Entry and Visa
• Diplomatic and Official passport holders do not require prior visa to arrival China for short visits.
• Ordinary passport holders are required to obtain visa from the Embassy of China in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
• Chinese Embassy in Colombo considers issuing multiple entry visas for Maldivian businessmen travelling to China, on case by case.
• For more information: http://lk.chineseembassy.org/eng/lsyw/visaaffairs/t174142.htm
Currency
• Chinese currency is Renminbi Yuan and Cents.
• The exchange rate for 1 US Dollar = RMB 6.71 (at the time of this information)
• One Yuan is equivalent to 100 Cents.
Climate
• Rainy season is mainly – May to September.
• Sometimes rich rainfalls create floods and drought accounts for the dry air in winter.
• Based on rainfall, there are – wet area, semi-wet area, semi-dry area and dry area.
• Cold-temperate zone: north part of Heilongjiang Province and Inner Mongolia.
• Mid-temperate zone: Jilin, northern Xinjiang, and most of Heilongjiang, Liaoning, and Inner Mongolia.
• Warm-temperate zone: area of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Hebei Province (Beijing is in Hebei Province).
Province
• Plateau climate zone: Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
• Northern winters can be extremely cold which is from December to March. Beijing may experience -20C at night, dry and no sun.
• Near Guangzhou , between July and September, the summer is a season of typhoons. Temperatures can rise to 38C . Winters are short, between December and March. It is would not be as cold as in the North, but it is advisable to carry warm clothes while visiting.
• Autumn and Spring can be good times to visit, with day temperatures in the 20C to 25C ( 68F to 75F ) range. Sometimes, it can be miserably wet and cold, with rain or drizzle. Average rainfall per year: 76 cm (30 inches).
• For more information: www.travelchinaguide.com and www.china-travel-tour-guide.com
Language
• Mandarin is official language of China and it is widely spoken all over China.
• It would be handy to carry a “Mandarin Phrase Book” which has English to Mandarin.
• Most staff at hotels can speak or understand English. However locals on the streets, vendors, taxi drivers etc. do not usually speak English.