an office for around 20 minutes while other officials review the passengers' onward flight documentation.

For the city of Šanghaj and the neighboring provinces of Jiangsu in Zhejiang, visa-free entries through the airports of Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou, as well as the Shanghai sea port or Shanghai Station (through train from Hong Kong), are allowed. Once admitted, passengers can go anywhere within the three province-level units, and must depart within 144 hours (6 days). Translation: 144-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy for Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang.

V Hainan, citizens of the UK, Canada, the US and some other European and Asian countries can travel for up to 30 days without a visa.

Types of visas

Getting a tourist visa is fairly easy for most passports as you don't need an invitation, which is required for business or working visas. The usual tourist single-entry visa is valid for a visit of 30 days and must be used within three months of the date of issue. A double-entry tourist visa must be used within six months of the date of issue. It is possible to secure a single, double, or multiple entry tourist visa for up to 60 days or, less commonly, 90 days for some citizens applying in their home countries.

Consulates and travel agents have been known to occasionally request proof of onward travel at the time of visa application.

Tourist visa extensions can be applied for at the local Entry & Exit Bureau or Public Security Bureau (公安局 Gōng'ānjú) after handing in the following documents: valid passport, visa extension application form including one passport-sized photo, a copy of the Registration Form of Temporary Residence which you received from the local police station at registration. Tourist visas can be only extended once. Processing time is usually five working days and it costs ¥160. See city articles to find out the local bureau.

Some travelers will need a dual entry or multiple entry visa. For example, if you enter China on a single entry visa, then go to Hong Kong or Macau, you need a new visa to re-enter mainland China. In Hong Kong, multiple entry visas are officially available only to HKID holders, but the authorities are willing to bend the rules somewhat and may approve three-month multiple entry visas for short-term Hong Kong qualified residents, including exchange students. It is recommended to apply directly with the Chinese government in this case, as some agents will be unwilling to submit such an application on your behalf.

Obtaining a Visa on Arrival is possible usually only for the Shenzhen ali Zhuhai Special Economic Zones, and such visas are limited to those areas. When crossing from Hong Kong to Shenzhen at Lo Wu railway station, and notably not at Lok Ma Chau, a five-day Shenzhen-only visa can be obtained during extended office hours on the spot. The office accepts only Chinese yuan as payment.

There may be restrictions on visas for some nationalities and these vary over time. Na primer:

• The visa fee for American nationals is US$140 (or US$110 as part of a group tour).
• Indian nationals are limited to 10- or 15-day tourist visas, and have to show US$100 per day of visa validity in the form of traveler's checks. (US$1,000 and US$1,500, respectively).
• Foreigners in South Korea not holding an alien registration card must travel to the Chinese consulate in Busan, as the Chinese embassy in Seul does not issue visas to non-residents in Korea. Applications must be made through an official travel agency.

Glej Working in China for information for those who want to work in China, and their family members.

One option for foreigners married to Chinese citizens is to obtain a six- to twelve-month visiting relatives (探亲 tànqīn) visa. This is a tourist (L) visa that permits individuals to remain in China continuously for the duration of their visa and does not require the visa holder to exit and re-enter China to maintain the validity of the visa. To apply for a this visa, you should first enter the country on a different visa and then apply for a visiting relatives visa at the local Public Security bureau in the city that your marriage was registered in, which is usually your Chinese spouse's hometown. Bring your marriage certificate and spouse's identification card (身份证 shēnfènzhèng).

If you apply for a visa in South Korea, you will generally have to either show an Alien Registration Card showing you still have several months of residency in South Korea or show that you've received a Chinese visa within the last two years. You cannot apply to a Chinese embassy or consulate directly but must proceed through a travel agent. Generally only 30-day single entry visas are available.

Registering your abode

An announcement above a hotel's reception desk lists acceptable document types (including a foreign citizen's passport, 外国人“护照”) for guest registration

Chinese immigration law requires that hotels, guest houses and hostels register their guests with the local police when they check in. The staff will scan your passport including your visa and entry stamps. In some places, your face may be photographed. Help staff out if they do not know where the most recent stamp is — immigration officers are sometimes known to stamp in the wrong order.

Some of the lower-end hotels are not set up for this and will refuse foreign guests. Others will accept foreign guests but ignore the registration requirement. You should avoid staying at one of these places immediately after arriving in China, lest you run into problems later, such as refusal of entry, due to not registering when you entered the country.

If you are staying in a private residence, you are required to register your abode with the local police within 24 hours (city) to 72 hours (countryside) of arrival, though the law is enforced inconsistently. The police will ask for a copy of the photograph page of your passport, a copy of your visa, a copy of your immigration entry stamp, a photograph and a copy of the tenancy agreement or other document concerning the place you are staying in. That agreement might not be in your name but it will still be asked for.

This Temporary Residence Permit should be carried with you at all times, especially if you are in larger cities or where control is tight.

You must re-register if your visa or residence permit undergoes any changes — extensions, or changes in passport (even here, it is ideal to re-register when you get a new passport, regardless if you've transferred the visa or residence permit to the new passport). In some cities, you must re-register every time you re-enter mainland China even if your residence permit is still valid; check with your local police station to see if this is necessary.

Z letalom

COVID-19 informacije: China maintains a circuit breaker policy regarding flights arriving in China. A flight route operated by a particular airline will be terminated for a period of 1 week if more than 5 COVID-19 positive cases are found related to the route, and 4 weeks for more than 10 cases. The Civil Aviation Administration of China publishes these termination orders regularly from time to time, and please contact your airline if you are affected by such orders.

(Information last updated 13 Oct 2020)

The main international gateways to mainland China are Peking (PEK ^IATA & PKX ^IATA, for all airports BJS ^IATA), Šanghaj (PVG ^IATA) in Guangzhou (LAHKO ^IATA). The explosive growth of commercial aviation in China has led to the proliferation of international gateways to the country. In particular, Chengdu (CTU ^IATA), Chongqing (CKG ^IATA) in Kunming (KMG ^IATA) are emerging as major Chinese hubs, with flights to destinations in North America, Europe and Oceania.

Airline tickets are expensive or hard to come by around Chinese New Year, the Chinese 'golden weeks' and university holidays.

If you live in a city with a sizeable overseas Chinese community, check for cheap flights with someone in that community or visit travel agencies operated by Chinese. Sometimes flights advertised only in Chinese newspapers or travel agencies cost significantly less than posted fares in English. However if you go and ask, you can get the same discount price.

Letalski prevozniki

China's carriers are growing rapidly. The three largest, and state-owned airlines are flag carrier Air China (中国国际航空), as well as China Eastern Airlines (中国东方航空) and China Southern Airlines (中国南方航空), based in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou respectively. Other airlines include XiamenAir (厦门航空), Letalski prevozniki Hainan (海南航空), Shenzhen Airlines (深圳航空) and Sichuan Airlines (四川航空).

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific can connect from many international destinations to all the major mainland cities. Other Asian carriers with good connections into China include Singapore Airlines, Japan-based Japonske letalske družbe in All Nippon Airways, South Korea-based Korean Air in Asian Airlines, and Taiwan-based China Airlines in EVA Air.

Many major carriers based outside Asia fly to at least one of China's main hubs — Peking (Kapital ali Daxing), Shanghai Pudong in Guangzhou — and many go to several of those. Nekateri, kot npr KLM, also have flights to other less prominent Chinese cities. Check the individual city articles for details.

Glej Discount airlines in Asia for some additional options both to reach China and to get around within it.

Z vlakom

China can be reached by train from many of its neighboring countries and even all the way from Europe.

• Russia & Europe - two lines of the Transsibirska železnica (Trans-Mongolian and Trans-Manchurian) run between Moskva and Beijing, stopping in various other Russian cities, and for the Trans-Mongolian, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
• Kazakhstan & Central Asia - od Almaty, Kazakhstan, you can travel by rail to Ürümqi in the northwestern province of Xinjiang. There are long waits at the Alashankou border crossing for customs, as well as for changing the wheelbase for the next country's track. Another, shorter, trans-border route has no direct train service; rather, you take an overnight Kazakh train from Almaty to Altynkol, cross the border to Khorgos, and then take an overnight Chinese train from Khorgos (or the nearby Yining) to Urumqi. There is also direct train service between Ürümqi and Astana (via Khorgos). (Podrobnosti, in Chinese)
• Hong Kong - regular services link mainland China with Hong Kong. A high speed rail link was completed in 2018.
• Vietnam - from Hanoi Gia Lam Station to Nanning in Guangxi province, via the Friendship Pass. You can take a train from Hanoi to Lao Cai, walk or take a taxi across the border to Hekou, and take a train from Hekou North to Kunming.
• Severna Koreja - four weekly connections between the North Korean capital Pjongjang in Peking.

Po cesti

China has land borders with 14 countries. Mainland China also has land borders with the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong in Macau, which are similar to international borders. Most of the border crossings in western China are in remote mountain passes, which while difficult to reach and traverse, often reward travelers willing to make the effort with breathtaking scenic views.

Indija

The Nathu La Pass between Sikkim in India and Southern Tibet is not open to tourists, and both countries require special permits to visit. The pass has reopened for cross-border trade since 2006, so the tourist restriction may be lifted in the future.

Mjanmar (Burma)

Entering China from Myanmar is possible at the Ruili (China)-Lashio (Myanmar) border crossing, but permits must be obtained from the Burmese authorities in advance. Generally, this would require you to join a guided tour.

Vietnam

Looking from Vietnam into China

For most travelers, Hanoi is the origin for any overland journey to China. There are three international crossings:

• Od Dong Dang do Pingxiang (凭祥)
• Od Lao Cai do Hekou (河口)
• Od Mong Cai do Dongxing (东兴)

Laos

Od Luang Namtha you can get a bus to Mengla. You must have a Chinese visa beforehand as there is no way to get one on arrival.

Also, there is a direct Chinese sleeper-bus connection from Luang Prabang to Kunming (about 32 hours). You can jump in this bus at the border, when the minibus from Luang Namtha and the sleeper meet. Don't pay more than ¥200, though.

Pakistan

The Karakoram Highway from northern Pakistan into Western China is one of the most spectacular roads in the world. It's closed for tourists for a few months in winter. Crossing the border is relatively quick because of few overland travelers, and friendly relations between the two countries. Preliminary customs inspection will be done on spot, while immigration and customs inspection are done at suburban Tashkurgan. A bus runs between Kashgar (China) and Sust (Pakistan) across the Kunerjab pass.

Nepal

The road from Nepal to Tibet passes near Mount Everest, and through amazing mountain scenery. Entering Tibet from Nepal is only possible for tourists on package tours, but it is possible to travel into Nepal from Tibet

Mongolija

Going by train between Mongolia and China, the carriages will need new wheels

There are two border crossings open to foreigners between Mongolia and China:

• Erenhot (Notranja Mongolija)/Zamiin Uud, in
• Takashiken (Xinjiang)/Bulgan.

Other crossings open to nationals are are: Zhuen Gadabuqi or Zuun Khatavch (Xilingol, Inner Mongolia), Bichig (Mongolia), and Sheveekhuren - Sekhee.

Kazahstan

The border crossing closest to Almaty is at Khorgos. Buses run almost daily from Almaty do Ürümqi in Yining. No visa-on-arrival is available so ensure that both your Chinese and Kazakh visas are in order before attempting this. Another major crossing is at Alashankou (Dostyk on the Kazakh side).

Kyrgyztan

It is possible to cross the Torugart pass from Kyrgyztan, but the road is rough and the pass is only open during the summer months (June–September) every year. It is possible to arrange crossings all the way from Kashgar, but ensure that all your visas are in order.

Alternatively, while less scenic, a smoother crossing is at Irkeshtam to the south of Torugart.

Tadžikistanu

There is a single border crossing between China and Tajikistan at Kulma, which is open on weekdays from May–November. A bus operates across the border between Kašgar in Xinjiang and Khorog in Tajikistan. Ensure both your Chinese and Tajik visas are in order before attempting this crossing.

Rusija

The most popular border crossing at Manzhouli v Notranja Mongolija. Buses run from Manzhouli to Zabaikalsk in Russia. There are also ferries across the Amur from Heihe do Blagoveshchensk, and from Fuyuan do Khabarovsk. Farther east, there are land border crossings at Suifenhe, Dongning, and Hunchun. Ensure both your Russian and Chinese visas are in order before attempting.

Severna Koreja

Crossing overland from North Korea at the Dandong/Sinuiju border crossing is fairly straightforward if you have arranged it as part of your North Korean tour. The other border crossings along the Yalu and Tumen rivers may not be open to tourists. Your tour company must ensure that your Chinese and North Korean visas are in order before attempting this.

Hong Kong

There are four road border crossings into China from Hong Kong:

• Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang,
• Sha Tau Kok/Shatoujiao,
• Man Kam To/Wenjindu, and
• the Shenzhen Bay Bridge.

A visa on arrival is available for some nationalities at Huanggang, but visas must be arranged in advance for all other crossings.

Macau

The two border crossings are at the Portas do Cerco/Gongbei in Lotus Bridge. A visa-on-arrival can be obtained by certain nationalities at the Portas do Cerco. At Gongbei, Zhuhai train station is adjacent to the border crossing, with frequent train service to Guangzhou.

Drugi

Travelers cannot cross the borders with Afganistanu in Butan.

Moj čoln

There are a number of boats to China by sea and river:

• Hong Kong and Macau: There is regular ferry and hovercraft service between Hong Kong and Macau to the rest of the Pearl River Delta, such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai. Ferry service from Hong Kong International Airport allow arriving passengers to proceed directly to China without having to clear Hong Kong immigration and customs.
• Japonska: A ferry service to Šanghaj iz Osaka in Kobe, Japan. Service is once or twice weekly, depending on the season and takes about 2 days.
• Južna Koreja: A ferry service to Shanghai and Tianjin from Incheon, a port close to Seul. Another line is to Qingdao ali Weihai from Incheon or Dalian from Incheon.
• Tajvan: Hourly ferries (18 departures per day) run from Kinmen do Xiamen, with the journey time either 30 minutes or one hour depending on port. There is also a regular ferry between Kinmen and Quanzhou with 3 departures per day. A twice-daily ferry links Matsu s Fuzhou, with journey time about 2 hours. From the Taiwanese main island, there are weekly departures from Taichung in Keelung aboard the Cosco Star to Xiamen in Damaiyu, Taizhou.
• Tajska: Golden Peacock Shipping company runs a speedboat three times a week on the Mekong river to Jinghong v Yunnan iz Chiang Saen (Thailand). Passengers are not required to have visas for Laos or Myanmar, although the greater part of the trip is on the river bordering these countries. Tickets cost ¥650.
• Križarka: Jeseni svoje ladje premakne več križark Aljaska do Azija in dobre povezave je na splošno mogoče najti ob odhodu iz Sidrišče, Vancouver, ali Seattlu. Star Cruises deluje med Keelung na Tajvanu in v mestu Xiamen na celinski Kitajski, na poti se je ustavil na enem od japonskih otokov.

Obiti

Zdravstvene kode Primer "zdravstvene kode" V poskusu ravnovesja med javnim zdravjem in popandemičnim gospodarskim razvojem se za označevanje zdravstvenega stanja potnikov pogosto uporabljajo "zdravstvene kode", v katerih se ustvarjajo s pomočjo posebnih aplikacij za mobilne telefone, ki so jih razvili organi. Zelena koda pomeni, da je potnik najmanj ogrožen, rdeča pa visoko tveganje za prenos. Te kode bodo preverjene med potovanjem med provincami ali ob vstopu na javna mesta.

Številne tuje aplikacije, kot je Google Maps ne delajo na Kitajskem in imajo ponavadi neenakomerno pokritost in kakovost podatkov, tudi če do njih dostopate prek VPN. Poleg tega Kitajska uporablja svoj koordinatni sistem, ki včasih povzroča težave pri uporabi tujih aplikacij zemljevidov. Najpogostejša aplikacija za iskanje smeri, ki jo uporabljajo sami Kitajci, je Zemljevidi Baidu, čeprav je na voljo samo v kitajščini. Zemljevid je dejansko Citymapper za celotno Kitajsko. Na voljo je samo v angleščini v napravah Apple in nadomešča Apple Maps, ko ste v celinski Kitajski. V njem so navedeni vsi javni prevozi in predlagane avtomobilske poti tudi na videz podeželskih krajih. Alternativne metode vključujejo druge aplikacije za zemljevide, ki temeljijo na podatkih OpenStreetMap ali najemu lokalnega GPS-a. Več informacij na GPS navigacija.

Imena dolgih ulic pogosto dobijo srednjo besedo, ki označuje del ulice: sever (北 běi), južno (南 nán), vzhod (东 dōng), zahod (西 xī) ali osrednji (中 zhōng). Na primer, ulica White Horse oz Báimǎ Lù (白 马路) se lahko razdeli na Báimǎ Běilù (白马 北路 "White Horse North Street"), Báimǎ Nánlù (白马 南路 "White Horse South Street") in Báimǎ Zhōnglù (白马 中路 "Osrednja ulica belega konja"). V nekaterih mestih pa ta imena ne označujejo delov ene ulice. V Xiamen, Hubin Bei Lu in Hubin Nan Lu (Lakeside Road North in Lakeside Road South) sta vzporedni, na severni in južni strani jezera tečeta vzhod-zahod. V Nanjing, Zhongshan Lu, Zhongshan Bei Lu in Zhongshan Dong Lu so tri ločene glavne ceste.

Z letalom

Kitajska je velika država, zato, če ne nameravate obiskati samo vzhodne obale, vsekakor razmislite o domačih letih. Kitajska ima veliko domačih letov, ki povezujejo vsa večja mesta in turistične destinacije. Letalski prevozniki vključujejo tri državne mednarodne letalske prevoznike: Air China, China Southern in China Eastern ter regionalne, med njimi Hainan Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Sichuan Airlines in Shanghai Airlines.

Leti med Hongkongom ali Macaom in celinsko kitajskimi mesti veljajo za mednarodne lete in so lahko precej dragi. Če torej prispete v Hongkong ali Macau ali odidete iz njega, je to običajno veliko ceneje je leteti v ali iz Shenzhena ali Zhuhaia, tik čez mejo, ali Guangzhou, ki je malo bolj oddaljen, vendar ponuja lete na več destinacij.

Cene domačih letov so določene po običajnih cenah, vendar so popusti pogosti, zlasti na bolj prometnih poteh. Večina dobrih hotelov in številni hostli bodo imeli storitev potovalnih vozovnic in vam bodo morda prihranili 15-70% cene vozovnic. Potovalnih agencij in blagajn je na voljo v vseh kitajskih mestih in ponujajo podobne popuste. Še preden razmišljamo o popustih, potovanje z letali na Kitajskem ni drago.

Za potovanja po Kitajski je običajno najbolje, da vozovnice kupite na Kitajskem ali na kitajskih spletnih straneh (te imajo pogosto angleške različice). Uporabna aplikacija / spletno mesto je CTrip, le tako lahko z mednarodno kreditno / debetno kartico sproti kupujete vozovnice za vlak / letalo. Če vozovnico kupite pri kitajskem prodajalcu, vas bo poklical in vas obvestil o spremembah leta. Če ste letalsko vozovnico kupili v tujini, dan ali dva pred letom preverite stanje leta. Na kitajskih spletnih mestih cene ponavadi ostajajo visoke še dva meseca pred datumom leta, takrat so običajno na voljo veliki popusti, razen če je bil določen let že močno rezerviran.

Nepojasnjene zamude letov so pogoste, deloma tudi zaradi strogega vojaškega nadzora zračnega prostora - malo držav ima toliko svojega zračnega prostora zunaj meja civilnega letalstva kot Kitajska. Za potovanja na kratke razdalje boste morda želeli razmisliti o drugih možnostih hitra železnica. Odpovedi leta tudi niso redke. Če vozovnico kupite pri kitajskem prodajalcu, vas bo verjetno poskušal kontaktirati (če ste pustili kontaktne podatke) in vas obvestil o spremembi načrta leta. Če ste letalsko vozovnico kupili v tujini, dan ali dva pred letom preverite stanje leta.

Kljub pomanjkanju predpisov v poznem 20. stoletju je varnost kitajskega letalstva zdaj odlična. Od leta 2010 niso doživeli večje nesreče s smrtnim izidom, kitajski regulativni organi pa niso povsem nesmiselni, ko gre za kršitve varnosti s strani posadke ali težave pri vzdrževanju.

Pazite tudi, da ne boste izgubili potrdil o oddani prtljagi, saj bodo preverjeni glede na vaše prtljažne oznake, preden boste lahko zapustili dvorano za prevzem prtljage.

Z vlakom

Poglej tudi Železniška potovanja na Kitajskem

Maglev vlak v Šanghaj

Železniški zemljevid Kitajske

Potovanje z vlakom je za Kitajce glavna metoda prevoza na dolge razdalje, saj obsežna mreža poti pokriva večji del države. Na Kitajskem je približno četrtina celotnega železniškega prometa na svetu.

