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Have You Been To China Yet
hina is such a large central China not visited by many
country that it is tourists and passes through
impossible to see even a archaeological treasures such as
fraction of it in one visit. It the cities of Xian and Dunhuang
is advisable to specialize in as it heads into Xinjiang.
just one area, and get a good
guided tour. Ten-day guided tours Or hike along the Great Wall of
are available starting at China. Make sure to bring hiking
approximately $1100. shoes and warm clothing, as the
Wall was built as a military
For instance, the ancient fortification atop steep, exposed
civilization of mystical Tibet mountain ridges.
has always fascinated travellers.
Learn about the history of China has a population of 1.265
Tibetan Buddhism, and visit the billion, the largest of any
Potala Palace. Pilgrims come from country on earth, and holds about
every corner of Tibet to the 22 percent of the earth's total
Heavenly Lake Namtso. population. It is an extremely
diverse nation consisting of 55
Another popular tour travels different ethnic groups. The
along the historic Silk Road, one Chinese speak eight major
of the world's most famous trade dialects: Putonghua (Mandarin),
routes. This route features Yue (Cantonese), Wu
ancient Islamic and Buddhist (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou),
civilizations, bustling markets, Minnan (Taiwanese), Gan, Xiang,
exotic folk customs and a faded and Hakka and many sub-dialects.
but glorious history. This In addition, ethnic groups such
fascinating overland route was as the Mongolian, Naxi, Tibetan,
once used for transporting silk Yi, Uygur, and other ethnic
to Europe. It covers areas in groups have their own native
languages. China, officially called the
People's Republic of China (PRC),
The language spoken in Beijing is is the third largest country on
often referred to as Mandarin or earth. Only Russia and Canada are
Putonghua. Putonghua, which means larger. China has a land area of
"common language" is the 9,600,000 square kilometers
country's main language and is (3,700,000 square miles), and a
spoken by more than 70 percent of widely varying climate. Before
the population. Putonghua is also you leave, find out what seasonal
referred to as the "Han language" climates to expect in the region
(Hanyu) or simply Chinese. you are going to visit, and pack
Because of the increased economic accordingly. China has a marked
migration across China during the continental monsoon climate with
past two decades years, the use great variety in temperature and
of Mandarin has increased. rainfall. The greatest part of
China is in the northern
In recent years, as tourism to temperate zone while the southern
China has grown, the use of areas are in the tropical or
English has increased across the subtropical zone and northern
country. In major cities, staff areas in the frigid zone.
in stores and hotels can speak
fluent or at least basic English. In most of China there is a clear
However, it is best for division between seasons. In
English-speaking tourists to have winter, northerly winds from high
a translator, as knowledge of latitude areas keep the northern
English is by no means universal, region cold and dry, while in
especially in rural areas where summer, monsoons from southern
approximately 2/3 of China's coastal areas bring warmth and
population lives. humidity. In north China, such as
Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia,
summer is dry and sweltering rarely falls below freezing. In
while winter is bitingly cold. the near-tropical far south, such
Sandstorms often occur in spring as the area around Guangzhou, the
in this area, especially in the summer is long, humid and hot
Inner Mongolia and Beijing area. while the winter is short and
The red dust from these storms mild. The rainy season runs from
can be picked up by high-altitude May through August and typhoons
winds are travel around the frequently occur in the southeast
world. In Russia, pink snow was coast between July and September.
reported in the winter of 2006 as
this far-flung red dust mixed
with local precipitation. Chinese currency is called
Renminbi (people's money),
On the Tibet-Qinghai plateau, abbreviated as RMB, issued by The
which has an elevation of Bank of China. The unit of
approximately 4,000 meters above Renminbi is a yuan and with
sea level, winter is long and smaller denominations called jiao
extremely cold while summer is and fen. The conversion among the
short and moderately warm. There three is: 1 yuan equals 10 jiao
is little precipitation here and which equals 100 fen. The safest
a great temperature fluctuation way to bring currency to China is
between day and night. Visitors in travellers' checks. Be sure to
to Tibet should bring warm keep your currency exchange
clothing even in summer. receipts because you will need to
show them when you change RMB
In central china, such as Yangtze back to your own currency when
River area, summer is long, hot you leave China. Credit cards are
and humid while winter is short often not accepted in remote
and cold. In the areas south of areas, so be sure to carry
the Yangtze River, temperature sufficient RMB and travelers'
checks to cover your requirements.
About the Author:
J Schipper is interested in traveling
Living on a Cruise Ship
Cruises
Vegas Shows
Read more articles by: J Schipper
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