Simon Foster - CHINA's Three Gorges & Xi'an

Canada:515 Patrick Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 5H3 (tel.613-7893-434, www.chineseembassycanada.org). Consulates, Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver.

Ireland:40 Ailesbury Road, Dublin 4 (tel.053-1269-1707, www.chinaembassy.ie)

New Zealand:2-6 Glenmore Street, Wellington (tel.04-4721-382, www.chinaembassy.org.nz). Consulate in Auckland (tel.09-5251-589, www.chinaconsulate.org.nz).

Thailand:57 Rachadapisake Road, Huay Kwang, Bangkok 10310 (tel.02-2247-7554, www.chinaembassy.or.th/eng/). Consulate in Chiang Mai.

UK:49-51 Portland Place, London W1B 1QD (tel.0207-7631-1430, www.chinese-embassy.org.uk; visa applications Mon-Fri 9 am-noon). Consulates, Manchester and Edinburgh.

USA:2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008 (tel.202-3282-500, www.china-embassy.org/en). Consulates, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.

Vietnam:46 Hoang Dieu Road, Hanoi (tel.0845-3736, www.vn.china-embassy.org)

Extending your Visa

If you need to extend your visa while in China, this can be done by visiting the local Public Security Bureau( PSB– see Emergency Services and the Public Security Bureau ). Visa extension applications will need to be supported by justification, more passport photos and payment. Costs, duration of processing and length of extension all vary from city to city – visa extensions are by no means a right and are sometimes refused; some travelers search out small town PSBs as they are thought to be more generous with extra time granted. If the PSB won't extend your visa, the only options left are to try in another town, or head to Hong Kong to apply for a new visa, which can be issued within a day or two (outside of weekends). PSBs are generally open Mondays to Fridays from 9-11:30 am and 2-4:30 pm. If you do overstay your visa for any reason you will usually be fined $500 for each extra day you have spent in the country, although long overstays can incur harsher penalties.

Insurance

As a rule travelers should certainly have medical insuranceand, ideally, possessions insurancefor any trip. China is no exception and while no-one will ask to see your documentation unless you are seriously sick or injured, the peace of mind afforded is worthwhile, regardless of any actual reimbursement. Before booking any insurance, check the coverage your existing homeowners or medical policy offers. You can often buy medical insurance only, but in order to get possessions coverage you'll usually have to purchase medical. Make sure your policy includes all activities that you'll be involved in during your trip – if you are going to be climbing, jet skiing, whitewater rafting or even just hiking, check that it's covered. If you're on a guided tour, the travel company may have their own insurance which should be sufficient for all activities undertaken on that trip, although you may not be insured if the company goes bankrupt – ask before buying.

While possessions insurance can be seen as less of a necessity, it is still recommended. As people take ever more technical tiny gadgets away with them, and move from place to place in unfamiliar, exciting new surroundings, there is always the risk of leaving something behind and that is before you consider the fact that petty crime is on the rise in China.

Insurance policies come in many different forms and can cover just a few days or a whole year. If you're going to be traveling a lot in a year, it's worth considering a yearly package, which normally covers you for as many journeys as you'd like, as long as no single trip is over 31 days. When you're buying your insurance, check the comparative amounts on offer in case of serious emergency(hospitalization, repatriation, etc.), along with catches such as "single item limits” on your possessions (if your camera's worth US$1,000 and the limit is US$500 per piece, it's no good for you, even if it is cheap!) Once you have your insurance policy, photocopy it, leave one copy with relatives at home and put another somewhere separate from the original in your baggage.

Below are some recommended insurance agents – the letters before the commas indicate where the company is based.

Access America(US, www.accessamerica.com)

Association of British Insurers(UK, www.abi.org.uk)

Columbus(UK, www.columbusdirect.com)

Insurance Council of Australia(Australia, www.ica.com.au)

Insurance Council of New Zealand(NZ, www.icnz.org.nz)

Insureandgo(UK, www.insureandgo.com)

Royal Bank of Canada Insurance(Canada, www.rbcinsurance.com)

Wexas(UK, www.wexas.com)

World Nomads(worldwide, www.worldnomads.com)

Making a Claim

If you have to make a claim, you'll need receiptsfor everything you're claiming for, be it medical expenses, or an electronic item. To claim for stolen items you'll also need a police reportissued within 24 hours of the theft; make sure the PSB (see Emergency Services and the Public Security Bureau ) understand you need the report for insurance purposes. Otherwise, you could be in for a long wild goose chase. If possible, take someone who can speak Chinese and English along with you (or see Language, Emergencies in the Chinese language section at the end of this guide for helpful terms).

What to Pack

While there are some important things you should remember to pack, in general, the less you take the better, particularly if you'll be using lots of public transport. Obviously, what you pack depends to an extent on where you're going, when and in what style. I find a rucksackperfect for adventure travel, but if you'll be staying in upscale hotels, taking taxis and planes and using porters at train stations, a suitcasemay be more appropriate. In terms of clothing, you should obviously pack according to the season, although a hatand waterproof jacketcan be useful any time of year. Remember that dark colorswill hide the grime better and taking a number of layers will give you more flexibility in your attire, while still allowing you to keep warm if needed.

Aside from TIMP( tickets, insurance, money, passport), which you've got to have, you can find most things you need more cheaply in China than at home, although the following may come in handy:

Alarm clock

Adaptor

Business cards

Camera

Comfortable hardwearing shoes or sneakers

Deodorant (difficult to find in China)

Earplugs

First aid kit and basic medicines (see Health, Before you Leave )

Flashlight

Hat

Insect repellent

Lipbalm

Mandarin phrasebook or dictionary

Photocopies of your important documents

Pictures of home (to show people you meet)

Plastic ziplock and garbage bags

Pocket knife

Reading material

Rubber sandals

Sewing kit

Small padlock

Sunglasses

Sunscreen

Travel bathplug

Waterproof jacket

Information Sources

As China becomes an increasingly popular destination (for both travel and work), there are more sources of information found on the country, both at home and in China. While the concept of tourist information is still finding its feet on the mainland, Hong Kong(www.discoverhongkong.com) and Macau(www.macautourism.gov.mo) have excellent tourist offices. As the most important cities in the country, Beijing and Shanghai also have good information resources, some of which are government-run, while others are private and include a host of ex-pat magazines and webzines. That's Magazines have printed magazines and websites with useful listings and well-researched reviews of bars, clubs, restaurantsand cultural events. The main website is www.thatsmags.com, where there are links to its Beijing, Shanghai and Pearl River Deltapages, or you can pick up copies of the magazine in bars and hotels. The Ismay Network produces equally useful magazines to many of the cities in this book – Beijing Talk , Shanghai Talk, South China City Talk (Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai) and Macau Talk . Talk and that's Magazines are available in bars, restaurants and hotels in the relevant cities. In addition to those listed here, there are other websites that are helpful for specific cities – see the Information Sources sections in individual chapters for listings.