Kitajska ima zdaj najdaljšo mrežo na svetu hitre železnice (podobno kot francoski TGV ali japonski vlaki s kroglami Shinkansen) kl CRH, vključno z edino hitro hitrostjo na svetu spalni vlaki. Če vaša pot in proračun dopuščata, sta to morda najboljši način za obhod. Vlaki CRH so glede opreme in čistoče vrhunski, tudi mednarodni.

Na večini vlakov na višji ravni so posnete objave objavljene v kitajščini in angleščini. Lokalni vlaki nimajo obvestil v angleščini. Bodite previdni pri dragocenostih, ko ste v vlaku, saj kraja javnega prevoza predstavlja težavo. Priporočljive so tablete proti bolezni giba in ušesni čepi.

Vlaki za dolge razdalje imajo samopostrežni ali jedilni vagon, ki približno 25 funtov streže povprečno vročo hrano. Meni je v celoti v kitajščini. Na postajališču so morda prodajalci, ki prodajajo rezance, prigrizke in sadje po ugodnejših cenah. Večina vlakov ima na voljo razdelilnik tople vode, tako da lahko s seboj prinesete čaj, juhe in rezance.

Kajenje na sedežih ali v spalnih predelih ni dovoljeno, dovoljeno pa je v preddverjih na koncu vsakega vagona na običajnih vlakih, medtem ko je na hitrih vlakih popolnoma prepovedano. Kajenje je prepovedano v stavbah, razen v določenih sobah za kadilce.

Glej Železniška potovanja na Kitajskem za informacije o nakupu vstopnic.

Kitajske železniške postaje delujejo kot letališče, zato ne računajte, da boste vlak ujeli v zadnjem trenutku: vrata se zaprejo nekaj minut pred odhodom! Da boste varni, bodite tam vsaj 20 minut prej ali 30 minut, če vstopite na veliko železniško postajo. Prepričajte se, da čakate na pravem mestu, saj se vlak pogosto ustavi le za nekaj minut.

Številna mesta imajo različne postaje za običajne vlake in vlake za visoke hitrosti. Imena hitrih postaj so običajno sestavljena iz imena mesta in glavne smeri (na primer Héngyángdōng, "Hengyang East").

Z avtobusom

Potovanje z javnostjo mestni avtobusi (公共汽车 gōnggòngqìchē) ali medkrajevni avtobusi (长途汽车 chángtúqìchē) je poceni in idealen za prevoz v mestu in na kratke razdalje.

Mestni avtobusi se od mesta do mesta razlikujejo. Če pa razumete avtobusne proge, so poceni in gredo skoraj povsod. Avtobusi imajo običajno posneta obvestila, ki vam sporočajo naslednjo postajo - primeri so lahko "xià yí zhàn - zhōng shān lù" (naslednja postaja Zhongshan Road) ali "Shànghǎi nán huǒ chē zhàn dào le" (železniška postaja Šanghaj Jug - zdaj prispe) ). Nekatera večja mesta, kot sta Peking ali Hangzhou, bodo vsaj na nekaterih glavnih poteh imela angleška obvestila. Če potujete v predmestje, so cene vozovnic približno 1-3 ali več. Večina avtobusov ima preprosto kovinsko blagajno ob vhodu, kamor lahko vstavite ceno (brez sprememb - prihranite tistih 1 kovancev) ali na daljših poteh kondukter, ki bo pobiral vozovnice, izdal vozovnice in zamenjal. Voznik običajno daje prednost hitrosti kot udobju, zato se držite.

Avtobusi za medkrajevne razdalje, parkirani v Shenzhen Avtobusni terminal Qiaoshe

Trenerji, oz medkrajevni avtobusi, so lahko bolj praktični kot vlaki za predmestja ali manjša mesta. Trenerji, ki prihajajo iz večjih mest na vzhodni obali, so ponavadi klimatizirani z mehkimi sedeži. Avtobusno osebje ponavadi poskuša biti v pomoč, vendar je tujcev precej manj seznanjeno kot letalsko osebje.

Lokalni avtobusi v okrožju Pinghe, Fujian, povežite sedež okrožja s podeželskimi mesti

Avtobus ali avtobus na podeželskem Kitajskem je drugačna izkušnja. Oznake na postaji za prepoznavanje avtobusov bodo v kitajščini. Številka avtobusne registrske tablice je natisnjena na vozovnici, na zadnji strani avtobusa bo nanesena s sprejem. Predvideni čas odhoda in prihoda je le okvirna ocena, saj avtobus odhaja, ko je poln, in ne ob predvidenem času. Pogosto so avtobusi na podeželju edina oblika prevoza na številnih območjih Kitajske in so običajno več kot pripravljeni ustaviti se kjer koli na poti, če želite obiskati bolj oddaljena območja brez neposrednega prevoza. Avtobusi so lahko označeni tudi na večini točk na njihovi poti. Cena vstopnice do konca poti je po dogovoru.

Avtobusno avtobusno postajališče Qujiang, Okrožje Nanjing, Fujian. Znak navaja čas odhoda avtobusov do Xiamen

Pridobitev vozovnice je enostavna. Na velikih avtobusnih postajah so na voljo števci vozovnic, ki prodajajo natisnjene vozovnice s časom odhoda, vstopnimi vrati in številko registrske tablice vašega avtobusa. Za nakup vozovnice potrebujete potni list in pogosto boste morali opraviti varnostni pregled.

S podzemno železnico

V večini večjih mest na Kitajskem je zdaj podzemna železnica / podzemna železnica (地铁 dìtiě) sistemov. Običajno so sodobni, čisti, učinkoviti in se še vedno hitro širijo. Peking, Šanghaj in Guangzhou že imajo nekatere najobsežnejše sisteme na svetu.

Na postajnih peronih in v vlakih so običajno oznake v kitajščini in angleščini, ki navajajo vse postaje na tej progi. Obvestila na postajah in vlakih so v mandarinščini in angleščini ter včasih v lokalnem jeziku. Številni zemljevidi (zlasti angleške različice) morda niso sledili hitri širitvi. Na spletu poiščite dvojezični zemljevid podzemne železnice, ki ga lahko nosite s seboj.

Kitajske postaje podzemne železnice imajo pogosto pred gramofoni varnostno kontrolno točko, kjer morate prtljago spraviti skozi rentgenski skener. Žeparji najverjetneje udarijo med postanki postaj, zato bodite pozorni na svoje stvari.

Postaje imajo ponavadi številne izhode z nalepkami, kot so izhodi A, B, C1 ali C2. Na zemljevidih ​​boste našli, da je vsak izhod jasno označen okoli postaje. Znaki na postaji olajšajo iskanje izhoda.

S taksijem

Taksiji (出租车 chūzūchē ali 的士 dīshì, ki se na kantonsko govorečih območjih izgovarjajo "glej stopinj"), so po ugodnih cenah: padec zastave -14 5-14, na km zaračunavanje ¥ 2-3. Večina potovanj v središču mesta bo stala 10-50 JPY. Prtljage ni treba doplačati, v mnogih mestih pa so cene ponoči višje. Taksija se običajno zaokroži na najbližji cel juan. Nasveti niso pričakovani, so pa dobrodošli, še posebej po dolgih potovanjih.

Taksije običajno naročite prek a aplikacija za telefon, in postalo je težje pritegniti taksi na ulici. Najbolj priljubljena aplikacija, Didi Chuxing, je na voljo tudi v angleščini.

Taksisti lovijo naivne popotnike na letaliških terminalih, železniških postajah in mejnih prehodih. Poskusili se bodo dogovoriti za določeno ceno in običajno zaračunajo 2 do 3-krat večjo ceno. Pred večino glavnih letaliških terminalov so določena taksi območja; vztrajajte, da voznik uporablja števec. Cena vožnje mora biti jasno označena na taksiju.

Iskanje taksija v času konic je lahko nekoliko težko. Toda resnično postane težko, če dežuje. Proč od konic, zlasti ponoči, je včasih mogoče dobiti 10% do 20% popusta, še posebej, če se o tem dogovorite vnaprej, tudi če je merilnik vklopljen in zahteva prošnjo.

Sedenje na sovoznikovem sedežu je sprejemljivo in je koristno, če imate težave s komunikacijo v kitajščini. Nekateri taksiji postavijo taksi meter navzdol ob menjalnik, kjer ga lahko vidite le s sprednjega sedeža. Vozniki lahko začnejo kaditi brez vprašanja. V nekaterih mestih je običajno tudi, da vozniki poskušajo pobrati več potnikov, če so njihovi cilji v isti splošni smeri. Vsak potnik plača polno vozovnico, vendar prihrani čas čakanja na prazno kabino v prometni konici.

Tudi v večjih mestih verjetno ne boste našli angleško govorečega taksista. Če ne morete izgovoriti Mandarina no, naj bo vaš cilj napisan v kitajskih znakih pokazati voznika. Za to so koristne vizitke za vaš hotel in restavracije. V večjih mestih uspešnih južnih in vzhodnih obalnih provinc je veliko taksistov migrantov iz drugih delov Kitajske, ki govorijo mandarinščino, ne pa tudi lokalnega narečja.

Večina voznikov je poštenih in cene vozovnic so razumne, vendar obstajajo tudi slabi, ki bodo vaše pomanjkanje kitajskih veščin skušali izkoristiti v svoj prid. Razlika v ceni vozovnic bo običajno minimalna. Če menite, da ste bili na poti do hotela resnično prevarani in ima vratarja, lahko za pomoč zaprosite njega ali osebje na mizi. V mestih je fotografiranje voznikove izkaznice (objavljene na armaturni plošči) ali številke registrske tablice in grožnja, da jo bodo prijavili oblastem, lahko zelo učinkovito.

V nekaterih mestih taksisti uporabljajo sistem zvezdic za voznike, in sicer od 0 do 5, prikazan na voznikovi tablici na armaturni plošči pred sovoznikovim sedežem. Čeprav nobena ali malo zvezd ne pomeni nujno slabega voznika, mnoge zvezde ponavadi kažejo na dobro poznavanje mesta in pripravljenost, da vas na najkrajši način pripeljejo tja, kjer vprašate. Na isti imenski tablici je mogoče najti še en pokazatelj voznikovih sposobnosti - vozniško osebno številko. Majhno število vam pove, da je že dolgo časa in bo zato verjetno bolje poznal mesto. Kadar je mogoče, uporabite večje taksi družbe, saj imajo manjša podjetja navadno večje število nepoštenih voznikov.

Kitajci so včasih konkurenčni, ko gre za iskanje taksija. Oseba, ki zastavi določen avto, ni nujno upravičena do te vožnje. Pogosto je, da se domačini v prometu premikajo navzgor, da bi prestregli avtomobile ali jih potisnili s poti, ko so poskušali vstopiti v taksi. Če v okolici še obstajajo drugi, ki tekmujejo za vožnjo, bodite pripravljeni priti do avtomobila in čim prej vstopiti vanj, potem ko ga označite. Ves čas nosite varnostni pas (če ga lahko najdete).

Nekateri taksisti, zlasti tisti, ki govorijo angleško, so lahko precej radovedni in zgovorni, zlasti med prometnimi konicami (高峰 gāo fēng).

S kolesom

Vrstica brezveznih koles Mobike

Glavni članek: Kolesarjenje na Kitajskem

Kolesa (自行车 zìxíngchē) so bili nekoč najpogostejša oblika prevoza na Kitajskem, vendar je veliko ljudi nadgradilo na električna kolesa in motorna kolesa. Popravila koles so pogosta v mestih in na podeželju.

Kolesa za brezskrbno vožnjo v večjih mestih na Kitajskem delujejo po načelu grab'n'go: z mobilnim telefonom odklenete katero koli razpoložljivo kolo, med uporabo plačate 1-2 ¥ na 30 minut in jih odložite kamor koli želite. Največji operaterji Mobike (oranžna) in Ofo (kanarsko rumena) imajo angleške aplikacije. Brezkolesna kolesa so narejena tako, da zdržijo, kar pomeni, da so težka, okorna in neuporabna, toda za popotnike so lahko poceni in priročno prevozno sredstvo, ki je boljše od poskušanja javnega prevoza.

Obstajata dve glavni nevarnosti za kolesarje na Kitajskem:

• Motorni promet; avtomobili in motocikli se pogosto odpeljejo brez opozorila, na večini območij pa rdeče luči očitno niso obvezne.
• Kraja koles je močna po vseh mestih na Kitajskem.

Kitajska je velika država in resnim kolesarjem ponuja izzive, da kolesarijo po gorah in puščavi. Če nameravate kolesariti po Kitajski, si pred potovanjem priskrbite vizum, saj ga je težko dobiti na poti. Izogibajte se, da se bo pot peljala s kolesom, saj osebju veleposlaništva to morda ne bo všeč, Xinjiang in Tibet pa sta politično občutljiva. Vizum tako ali tako velja za kateri koli prehod meje in prevoz (razen za Tibet).

Z avtom

Poglej tudi:Vožnja na Kitajskem

LRK na splošno ne priznava mednarodnih vozniških dovoljenj in tujcem ne dovoljuje vožnje na Kitajskem brez kitajskega dovoljenja. Prav tako veljata za tuji dovolilnici za Hongkong in Macau, če imaš eno od njih, pa ne boš mogel voziti po celini. Uvoz tujih vozil je težaven. Začasno licenco lahko pridobite na nekaj načinov: glejte članek Vožnja na Kitajskem.

Najem avtomobila je v večjih kitajskih mestih, ki imajo na splošno odlična omrežja javnega prevoza, ki vas vodijo skoraj kamor koli, skorajda nezaslišano. Obstajajo pa nekateri podeželski predeli Kitajske, ki jih je še vedno najbolje raziskati z avtomobilom. Izposojeni avtomobili najpogosteje prihajajo z voznikom in to je verjetno najboljši način za potovanje po Kitajskem z avtomobilom.

Z motorjem

Poglej tudi:Vožnja na Kitajskem # Motocikli

Motoristični taksiji so pogosti, zlasti v manjših mestih in na podeželju. Običajno so poceni in učinkoviti, a strašljivi. Cene po dogovoru.

Predpisi za vožnjo z motorjem se od mesta do mesta razlikujejo. V nekaterih primerih se 50-kubični mopedi lahko vozijo brez vozniškega dovoljenja, čeprav so jih številna mesta zaradi številnih nesreč prepovedala ali prekvalificirala. Vožnja z "ustreznim" motociklom je veliko težja, delno zato, ker boste potrebovali kitajsko licenco, deloma zato, ker so v številnih mestih prepovedani, deloma pa zato, ker sta se proizvodnja in uvoz upočasnila s poudarkom na avtomobilih in električnih skuterjih. Tipični kitajski motocikel je 125 kubičnih centimetrov, zmore približno 100 km / h in je tradicionalni križarski slog. Na splošno so počasni, vsakdanje vozne in imajo malo športnega potenciala. Vladne omejitve velikosti motorja pomenijo, da so športna kolesa redka, vendar jih je še vedno mogoče najti. Druga priljubljena izbira je 125-kubični samodejni skuter 'maxi', ki temelji na hondi CN250 - je nekoliko hitrejši od mopeda in je na večjih razdaljah bolj udoben, vendar ima prednost samodejnega menjalnika, ki olajša pogajanja o mestnem prometu stop-start.

V večini mest bo na trgu nekaj motociklov in vam bodo pogosto prodali poceni motorna kolesa, pogosto s ponarejenimi ali nelegalnimi registrskimi tablicami, čeprav je tujec na motorju redek prizor in bo pritegnil pozornost policije. Čelade so bistvenega pomena za "pravilna" kolesa, neobvezna pa za skuterje. Imeti morate registrsko tablico: na motociklu so rumene ali modre ali na skuterju zelene in za registracijo koles lahko stanejo nekaj tisoč juanov. Ponarejene ploščice so lahko dostopne po nižji ceni, vendar so tvegane.

Avtor pedicab (rikša)

V nekaterih srednje velikih mestih so pedikabi veliko bolj priročen način potovanja na kratke razdalje. Sānlúnchē (ē), kitajski izraz, ki se uporablja tako za pedala kot za motorizirane rikše, je povsod na podeželju Kitajske in manj razvitih (kar pomeni, manj turističnih) območjih večjih mest. Predhodna pogajanja o vozovnici so nujna.

Poročila o previsokih stroških se verjetno nanašajo na iztrgane umetnike, ki delajo na turističnih destinacijah, kot so Silk Alley, Wangfujing in čajnica Lao She v Pekingu. Morda bi moralo veljati pravilo: "Pazite, če prodajate kaj v bližini turističnih pasti."

Če vidite običajne kitajske družine, ki uporabljajo "sanlun" - na primer potujejo med živalskim vrtom v Pekingu in najbližjo postajo podzemne železnice - potem je varno. Ne pokrovite nobenega sanluna, oblečenega v staromodni kostum, da privabite turiste. Poskusil vam bo zaračunati desetkrat več od cene.

Zdi se, da je elektrificiranih trikolesnih sanlunov, razvitih ali predelanih iz pedikabov, v večini v Šanghaju.

Glej

Kitajske zanimivosti so neskončne in stvari za ogled vam ne bo nikoli zmanjkalo. Še posebej v bližini obalnih območij, ko končate z enim mestom, je do naslednjega običajno le kratka vožnja z vlakom.

Ne glede na to, ali ste ljubitelj zgodovine, ljubitelj narave ali nekdo, ki se želi samo sprostiti na lepi plaži, ima Kitajska vse od veličastnega Prepovedanega mesta v Peking, do čudovite pokrajine Jiuzhaigou. Tudi če že vrsto let živite na Kitajskem, boste v drugem delu države vedno našli kaj novega. Morda ni presenetljivo, da ima Kitajska zaradi svoje velikosti in dolge zgodovine tretje največje število mest Unescove svetovne dediščine, za Italijo in Španijo.

Kitajska je na meji med dvema bioregijama. Evrazijske prostoživeče živali je mogoče videti na severu in zahodu ter Južnoazijske prostoživeče živali najdemo na jugu in jugovzhodu.

Kraške formacije, Guilin

Kraška pokrajina

Gumaste gore in strmo nagnjeni gozdnati griči z neverjetnimi skalnatimi formacijami, ki so jim naklonjeni tradicionalni kitajski umetniki, niso ustvarjalna fantazija. Pravzaprav je večina južne in jugozahodne Kitajske pokrita z zapletenimi erodiranimi kamnitimi formacijami, znanimi kot kraški. Kras je vrsta apnenčaste tvorbe, ki je dobila ime po območju v Ljubljani Slovenija. Ko apnenčaste plasti erodirajo, se gostejša kamnina ali žepi različnih kamnov upirajo erozijskim vrhovom. Jame so izdolbene pod gorami, ki se lahko porušijo in tvorijo vrtače in kanale, ki vodijo do podzemnih rek. Na najbolj nenavadnih kraških erozijah se tvorijo labirinti vrhov, obokov in prehodov. Najbolj znan primer najdemo v Kamnitem gozdu (石林 Shílín) v bližini Kunming v Yunnan. Nekatera najbolj znana turistična območja na Kitajskem imajo čudovite kraške pokrajine - Guilin in Yangshuo v Guangxi, Zhangjiajie v Hunanin večji del osrednjega in zahodnega Guizhou provinca.

Svete gore

Poglej tudi:Sveta mesta na Kitajskem

Gore so pomemben del kitajske geomantije in v kitajskem budizmu in taoizmu je veliko gora, ki imajo verski pomen. Te gore pogosto služijo kot priljubljena kulisa v kitajskih dramskih dramah in so tradicionalno povezane z različnimi kitajskimi sektami borilnih veščin. Danes so v teh gorah še vedno številni taoistični in budistični templji ter še naprej služijo kot slikovite kulise, ki privabljajo številne domače turiste.

Pet Velikih gora

The Pet Velikih gora (五岳) so povezane s petimi glavnimi smermi v kitajski geomantiji in naj bi izvirale iz telesa Panguja (盘古), ustvarjalca sveta v kitajski mitologiji.

• Gora Heng (恒山), Severna gora (北岳) v Shanxi provinca. Dobesedno "večna gora".
• Gora Heng (衡山), Južna gora (南岳) v Ljubljani Hunan provinca. Dobesedno "izravnalna gora".
• Gora Tai (泰山), vzhodna gora (东岳), v Shandong provinca. Dobesedno "mirna gora".
• Gora Hua (华山), Zahodna gora (西岳) v Shaanxi provinca. Dobesedno "čudovita gora".
• Mount Song (嵩山), osrednja gora (中岳) v Ljubljani Henan provinca. Tudi dom slavnih Samostan Shaolin (少林寺), zgodovinsko znan po svojih menihih bojevnikih. Dobesedno "vzvišena gora".

Štiri svete gore budizma

Templji na gori Wutai

The Štiri svete gore budizma (四大 佛教 名山) so tradicionalno povezane s štirimi različnimi bodisatvami, ki jih častijo v kitajskem budizmu. Vse do danes so te gore še vedno slikovite točke z uglednimi budističnimi templji.

