Introduction to China
National Capital: Beijing
Total Population: 1.330 (billion)
Population Growth Rate: 0.63%
Nationality: Chinese
Ethnic Groups:
Han Chinese 91.9%;
55 minority groups - Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu,
Mongol, Buyi, Korean and others 8.1%
Currency:
The RMB (Renminbi) is the official currency. The basic unit of RMB
is the yuan also known as "kuai" divided into 10 jiao, which is
again divided into 10 fen. Yuan notes come in 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, and
100.
Geography:
Location: China is located in eastern Asia, bordered by
the East China, Yellow, and South China seas and by North Korea,
Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Vietnam.
Area: 9,600,000 square meters, the world's fourth largest
country after Russia, Canada and the United States. Of the total
land area, only 10% of the land are arable.
Administrative Regions: 23 provinces (includes Taiwan as 23rd
province), 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities.
Natural Resources: coal, iron ore, petroleum, mercury, tin,
tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite,
aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower (world's largest)
Languages:
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua), Yue (Cantonese), Wu
(Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang,
Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages.
Government:
Socialist state controlled by the Chinese Communist Party
(CCP) with a unicameral legislature, the National People's
Congress, and executive power vested in a Premier (head of
government) and President (chief of state).
Introduction to Shanghai
Fast Facts
Area: 6340 sq km (2473sq mi)
Population: 16.7 million
People: Han Chinese
Main language: Mandarin (Putonghua) /
Shanghaihua
Time Zone: GMT/UTC +8
Telephone Code: 021
Emergency Phone Numbers:
Police: 110
Fire: 119
Ambulance: 120
Electricity:
The electricity in Shanghai is 220 volts, alternating current (AC),
50 cycles. Outlets come in a variety of configurations. Be prepared
to supply your own transformers and modem adapters. Hotels do
supply a range of standard adapters. The most common adapters are
the narrow round two-pin, the slanted two-prong, and the
three-prong types.
International Calls:
To make an international direct dial (IDD) call from
Shanghai (which you can do from most Shanghai hotel rooms), dial
the international access code (00) + the country code for the
country you are calling + the area code and the local phone number.
The country code for Australia is 61, for New Zealand 64, for the
U.S. and Canada 1, and for the United Kingdom 44. To call the
Australia from Shanghai, for example, dial 00 + 61 + Australian
area code + phone number. If you have questions, speak with the
hotel operator or an international operator (ph. 116).
Water:
Water from the tap is not safe for drinking (or for
brushing teeth). The water available in hotel rooms in flasks,
thermoses, or plastic bottles is safe to drink. Clean bottled water
(including imported brands) can be purchased almost everywhere,
even from street vendors, very cheaply.