How do I distinguish a reliable and qualified international travel agency or tour operators in China?

• Just make a phone call to their office at the time of your convenience and see if there is anyone who picks up the phone in a professional and polite manner. As a large and responsible travel agent, they should work 24 hours a day for seven days a week. If not, imagine what it will be like when you encounter an emergency during the tour, and can`t find anyone in the agency to help you.
• Do they have both international and domestic toll-free numbers? If not, you can tell they are not a large company. Most of the reliable and large travel services have toll-free numbers for customer convenience.
• Although nearly every travel-related website has some testimonials or feedback from customers, not all of them are reliable. You may notice that some have poor expressions in your language, they were surely composed by the developers and are not the real words from customers.
• Tour price is a very important factor when taking a tour, but please do not only compare the price. Some tour operators offer you quite a low price, while they are unable to provide you with international standards of service; even worse they may not be able to operate the tour as they promised you.

What should I wear while traveling in Zhenjiang, China?
In winter, most parts of China have cold spells, Zhenjiang also will be under 0 degrees. It is advisable to wear layers of garments, normally, thermal or silk underwear with a sweater and padded jacket outside. For travel during spring or summer, your clothing should be casual and designed for comfort, without being too revealing. Take light cotton clothes that are easily washable and not too delicate. Trousers are still necessary for women traveling to China, since many temples are forbidden to those who wear skirts.

What shall I pack for my travel to Zhenjiang?
Travel with light packs! Whenever you travel, make your packages as simple and compact as possible. Carrying a light pack will ease your trip, make it more comfortable and let you fully enjoy the pleasures of traveling.

Materials/Documents

• Never forget your valid visa and passport, your identity card, as well as maybe some of your certificate photos and other important documents or materials needed for your travel. Put them into a sturdy and waterproof bag and have them readily available.
• Do not forget any tickets you bought or booked in advance, for planes, trains or ships, and other admission tickets.
• Some paper, a pen, notebook and memo book could be handy. Remember to bring a phone/address list of your family, relatives and friends in case of an emergency.
• Make a card on which there is your personal information, including your full name, nationality, home phone and address, in case you are ever in trouble.
• Bring your printed itinerary. A guidebook is also helpful for you to know more about your destinations and will save time when traveling.

First-aid Kit

• Prepare some items for routine and emergency use, including antibiotics, antidepressants, antihistamine, Aspirin, vitamins, acetaminophen, essential balm, anti-allergic preparations, remedy for dysentery and diarrhea and antacid for indigestion.
• Take along your case history (medical record) and put it into your first-aid kit. This may be helpful when you go to see a doctor.

Personal Effects

• Money is necessary. Bring your wallet and carry it with you at all times. In your wallet have some cash, traveler’s checks and bank or credit cards that are accepted in China.
• Take a camera with enough film, memory cards and batteries. Sometimes an electric adapter, transformer and plug converter are essential.
• If you are a backpacker, daily supplies/articles are also necessary for your travel. Do not forget a face-cloth, toilet roll, cups/bottles, scissors, knife and scotch tape.

There is no need for your backpack to be heavy and chock-full. Everything you need can easily be purchased in China. You will get good quality at the right place. Make your trip easy and comfortable.

What lawful rights, interests and obligations are foreigners entitled to in China?
The General Principles of the Constitution of PRC indicate that "the People's Republic of China protects the lawful rights and interests of foreigners within Chinese territory, and while on Chinese territory foreigners must abide by the law of the People's Republic of China."

Within Chinese territory, the legitimate rights and interests of foreign visitors are protected by the People's Republic of China. The freedom of foreign visitors is as inviolable as that of Chinese nationals. Similar to nationals, all foreign visitors must abide by the law of the People's Republic of China. Any activities that disrupt public order, threaten public security, or infringe upon the interests of the state, the society or the collective are punished according to the laws of China.

Within the period of their visas, foreign visitors can freely travel to the areas open to foreigners. They should, however, respect the traditions and customs of local areas. Those who want to visit areas that are not open to foreigners should apply for a Foreigners Travel Permit from the local public security bureau. Only after the approval is granted, can they enter the area legally.

How do foreigners go about protecting their rights and interests?
The People's Republic of China protects the lawful rights and interests of foreigners within Chinese territory. You have the right to complain to us, when:

• Your travel agents, hotels or other travel operators offer you poor service or do not follow the agreements or contracts you have with them.
• The guides or other travel staffs extort money from you.
• You are injured, or your baggage is damaged or lost due to the fault of the travel operators.

What’s the baggage allowance on domestic Chinese flights?