• Gora Wutai (五台山), tradicionalno povezano z Bodhisattvo Manjusri (文殊 菩萨), v Shanxi provinca.
• Gora Emei (峨眉山), tradicionalno povezano z Bodhisattvo Samantabhadra ((菩萨), v Sečuan provinca.
• Gora Putuo (普陀山), tradicionalno povezano z Bodhisattvo Avalokitesvara (观音 菩萨), najbolj priljubljeno Bodhisattvo v kitajskem budizmu, v Zhejiang provinca. To ni gora, temveč otok ob kitajski obali.
• Gora Jiuhua (九 华山), tradicionalno povezano z Bodhisattvo Ksitigarbho (ha 藏 菩萨), v Anhui provinca.

Štiri svete gore taoizma

Čeprav je v kitajski ljudski religiji veliko svetih gora, je Štiri svete gore taoizma (四大 道教 名山), skupaj s Petimi velikimi gorami velja za najsvetejše med njimi. To so še vedno slikovita mesta, na katerih so vidni taoistični templji.

• Gora Wudang (武当山), za katero večina Kitajcev meni, da je najsvetejša od vseh svetih gora za taoiste, v Hubei provinca. Tradicionalno velja za glavno središče kitajskih borilnih veščin in glavnega tekmeca samostanu Shaolin (čeprav prijateljskemu).
• Gora Longhu (龙虎山) v Jiangxi provinca.
• Gora Qiyun (齐云山) v Anhui provinca.
• Gora Qingcheng (青城 山) v Sečuan provinca.

Rože

Breskev cveti v kitajskem parku

Medtem ko so japonski cvetovi češenj morda bolj znani, pa kitajski cvetovi slive (梅花 méi huā) in cvetovi breskev (桃花 táo huā) se pogosto štejejo za konkurenco češnjevih cvetov v čisti lepoti. Slive običajno cvetijo v najhladnejšem delu zime, pogosto med močnim sneženjem, zaradi česar so simbol odpornosti in so nacionalna roža Republike Kitajske, ki je nekoč vladala celinski Kitajski. Breskve pa ponavadi cvetijo spomladi. Ta drevesa si lahko ogledamo v številnih parkih, zlasti v severnem in vzhodnem delu Kitajske, pa tudi na višjih legah na jugu. Obe roži sta zelo cenjeni v tradicionalni kitajski kulturi in sta pogosto predstavljeni v tradicionalni kitajski umetnosti in obrti.

The potonika (牡丹 花 mǔ dān huā) je tudi zelo cenjen in predstavlja čast in bogastvo. Za razliko od cvetov slive in breskev potonike rastejo na grmovju in ne na drevesih. Običajno cvetijo pozno spomladi do zgodnjega poletja.

Uprizoritvene umetnosti

Glavni članek: Kitajske uprizoritvene umetnosti

Kitajska je kot velika in raznolika država številna uprizoritvena umetnost, tako tradicionalna kot sodobna. Medtem ko so nekateri žanri priljubljeni po vsej državi, obstajajo tudi nekateri, ki so priljubljeni le v določenih regijah, različne etnične manjšine pa imajo tudi svoje edinstvene tradicije. Dva žanra, ki sta priljubljena po vsej državi in ​​se redno izvajata tudi na mednarodni ravni Pekinška opera (京剧 jīngjù) in Yue opera (越剧 yuèjù).

Druga spletna mesta

Kraji kitajske revolucije so vidni v naši Kitajske revolucionarne destinacije Članek.

Pomembne budistične kraje na Kitajskem lahko najdemo v naši Budizem Članek.

Poti

Nekateri načrti zajemajo potovanja, ki so v celoti znotraj Kitajske:

• Ob reki Jangce
• Ob rumeni reki
• Ob Velikem kanalu
• Okoli jezera Erhai z električnim skuterjem
• Hong Kong do Kunminga po kopnem
• Dolg marec
• Kopensko do Tibeta
• Železnica Qinghai – Tibet
• Turistična pot Yunnan

Drugi so delno na Kitajskem:

• Svilena cesta - starodavna karavanska pot s Kitajske v Evropo
• Avtocesta Karakoram - Zahodna Kitajska do Pakistana skozi Himalajo
• Po poti Marca Pola

Ali

Sporočilo

Na celotnem Kitajskem so na voljo kakovostne masaže z ugodnimi cenami. Strokovno delo stane 20–80 ¥ na uro.

• Skoraj vsak frizer bo opravil umivanje las in masažo glave za 10 JPY. To pogosto vključuje čiščenje ušesnega voska in nekaj masaže vratu in rok. S frizuro in / ali britjem se cene gibljejo od 25 do 100 JPY, cene pa so višje v velikih mestih in v višjih ali turistično usmerjenih obratih.
• Razpoložljivost masaže stopal (足疗 zúliáo) je pogosto označena s sliko golega odtisa na znaku. Cene so od 15 JPY do približno 60 JPY.
• Masaža celotnega telesa je na voljo po cenah od 15 JPY na uro v dveh različicah: ànmó (按摩) je splošna masaža; tuīná (推拿) se osredotoča na meridiane, ki se uporabljajo v akupunkturi.

Te tri vrste masaž so pogosto mešane; marsikje ponujajo vse tri.

• Masaža je tradicionalna trgovina za slepe, najboljše razmerje pa je pogosto na majhnih odmaknjenih mestih s slepim osebjem (盲人 按摩 mángrén ànmó).
• Najbolj strokovne masaže so v masažnih bolnišnicah ali bolnišnicah splošne kitajske medicine, ki običajno stanejo približno 50 JPY na uro.

Nekateri masažni kraji so pravzaprav javne hiše. Prostitucija je na Kitajskem nezakonita, vendar precej pogosta in pogosto preoblečena v masažo. Ponuja večina vročih izvirov ali savn vse storitve, ki jih poslovnež morda želi za sprostitev. Številni hoteli ponujajo masažo v vaši sobi, dodatne storitve pa so skoraj vedno na voljo, ko je že v sobi. Roza osvetlitev ali veliko deklet v kratkih krilih v manjših obratih verjetno kaže na veliko več kot le masažo (in pogosto tudi ne morejo narediti dobre masaže). Isto pravilo velja v številnih frizerskih salonih, ki so podobno kot masažni saloni.

Nerozasto osvetljena mesta običajno dobro masirajo in na splošno ne ponujajo seksa. Če obrat oglašuje masažo slepih, je to skoraj zagotovo legitimno.

Osnovne besedne zveze za masažo glejte Kitajski frazek # Kako priti na masažo.

Tradicionalne umetnosti

Ko načrtujete podaljšano bivanje na Kitajskem, razmislite o učenju nekaterih tradicionalnih umetnosti. Potovanje na Kitajsko je navsezadnje edinstvena priložnost, da se naučite osnov ali izpopolnite že pridobljene veščine neposredno od mojstrov iz matične države umetnosti. Številna mesta imajo akademije, ki sprejemajo začetnike, in neznanje kitajščine običajno ni problem, saj se lahko naučite z zgledom in posnemanjem. Kaligrafija (书法 shūfǎ), izraz, ki zajema tako pisanje likov kot slikanje zvitkov (torej klasične pokrajine in podobno), ostaja priljubljen nacionalni hobi. Many calligraphers practice by writing with water on sidewalks in city parks. Other traditional arts which offer classes include learning to play traditional Chinese instruments (inquire in shops that sell these as many offer classes), cooking Chinese cuisine, or even singing Beijing Opera (京剧 jīngjù). Fees are usually modest, and the necessary materials will not exactly break the bank. The only requirement is being in the same place for a long enough time, and showing sufficient respect; it is better not to join these classes as a tourist attraction.

Borilne veščine

As with traditional cultural arts, those with the time and inclination may be interested in studying China's famed martial arts. Nekateri, kot npr tai chi (太极拳 tàijíquán), can be studied at a basic level by simply visiting any city park in the early morning and following along. You will likely find many eager teachers. However, learning martial arts to a level that allows you to use them competently in an actual fight requires years of study and training under a master, which often has to start from childhood.

In English, Chinese martial arts are often called "kung fu" and we follow that usage below. However in Chinese, the general term for martial arts is wǔshù (武術), while gōngfu (功夫, "kung fu") is the term for the skill or power that practitioners acquire.

Chinese martial arts are traditionally classified into northern and southern styles, with northern styles generally known for emphasizing powerful strikes with with fully extended limbs, and southern styles generally known for fast strikes close to the body. Northern Chinese martial are further classified into two groups named for two mountain areas with monasteries which are centers of kung fu — Shaolin Temple on Mount Song in Wudang Mountains. Shaolin are the hard or external styles emphasizing speed and power, while Wudang are the soft or internal styles emphasizing breath control and smooth movement. Of course it is nowhere near that simple; Shaolin experts also move smoothly and a Wudang master has a lot of speed and power.

Other well-known centers of kung fu include Southern Shaolin in Quanzhou, Fujian, Wu Wei Temple near Dali and Wing Chun (Bruce Lee's style) in Foshan, Guangdong.

Shanghai has a martial arts museum at a Physical Education university.

Square dancing

Square dancers at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing

In public parks, squares or plazas, or indeed anywhere in a city that isn't fenced off and is large enough (like a parking lot), you will increasingly find, in the early morning and late evening, groups of (mostly) older women doing what looks like low-impact aerobics to music with a dance beat coming from a nearby portable speaker. This activity is called guǎngchǎngwǔ (广场舞), roughly translated into English as "square dancing", because of where it takes place (not to be confused with the traditional American folk dance of the same name). It originated in the mid-1990s among women (known as dàmā (大妈), or "dancing grannies" in English) who had just been forced into retirement as a way to stay fit, socialize and recall their own youth during the Cultural Revolution (indeed, many of the songs used are propaganda from that era, or current Chinese pop hits). By 2015 noise and space issues had provoked violent confrontations in some cities and led the government to introduce, then hastily withdraw, standard dance routines. It's interesting to watch at the very least as a modern folk phenomenon, and indeed some groups don costumes and props for their routines.

Some tourists, particularly Russians visiting Manchurian cities, have joined in. However, this is often frowned upon, as many square dancers compete competitively and are only practicing publicly due to a lack of practice space otherwise. If you are tempted to do so, only join groups that appear to be casually-oriented (no apparent dance uniform or complicated routines) and go to the rear row where beginners follow the leader and learn the moves. You should avoid, or at least practice extreme caution when joining near several groups in a space barely enough for all of them — turf battles have been known to start and given the novelty of a foreigner participating in square dancing, you may be seen as a final provocation of member poaching.

Ballroom dancing is also moderately common; western-style square dancing or line dancing are less common but not unknown.

Traditional pastimes

China has several traditional games often played in tea gardens, public parks, or even on the street. Players often attract crowds of on-lookers.

• Chinese chess (象棋 xiàngqí) is the world's most-played chess variant. It is similar to but distinct from Korean chess (Korean: 장기 janggi), but quite different from Japanese chess (Japanese: 将棋 shōgi) in international chess, though they all have enough in common that a good player of one will find another easier to learn.
• Pojdi (围棋 wéiqí, osvetljeno. "the surrounding game") is a strategy board game. Players place their stones to surround the most territory on the board. While the rules are simple, the strategy and tactics are very complex. There are professional Go players, some of whom are major celebrities, tournaments with large prizes, and some TV shows about the game.
• Mahjong (麻将 májiàng) is popular and almost always played for money. Mahjong uses tiles with a variety of Chinese symbols and characters. Players draw and discard tiles trying to complete a hand with particular sets of tiles. The nearest Western equivalent (not very near!) would be card games like rummy or canasta.

While game play is broadly similar, the rules of mahjong in China differ significantly between regions, and from the Taiwanese and Japanese versions, meaning that you will have to learn new rules everywhere you go. The Chinese government has an officially-sanctioned standardized form of mahjong that is used in national competitions in an attempt to be fair to people who grew up playing with different rules, which is also used in international competitions like the World Series Mahjong. However, this standardized form is very rarely played outside of officially-sanctioned competitions.

Many Chinese are skilled at kartice (扑克牌 pūkèpái); Deng Xiaoping was renowned for his love for bridge (桥牌 qiáopái).

Nakup

Denar

The official currency of the People's Republic of China is the Chinese yuan, znan kot renminbi (人民币 rénmínbì, "People's Money"), denoted by the symbol ¥, international currency code CNY. All prices in China are given in yuan; the Chinese character is 元 (yuán), or in financial contexts (e.g. cheques and banknotes) 圆. A price may be shown as, for example, 20 元, 20 rmb, RMB 20, 20 yuan or ¥20; we use the latter form here. In informal spoken Chinese and sometimes in spoken English, 块 (kuài) may be used instead, much as "buck" can be used in the U.S. or "quid" in the UK. Some Chinese software will display a bigger "full width" character (￥) to differentiate it from the Japanese yen, which uses the same symbol.

The Chinese yuan is not legal tender in the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong in Macau, which issue their own currencies. However many businesses will also accept Chinese currency, albeit at an unfavorable exchange rate.

There are 10 jiǎo (角) in a yuan. A coin worth ¥0.1 will thus say 壹角 ("1 jiǎo"), on it, and a price like ¥3.7 would thus be read as "3 kuài 7". The jiǎo is rapidly heading for extinction, although you will get the odd 1 or 5 jiao coin or note as change. In spoken Mandarina, jiǎo is usually called the máo (毛). A tenth of a máo je fēn (分); you may see this digit on prices, but it will be rounded off if you pay in cash.

In spoken language, the trailing unit may be dropped. For example wǔ bǎi sān, literally "five hundred three", means 530 or "five hundred three tens". The number 503 would be read as wǔ bǎi líng sān, literally "five hundred zero three". podobno yì qiān bā, literally "one thousand eight", means 1800. When using larger numbers, Chinese has a word for ten thousand, wàn (万), and thus for example 50,000 becomes wǔ wàn, ne wǔ shí qiān.

Chinese coins and bills

• Kovanci: ¥0.1 (1 jiao; dull silver or shiny silver), ¥0.5 (5 jiao; gold), ¥1 (silver)
• Bills: ¥0.1 (1 jiao), ¥0.5 (5 jiao), ¥1, ¥5, ¥10, ¥20, ¥50, ¥100

A lot of Chinese currency will be in the form of bills — even small change. Bills are more common in some areas, coins in others, but both are accepted anywhere. Even the jiao, at just one tenth of a yuan, exists as both a bill (the smallest) and two different coins. Conversely, one yuan exists as a coin and as two different bills. You should be prepared to recognize and handle either version.

Due to the popularity of mobile payments, an increasing number of shops in urban areas do not accept cash or credit cards, and even those that accept cash will often not have any change available.

Foreign currency

Foreign currencies, including the Hong Kong dollar or U.S. dollar, are rarely seen as a substitute for yuan except in several five-star hotels, and in some shops on the Hong Kong-Shenzhen border, and stock exchanges. Other currencies are unlikely to be used in most transactions. If you only have dollars in your pocket, it usually means that you don't have money to pay the bill without a trip to a bank. Many shops won't accept it, having no idea on exchange rate or how to check if the bills are counterfeit.

Counterfeiting

With the popularity of mobile payment apps, counterfeit banknotes are less of a problem than before, but you should still be alert for them. Banknotes of ¥20, ¥50, and ¥100 are the main risks. When you're given one of these bills as change, scrutinize it to check. The main focus is on the texture of different parts, metal line, change of colours under different lights. Everyone has their own method, so just ask.

When you pay with a ¥50 or ¥100 banknote in a shop or taxi, it's socially accepted that you note down the last few digits of the banknote you are handing over. This is in case they claim your banknote is fake, then these remembered digits will ensure they give you the same note back.

Some unscrupulous money exchangers on the Chinese border areas give counterfeits to travelers. Go to a bank if you're not experienced in checking notes.

It is common for cashiers to scrutinize banknotes and some of the more expensive supermarkets even have machines that can spot counterfeits. This is standard practice in China and offence should not be taken.

Counterfeits from ATMs are not common, but some people are still concerned. If you are worried, withdraw your money from the bank counter and say "I worry about jiǎbì (counterfeit)". Bank staff are understanding about this.

Currency exchange

Although still restricted, the yuan is readily convertible in many countries, especially in Asia. The Hong Kong dollar, US dollar, Canadian dollar, euro, pound sterling, Australian dollar, Japanese yen and South Korean won, and Singapore dollars can be easily changed in China. Currency should only be changed at major banks (Bank of China in particular), or with the licensed money changers usually found at airports or high-end hotels, although they offer unfavorable rates.

You should avoid black market for currency exchange as counterfeiting is a major issue, especially with money changers in markets and hanging around large banks.

Foreign exchange is under tight control in China. Private money changers are still uncommon in China. In a bank, it usually takes 5 to 60 minutes to process the exchange, sometimes a little faster in a hotel. Bank branches in major cities usually know the procedure and are relatively quick, while even main branches in provincial cities can take much longer.

You must fill out a form, and your passport will be photocopied and scanned. Keep the exchange receipt if you plan to leave the country with larger sum of money. Not all banks with the "Exchange" logo will exchange money for non-customers or for all currencies in cash. For example, Standard Chartered will only exchange cash for its customers and will only do US dollars and Hong Kong dollars in cash (but opening an account is quick and doable even on a tourist visa, and they offer a better cash exchange rate than most local banks).

Exchanging US currency for yuan can be simple, but expect the bills to be heavily scrutinized before the exchange is processed. Opportunities to buy yuan before entering China, for example when coming overland from Hong Kong or Vietnam, should be taken, as the rates are better. The same is true going the other way - selling just across the border will often net a more favorable rate. You may only import or export a maximum in local currency of ¥20,000 in cash, and sums greater than US$5,000 cash in foreign currency require paperwork.

Most international banks will allow you to get a cash advance via a debit or credit card at a Chinese ATM. However, the rates for such actions are often unfavorable and may include steep service charges. It's useful to carry an international currency such as pounds sterling, US dollars, or Japanese yen to fall back on should you not have access to a cash machine.

If you are planning to stay a long time in China, e.g. for work or study, you may want to open a Chinese bank account. Glej Working in China#Banking za več informacij.

ATM cards

Many ATMs will only accept Chinese bank cards. ATMs from three of the big four banks are likely to accept foreign (Visa, MasterCard, AmEx, Diners) cards: Bank of China (BOC), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), and China Construction Bank (CCB). Although ATMs from other banks are plentiful, state they accept Visa/MasterCard/Cirrus and have an English option, they are not likely to work with an international credit/debit card unless the ATM operator is a foreign big-name bank (HSBC, Citibank, Bank of East Asia).

Before traveling, find out if your home bank charges a currency conversion fee (often between 0-3%) on such transactions. It is worth opening a zero conversion fee account beforehand if possible.

If you have trouble because the ATM requires a 6-digit PIN and your PIN only has four digits, try adding two zeros before it. If you find yourself in a town with a Bank of China branch but no international network-capable ATM, it is usually possible to get a cash advance on a credit card inside the bank for a 3% fee. Just ask.

UnionPay, the local ATM card network, has made agreements with various ATM card networks around the globe. If your card is covered, any ATM in China will accept withdrawals and balance inquiries from your card. While UnionPay ATM and/or debit cards are now issued by banks in a number of countries, ATM cards linked to NYCE and Pulse in America (also applies to cash advances from Discover cards), Interac in Canada, and LINK in the UK are covered.

If your bank is part of the Global ATM Alliance, China Construction Bank is the local partner for fee-free withdrawals.

Credit cards

Inside a mall in Dalian

Outside of star-rated or chain hotels, major supermarkets, and high-class restaurants, foreign credit cards like Visa and MasterCard are generally not accepted and most transactions will require cash or mobile payments. Many department stores and large grocery stores have point-of-sale terminals for Chinese bank cards, but most foreign cards are not supported.

Most Chinese banks and many merchants use the UnionPay system, so a foreign card that supports UnionPay will probably be widely accepted. Several countries now have banks that issue UnionPay credit cards, and UnionPay supports Discover and JCB (Japan Credit Bureau) cards as well. Visa, MasterCard and American Express meanwhile are less common. Most convenience stores take UnionPay, as do most restaurant chains, stores selling high-value items, grocery store chains, and most ATMs. In 2017, it was reported that the new Discover cards with chip would require multiple attempts or did not work at all in most of the POS machines. Do not rely on credit cards as your sole payment method.

Consider signing up for an international card that can interact with UnionPay. If you have a bank account in Hong Kong then you may be able to open an additional renminbi account with a UnionPay card which is convenient for traveling in the mainland.

As with debit cards, Chinese retail clerks will usually present the POS credit card terminal to the cardholder for entry of a PIN for chip-and-pin cards. Visitors from sign-only countries should attempt to explain that fact to the clerk (while chip-and-sign cards will cause most terminals to automatically skip the PIN prompt), and sign the receipt as usual.

Mobile payments

Alipay (blue) and WeChat Pay (green) accepted here

QR-code based mobile payments such as WeChat Pay (微信支付 Wēixìn zhīfù) in Alipay (支付宝 Zhīfùbǎo) are extremely popular in China. The vast majority of places that take small payments, including restaurants, street-food places, and some public transportation in large cities, accept either or both of WeChat Pay and Alipay. In some cases, mobile payment is the only accepted payment method. Look for a QR-code posted with the App logo of WeChat or Alipay to find places that accept these payment types.

Unfortunately for the traveler, both maintain strict separation between their Chinese and global networks: you can't use a global account to make payments in China. Getting full access to the Chinese network as a foreigner requires a Chinese bank account, but you can use Alipay with a foreign credit card (with some limitations that shouldn't affect casual tourists). Various other workarounds may be possible—WeChat also accepts foreign credit cards to a limited extent—but requirements are always changing.

Other NFC-based mobile payments, including Apple Pay and Android Pay, are not accepted in the vast majority of the places. The NFC/Contactless POS terminals usually only takes Contactless UnionPay cards. Even though some stores in large cities are labeled to accept Apple Pay, Apple Pay with a Visa/MasterCard/AmEx/Discover/JCB would probably not work at all in those stores as in most cases they also require a UnionPay card. Android Pay is completely absent from China due to the ban of Google in mainland China.

Stroški

China is affordable for Western visitors, though it's noticeably more expensive than much of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Unless you are heading to Hong Kong ali Macau, China is generally much less expensive - from a traveler's perspective - than industrialised countries. If you eat local food, use public transportation and stay in budget hotels or hostels, then ¥200-300 is a serviceable daily backpacker budget. However, if you want to live an extravagant lifestyle and eat only Western food and stay in luxury hotels, then even ¥3,000 a day would not be enough. As a general rule, basic items are relatively cheap, but the prices of luxury items are exorbitant, even by the standards of Japan and Western countries. Western-branded products in particular are extremely expensive, sometimes more than double what you would pay for the same items in the U.S.

There is a high degree of variation in prices depending on where you go. Major cities like Šanghaj, Peking in Guangzhou generally cost more than smaller cities and rural, inland parts of the country. The boom towns of Shenzhen in Zhuhai are also more expensive than the national average. Nonetheless, many Hong Kong or Macau residents (who live just across the border from Shenzhen and Zhuhai, respectively, and who are generally more affluent than mainlanders), often go to these cities to shop, play golf, and enjoy services like massage as prices are far lower.

Prekuhavanje

As a general rule, tipping is not practiced in China. While tipping would rarely be regarded as insulting, in some cases a tip might be seen as suggesting that a relationship is based on money, not friendship. When leaving a tip on your table, it is common to see a waiter chase after you to return the money you "forgot" to take.

In China, compliments over service is usually expressed in implicit ways. If you are a smoker, you are expected to pass a cigarette to the service staff or manager. If you don't do so, you will be seen as selfish and egocentric. It is common to buy a bartender or pub owner a drink.

In a hotel, it is customary not to tip for room service, airport service, taxis or anything else, although hotels that routinely serve foreign tourists may allow tipping for tour guides and associated drivers. Masseurs in some areas such as Shenzhen have been known to ask for a tip. However, if they become pushy at getting tips, most Chinese see this as extortion and an immoral practice, so just be firm if you don't wish to give any.

Taxi drivers do appreciate a few yuan rounded up if they have made an extra effort for your journey; however, it is by no means required.

Nakupovanje

Poglej tudi: Shopping in China

Shopping has become a national pastime as China's middle class expands. A variety of goods are available to suit any budget.

In most brand name shops, upscale malls and supermarkets, the prices already have Value-Added Tax (VAT) and any sales tax included. Thus, anything with a marked price tends to be sold at that price or, perhaps, slightly below especially if you pay cash and do not require a receipt for your purchase. For unmarked goods, there is wide room for bargaining.

Chinese make sales using the character: 折 (zhé) which represents how many tenths of the original price you pay. For example, 8折 refers to 20% off and 6.5折 is 35% off.

China excels in handmade items, partly because of long traditions of exquisite artisanship and partly because labor is still comparatively inexpensive. The overwhelming majority of the "antique" items you will be shown are fakes, no matter how convincing they look and no matter what the vendor says.

Porcelain at Shanghai's antique market

• Porcelain: with a long history of porcelain manufacture, China still makes great porcelain today.
• Furniture: in the 1990s and 2000s China became a major source of antique furniture.
• Art and Fine Art: Traditional painting, modern art, and hand-painted reproductions of great works.
• Jade There are two types of jade in China today: one type is pale and almost colorless and is made from a variety of stones mined in China. The other type is green in color and is imported from Mjanmar (Burma) - if genuine!
• Preproge: China is home to a remarkable variety of carpet-making traditions, including Mongolian, Ningxia, Tibetan and modern types.
• Pearls & pearl jewellery: cultured Akoya and freshwater pearls are mass-produced and sold at markets across China.
• Other arts and crafts: Cloisonné (colored enamels on a metal base), lacquer work, opera masks, kites, shadow puppets, Socialist-realist propaganda posters, wood carvings, scholar's rocks (decorative rocks, some natural, some less so), paper-cuts, and so on.
• Oblačila: China is one of the world's leading manufacturers of clothing, shoes and accessories. There are affordable tailors anywhere in China. There is also traditional Chinese clothing if you are interested, and a growing revival movement.
• Brand-name goods: genuine branded foreign goods won't be cheaper than in Western countries. There are a number of sources of potential knock-offs or fake brand-name goods.
• Software, music and movies: Most CDs (music or software) and DVDs in China are unauthorized copies.
• Endangered species: avoid purchasing — coral, ivory and parts from endangered animal species. Anyone buying such products risks substantial fines and/or jail time either when trying to leave China with them or when trying to import them into another country.

Bargaining

Poglej tudi: Shopping in China#Bargaining, Bargaining

Merchandise at a market in China

Bargaining is a national pastime in China. You can bargain over almost anything, and sometimes it's even possible to ask for discount in a restaurant at the last minute before paying the bill. Many restaurants or bars will willingly offer a free dish or two (such as a fruit plate in a KTV) if you have made a particularly large order. Shopping malls are less willing to bargain, but why not ask "Will I get a gift?"

Prices are almost always posted, but they are all substantially marked up, normally 2-3 times. It's often better to buy souvenirs somewhere just a few blocks away from the tourist spots.

It is hard to tell what price to offer when starting negotiations. Depending on the city, product or market in question, 5% to 50% of the posted price or vendor's first offer is common. If someone offers you too-great-to-be-true discount, it could be a sign that the goods are of less-than-great quality. The rule of thumb is to walk around and compare. In tourist spots, it's common to ask for a 30-50% discount, but in a place catering to local people, asking for a 50% discount sounds foolish.

In tourist places, don't take what merchants say seriously. When you ask for a 50% discount, they may be appalled and show scorn; it's a favorite drama.

Osnove

Unless you have a supermarket within walking distance of your hotel (see next section below), the most convenient option for basic supplies and groceries will almost always be a convenience store. Major chains in China include Kedi, Alldays, FamilyMart and 7-Eleven. China has belatedly caught up with East Asia's love affair with convenience stores, to the point where the largest cities like Beijing and Shanghai have become oversaturated with them.

Many convenience stores sell individual tissue packets, which are a necessity for touring China as many public restrooms do not have toilet paper. Although supermarkets also sell tissue packets and toilet paper, they tend to sell it in 6 or 10-packs which are too much for tourists.

Some discount and mid-market department stores in China also have groceries sections.

Western goods

Areas with large expatriate communities like Peking, Šanghaj, Guangzhou in Shenzhen have specialty grocery stores catering to those communities. These are often no larger than a 7-Eleven. They usually stock imported snacks, alcohol, and specialty groceries such as meats and cheeses and are often very expensive. See individual articles for details.

Several Western-owned supermarket chains are widespread in China — American Wal-mart (沃尔玛 Wò'ěrmǎ), German Metro (麦德龙 Màidélóng), and French Carrefour (家乐福 Jiālèfú). All have some Western groceries — often at high prices. However, the availability of foreign products diminishes at their branches according to the size of the city. Metro is probably the best of these; in particular it usually has a fine selection of alcohol. Asian-owned chains include Japanese Jusco (佳世客 Jiāshìkè), Taiwanese RT-Mart (大润发 Dàrùnfā), South Korean LOTTE Mart (乐天玛特 Letianmate) and Filipino SM; these also carry imported goods. Some larger Chinese chains such as Beijing Hualian (北京华联 Běijīng Huálián) also carry a limited selection of foreign products.

Tobacco products

Poglej tudi: Shopping in China#Tobacco

Main article: Tobacco

Smoking is quite common and cigarettes (香烟 xiāngyān) are generally cheap. Cigarettes can be purchased from small neighbourhood stores, convenience stores, counters in supermarkets and in department stores. Rolling tobacco and papers are rare in urban China. Lighters (打火机 dǎhuǒjī) are usually cheap (about ¥1) but flimsily made. Zippos are available but expensive.

Smoking is something of a social activity in China. In a bar or at dinner few Chinese will light up without offering cigarettes around the table, or at least to the men since few Chinese women smoke; visitors should do the same. Having an expensive brand is a status symbol.

Jej

Main article: Chinese cuisine

A fish dish in a Yangzhou restaurant

Food in China varies widely between regions, so the term "Chinese food" is a blanket term, about as descriptive as "Western food." Still, there are some broad characteristics. Gastronomy has a long history in China, and dishes subtly balance many flavors, aromas, and colors. Each region developed cuisine and techniques based on the ingredients at hand, so you'll find spicy meat-filled dishes in cooler inland regions, slowly simmered seafood stews in coastal regions, and quickly stir-fried fresh vegetables in busy southern ports like Guangzhou. Even many native Chinese find food from outside their home region to be "foreign".

In southern China, riž (米饭 mǐfàn) is a staple food served with many meals, so much so that its root word 饭 (fàn) means "meal" as well as "cooked grain". It may be served plain (eaten by itself as a side, or used as a bed to soak up sauce from the main dish), stir-fried with a variety of ingredients to make fried rice, a quick tasty street meal and a common way to use up leftovers at home, or made into congee, rice porridge that's a common breakfast. Noodles (面 miàn) are another important staple, made from either rice or wheat, and served in a variety of methods. Soybeans are used to make soy sauce, a quintessential seasoning in Chinese cooking. They're also used to make tofu (豆腐 dòufu), which comes in many forms besides tasteless white blocks: some can be as flavorful and crispy as meat, others quite pungent like a blue cheese.

Chinese gourmands place emphasis on freshness so your meal will most likely be cooked as soon as you order it. Searing hot woks over coal or gas fires make even street food usually safe to eat. Indeed freshly prepared street food is often safer than food sitting on the buffet lines of 5-star hotels. Still, use common sense: if it's a searing hot summer day and the kebab vendor has their raw meat sitting unrefrigerated on the counter, you might want to head elsewhere.

Various types of Chinese food provide quick, cheap, tasty, light meals. Street food and snacks sold from portable vendors can be found throughout China's cities, good for breakfast or a snack. And Western-style fast food is arguably as popular as the domestic variety.

Yelp is virtually unknown in China, while the Michelin Guide only covers Shanghai and Guangzhou, and is not taken seriously by most Chinese people. Instead, most Chinese people rely on local website Dazhong Dianping (Chinese only).

Etiquette

Poglej tudi: Chinese cuisine#Respect

China is the birthplace of chopsticks (筷子 kuàizi), which are used for most Chinese food. Chinese cuisine evolved to be eaten using chopsticks, with almost all food prepared in bite-sized chunks or easily picked apart. Eating with chopsticks is a surprisingly easy skill to pick up, although mastering them takes a while. Some chopstick guidelines to be aware of:

• Nikoli place or leave chopsticks upright in a bowl of food (reminiscent of funeral rites), pass something from your chopsticks to another person's chopsticks (another funeral rite), or drum your bowl with chopsticks (reminiscent of beggars).
• Always use chopsticks as a pair, like a set of tongs; nikoli use just one chopstick at a time (nor one in each hand), hold them in your fist like you would a knife or dagger, or try to "cut" food with them like you would with a knife. Spearing food with your chopsticks is generally rude and should be done only as a last resort.
• Using chopsticks to move plates or bowls is rude.
• Pointing at things with your chopsticks is rude. (Pointing at people in general is rude; with chopsticks, doubly so.) Even when setting chopsticks down on the table, angle them so they're not pointing at anyone.
• In general, try not to touch food with your fingers. Even fried chicken is picked up with chopsticks and gingerly nibbled, touching it as little as possible. Small bones should be spat onto your plate or bowl, rather than removed using your hands or chopsticks. For foods that are eaten with your hands, disposable plastic gloves may be provided.

It's normal to pick up any bowl of food for easier eating, and you can put a bowl of rice directly to your mouth to push the last few bites in using your chopsticks. Spoons are used for soups and porridge, and to help with eating noodles in a soup.

In traditional Chinese dining, dishes are shared family style, and at larger tables there is usually a lazy Susan to pass dishes around.

• Communal chopsticks (公筷 gōngkuài) are not always provided; if not, just use your own chopsticks to transfer food to your bowl. It's not rude to request communal chopsticks from the restaurant, but it may make you look like a stickler for formality.
• Each communal dish should only be served from by one person at a time. Don't reach across someone to reach a farther dish while they're serving; wait until they're done.
• Once you put something on your plate, don't put it back. Confucius says never leave someone else with what ti don't want.

Don't expect to get a fortune cookie with your meal; that's strictly a Western custom. (Fortune cookies were actually invented in California sometime in the early 20th century.) Most Chinese have never even heard of them.

Regionalne kuhinje

Poglej tudi: Chinese cuisine#Regional cuisines

Several varieties of Chinese food have enough international popularity that you may already recognize some of them:

• Kantonski cuisine (from Guangdong), is by far the most widely known type of Chinese food abroad. Neither bland nor spicy, Cantonese cuisine will use almost anything as an ingredient, often preserving the freshness by quickly stir-frying in a very hot wok or steaming. Fried rice, chow mein, char siu pork, and sweet and sour pork are just a handful of its most famous dishes.
• Huaiyang cuisine (from the eastern area towards Šanghaj) is considered a good mix of northern and southern Chinese cooking styles. Dishes tend to focus on a main ingredient, which is often seafood in this coastal region; flavors are often sweet, and almost never spicy. Its most famous dishes include xiaolongbao soup dumplings, red braised pork belly, drunken chicken, and sweet and sour mandarin fish.
• Sečuan or Szechuan cuisine (from the western inland) is popular with many foreigners for its málà flavors, using Sichuan peppercorns for a tingling numbness (má) and chili peppers for spiciness (là). Using lots of meat, preserved foods, and chili oil, it's famous for the original form of Kung Pao chicken, mapo tofu, twice-cooked pork, and dandan noodles.
• Teochew cuisine (from the Chaoshan region of Guangdong) is well known in Hong Kong and much of Southeast Asia. Particularly known for its braised meats and steamed dishes.

Other major traditional cuisines include fragrant and vinegary Shandong, tender Fujian, spicy Hunan, herbal Anhui, and delicate Zhejiang. Ethnic minority cuisines in China include Korejski, Uyghur, Tibetan, Mongolian, and various cuisines from Yunnan, while Northeastern Chinese cuisine is influenced by both Mongolian and Russian cuisines and includes dishes like potato dumplings and a type of borscht. There is even unique local-style Western food to be found in Šanghaj.

Dietary restrictions

Poglej tudi: Chinese cuisine#Dietary restrictions

People with dietary restrictions will have a hard time in China. Halal food is hard to find outside areas with a significant Muslim population, but look for Lanzhou noodle (兰州拉面, Lánzhōu lāmiàn) restaurants, which may have a sign advertising "halal" in Arabic (حلال). Kosher food is nearly unknown, and you will have to do some advance planning; there are Chabad houses in major Chinese cities that you can contact to help with this. Vegetarijansko restaurants can often be found near major Buddhist temples (look for the character "素" or the symbol "卍", a Buddhist symbol in this context), but elsewhere you'll probably need to ask specifically and it may not always be available. Dairy and eggs are little-used in Chinese vegetarian cuisine, so much of it is suitable for vegans, but do pay attention, especially when it comes to desserts. Awareness of food allergies (食物过敏 shíwù guòmǐn) is limited, and gluten-free foods are virtually non-existent.

Pijte

The Chinese love a tipple, but unless you are used to imbibing heavily, be careful when drinking with Chinese. The Chinese liquor báijiǔ is quite potent (up to 65% alcohol); it's often drunk in small shot glasses for a good reason. When U.S. President Richard Nixon — who was an experienced drinker, if a bit of a lightweight — first visited China, his staff sent dire warnings that he not drink in response to toasts. (He diplomatically managed to toast every table at the banquet, taking zelo small sips.)

There are hardly any liquor laws in China. The legal drinking age is 18, but it's basically not enforced, and you'll never need to show ID. Alcohol can be purchased anywhere and drunk anywhere.

Toasting

Toasts are made by saying "gānbēi" (干杯, lit. "dry glass"). Drinks are served in small glasses (even beer is usually drunk from oversized shot glasses), and traditionally you should drain the whole glass for a toast.

Chinese toasts are generally one-on-one, not something involving the whole table. At most meals, a visitor can expect everyone at the table to offer them a toast. Visitors should also offer toasts and not just receive them. This means that if you are out for dinner with a dozen people, you will be expected and pressured to drink around two dozen toasts. Fortunately, it's okay to stick to beer, and Chinese beer is usually low alcohol.

It may be considered rude if you don't offer a toast to someone whenever you take a drink, at least at the start of a meal. The same applies to smoking; offer the pack around whenever you want to light up.

If you want to take it easy but still be sociable, say "'suíbiàn" (随便) or "pèngbeī" (碰杯) before you make the toast, then drink only part of the glass. It may also be possible to have three toasts (traditionally signifying friendship) with the entire company, rather than a separate toast for each person.

Alkohol

Poglej tudi: Chinese cuisine#Alcoholic

The all-purpose word jiǔ (酒, "alcohol") covers quite a range of alcoholic drinks. Generally speaking, heavy drinking is more prevalent in northern China than in southern China.

Pivo (啤酒 píjiǔ) is common in China and is served in nearly every restaurant and sold in many grocery stores. Najbolj znana blagovna znamka je Tsingtao (青島 Qīngdǎo) iz Qingdao, ki je bila v nekem trenutku nemška koncesija.

Lokalno izdelano grozdje vino (葡萄酒 pútáojiǔ) je pogost in ima velik del cene ugodne, ponavadi pa je le najmanj podoben zahodnim vinom. Kitajci imajo svoja vina rdeča in zelo sladka, običajno pa jih postrežejo na ledu ali mešajo s spriteom. Kljub temu obstajajo tudi kakovostnejša lokalna vina, ki so bolj podobna zahodnim kolegom, če veste, kaj iskati.

Obstaja tudi več znamk in vrst riževo vino. Večina teh spominja na voden rižev puding, ponavadi so sladke in vsebujejo najmanjšo količino alkohola za okus.

Baijiu (白酒 Báijiǔ) je destilirana tekočina, običajno od 40 do 60 vol.% alkohola, izdelana iz sirka in včasih drugih zrn, odvisno od regije. Maotai ali Moutai (茅台 Máotái), izdelana v provinci Guizhou, je najbolj znana kitajska znamka baijiu in kitajska narodna pijača. Maotai in njegovi dragi bratranci (kot npr Kaoliang iz Kinmen na Tajvanu) so dobro znani po močni dišavi in ​​so dejansko bolj sladki kot zahodne bistre lužnice, saj je sirkov sir na nek način ohranjen.

Kitajski žganje (白兰地 báilándì) je odlična vrednost, cena približno enaka kot vino. Obstaja več blagovnih znamk; vsi so pitni in mnogim obiskovalcem se zdijo bolj všečni kot baijiu.

Kitajci so tudi veliki ljubitelji raznih menda zdravilne lužnice, ki običajno vsebujejo eksotična zelišča in / ali dele živali. Nekatere cene imajo običajne cene in vključujejo sestavine, kot je ginseng, druge bolj eksotične pa lahko vključujejo kače, ose in novorojene miši. Ti so lahko dovolj okusni, če težijo k sladkosti. Upoštevajte, da so nekatere tekočine namenjene samo zunanji uporabi.

Bari, diskoteke in karaoke

Pubi v zahodnem slogu postajajo vse bolj priljubljeni po vsej državi. Zlasti v premožnejših mestnih središčih, kot so Shenzhen, Shanghai in Hangzhou, je mogoče najti skrbno poustvarjene kopije tradicionalnih irskih ali angleških pubov. Tako kot njihovi zahodni kolegi bo tudi večina tujih piv ponujala točeno pijačo, ponujala pa bo tudi hrano v gostilnah (različne kakovosti), pogosto pa bodo vključevali tudi zasedbe v živo. Večina teh pubov skrbi za izseljene skupnosti in jih obiskujejo, zato ne bi smeli pričakovati, da boste v teh krajih našli veliko Kitajcev. Uvoženo pivo je lahko zelo drago v primerjavi z lokalno pivo.