Carry-on Luggage
Passengers traveling first class that hold adult or child tickets are permitted to carry on two pieces of hand baggage. For business or economy class passengers, only one piece of carry-on baggage is allowed. Your hand baggage should be less than five kilograms (about 11 pounds) in total and any piece must have dimensions no larger than 20×40×55 centimeters (8×16×22 inches). Any items that exceed these criteria are treated as checked luggage.

Checked Luggage Allowance
Except for infant ticket holders, passengers who hold an adult or half-price ticket (for a child) are allowed to take a certain amount of checked luggage for free. The limitations are shown below:

Each piece of checked luggage should not exceed 50 kilograms in weight (110 pounds) and 40×60×100 centimeters (16×24 ×39 inches) in size.

In addition, each passenger is allowed to carry aboard the following items for free:

1. A handbag/gripesack
2. An overcoat or raincoat; a travel blanket
3. An umbrella or a walking stick
4. Pocket-sized camera
5. A miniature telescope
6. Reading matter for the flight
7. Food for an infant during the flight
8. A bassinet
9. Folding wheelchair, or a pair of crutches and artificial limbs
10. A notebook PC

Other items, such as a backpack, attaché case, typewriter, portable radio, powder box, hatbox, good-sized camera and books (not for reading on the plane), cannot be taken as carry-on luggage above your free allowance and will be treated as checked luggage.

Note: The above are the general stipulations issued by CAAC (General Administration of Civil Aviation of China). Individual airlines may have different standards for free checked luggage. Please read the explanation printed on your air ticket.

Overweight Luggage
If your baggage is overweight, the excess amount will incur an additional charge calculated by distance and weight: Generally, 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) costs 1.5% of a full economy-class airfare (one way, adult ticket).

What about customs declarations in China?
There are two channels, red and green, in China Customs. Take the red one if you have something to declare, otherwise the green one. If you are uncertain which channel you should take, then take the red one.

If you take the red channel, the Customs officer will check to see whether you have to pay duty, deposit the items at Customs, or allow you to take them into China but take them out on your departure. If you take things such as computers, cameras, video cameras, gold and silver, printed or recorded materials, or anything more than you need during your travel in China, you have to fill in the "Customs Luggage Declaration Form.” Similarly, if you are planning to leave any sort of significant item behind, you should also fill out the form.

A copy of the form must be retained by the traveler and be submitted to Customs when leaving the country. All the items declared on the form must be brought out of China or else import duty will be charged on them.
Visitors are allowed to carry into China a limited quantity of duty-free goods including:

• 2 liters of alcoholic beverages
• 400 cigarettes
• 50g (2 ounces) of gold or silver
• US$ less than 5,000
• Chinese RMB with a total value less than 20,000 yuan
• Reasonable amount of perfume
• One still camera and reasonable amount of film

Prohibited imports include: fresh fruit, arms, ammunition and explosives, printed matter, films or tapes "detrimental to China", narcotic drugs, animals and plants.

Remember: All the receipts of the valuable articles, such as jewelry, jade, gold and silver ornaments, handicrafts, artifacts, paintings and calligraphy, you bought in China should be kept for the exit check. Antiques are not permitted to leave China without the proper "Certificates for the Export of Cultural Relics" from the Chinese Authorities.

How do I apply for a visa to China for a visit?
The Chinese visa issuing authorities refer to the Chinese embassies, the general consulates and other organizations authorized by The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China stationed abroad. If you want to enter or transit through China, you should go to the Chinese visa issuing authorities (the Chinese Embassy in your country) to apply for the required visa. An alternative is you can also find a China tour company for help to avoid the handing procedures. China has signed the agreements on Mutual Visa Exemption with altogether 64 foreign countries.

The basic procedure and necessary materials that should be prepared and fulfilled for Chinese visas are:

• Your valid passport (or other credentials which can be a proof instead of your passport)
• Fill in the visa application form and hand over a recent 2-inch (4cmX 6cm) full-face bareheaded half-length photo
• Pay for the visa expense

Notes:

• The crew and the passengers on airplanes who transit through China by direct flight without leaving the airport and whose staying time at the transit airport in China is less than 24 hours will not require a transit visa.
• The ordinary passport possessors who come from Singapore, Brunei and Japan are not required to have visas for their business, travel, visit or transit, but they should leave China within 15 days of their arrival day to China.
• When transiting through China via Shanghai Pudong or Hongqiao Airport and staying in Shanghai less than 48 hours, the transit visa is not required, as long as you are a national citizen of following countries: South Korea, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Austria and Greece. Make sure that you do have a valid passport, the visa to your target country, and the booked city-by-city airplane tickets, whose date and seats have already be confirmed.