Če želite s prijatelji oditi na nekaj pijač, izberite lokalno restavracijo in popijte pivo s približno 5 JPY za steklenico s 600 ml. To bo kitajski lager, približno 3% alkohola, z omejeno izbiro blagovne znamke in ga lahko postrežemo toplo. Večina srednjih do visokih restavracij bo imela majhne zasebne apartmaje za druženja (običajno na voljo brezplačno, če je več kot približno 5 ljudi), osebje pa vas na splošno ne bo poskušalo pregnati, tudi če se odločite ostati do konca. Mnogi prebivalci obiskujejo restavracije na prostem ali ob stojnicah in žaru (烧烤 shāokǎo) za lep in poceni večer.

V diskoteke in modne palice pri zabavi običajno kupite pivo naenkrat 100 JPY; to vas pripelje od 4 piva blagovne znamke (Heineken, Bud, Corona, Sol itd.) do 10 lokalnih piv. Nekaj ​​krajev ponujajo koktajle; manj jih ima dobrih.

Druge pijače prodajajo samo po steklenicah, ne pa tudi po kozarcih. Rdeče vino je v razponu od 80-200 ((postreženo z ledom in spriteom), povprečni uvoženi viskiji (Chivas, Johnny Walker, Jim Beam, Jack Daniels; izredno redko posamezni sladi) in konjaki, ¥ 300-800. Oboje pogosto mešamo s sladkim ustekleničenim zelenim ali rdečim čajem. Vodka, tekila in rum so manj pogosti, včasih pa na voljo. Navidezni izdelki z blagovno znamko so dokaj pogosti in vam lahko uničijo naslednji dan.

Ti kraji pogosto imajo dekleta iz bara, mlade ženske, ki veliko pijejo in želijo igrati igre za pitje, da bi jih zaužili več. Za vse, kar kupite, dobijo provizijo. Na splošno ta dekleta ne bodo zapustila bara z vami; sta poklicna spogledljivca in ne prostitutka.

Mesto za karaoke v bližini kampusa Univerze za znanost in tehnologijo Huazhong v Ljubljani Wuhan

Karaoke (卡拉 V redu kǎlā'ōukèi) je na Kitajskem ogromen in ga lahko na splošno razdelimo v dve kategoriji. Pogostejša je karaoke škatla brez napora oz KTV, kjer najamete sobo, pripeljete svoje prijatelje, hiša pa vam da mikrofon in proda pijačo. Študentje so zelo priljubljeni in so ob pravi množici poceni in zabavni, čeprav potrebujete vsaj nekaj ljudi za nepozabno noč. Če pijete svojo pijačo, lahko cena ostane nižja, vendar je to treba storiti po naključju - marsikje so okna na vratih, tako da lahko osebje poskrbi, da pijete samo alkohol, ki so vam ga prodali.

Precej drugačen je izrazito dodgier posebna KTV bivalni prostor, bolj usmerjen k poslovnežem, ki zabavajo stranke ali jim pustijo lase, kjer hiša ponuja vse in vse po ceni. V teh pogosto bogatih obratih - vrhunske rimske in egiptovske teme so standardne - pridružile se vam bodo profesionalne karaoke deklice s kratkimi krili, ki na uro zaračunajo užitek v svoji družbi in katerih storitve morda niso omejene na samo slabo petje in točenje pijač. Zelo priporočljivo je, da se nanje ne spuščate, razen če ste popolnoma prepričani, da nekdo drži račun, ki lahko zlahka nanese na stotine dolarjev, tudi če imate hlače.

Kot drugod tudi nikoli nikoli sprejmite povabilo v restavracijo ali bar od ženske na videz, ki vas je pravkar pobrala na ulici nekaj po sončnem zahodu. V najboljšem primeru predlagajte drug kraj. Če noče, jo sprostite sproti. Več kot verjetno vas bo usmerila v tiho mestece s preveč vratarji, vi pa se boste znašli osedlani s skromnim obrokom in pivom, ki vas bo stalo 1000 ¥ ali več. In vratarji te ne bodo pustili oditi, dokler ne plačaš.

Čaj

Kitajska je rojstno mesto kulture čaja in obstaja veliko, če obstaja tveganje, da bo očitno čaj (茶 chá) na Kitajskem. Zeleni čaj (绿茶 lǜchá) v nekaterih restavracijah postrežejo brezplačno (odvisno od regije) ali za majhno plačilo. Za več informacij glejte Kitajska kuhinja # čaj.

Najpogostejše vrste postrežbe so:

• smodni čaj (珠茶 zhū chá): zeleni čaj, ki so ga poimenovali po videzu strdenih listov, s katerimi so ga kuhali
• jasminov čaj (茉莉花 茶 mòlìhuā chá): zeleni čaj z vonjem cvetov jasmina
• oolong (烏龍 wūlóng): polfermentiran gorski čaj.

V specializiranih čajnicah strežejo najrazličnejše zvarke, od bledega, občutljivega belega čaja (白茶 báichá) do močnega fermentiranega in ostarelega puerjevega čaja (普洱茶 pǔ'ěrchá). Večina čajevnic vam bo več kot z veseljem pustila, da sedite in poskusite različne sorte čaja. "Ten Fu Tea" je nacionalna veriga.

Kitajski čaji se pijejo brez sladkorja ali mleka. Na nekaterih območjih pa najdete "mlečni čaj" v hongkonškem slogu (奶茶 nǎichá) ali tibetanski "masleni čaj". Tajvanski čaj z mehurčki (珍珠 奶茶 zhēnzhū nǎichá) je tudi priljubljen; "mehurčki" so kroglice tapioke in v njih se pogosto vmeša mleko ali sadje.

Kava

Kava (咖啡 kāfēi) je priljubljen v mestni Kitajski, čeprav ga je v manjših mestih precej težko najti. Številne verige kavarn imajo podružnice v številnih mestih, med njimi Starbucks (星巴克), UBC Coffee (上岛咖啡), Ming Tien Coffee Language in SPR. Obstaja veliko majhnih neodvisnih kavarn ali lokalnih verig.

Hladne pijače

Veliko pijač, ki jih na Zahodu običajno postrežejo ohlajene ali z ledom, na Kitajskem postrežejo pri sobni temperaturi. V restavraciji povprašajte za pivo ali soda, lahko pride do sobne temperature, čeprav pivo vsaj poleti pogosteje postrežemo hladno. Voda bo običajno na voljo vroča. To je pravzaprav dobro, saj je samo pitna (ali ustekleničena) voda varna za pitje.

Majhne trgovine in restavracije prodajajo hladne napitke, samo poiščite hladilnik (čeprav v resnici morda ni kul). V restavracijo lahko poskusite vnesti hladen napitek. Večina majhnih restavracij se ne bo motila - če sploh opazijo - in na Kitajskem ni takega, kot je "zamašek". Večina ljudi bo pila čaj, ki je tako ali tako brezplačen, zato restavracija verjetno ne pričakuje, da bo imela koristi od vaše porabe pijače.

Prosi za led se je najbolje izogibati. Mnogo, morda večina krajev je preprosto nima. Led, ki ga imajo, je lahko izdelan iz nefiltrirane vode iz pipe in verjetno nevaren za popotnike, ki se potijo driska.

Spi

Podeželska gostilna v Shennongjii, Hubei

Razpoložljivost nastanitve za turiste je na splošno dobra in se giblje od skupnih spalnic do luksuznih hotelov s 5 zvezdicami. Spalni vlaki in spalni avtobusi je lahko tudi spodobna možnost, če načrtujete potovanje na dolge razdalje čez noč (glejte Obiti za več informacij).

V preteklosti je le nekaj hotelov smelo sprejemati tuje goste, policija pa jih je spremljala, zdaj pa se omejitve razlikujejo od mesta do mesta. Tudi v mestih z omejenim dostopom vas lahko zlasti družinske organizacije prijavijo, če menijo, da lahko od vas dobijo dovolj informacij, da se lahko vpišete v sistem, ali da se lahko izognejo brez takšnega poročanja. Vsak hotel bo še vedno zahteval fotokopijo vašega potnega lista, nekateri bodo preverili, ali vam je vizum potekel, informacije pa naj bi delili z oblastmi. V redkih primerih vas bo nekdo iz vašega hotela pospremil na lokalno policijsko postajo, da bo izpolnil zahtevo po poročanju ustanove.

Iskanje hotela ob prihodu v kitajsko mesto je težko, če ne veste, kje iskati in kaj iščete. Na splošno niti ocene zvezdic niti cene niso natančen pokazatelj kakovosti hotela, zato pred rezervacijo raziščite. Če ste pripravljeni plačati 180 ¥ ali več za sobo, boste verjetno imeli malo težav pri iskanju. Lahko na primer poiščete Google Maps z imenom verižnega hotela, ki je spodaj navedeno pod "srednjega razreda", določite, kateri naslov bi bil v kitajščini, in to nato zapišete na opombo, ki jo daste taksistu . V bližini železniške ali avtobusne postaje so ponavadi poceni hoteli. Če se nameravate samo pojaviti v mestu in poiskati prenočišče, je najbolje, da pridete pred 18:00, sicer bodo rezervirana najbolj priljubljena mesta za noč. Če ste popolnoma težko najti stanovanje, vam lahko lokalna policija (警察) ali urad za javno varnost (公安局) pomaga najti kraj, kjer boste strmoglavili - vsaj za eno noč.

Cene so pogosto po dogovoru, in močno znižanje cene, ki je navedena na steni, je pogosto mogoče doseči, tudi v lepših hotelih, tako da preprosto vprašate "kakšna je najnižja cena?" (最低 多少 zuìdī duōshǎo). Če bivate več kot nekaj dni, se običajno lahko dogovorite tudi za nižjo dnevno ceno. Vendar pa te pogajalske taktike ne bodo delovale v zasedenih kitajskih prazničnih sezonah, ko je težko doseči cene v nebo in sobe. Številni hoteli, tako verige kot posamezni obrati, imajo članske izkaznice, ki pogostim gostom nudijo popuste.

V hotelih srednjega in višjega razreda je bilo nekoč precej pogosto, da so gostje prejemali telefonske klice s storitvami "masaže" (ki so dejansko ponujale dodatne fizične storitve), vendar je to postalo redkejše, tako da moški gostje lahko le naletijo na vizitke, natlačene pod vrata .

Rezervacija sobe preko interneta s kreditno kartico je lahko priročen in hiter način, da si zagotovite sobo, ko prispete na cilj, in za to poskrbijo številna spletna mesta. Kreditne kartice se na Kitajskem ne uporabljajo pogosto, zlasti v manjših in cenejših hotelih. Takšni hoteli običajno zahtevajo plačilo z gotovino, mnogi hoteli pa vnaprej zahtevajo varščino v višini nekaj sto juanov. Nekaj ​​novega spletne storitve^{[mrtva povezava]} omogočajo rezervacijo brez kreditne kartice in plačilo gotovine v hotelu. Med kitajskimi počitnicami, ko je težko kjer koli dobiti sobo, je to morda sprejemljiva možnost, toda zunaj sezone je sob skoraj povsod in morda je ob prihodu prav tako enostavno najti sobo rezervirajte enega preko interneta.

Po celotni Kitajski je odjava običajno opoldne in pogosto obstaja možnost plačila poldnevnega stroška za odjavo ob 18:00.

Za tiste, ki na Kitajskem bivajo bolj trajno, je najem možen z očitnim opozorilom, da so vse pogodbe v kitajščini. Cene nepremičnin so v mestih, kot sta Peking in Šanghaj, pretirane in presegajo celo cene številnih večjih zahodnih mest.

Nizkocenovna stanovanja

Številne ultra poceni možnosti zaradi varnosti in čistoče ne bi pritegnile večine popotnikov iz razvitih držav. V najcenejših hotelih je pomembno vprašati, ali je topla voda na voljo 24 ur na dan (有 没有 二十 四个 小时 的 热水 yǒuméiyǒu èrshisì ge xiǎoshí de rèshuǐ) in preverite, ali tuš, umivalnik in stranišče dejansko delujejo. Prav tako je priporočljivo, da se izogibate prijavi v sobo ob prometni ulici, saj vas promet lahko zadrži pozno in zgodaj zbudi.

• Hostli (青年 旅社) so najudobnejše poceni možnosti. Običajno poskrbijo za tujce, imajo angleško govoreče zaposlene in nudijo poceni in priročen prevoz po mestu. Nekateri so celo čistejši in bolje opremljeni kot dražja mesta. Hostli imajo tudi prijetno mednarodno vzdušje in so dober kraj za srečanje z drugimi popotniki in nekaj na pol spodobne zahodnjaške hrane. V večini mest vseh velikosti je na voljo vsaj en hostel, na popotniških točkah pa je veliko hostlov, čeprav se zaradi priljubljenosti pri nahrbtnikih še vedno hitro napolnijo. Hostele lahko pogosto rezervirate on-line vnaprej, čeprav morate vsekakor prinesti izpis potrdila, saj vsi hostli ne vedo, da lahko rezervirate njihove sobe (in plačate del stroškov) on-line vnaprej. V Pekingu je veliko hostlov hutongov - tradicionalni dvoriščni domovi sredi labirinta tradicionalnih ulic in arhitekture. Medtem ko so bili številni pekinški Hutongi porušeni, je gibanje za reševanje preostalih pripeljalo do razcveta mladinskih hostlov za nahrbtnike in butične hotele za popotnike srednjega razreda.

• Spalnice (宿舍) najdemo v univerzitetnih kampusih, v bližini podeželskih turističnih znamenitosti in kot del nekaterih hotelov. Večina popotnikov ima pikčasto srečo s študentskimi domovi. Običajno je, da imajo nesramne ali opojne sostanovalce, skupne kopalnice pa se lahko navadijo, še posebej, če niste vajeni tradicionalnih stranišč za čepenje ali hladne prhe. Vendar pa so na nekaterih območjih, zlasti na vrhu nekaterih kitajskih svetih gora, spalnice morda edina proračunska možnost v morju luksuznih letovišč.

Oznake nad ugodnim hotelom v Yangzhou

• Zhùsù (住宿), ki se preprosto prevede kot "nastanitev", se lahko nanaša na katero koli vrsto spalnih prostorov, toda kraji, ki imajo na steni zunaj napisane kitajske znake za zhusu, so najcenejši. Zhusu ni hotel, ampak preprosto sobe za najem v domovih, restavracijah in v bližini železniške in avtobusne postaje. Sobe Zhusu so univerzalno špartanske in kopalnice so skoraj vedno skupne. Cena je lahko precej nizka in stane le nekaj deset renminbijev. Uradno zhusu tujcu ne bi smel zagotoviti sobe, a oskrbnik velikokrat želi dobiti stranko in jo bo pripravljen najeti komur koli. Nikoli ni nobenih angleških napisov, ki oglašujejo zhusu, zato, če ne znate brati kitajščine, boste morda morali natisniti znake za svoj lov. Varnost pri zhusu's je skromna, zato ta možnost ni priporočljiva, če imate pri sebi dragocenosti.

• Zdravilišča: stroški spa se razlikujejo, lahko pa so tudi do 25 JPY. Vstop v spa je običajno 24 ur, vendar lahko vstop v spa pozno zvečer (po 01:00) in odhod pred poldnevom prinese 50-odstotni popust. Zdravilišča nudijo postelje ali ležeče kavče ter majhno omarico za torbe in osebne predmete (to je idealno, če potujete lahka), vendar zasebnosti ni, ker običajno vsi spijo v eni sobi (zato je več varnosti kot v študentskem domu, saj obstajajo spremljevalci, ki bdijo nad območjem, vaše stvari (tudi oblačila!) pa so shranjene v omarici). Na voljo so tudi tuši, savne, brezplačna hrana in plačljive storitve, kot so masaže in čiščenje telesa. Naj vas ne zavede, ko bodo receptorji poskušali izmisliti razloge, zakaj morate plačati več, kot je navedena cena. Poskusili vas bodo prepričati, da navedene cene veljajo samo za člane, domačine, ženske, moške ali vključujejo le en del zdravilišča (npr. Tuš, vendar brez postelje / kavča). Če želite preveriti morebitne zahtevke, se pogovarjajte z lokalnim prebivalcem, ki je oddaljen od term, in se pozanimajte o cenah. Naj jim ne sporočijo, da preverjate terjatve zdravilišča. Samo obnašajte se, kot da razmišljate o tem, če bi cena bila dobra. Če vedo, da vas zdravilišče skuša previsoko zaračunati, bodo tovrstno zahtevo običajno podprli.

Ugodni hoteli

Hotel srednjega razreda v Yangzhouu z nekaj cenejšimi obrati se nahaja v prvem nadstropju

Naslednja stopnja hotelov, ki je namenjena skoraj izključno kitajskim strankam, je običajno za tujce prepovedana, vendar jih boste morda lahko prepričali, da vas sprejmejo, še posebej, če se znaš kitajsko pogovarjati. Kot tujec ste svoje bivanje dolžni prijaviti lokalnim oblastem, v mestnih območjih pa se proračunski hoteli pogosto ne zavedajo, kako tuje goste prijaviti v lokalni sistem (in s tem nočejo sprejeti tujih gostov). Kljub temu lahko ponudite sodelovanje z hotelskim osebjem pri pravilni prijavi vašega bivanja v sistem PSB (saj večina uradov javne varnosti uporablja enak sistem registracije) z uporabo eden izmed mnogih spletnih vodnikov, vendar je pomembno, da to storite tako, da hotelski uslužbenec ne bo izgubil obraza. Na podeželskih območjih boste verjetno držali kot boleč palec (še posebej, če imate multimedijsko opremo) in tudi če ste prijavljeni kot gost, se bodo uradniki urada za javno varnost pogosto pojavili pozno ponoči, da bodo najprej podvomili o vaših namerah, da ostanete na podeželju in vas prosimo, da zapustite in se preselite v drug hotel.

Imenuje se najcenejša ponudba kitajskih proračunskih hotelov (korak nad zhusu) zhāodàisuǒ (招待所). Za razliko od zhusu so to licenciran nastanitve, vendar so podobno špartanske in uporabne, pogosto s skupnimi kopalnicami. Nekoliko razkošnejši ugodni hoteli in kitajski poslovni hoteli imajo lahko ali pa tudi ne angleške napise in imajo običajno besede lǚguǎn (旅馆, kar pomeni "potovalni hotel"), bīnguǎn ali jiǔdiàn (宾馆 oziroma 酒店, kar pomeni "hotel") v svojem imenu. Možnosti sob običajno vključujejo samske in dvojne s pripadajočimi kopalnicami ter skupne spalnice s skupnimi kopelmi. Nekateri ugodni hoteli vključujejo dopolnilne toaletne potrebščine in internet. V majhnih mestih je nočno bivanje lahko samo 25 JPY; v večjih mestih sobe običajno stanejo 80-120 ¥. Težava takšnih hotelov je v tem, da so lahko precej hrupni, saj se pokrovitelji in osebje med dvoranami vpijejo v majhne jutranje ure. Druga možna neprijetnost je, da si vzamete sobo s skupno kopeljo, saj boste morda morali počakati, da uporabite prho ali stranišče za čepenje, ki poleg tega ni v nobenem privlačnem stanju. V manjših proračunskih hotelih se družina, ki vodi kraj, lahko preprosto zaklene pozno ponoči, ko se zdi, da ne prihaja več strank. Če nameravate prispeti pozno, to razložite vnaprej, sicer boste morda morali poklicati recepcijo, udariti po vratih ali splezati čez vrata, da vstopite.

Hoteli srednjega razreda

Običajno so to velike, čiste in udobne sobe s sobami od 150 do 300 JPY. Pogosto bodo isti hoteli imeli tudi dražje in razkošnejše sobe. Dvojice so ponavadi zelo lepe in ustrezajo zahodnim standardom, s čisto lastno kopalnico z brisačami in brezplačnim toaletnim priborom. Vključen je samopostrežni zajtrk ali pa lahko kupite vstopnico za približno 10 JPY.

Po Kitajski se širijo številni hoteli srednjega razreda zahodne kakovosti, ki vključujejo naslednje verige, vsi pa imajo sobe v razponu od 150 do 300 ¥ in spletno rezervacijo vnaprej:

• 7 dnevne gostilne. (7 天 连锁 酒店) 
• Gostišča JinJiang. (锦江 之 星) 
• Domače gostilne (如 家 快捷 酒店). 
• Gostilne Green Tree (格林 豪 泰 酒店). (Angleščina) 
• Super 8 moteli Wyndham. (Angleščina) 

Splurge

Vrhunec vključuje mednarodne hotelske verige in letovišča, kot so Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton in Shangri-La ter njihovi kitajski konkurenti. Za luksuzne nastanitve s 24-urno sobno postrežbo, satelitsko televizijo, zdravilišči in zahodnimi samopostrežnimi zajtrki zaračunajo na stotine ali tisoče juanov na noč. Na primer apartmaji v Šanghaju nudijo več kot 10.000 ¥ na noč. Mnoga od teh obratov skrbijo za potujoče poslovne vrste z obračunom stroškov in temu primerno zaračunavajo hrano in pripomočke (tj. 20 JPY za steklenico vode, ki stane 2 JPY v trgovini). Internet (žični ali brezžični), ki je običajno na voljo v namestitvah srednjega razreda, je pogosto plačljiva storitev v vrhunskih hotelih.

Nekateri hoteli v razponu od 400–700 JPY, kot sta Ramada ali Days Inn, so pripravljeni znižati cene, kadar je poslovanje počasno. Kitajski hoteli s tremi in štirimi zvezdicami pogosto ponujajo nizke cene ali boljše ponudbe za bivanja, daljša od 5 dni. Če prihajate na Kitajsko na turnejo, vam lahko turistično podjetje za delček navedene cene priskrbi sobo v pravem luksuznem hotelu.

Nauči se

Poglej tudi: Študij na Kitajskem

Tradicionalna kitajska kultura daje velik poudarek izobraževanju, zato ne manjka možnosti za tiste, ki se želijo kakovostno izobraževati na Kitajskem.

Kitajske univerze ponujajo veliko različnih vrst tečajev, nekatere pa redno uvrščajo med najboljše univerze na svetu. Univerze sprejemajo študente, ki so dosegli minimum srednješolskega izobraževanja, na tečaje kitajskega jezika. Ti tečaji običajno trajajo 1 ali 2 leti. Študenti prejmejo potrdila po opravljenem tečaju. Študenti, ki ne govorijo kitajsko in želijo nadaljevati študij na Kitajskem, običajno opravijo tečaj jezikovnega usposabljanja.

Na Kitajskem je veliko možnosti za učenje kitajščine, vključno z univerzitetnimi tečaji in posebnimi programi. Štipendije so morda na voljo v vaši državi ali kitajski vladi. V katerem koli mestu s precejšnjo emigrantsko skupnostjo lahko najdete tudi zasebne tečaje, ki jih lahko občasno vzamete ob strani ki delajo na Kitajskem. Čeprav ni tako priljubljena kot mandarinščina, obstaja tudi nekaj možnosti za preučevanje lokalnih narečij in jezikov etničnih manjšin.

Delo

Poglej tudi: Delo na Kitajskem

Kitajska je tako zrasla, da je na poti, da postane največje svetovno gospodarstvo. Čeprav je dostop do trga dela za tujce težko, vendar obstajajo velike možnosti za tiste, ki želijo doživeti Kitajsko. Na Kitajskem je nezakonito delati s turističnimi ali poslovnimi vizumi in čeprav se je veliko tujcev temu izogibalo, kitajska vlada zatira s to prakso; proaktivno boste morali zagotoviti, da bo vaš delodajalec opravil ustrezne postopke za vas.

Zaposlitvene možnosti vključujejo Poučevanje angleškega jezika, inženiring, tehnična delovna mesta, mednarodna trgovina, znanstvene raziskave in delo za večdržavljane. Za večino zaposlitev kitajska zakonodaja o priseljevanju zahteva, da imajo tujci vsaj diplomo, preden jim lahko podelijo delovni vizum, vaša prošnja pa bo zavrnjena, če ga nimate. Glej Delo na Kitajskem za podrobnosti.

Ostani varen

Čeprav je Kitajska na splošno varna za obiskovalce, ima vlada nekaj avtoritarnih vidikov in tema človekove pravice na Kitajskem je zelo sporno. Kljub temu, kar piše v kitajski ustavi, so v praksi nekatere svoboščine močno okrnjene, kot so svoboda govora, zasebnost, svoboda obveščanja in tiska, svoboda veroizpovedi in pravica do poštenega sojenja. Dokler niste namerno provokativni, vas verjetno večina teh med obiskom ne bo prizadela - še posebej, ker je uveljavljanje tako ali tako nekoliko samovoljno -, če pa že, so kazni lahko težke. Znano je, da Kitajska uporablja izvensodno pridržanje, mučenje in (redko, predvsem za umore in preprodajo mamil) smrtno kazen. Pogosto kritizirajo kot "diplomacijo talcev", se pridržanja in izvrševanje včasih okrepijo kot odziv na geopolitične dogodke, kar pomeni, da so se denimo kanadski in ameriški poslovneži leta 2019 soočili z dodatnim nadzorom. Kitajski dvojni državljani in ljudje kitajske dediščine, ki so državljani za druge države veljajo "prepovedi izstopa", ki so na Kitajskem, včasih tudi leta, prisiljene k sodelovanju pri vladnih preiskavah ali pritisku na njihove sorodnike, da se vrnejo na Kitajsko.

Dokler se obnašate in se ne vmešavate v mamila ali politične dejavnosti, ne bi smeli imeti težav. Običajni obiskovalec običajno zaobide internetni požarni zid ali dostopa do potencialno subverzivnega gradiva. Vendar ne škodi, če imate načrt ukrepov ob nepredvidljivih dogodkih, če naletite na vlado.

Organi pregona

Zasebni varnostniki na Kitajskem se oblačijo podobno kot policija in na svojih vozilih pogosto uporabljajo luči in sirene.

Tipični policisti javne varnosti

Glavna agencija kazenskega pregona, s katero se boste najbolj srečali, je policija javne varnosti (公安 机关 人民警察), pogosto okrajšana kot javna varnost (公安, Gōng'ān) ali civilna policija (民警).

• Večina policistov nosi modro modre kape in svetlo modre srajce. Policisti naj imajo pri sebi policijski osebni dokument, ki ga je treba pokazati, ko to zahtevate. Običajno so neoboroženi.
• Specialni policisti nosijo črno bojno uniformo in so oboroženi.
• Prometni policisti nosijo bele kapice, v nekaterih mestih pa lahko nosijo fluorescentne majice.
• Pomožni policisti imajo omejeno moč pregona in nimajo moči aretacije. Njihove uniforme se razlikujejo od mesta do mesta; imajo pa besede "pomožna policija" (辅警) ali kaj podobnega.
• Detektivi, vključno z varnostnimi uslužbenci (国内 安全 保卫, 国 保), nosijo navadna oblačila.
• Tipična policijska vozila nosijo besedo "公安". Vozila specialne policije so pobarvana s črno barvo in nosijo besedo "特警".

Vsi policisti javne varnosti imajo državno pristojnost. Večina policistov je prijaznih in zanesljivih, vendar bodo neizogibno tudi pokvarjeni.

Značka pokrovčka PAP, ki se razlikuje od petkrake zvezde PLA

Tipičen vojak PAP

The Ljudska oborožena policija (PAP) je žandarmerijska sila Kitajske, katere naloga je pomagati policiji javne varnosti, nadzoru nemirov, varovanju ključne infrastrukture itd. Njihovi vojaki nosijo zeleno maskirno bojno uniformo ali olivno zeleno vojaško uniformo z rdečimi oznakami, medtem ko imajo častniki skoraj enake uniforme kot na kopnem Ljudske osvobodilne vojske (PLA).

Chengguan častniki iz Guangzhouja

Chengguan (城管), znano uradno kot Mestni mestni upravni urad in organ za kazenski pregon (Urban 管理 行政 执法 局) in pogosto znano tudi kot integrirano izvrševanje (综合 执法) ali upravno izvrševanje (行政 执法), se lahko oblači drugače. Čengvaški častniki so pogosto slabo usposobljeni, brutalni in včasih pokvarjeni.

Zločin

Zločin stopnje se med velikimi državami razlikujejo, vendar je na splošno tako varno kot večina zahodnih držav. Številni zahodni turisti se bodo na Kitajskem počutili varneje kot v svoji državi, ženskam pa ponoči po navadi ni problem, da same hodijo po ulicah. Čeprav se je nasilni zločin po Kulturni revoluciji močno povečal in je bil pogosto prikazan v hongkonških filmih Dolga roka zakona, zaradi boljšega redarstva je zdaj redko, čeprav so prevare in drobni zločini pogosti, zato se splača biti preudaren in pravilno zavarovati svoje dragocenosti. Tako kot kjer koli drugje, tudi malo zdrave pameti daleč gre.

Na splošno je stopnja kriminala v večjih mestih višja kot na podeželju. Kljub temu niso nič bolj nevarni kot podobni Sydney, London ali New York v zahodnem svetu, zato se boste, če se boste izognili zasedenim območjem in uporabljali zdrav razum, v redu. Video nadzor se pogosto uporablja tako v mestih kot na nekaterih podeželskih območjih. Čeprav njegova široka uporaba na Zahodu kritizira, CCTV na splošno pozdravlja policija, ker pripadniki fronte pogosto ne zadostujejo za obravnavo velikega prebivalstva Kitajske.

Čeprav ni tako divja kot v Evropi, džeparstvo je pomembna težava v prenatrpanih krajih. Bodite še posebej pozorni v javnem prevozu v času konic, saj zagotavlja popolno zaščito za žeparje, da pobegnejo po udarcu.

Kraja koles je lahko problem. V velikih mestih obstajajo zgodbe o domačinih, ki so v enem mesecu izgubili tri kolesa, ponekod pa lokalni prebivalci še vedno ležerno parkirajo svoja kolesa. Sledite, kaj počnejo lokalni prebivalci. Predpostavimo, da vam draga ključavnica sploh ne bo pomagala. Poklicni tatovi lahko prebijejo skoraj vsako ključavnico. Na Kitajskem je parkiranje s kolesom običajno zunaj supermarketov ali nakupovalnih središč in običajno zaračuna 1-2 ¥ na dan (običajno do 20: 00-22: 00). Če imate električno kolo ali skuter, bodite še posebej previdni, saj bodo morda namerjeni akumulatorji ali polnilnik.

Glavna kazniva dejanja, s katerimi se tujci znajdejo, so uporaba drog (vključno z uživanjem mamil zunaj Kitajske, preden ste prispeli - včasih opravijo test las na konopljo) ali nezakonito delo, posledica tega pa je običajno kratka kazen, denarna kazen in deportacija. Če ste obtoženi hujšega kaznivega dejanja, je prvih 72 ur preiskave ključnega pomena. V tem času bodo policija, tožilci in vaši odvetniki preiskali, se pogajali in odločali, ali ste krivi. Policija takoj po aretaciji uporablja stroga zasliševanja (ali mučenja), ker je pridobitev priznanja najhitrejši način za obsodbo. Kitajska zakonodaja prepoveduje navzočnost vašega odvetnika med vašim zaslišanjem. Če gre za vaš primer, je vaša obsodba zgolj formalnost (99,9% kazenskih procesov se je leta 2013 končalo z obsodilno sodbo), sodnik pa je edini odgovoren za vašo kazen. Podpis kakršnega koli dokumenta med zaslišanjem bi bil izredno slaba ideja, še posebej, če ne razumete, kaj podpisujete. Vljudno vztrajajte, da vam omogočijo dostop do konzularnih služb in prevajalca.

Promet

Poglej tudi: Vožnja na Kitajskem

Promet v Ljubljani Shenyang

Stopnja smrtnosti na osebo zaradi prometnih nesreč na Kitajskem je nižja kot v mnogih zahodnih državah. Toda na splošno se vožnja na Kitajskem lahko giblje od kjer koli, od nervoznega do naravnost nepremišljenega. Promet se lahko zdi kaotičen. Avtomobili smejo zaviti desno na rdečo luč in se ne ustavljajo za pešce, ne glede na signal hoje. Vozniki avtomobilov, kolesarji in vozniki električnih skuterjev bodo vozili ob predpostavki, da imajo vsi prednost in prednost naenkrat. Prehodi za pešce so vodilo za voznika, kjer je verjetneje, da bodo pešci prečkali.

V mestih pa je malo verjetno, da bodo vozniki potovali dovolj hitro, da bodo povzročili znatno škodo. Naredite tako kot domačini: samozavestno prečkajte cesto, zavedajte se okolice, vedite, da bodo avtomobili, kolesa in skuterji raje nadaljevali, kot pa se ustavili.

Kot tujec je priporočljivo, da ne vozite, saj boste v nesreči slabo opremljeni za spopadanje z naravo kitajskih odškodnin.

Terorizem

Na Kitajskem so se sicer redko zgodili teroristični napadi, na njih pa je bilo odmevnih napadov na ljudi Guangzhou postaja, Kunming postaja in Peking. Na vseh glavnih železniških postajah, podzemnih postajah in avtobusnih terminalih na dolge razdalje je na voljo letališko varovanje. You will have your bag x-rayed and take water bottles out of your bag to be scanned separately, but there is no need to empty your pockets.

Begging

Chinese people traditionally disapprove of begging, so begging is not a major issue in most places. It is, however, never far off the scene and particularly common just outside the main tourist attractions and in major transportation hubs.

Be aware of child beggars who could be victims of child trafficking. While it is becoming less common, you should avoid giving them any money.

In China, local people usually only give money to those who have obviously lost the ability to earn money. Professional beggars have clear deformities, and some syndicates have been known to deliberately maim children as it is seen as more effective in soliciting pity. If you feel like giving them some, bear in mind that the minimum hourly wage ranges from ¥11 to ¥24 (2020).

Buddhist monks

The presence of foreign tourists unaware of local Buddhist customs has also given rise to many scams, with many fake monks and temples preying on unsuspecting visitors. Buddhism in China generally follows the Mahayana school, whose monks are required to be vegetarian, and usually grow their own food in the temples, or buy their food using temple donations. As such, they generally do not beg for food.

Monks also do not sell religious items (these are sold by laymen), and neither do they offer "Buddha's blessing" in exchange for money, or threaten you with misfortune should you not donate. Most temples will have a donation box in the main hall for devotees to make donations should they wish to do so, and monks will never go out in public to ask for donations. According to traditional Buddhist philosophy, it is entirely up to an individual to decide whether and how much he/she wishes to donate, and genuine Buddhist temples will never use high-pressure tactics to solicit donations, or ask for any amount of money in exchange for services.

Narava

The Chinese bamboo viper

Being a large country, China is affected by a range of different natural disasters. Pacifik typhoons hit the coast in the summer and autumn months, bringing physical destruction and torrential rain. Floods also occur, in particular around the large rivers. Northern parts of the country have winter storms. Much of the country is prone to potresi in tornadoes.

China has a variety of venomous snakes. Be careful when hiking and seek immediate treatment for any snakebite. The bright green bamboo viper (Trimeresurus stejnegeri) is especially notorious.

Prevare

Poglej tudi: Common scams, Pickpockets

Chinese people are in general hospitable to foreigners, and want to leave a good impression on tourists visiting their country. However, as with anywhere else, there are also scam artists who operate at tourist hot spots, so it pays to be prudent and remember that if something seems too good to be true, it usually is.

High prices do not necessarily indicate a scam. In a teahouse or bar, ¥50-200 per cup or pot of tea (including hot water refills) and ¥15-60 per bottle of beer is not uncommon. Tea samplings may also charge high prices for each sample.

Shanghai skyline

Touristy parts of Beijing and Shanghai have become notorious for various scams. If you are keen to avoid being scammed, the following are good rules of thumb:

• It is less likely for scammers to operate outside of the usual tourist spots
• If you are approached in a touristy area by a person who appears preveč enthusiastic about going to a particular place (teahouse or otherwise), you are likely to pay a premium and maybe get a better time elsewhere
• If you are uncomfortable, walk away.
• Most ordinary Chinese people are unable to speak English, so be on your guard if someone approaches you spontaneously and starts speaking to you in English.

The police are sensitive to foreigners being targeted in this way and giving the country a poor reputation. In China, you have a legal right to ask for a "fa piao" (发票) which is an official sales invoice issued by the taxation department. It is against the law for an owner to refuse to give it to you. For scams, they generally will refuse since it is legal evidence of their extortionate price.

Accident scams occur, too, and even 'good samaritans' who help people genuinely in distress have been sued for compensation by the people they were trying to help. These scams are not tried on foreigners too often, but be careful when using a vehicle and always record your journey with a dashboard or bicycle camera.

If you find yourself being or having been scammed then call 110 and report it immediately.

Prepovedane droge

Acts related to illicit drugs are dealt with harshly in China. Although drug use alone and the mere possession of majhna quantities of drugs (for example, less than 200 grams of opium and less than 10 grams of heroin or methamphetamine) are not prosecuted and are only subject to lengthy detention and/or a fine, smuggling, trafficking, transporting, and manufacturing illicit drugs are crimes punishable by death, and there are plenty cases of foreign drug traffickers being executed in China. In addition, the possession of large quantities of drugs (exceeding the aforementioned amount) is a crime punishable by up to more than 7 years of fixed-term imprisonment, and sheltering others to take drugs is a crime punishable by up to 3 years of fixed-term imprisonment. With few exceptions, concurrent fines are attached to each drug-related crime conviction. Chinese people usually associate drugs with national humiliation (due to an unlimited influx of opium after Opium Wars); publicly doubting the death penalty for drug offences or advocacy for drug liberalization will most likely get you publicly criticized.

For recorded drug addicts, you may be subjected to sudden raids by the police, in order to verify that you did not consume any illicit drugs.

Be particularly wary in the provinces of Yunnan in Guangxi, as these provinces border Southeast Asia, which is a major drug-producing region. Police now target bars and nightclubs that foreigners frequent with drug-testing kits, with detention and deportation the likely consequence of a positive drug test. In a hair test, you may test positive even for drugs that you consumed three months before arriving in China. If you are driving from Chinese-Burmese border (eg. Xishuangbanna), you may also encounter layered narcotics checkpoints, in which you and your vehicle will be thoroughly searched, in an attempt to intercept drug mules.

Banned items

Due to the fast pace of change in China, you may find some items (especially media) continue to be banned by customs although they are readily available for purchase in the country itself. Searching your belongings for illicit items such as the ones below could potentially happen when entering China through an airport, although in practice it is rare these days.

• Materials considered by the authorities as Anti-Chinese will be confiscated. This has a fairly wide interpretation, but can include the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan lion-mountain flag and literature about the Falun Gong religious group, independence movements in Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong and Taiwan or the Tiananmen Square protests. As a rule of thumb, do not bring anything critical of the Communist Party of China; if some literature refers to the government of the PRC as the Communist Party of China, then it's either from Taiwan (as the local official term when referring to the Chinese government), and/or its stance is likely to be critical of the party.
  • The Epoch Times (大紀元時報) and Ming Hui Times (明慧周刊/明慧周報) are some examples of Falun Gong related literature. The Falun Gong sect is known to print proselytising words on Chinese yuan bills, so consider checking your bills to avoid unnecessary hassle.
• A heavy penalty is imposed on all pornografija and penalties are counted based on the number of pieces brought into the country.

Religija

Visitors to China rarely get into trouble for practicing their religion. As a communist country, China is officially atheist, and religion is banned for people working in government jobs. Although religion was targeted for extermination during the Cultural Revolution, in modern times, visitors and private citizens are generally free to practice a religion if they wish. Vendar proselytising is prohibited and taken very seriously by the government, and could potentially lead to arrest and imprisonment, especially if there is any fear that it could undermine the government's authority.

Catholics in China are split between the state-sanctioned Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPA, CPCA, or CCPA, 中国天主教爱国会 Zhōngguó Tiānzhǔjiào Àiguó Huì), which is run separately from the Vatican, and an underground church which is illegal; visitors should not associate with the latter for legal reasons.

Falun Gong je illegal and heavily censored in China. Visibly supporting it will make you subject to arrest.

Despite all that, modern Chinese society is in general rather secular, and religiously-motivated hate crimes are exceedingly rare.

Rasizem

Although unprovoked violent racist attacks are virtually unheard of, foreigners, particularly darker-skin ones, often suffer discrimination in employment and are the subject of stereotyping from Chinese people. Even white foreigners, who allegedly enjoy significantly better treatment than locals, have been occasionally confronted by Chinese people during politically sensitive periods. Xenophobia has intensified amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with many restaurants now refusing service to foreign customers. Discrimination is particularly severe against black people, some of whom have been evicted by their landlords and denied rooms in hotels.

If your skin tone doesn't match people's assumptions for someone from your country, and especially if you're ethnically Chinese, you may be treated like the country on your passport isn't where you're res from. Visas on arrival are sometimes denied on this basis.

Gay and lesbian travelers

China is generally a safe destination for gay and lesbian travelers. There are no laws against homosexuality in China, though films, websites, and television shows involving themes of homosexuality tend to be censored or banned. Gay scenes and communities are found in the major cities in China, but are generally non-existent everywhere else. Most Chinese are reluctant to discuss their sexuality in public, as it is generally considered to be a personal matter, and acceptance of homosexuality by Chinese people tends to be mixed. Same-sex marriages and unions are not recognised anywhere in the country. While openly displaying your sexual orientation in public is still likely to draw stares and whispers, gay and lesbian visitors should generally not run into any major problems, and unprovoked violence against homosexual couples is almost unheard of.

Staff in hotels and guesthouses may assume that a mistake has been made if a same-sex couple has reserved a room with one large bed and try to move you to another room. However, they will generally back down if you insist that it is not a problem.

Ostani zdrav

Personal hygiene

Outside major cities, public washrooms range from mildly unpleasant to utterly repulsive. In cities, it varies from place to place. High-quality bathrooms can be found inside major tourist attractions, at international hotels, office buildings, and upper-class department stores. Washrooms in foreign restaurant chains, or any of the coffee chains listed in the drink section are usually more or less clean. While those in common restaurants and hotels are barely acceptable, those in hotel rooms are generally clean. Some public facilities are free, others cost from a few mao up to ¥2. Separate facilities are always provided for men (男 nán) and women (女 nǚ), but sometimes there are no doors on the front of the stalls.

The sit-down toilet familiar to Westerners is rare in China in public areas. Hotels will generally have them in rooms, but in places where Westerners are scarce, expect to find squat toilets more often than not. Many private homes in urban areas now have sit-down toilets, and one major benefit from having a local host is that they have clean bathrooms. As a rule of thumb, a western establishment such as McDonald's or Starbucks will have a western toilet, but may not have toilet paper.

Carry your own tissue paper (卫生纸 wèishēngzhǐ, or 面纸 miànzhǐ) as it is rarely provided. You can sometimes buy it from the money-taker at a public toilet; you can also buy it in bars, restaurants and Internet cafés for ¥2. Put used paper in the bucket next to the toilet; do not flush it away as it may block the often poor plumbing systems. There may not be soap in the public washrooms either.

The Chinese tend to distrust the cleanliness of bathtubs. In hotels with fixed bathtubs, disposable plastic bathtub liners may be provided.

Wash your hands often with soap if you can find any, carry some disposable disinfectant tissues (found in almost any department or cosmetics store), or use alcohol gel.

Hrana in pijača

Hrana

Although there are few widely enforced health regulations in restaurants, each major city does have an inspection regime that requires each establishment to prominently display the result (good, average or poor). It is hard to say how effective this is, but it is a start. Restaurants generally prepare hot food when you order. Even in the smallest of restaurants, hot dishes are usually freshly prepared, instead of reheated, and rarely cause health problems.

A rule of thumb regarding street food is to make certain it is cooked thoroughly while you are watching; also, visit stalls frequented by locals, and look for plastic-wrapped disposable chopsticks.

Minor stomach discomfort may still be experienced from street food and restaurant food alike, but is said to pass as one becomes accustomed to the local food. Ginger can be effective against nausea.

Pijte

Chinese people do not drink water straight from the tap, even in the cities. All hotels provide a thermos flask of boiled water in your room (refillable by your floor attendant), a kettle you can use to do it yourself or a sealed plastic bottle of commercial mineral water. Tap water is safe to drink po boiling.

Some apartments and businesses have rather large water filters installed (which require changing twice a year) to improve the quality of water for cooking and washing. It still doesn't make the water drinkable from the tap, however it does improve the water quality a great deal.

Purified drinking water in bottles is available everywhere, and is generally quite cheap. ¥2 is normal for a small bottle. Check that the seal on the cap is not broken. Beer, wine and soft drinks are also cheap and safe.

Also note that much river water in China has been contaminated by chemicals that filters can not help much with, although this should only be dangerous if consumed over an extended period of time.

Onesnaževanje

N95 mask for dealing with China smog

Due to a rapid rate of industrialization in China, pollution and heavy smog is unfortunately part of the way of life in most major towns and cities. That said, stricter environmental protection laws are slowly beginning to bear fruit, with the result that Beijing is no longer the most polluted city in the world, but there is still a long way to go. Even the countryside, depending on the province in question, is not immune.

Long-term effects of smog particulate are unlikely to have a significant effect on your health if you are in China for a short stay (e.g. a number of weeks) and have no significant respiratory problems. If you are concerned, discuss this with a medical professional before your trip.

Places at higher altitudes or plains like parts of Yunnan and Sichuan, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Tibet and outlying islands such as Hainan usually have good air quality. Visitors should be prepared to see smog, which can be quite heavy, in nearly all large cities, including those on the coast.

To Spletna stran can provide detailed hourly pollution readings for most large cities.

You will also hear a lot of noise. Construction and renovation are full-time activities. Chinese and long-time residents' ears are trained to filter and tolerate it.

Skrb za zdravje

The quality of Chinese hospitals for the Chinese people is generally not up to the standards of the West. Local doctors have been known to prescribe more expensive treatments than necessary; IV drips are routine prescriptions in China, even for minor ailments like the common cold, and doctors have a tendency to liberally prescribe antibiotics. Most locals go to the hospital even for the most minor ailments, and the concept of a private clinic effectively does not exist. You should consider keeping a significant amount of cash readily available for emergencies, since not being able to pay upfront may delay treatment.

Ambulance services are expensive, require upfront payment, are not accorded much priority on the roads and are therefore not particularly fast. Taking a taxi to the hospital in an emergency will often be much quicker.

Common therapeutic drugs — things like penicillin or insulin — are generally available from a pharmacist with a prescription and considerably cheaper than in western countries. You can usually ask to see the instructions that came with the box. Western medicine is called xīyào (西药). Less common drugs are often imported, hence expensive.

In larger cities there are strong controls over medicine, and even 'standard' cold medicine such as acetaminophen/paracetamol or dextromethorphan may require a prescription or a foreign passport. Opiates always require a prescription, although Viagra never does.

In smaller cities and rural areas many medicines, including most antibiotics, are often available without a prescription.

Most Chinese doctors and nurses, even in larger cities, will speak little or no English. However, medical staff are in plentiful supply and hospital wait times are generally short - usually less than 10 minutes at general clinics (门诊室 ménzhěnshì), and virtually no wait time at emergency rooms (急诊室 jízhěnshì).

There are private Western-style clinics and hospitals in most major Chinese cities which provide a higher standard of care at a much higher price. The doctors and nurses will speak English (with interpretation services often available for other foreign languages), and are often hired from, or have obtained their medical qualifications in Western countries. These provide an easy and comfortable way to obtain familiar Western treatment from doctors qualified in the West, although you will be paying a steep premium for these services starting at ¥1,000 just for the consultation. Check beforehand to see whether your insurance will cover all or part of this.

For any significant surgery, it is worth considering traveling to Hong Kong, Tajvan ali Južna Koreja as the standard of treatment and care is more aligned to Western standards.

Ensure that needles used for injections or any other procedure that requires breaking the skin are new and unused - insist on seeing the packet being broken open. In some parts of China it is acceptable to re-use needles, albeit after sterilization.

For acupuncture, although the disposable needles are quite common in mainland China, you can provide your own needles if you prefer. The disposable type, called Wujun zhenjiu zhen (无菌針灸針, Sterilized acupuncture needles), usually cost ¥10-20 per 100 needles and are available in many pharmacies. There should be minimal to no bleeding when the needle is inserted and removed if the acupuncturist is sufficiently skilled.

While Traditional Chinese Medicine is ubiquitous in China, regulation tends to be lax and it is not unheard of for Chinese physicians to prescribe herbs which are actually detrimental to one's health. Do some research and ensure you have some trusted local friends to help you out if you wish to see a Chinese physician. You can head to Hong Kong or Taiwan instead, as the practice is better regulated there.

If making more than a short trip to China, it may be a good idea to get vaccinated against Hepatitis A and Typhoid as they can be spread via contaminated food, and Japanese encephalitis which is transmitted in rural areas.

Parts of southern China have komarji which transmit malaria, dengue feveritd.

As of 2019 the official estimate is that nearly 1 million people in China are living with HIV/AIDS. One in four infected individuals do not know their status. Sex workers, clients of sex workers and injecting drug users are the most infected groups.

New diseases are sometimes a threat in China, particularly in its more densely populated parts. There have been cases of bird flu: avoid undercooked poultry or eggs.

Spoštovanje

Tea-serving at a restaurant in China

Foreigners are still a rare breed in most parts of China, which means that how you interact with people there may well shape their impression of your country or even of foreigners in general. Follow the law, be polite, and try to leave a good impression as it affects the general reputation of foreigners in China.

• Unlike Japan and South Korea where bowing is extremely common, in China the practice did not survive into the modern era, and is only used in certain formal occasions such as marriage ceremonies, funerals, religious rituals, and for students greeting teachers in school. Give a soft handshake when greeting someone, which can optionally be accompanied by a slight bow.
• Personal space more or less does not exist in China. Elevators and buses can get very crowded. It's common and acceptable for someone to come in close contact with you or to bump into you and say nothing. Don't get mad, as they'll be surprised and most likely won't even understand why you're offended.
• Important items such as business cards or important papers are given and received with both hands.
  • Business cards in particular are treated very respectfully and formally. How you treat someone's business card is seen as representing how you will treat the person. When accepting a business card, use both hands to pick it up by the corners, give a slight bow of your head, and take the time to read the card and confirm how to pronounce the person's name. It's disrespectful to write on a card, fold it, or place it in your back pocket (where you'll sit on it!); a nice case to keep cards pristine is preferable to a pocket.
• Smoking is common almost anywhere. "No smoking" signs are routinely ignored, and it's common for someone to smoke in an elevator or even in the hospital. Some cities now forbid smoking in most restaurants, but enforcement varies. Beijing has one of the nation's strictest smoking laws: you are not allowed to smoke anywhere with a roof; again, enforcement is patchy. Western restaurants seem to be the only ones who consistently enforce the ban. Masks would be a good idea for long distance bus trips.
  • When you smoke, it's always considered polite to offer a cigarette to those you meet. This rule applies almost exclusively to men, but under certain circumstances, such as a club, it's okay to offer cigarettes to women.
• In homes and some other buildings, slippers or sandals are worn indoors. If your hosts are wearing slippers at home, and especially if there is carpet on the floor, remove your shoes and ask for a pair of slippers before you enter, even if your host says you don't have to.
• Saving face is an important concept in Chinese culture, and this concept extends beyond the individual to one's family (including extended family), and even the country. Pointing out mistakes directly may cause embarrassment. If you have to, call the person to one side and tell them in private.
  • Humility is highly valued in traditional Chinese culture, and bragging about your achievements is in general not well received. It is also customary to politely turn down any compliments you receive from others.
  • Chinese people sometimes criticize their own country, but you are highly advised not to do it yourself, as the same things being said by a foreigner tend not to be received so well.
• Swastikas have been used in Buddhist temples since the 5th century to represent Dharma, universal harmony, and the balance of opposites. Like in India, it does not represent Nazism. Jews have been living in China for centuries, and have always had peaceful relations with their non-Jewish neighbours.
• Outside of a business context, casual clothes are acceptable at most places, including temples and expensive restaurants. Sleeveless or low-cut tops are uncommon and may stand out. At the beach or the pool, conservative swimsuits are much more common than bikinis.

Gifts

When visiting someone's home, a small gift is always welcome. Wine, fruit, or some trinket from your native country are common. When receiving a gift, it is generally rude to open it in front of the person who gave it to you unless (s)he specifically tells you to do so. Wait until the person has left and open it in private.

Some items are not given as gifts because of cultural associations. Some things to watch out for: black and white are important colors in funerals, scissors or knives may insinuate you want to cut off your relationship with someone, and many people see mirrors as bad luck. Other taboos are based on homophones: the word "four" (四 sì) sounds like "death" (死 sǐ), "pear" and "umbrella" sound like "separation", and "giving a clock" sounds like "attending a funeral". These gift taboos and others vary by region and generation, so it's a good idea to consult a local for advice, or at least search the Internet for lists of taboo gifts before you purchase one.

Eating and drinking

Eating is very important in Chinese culture, and dining out is a widespread way to honor guests and deepen relationships. Seating at a formal dinner follows a specific order, with the host or most senior person at the center. Don't pick up your chopsticks until the most senior person at the table has done so. Table manner varies from different places among different people in different scenarios. Sometimes you can see Chinese spit on a restaurant floor, pick their tooth in front of you, and yell whilst dining, but it's not always welcome. Follow what other people do.

Hosts tend to order more food than you can eat because it's considered shameful if they can't stuff their guests. Although it varies regionally, finishing your plate generally means you're still hungry and may prompt your hosts to order več food, but leaving too much can imply you didn't like a dish; leaving an appropriate amount of food on your plate is a bit of a balancing act.

When offered a drink, you're expected to take it or your friends will keep pushing you. Excuses such as "I'm on medication" are better than "I don't feel like drinking". Toasts are common, and it's generally considered rude to turn down a toast (although you can take small sips with each toast).

China has a strong drinking culture, especially in business, and turning down alcohol can sometimes cause offense. However, foreigners may be given some slack on this. If the hard baijiu is too much for you, consider opting for a beer instead.

Paying

While splitting the bill is beginning to be accepted by young people, treating is still the norm, especially when the parties are in obviously different social classes. Men are expected to treat women, elders to juniors, rich to poor, hosts to guests, working class to non-income class (students). Friends of the same class will usually prefer to take turns treating rather than split the bill.

It is common to see Chinese competing intensely to pay the bill. You are expected to fight back and say "It's my turn, you treat me next time." That being said, Chinese tend to be very tolerant towards foreigners. If you feel like going Dutch, try it. They tend to believe that "all foreigners prefer to go Dutch".

Politika

For your safety, it's best if you avoid getting involved in any political activity, and avoid discussing politics with Chinese people. Most Chinese are passive about their country's politics and are generally reluctant to talk about it, and in most cases, will change the topic of discussion.

• Most Chinese are ashamed that their country was forced into unequal treaties with Japan and the Western powers over the past two centuries, and are proud of the recent progress made by their government in restoring China's international influence. Many Chinese are also aware of alternative Western views, but you should tread lightly if you choose to discuss these.
• Supporting the independence movements of Tibet, Xinjiang, Taiwan or Hong Kong is illegal, so you should avoid discussing them. Most Chinese people support their government's position on these issues, and trying to advocate for these movements is going to do nothing more than getting you into the bad books of your hosts.
  • Do not suggest that Hong Kong and Taiwan are not part of China. Be sure to use the term "mainland" (大陆 dàlù) or "mainland China" (中国大陆 zhōngguó dàlù) instead of just "China" (中国 zhōngguó) if you are looking to exclude Hong Kong and Taiwan. It is also a common practice in China to refer to Taiwan as "Taiwan Province" (台湾省), and Hong Kong and Macau as "Hong Kong, China" (中国香港) and "Macau, China" (中国澳门).
  • The Hong Kong protests are a sensitive issue that is best not discussed with locals.
• Avoid discussing any of the territorial disputes China is involved in, as many Chinese have strong feelings about these issues. If you are drawn into any such discussions, it is best to stay neutral.
• Japonska and its role in World War II and other wars with China is a sensitive and emotive issue that is best avoided. Historical and cultural disputes with both Koreas are equally sensitive as well.
• Thanks to China's recent development, the Chinese government enjoys strong support among its people despite its authoritarian nature. Common Western views that "they have all been brainwashed" or "they are just too afraid to speak up" oversimplify things.
• Many Chinese have a strong sense of ethnic nationalism. Tread particularly carefully if you are of Chinese ethnicity, even if you were born and raised overseas, as you may still be expected to align your political views with that of the Chinese government, and doing otherwise could result in you being labeled a "race traitor".

Differing cultural norms

Chinese people are sometimes puzzled when foreign visitors complain that Chinese people are rude. Many of them feel that really it's foreigners who tend to be rude. What's actually going on is that China has a different set of customs and values from common Western cultures — some Chinese behavior can be jarring to foreigners, and vice versa. People in China are friendly brez being polite (unlike countries like the UK, where people can be polite without being friendly). Generally speaking, younger well-educated Chinese, particularly those from the major cities, are more likely to behave in a way that conforms more closely to Western cultural norms.

No spitting please

• Chinese often ignore rules they don't feel like following, including laws. Among many other things, this includes dangerous and negligent driving (glej Vožnja na Kitajskem) such as driving on the wrong side of the street, excessive speeding, not using headlights at night, not using turn signals, and jaywalking.
• Spitting is common everywhere, including in shops, supermarkets, restaurants, on buses and even in hospitals. Traditional Chinese medicine believes it is unhealthy to swallow phlegm. Although the government has made great efforts to reduce this habit in light of the SARS epidemic as well as the Olympics, it still persists to varying degrees.
• Many Chinese do not cover their mouths when they sneeze. Picking one's nose in public is common and socially acceptable.
• As many parts of China are ethnically rather homogeneous, people who are visibly foreign will often elicit calls of "hello" or "wàiguórén" (外国人 "foreigner"); you may also hear lǎowài (老外), a colloquial equivalent. These calls are ubiquitous outside of the big cities (and are not uncommon even there); these calls will come from just about anyone, of any age, and are even more likely from children and can occur many times in any given day.
• Similarly, it's rather common that someone may come up and stare at you as if they're watching the TV. The staring usually originates out of sheer curiosity, almost never out of hostility.
• Many Chinese have loud conversations in public, and it may be one of the first things you notice upon arrival. China is rooted in a community-based culture, and noise means life; loud speech usually doesn't mean the speaker is angry or engaged in an argument (although obviously it can). You may want to bring earplugs for long bus or train rides.
• A fairly recent phenomenon particular to China is air rage: groups of passengers being verbally and physically aggressive towards airline staff whenever there is a delay (which is often). This is generally done in order to leverage better compensation from the airline.
• Koncept waiting in line has not fully been adopted in China. You'll have to learn to be more assertive to get what you want, and even push and shove as others do. If you're trying to catch a taxi, expect other people to move further down the road to catch one before you.
• Be careful when standing behind people on an escalator, since many people have a look-see as soon as they get off — even when the escalator behind them is fully packed. Department stores have staff to try to prevent this behavior.
• People love to use elevators whenever possible, especially in large family groups. Be extra patient if you want to go around a shopping mall with a baby buggy or luggage.

Spopadite se

A typical Chinese wall socket

Elektrika is 220 volts/50 Hz. Two-pin European and North American, as well as three-pin Australian style plugs are generally supported. However, be careful to read the voltage information on your devices to ensure they accept 220 V (twice the 110 V used in many countries) before plugging them in — you may cause burnout and permanent damage to some devices such as hairdryers and razors. Universal extension cords that can handle a variety of plug shapes (including British) are often used.

Perilo services may be expensive or hard to find. In upper-end hotels, it will cost ¥10-30 to wash each article of clothing. Cheap hotels in some areas do not have laundry services, though in other areas such as along the Turistična pot Yunnan the service is common and often free. In most areas, with the exception of the downtown areas in big cities, you can find small shops that do laundry. The znak to look for on the front door is 洗衣 (xǐyī), or spot the clothes hanging from the ceiling. The cost is roughly ¥2-5/item. In even the smallest of cities dry cleaning (干洗 gānxǐ）outlets are common and may be able to wash clothes. But in some areas you're going to be stuck washing clothes by hand, which is time-consuming and tiresome, so perhaps opt for fast-drying fabrics such as polyester or silk. If you do find a hotel that does laundry, usually they will put all your clothes into the wash together or even with other items from the hotel, so lighter colours are best washed by hand.

Traditional smoking pipes for sale

Smoking is banned in public buildings and public transport except for restaurants and bars (including KTVs) - many of which are outright smoke dens, although many multinational restaurant chains do ban smoking. These bans are enforced across the country. Generally, smoking laws are most strict in Shanghai and Beijing, whilst they are more lightly enforced elsewhere. Many places (particularly train stations, hospitals, office buildings and airports) will have smoking rooms, and some long-distance trains may have smoking areas at the end of each car. Facilities for non-smokers are often poor; most restaurants, bars and hotels will not have non-smoking areas apart from top-end establishments although many modern buildings have a smoke extraction systems which suck cigarette smoke out of the room through a ceiling vent - meaning that the smoke doesn't hang in the air. The Chinese phrase for 'May I smoke?' is 'kěyǐ chōuyān ma?' and 'No Smoking!' is 'bù kěyǐ chōuyān!'.

Javne počitnice in China are worth being aware of. Čeprav na najbolj priljubljenih turističnih krajih, kamor spadajo tudi priljubljeni pohodi po določenih gorah, ne boste nikoli zares sami, so ob koncu tedna in praznikih ta območja zaradi lokalnega turizma skoraj neprehodna. Kar ste morda načrtovali kot miren kontemplativni pohod, se lahko spremeni v večurno čakalno vrsto! Spoznajte datumi državnih praznikov in temu primerno načrtujte.

Mediji

Mediji na Kitajskem so se po Mauu precej razpršili, neodvisna prodajna mesta pa ponujajo vse večjo konkurenco državnim agencijam Xinhua (tiskanje tiskovnih agencij v številnih oblikah), CCTV (več kot 40 TV kanalov) in People's Daily časopis. Ti državni mediji so ponavadi natančni glede splošnih novic, vendar se v političnem smislu vedno držijo vladnih politik in ideologije.

Vsaka provinca in mesto na Kitajskem ima tudi svoje lokalne kanale, ki so pogosto podrejeni ali tesno povezani z lokalno vlado in se bolj osredotočajo na lokalne dogodke. Nekateri od teh kanalov oddajajo tudi v lokalnem narečju ali jeziku.

Kljub temu je tisk še vedno pod strogim nadzorom, z omejitvami glede poročanja novic in mnenj. Nekatere teme so strogo prepovedane (na primer kritiziranje kitajske trditve o suverenosti nad Tajvanom), nejasnost meja za sprejemljive teme pa vodi v nadaljnjo samocenzuro. Največja grožnja državam pod nadzorom je bil vzpon besedilna sporočila in Internetne novice, čeprav jih omejuje vladni požarni zid in notranja cenzura.

Kitajska ima nekaj lokalnih medijev v angleškem jeziku. Kanal CCTV News je globalni angleški kanal, ki je v večini mest na voljo 24 ur na dan, vse dni v tednu, tudi v francoski in španski različici. CCTV 4 vsak dan oddaja kratke novice v angleščini.

China Daily (na splošno umirjeno, če je nekoliko suho) in Global Times (zloglasno nacionalistični tabloid) sta dva državna časopisa v angleškem jeziku, ki sta na voljo v hotelih, supermarketih in na prodajalnah. Obstaja tudi nekaj angleških revij, kot so Kitajska danes in 21. stoletje.

Tuje revije in časopisi na splošno niso na voljo v knjigarnah ali na prodajalnah časopisov, razen v vrhunskih hotelih.

Povežite se

Internet

Internetne kavarne in poslovne storitve

Znotraj internetne kavarne v Tongyangu, Hubei

Kitajska ima več uporabnikov interneta kot katera koli druga država na svetu in internetnih kavarn (网吧 wǎngbā) so v izobilju. Večina je namenjena igranju spletnih iger in niso udobna mesta za pisarniško delo. Uporaba računalnika, čeprav s kitajsko programsko opremo, je poceni (¥ 1–6 na uro). Internetne kavarne naj bi od uporabnikov zahtevale, da pokažejo uradno identifikacijo, čeprav se izvrševanje razlikuje glede na regijo. Brskanje po spletnih straneh lahko nadzoruje Urad za javno varnost (policija).

Za tiskanje, skeniranje, fotokopiranje in druge poslovne storitve pojdite v katero koli število majhnih trgovin v večini mest ali tiskarne v bližini univerzitetnih predelov. Poiščite znake 复印 (fùyìn), ki pomenijo "fotokopija". Stroški tiskanja so približno 2 ¥ na stran, fotokopije pa 0,5 ¥ na stran. Te trgovine imajo lahko dostop do interneta ali pa tudi ne, zato gradivo shranite na bliskovni pogon.

Wifi dostop

Brezplačnega wifi-ja, za katerega je morda potrebna registracija s kitajsko številko mobilnega telefona ali s prijavo v WeChat, je na pretek. Kakovost in hitrost wifi-ja nista sorazmerni s ponudnikom; brezplačni wifi vašega dragega hotela morda ni niti približno tako hiter niti zanesljivejši od wifija, ki ga najdete v avtobusu, za katerega ste plačali ¥ 2, da vstopite.

Številni hoteli in nekatere kavarne in restavracije nudijo wifi, običajno brezplačen, različnih hitrosti in kakovosti. Nekatere kavarne, zlasti na turističnih območjih, kot je Yangshuo, nudijo celo avtomat za uporabo strank.

Poslovni hoteli imajo običajno v vsaki sobi žično internetno povezavo za prenosni računalnik: 7 Days Inn in Home Inn sta dve državni verigi, ki ustrezata zahodnim standardom za udobje in čistočo srednjega razreda, ki dosledno ponujata internet in staneta 150–200 JPY na noč. V sobi je morda na voljo tudi WiFi, morda za doplačilo. Občasno bodo hoteli za nekaj več imeti tudi sobe s starejšimi računalniki. Boljši hoteli imajo v sobah pogosto satelitsko televizijo.

Varnost

Ker javni računalniki in internet niso varni, predpostavimo, da vse, kar vtipkate, ni zasebno. Iz internetne kavarne ne pošiljajte občutljivih podatkov, kot so bančna gesla. Morda je bolje, če kupite mobilno podatkovno kartico za uporabo z lastnim računalnikom (ti običajno stanejo 400 JPY, podatkovni paketi pa znašajo 10–200 JPY na mesec, odvisno od vaše uporabe).

Če se z internetom povezujete z lastnim računalnikom, nekatera spletna mesta na Kitajskem (zlasti univerzitetni kampusi) zahtevajo uporabo Microsoft Internet Explorerja in namestitev posebne programske opreme v sistem in / ali sprejem certifikatov za dostop do njihovih spletnih mest.

Vse več je primerov zlorabe fotokopij, pri katerih sprejemnik vaših fotokopij vaše oddane fotokopije nezakonito razkrije pošiljateljem neželene pošte in goljufom. Na fotokopijah vedno jasno navedite namen svojih fotokopij, saj to pušča dokaze v vašo korist, če pride do kakršnih koli pravnih zadev.

Internetna cenzura

Internetna cenzura je obsežno na celinski Kitajski. Pornografska in politična spletna mesta so rutinsko blokirana, prav tako pa tudi mnoga druga spletna mesta s široko paleto vsebin, vključno z mednarodno priljubljenimi. Vlada njihov sistem cenzure imenuje "zlati ščit" (金盾); drugi temu pravijo Kitajski požarni zid, GFW ali preprosto stena, medtem ko se izogibanje internetni cenzuri pogosto imenuje "skaliranje zidu" (翻墙).

Cenzura se pogosto zaostruje v občutljivih obdobjih, kot so letno zasedanje kitajskega parlamenta marca, kongres KPK vsak četrti oktober in obletnice, kot so dan državnosti oktobra in pokol na Tiananmenu junija.

Le malo hotelov ponuja necenzuriran dostop do interneta. Ti hoteli na splošno skrbijo za tujce, vendar očitno ne oglašujejo tega objekta. Poskusite brskati po znanih spletnih mestih z omejitvami, da preverite, ali vaš hotel to podpira.

Najbolj priljubljen način dostopa do blokiranih spletnih mest je uporaba a VPN (navidezno zasebno omrežje) ki uporabnikom zagotavlja relativno stabilen in zanesljiv dostop do interneta prek računalnika v drugi državi. Najboljši imajo mesečno naročnino 10 USD; na voljo so tudi brezplačni, z oglasi podprti VPN-ji. Drugi načini izogibanja cenzuri vključujejo programsko opremo, kot je Freegate, Tor (z neprijetno posebno konfiguracijo) in Psiphon. Kar koli od tega je treba prenesti pred vstopom na Kitajsko, saj je dostop do njihovih uradnih spletnih mest praviloma blokiran. Upoštevajte, da VPN-ji na Kitajskem niso tako zanesljivi kot včasih - morda boste želeli prenesti več, da boste imeli varnostno kopijo, in bodite pripravljeni na veliko razočaranj in čakanja, da se stvari naložijo. Če potrebujete stalen dostop do Twitterja ali Facebooka, da bi bili srečni, potem Kitajska verjetno ni cilj za vas.

Kitajski organi pregona lahko včasih natančno določijo (in po potrebi aretirajo) uporabnike, ki dostopajo do omejenih spletnih mest z uporabo omrežij VPN. Poleg tega je nalaganje in oddajanje materialov, za katere se šteje, da so subverzivni, kaznivo dejanje. Vendar je izvrševanje občasno in je običajno namenjeno le novinarjem in odmevnim javnim osebnostim.

Mail

Kitajska pošta je na splošno zanesljiva in včasih hitra. Nekaj ​​stvari se morate prilagoditi:

• Dohodna pošta bo hitrejša in zanesljivejša, če je naslov v kitajščini. V nasprotnem primeru pošta ima ljudi, ki bodo prevajali, vendar to zahteva čas in ni 100% natančen.
• Če ne veste natančne poštne številke, kje prebiva vaš prejemnik, lahko vnesete prvi dve števki (kar ustreza prefekturnemu mestu / občini / provinci), ostale pa z 0. Lahko pa poiščete tudi poštno številko vašega cilja na to spletno stran.
• Koristno je, če telefonsko številko sprejemnika dobite s paketi ali pospešeno pošto. Carinarji in dobavitelji ga običajno potrebujejo.
• Ne zapečatite odhodnih paketov preden jih odpeljete na pošto; ne bodo jih poslali brez pregleda vsebine. Na splošno je najbolje, da embalažo kupite na pošti in skoraj vse pošte bodo vaše materiale spakirale za vas po razumni ceni.
• Večina pošt in kurirskih služb zavrne pošiljanje CD-jev ali DVD-jev, temu pa se je mogoče izogniti tako, da jih položite v CD denarnice skupaj z veliko drugimi stvarmi in na koncu spakirate prostor z oblačili, kar daje videz pošiljanja stvari domov, tudi lažje pošiljanje po morju, saj jim je manj mar.
• Vaš osebni dokument je zdaj zahteva pri pošiljanju paketov. Ko doma pošiljate pakete, napišite ime prejemnika pravilno; primerjal se bo z njihovo osebno izkaznico, saj se zdaj vsi paketi sledijo od konca do konca.

Faks

Mednarodni faks (传真 Chuánzhēn) storitve so na voljo v večini velikih hotelov za plačilo ducat ali več renminbi. Poceni faksi na Kitajskem lahko dobite v povsod razširjenih prodajnih mestih, kjer so na vhodnih vratih napisani kitajski znaki za faks.

Telefon

Telefonska storitev je bolj mešana torba. Klicanje zunaj Kitajske je pogosto težko in običajno nemogoče brez klicne kartice, ki jo je pogosto mogoče kupiti le lokalno. Dobra novica je, da so te kartice dokaj poceni, povezava pa presenetljivo jasna, neprekinjena in brez zamud. Iskati IP telefonske kartice, ki imajo običajno vrednost 100 ¥, včasih pa jih lahko dobite že za 25 ¥. Kartice imajo natisnjena kitajska navodila, vendar so po klicanju številke, navedene na kartici, na voljo angleško govoreča navodila. Kot splošno navedbo cene klic s Kitajske v Evropo traja približno 22 minut s kartico ¥ 100. Klici v ZDA in Kanado naj bi bili še 20% cenejši.

Če na koncu dobite IC telefonska kartica namesto tega so namenjeni samo uporabi v telefonskih govorilnicah. Lahko se prodajo z rahlim popustom od nominalne vrednosti, vendar le redko pod 20%, če jih kupite na ulici. Na telefonski govorilnici China Telecom bodo domači klici stali 0,1 / / minuto, klici v Hongkong, Macau, Tajvan, ZDA in Kanado bodo ¥ 1 / minuto, klici v vse druge države pa bodo neučinkoviti ¥ 8 / minuto .

Če vaša linija omogoča mednarodno neposredno klicanje (IDD), je predpona za mednarodne klice na Kitajskem 00. Če želite poklicati v tujini, pokličite 00- (koda države) - (številka). Klici s celine v Hongkong in Macau zahtevajo mednarodno klicanje. IDD so lahko dragi. Pred klicem vprašajte stopnjo.

Mobilni telefoni

Trgovina China Telecom

Mobilni (celični) telefoni so zelo razširjene in ponujajo dobre storitve na Kitajskem. V vsakdanjem življenju igrajo bistveno vlogo za večino Kitajcev in skoraj vseh izseljencev na Kitajskem. Od leta 2020 je Kitajska vodilna v svetu na področju tehnologije 5G za mobilne telefone.

Če že imate mobilni telefon GSM 900/1800 ali 3G (UMTS / W-CDMA 2100), lahko v skladu s pogodbami o omrežju gostovate v kitajskih omrežjih, vendar bodo klici zelo dragi (značilno je 12–35 na minuto) . Izjeme je malo; Primarni sklopi so ponudniki s sedežem v Hongkongu, ki običajno zaračunajo največ 6 HK HK / minuto (in običajno blizu lokalnih cen s posebno kartico "Hong Kong / China", ki jo prodaja China Mobile ali China Unicom v Hong Kongu), drugi pa je T-Mobile US, ki brezplačno pošiljanje besedilnih in podatkovnih storitev zaračuna 0,20 USD na minuto. Pred odhodom se prepričajte pri domačem operaterju, da se prepričate. Večina operaterjev ima zdaj pogodbe o gostovanju UMTS s China Unicom, vendar je gostovanje 4G manj razvito, zato boste morda želeli kupiti lokalni ali hongkonški SIM za 4G dostop do podatkov.

Kitajska omrežja CDMA zahtevajo R-UIM (ekvivalent kartice SIM), zato bodo delovali samo novi ameriški telefoni CDMA z režami za kartice SIM, na primer iPhone 5 in novejši. Če ne potrebujete govora CDMA, bo podatkovna SIM 4G China Telecom delovala v kateri koli napravi s pasom 1 ali pasom 3 LTE. Še vedno obstajajo podatkovne kartice SIM samo za 3G, ki delujejo samo na napravah, ki podpirajo EVDO.

Za kratek obisk, razmislite o najemu kitajskega mobilnega telefona pri podjetju, kot je Pandaphone. Cene so približno ¥ 7 na dan. Podjetje ima sedež v ZDA, osebje pa ima na Kitajskem. Brezplačne številke so ☏ 1-866-574-2050 v ZDA oz ☏ 86 400-820-0293 na Kitajskem. Telefon lahko dostavite v hotel na Kitajskem pred prihodom in ga tam odložite na koncu potovanja ali pošljete k vam v ZDA. Ko najamete telefon, vam bodo ponudili dostopno kodo za klic v vašo državo, kar je ceneje kot nakup kartice SIM pri lokalnem prodajalcu in neposredno klicanje.

Če ste bivanje več kot nekaj dni, običajno je ceneje kupiti predplačniško kitajsko kartico SIM; s tem dobite kitajsko telefonsko številko z vnaprej naloženim denarjem. Kitajci se ponavadi izogibajo telefonskim številkam s številko nesreče '4', prodajalci pa bodo te "neprodajne" kartice SIM z veseljem raztovorili tujcem s popustom. Če potrebujete tudi telefon, se cene začnejo približno 300 JPY rabljenih ali 1000 JPY novih za pametni telefon (od leta 2020). Kitajski telefoni, za razliko od tistih, ki se prodajajo v nekaterih zahodnih državah, nikoli niso "zaklenjeni" in bodo delovali s katero koli kartico SIM, ki ste jo vanj vstavili, vendar nekateri telefoni nimajo Googlovih storitev ali Trgovine Play.

Večina trgovin, ki prodajajo kartice SIM, za nakup kartice SIM potrebuje standardno kitajsko osebno izkaznico (državljanska ali stalna rezidenčna kartica tujca). Če želite kupiti kartico SIM z uporabo potnega lista kot osebnega dokumenta, boste morda pozvani, da obiščete glavno pisarno podjetja za mobilne telefone, verjetno nekje v središču mesta. Osebje bo posnelo vašo fotografijo za fotografijo skupaj s fotokopijo vašega potnega lista.

Kitajski trije veliki operaterji so China Mobile (Samo kitajsko), China Unicom in China Telecom . Večina Kartice SIM, ki jih prodajajo, delujejo po vsej državi, Unicom pa omogoča tudi uporabo v Hongkongu / Macau / Tajvanu. Domače gostovanje za besedilno in glasovno storitev ne stane dodatno. Vendar pa lahko podatkovne pakete še vedno prodajate kot lokalne ali državne, zato bodite pozorni, kje točno velja vaš podatkovni paket, ko nastavljate.

Mednarodni klici morajo biti omogočeno ločeno s prijavo za storitev China Mobile "12593" ali China Unicom za storitev "17911". Noben ponudnik ne zahteva pologa, čeprav oba zahtevata vloge. Običajno bo govornik angleščine, zato mu / ji povejte, kaj želite. Prosite za "posebno" klicno kodo in za ¥ 1 / mesec dodatka vam jo dobimo. Vnesite kodo, kodo države, nato lokalno številko in kmalu boste govorili poceni. Naj vas trgovine z mobilnimi telefoni z napisom China Mobile ne zavedejo: vsekakor obiščite poslovno trgovino. Zaposleni bodo oblečeni v modro uniformo in na voljo bodo šalterske službe. China Mobile je cenejši od obeh, s klici v Severno Ameriko in Azijo približno ¥ 0,4 / min. Za mednarodne klice lahko uporabite tudi predplačniške kartice; preprosto pokličite številko na kartici kot pri običajnem stacionarnem telefonu, stroški pa gredo na predplačniško klicno kartico.

Če ga želite napolniti, obiščite sosednjo pisarno svojega ponudnika mobilnih storitev, osebju dodajte svojo številko in plačajte z gotovino napolnite svoj račun. V mnogih trgovinah vam bodo prodali polnilno kartico s številko in geslom, s katerima morate poklicati telefonsko podjetje, da napolni denar na vašem računu. Poklicali boste računalnik in privzeti jezik je kitajščina, ki jo lahko spremenite v angleščino, če razumete kitajsko. Kartice za polnjenje se prodajajo v apoenih 30, 50 in 100 JPY. (Če imate WeChat Pay, je to bolj priročen način za polnjenje računa.)

Za prenos podatkov odvisniki, China Unicom ponuja vrtoglavo paleto načrtov 4G, začenši pri 29 JPY / mesec za 100 minut po vsej državi in ​​3 GB podatkov, dodatne minute pa stanejo 0,15 JPY, besedila ¥ 0,10 in podatki ¥ 0,10 / MB. Dohodni prenosi (video / glasovni klici, besedilo) od koder koli so popolnoma brezplačni. China Mobile ima načrte 4G od 139 JPY za 460 minut po vsej državi in ​​12 GB podatkov (od leta 2020). Mnogi domačini imajo raje vrsto skritih načrtov, ki vam omogočajo, da za veliko količino podatkovnega prometa plačate zelo nizko ceno. China Mobile za svoje podatkovne storitve uporablja drugačen nabor frekvenčnih pasov; če vaš telefon ne podpira TD-LTE v pasovih 38, 39, 40 in 41, potem namesto tega priporočamo China Unicom ali China Telecom.

Na splošno so na Kitajskem prepovedane mednarodno razširjene aplikacije, Kitajci pa namesto njih običajno uporabljajo kitajske aplikacije, ki so včasih tesne kopije njihovih tujih ustreznikov. Najpomembnejše je WeChat (微 信 Wēixìn), ki ga Kitajci uporabljajo namesto mednarodno priljubljenega WhatsAppa. WeChat je kombinirana aplikacija za pošiljanje sporočil, družabno omrežje in storitev mobilnega plačevanja, zato je njeno nalaganje bistvenega pomena, če želite začeti sklepati prijateljstva na Kitajskem ali ostati v državi dlje časa. Vmesnik lahko nastavite na angleščino, kitajščino in različne druge jezike.

Območne kode

Klicna koda države za celinsko Kitajsko je 86. Klicna koda je 852 za Hong Kong, 853 za Makao in 886 za Tajvan.

• Večja mesta z osemmestnimi številkami imajo dvomestno področno kodo. Na primer, Peking je (0) 10 plus osemmestno število. Druga mesta uporabljajo sedem- ali osemmestne lokalne številke in trimestno področno kodo, ki se ne začne z 0, 1 ali 2. Tako na primer: (0) 756 plus 7 števk za Zhuhai. Sever uporablja majhna števila, jug ima večje številke.
• Običajni mobilni telefoni ne potrebujejo področne kode. Številke so sestavljene iz 130 do 132 (ali 156/186) plus 8 številk (China Unicom, GSM / UMTS), 133/153/189 plus 8 številk (China Telecom, CDMA) ali 134 do 139 (ali 150/152 / 158/159/188) in 8 mest (China Mobile, GSM / TD-SCDMA). Uvedene so bile dodatne predpone; dobro pravilo je, da je 11-mestna domača telefonska številka, ki se začne z 1, mobilna številka. Številke mobilnih telefonov so geografske; če poskušate poklicati mobilno številko, izdano zunaj province, v kateri se nahajate, s stacionarnega omrežja, boste pozvani, da za dolge razdalje številko znova pokličete z ničlo.
• Obstajata dve dodatni negeografski predponi. Številko, ki se začne s 400, lahko pokličete s katerega koli telefona in se obravnava kot lokalni klic s pripadajočimi cenami za e-čas, medtem ko je številka, ki se začne z 800, popolnoma brezplačna ne klicati iz mobilnih telefonov.

Številke za klic v sili

Naslednje telefonske številke za nujne primere delujejo na vseh območjih Kitajske; klicanje z mobilnega telefona je brezplačno.

• Patrolna policija: 110
• Gasilci: 119
• (Državna last) Reševalno vozilo / EMS: 120
• (na nekaterih območjih v zasebni lasti) Reševalno vozilo: 999
• Prometna policija: 122
• Poizvedbe po imenikih: 114
• Zaščita potrošnikov: 12315

112 in 911 vas ne povezujeta z osebjem za nujne primere.

Policijo lahko kontaktirate tudi s pošiljanjem SMS sporočila na 12110XXX, kjer je XXX območna koda mesta na ravni prefekture, v katerem se nahajate. Glej ta seznam za več informacij.