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CHINA -
INFORMATION AND MAPS |
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The concept of a country promoting
itself by giving out tourist
information for free has not yet taken
hold in China. There is a very thin
scattering of tourist promotion
offices in foreign capitals, though
these government organisations are
officious and generally unhelpful -
their only function seems to be
recommending possible tour operators
and advising telephone callers to
listen to long, useless and expensive
recorded messages. A more promising
source of immediate information is the
Internet.
Similarly, inside the People's
Republic, there is no such thing as a
tourist information office. CITS
, the state-accredited tour operator
with a special responsibility for
foreigners, was originally dressed up
as such, but now it is just one of a
large number of competing local
operators who have no function other
than selling tours and tickets, and
renting cars. However, it may still be
worthwhile dropping in on the local
branch of CITS, or an affiliated
organization (CYTS or CTS), especially
in out-of-the-way places, as it is
sometimes here that you will find the
only person in town who can speak
English - and he or she may be
delighted to have the chance to chat
with a foreigner about local tourist
attractions. But this is probably the
exception rather than the rule. You
should assume that most leaflets,
brochures and maps from these places
will not be free. Other sources of
information are your own hotel staff
(in upmarket places), or any local
English-speakers you happen to meet.
Otherwise, in certain tourist centres,
restaurant proprietors have taken it
upon themselves to act as the local
information office, giving advice in
exchange for custom.
In Beijing and Shanghai
you'll find English-language magazines
with bar, restaurant and other
"What's On" listings, aimed
mainly at the resident expatriate
population. These are usually
distributed free in bars and upmarket
hotels. The local English-language
newspaper, the China Daily,
also has a few listings of major
cultural events forthcoming in Beijing
and one or two other large cities. In Hong
Kong and Macau you are
beset with information on all sides.
Maps
Street maps are available in
China for almost every town and
city. You can nearly always buy them
in street kiosks, hotel shops and Xinhua
bookshops, or from vendors in the
vicinity of train and bus stations.
The vast majority of maps are
unfortunately in Chinese only, which
is a pity because the maps are a
mine of information showing bus
routes, hotels, restaurants and
tourist attractions. You'll nearly
always find local bus, train and
flight timetables printed on the
back as well.
However, cities most commonly
visited by foreign tourists do
produce English-language maps for
foreigners. You'll find these on
sale in upmarket hotels, at the
principal tourist sights, such as
big museums, or in CITS offices. In Beijing
and Shanghai you'll find
various editions of such maps,
issued free in smart hotels and paid
for by advertising. The situation is
similar in Hong Kong and Macau
, where the local tourist offices
provide free maps which are adequate
for most visitors' needs. For very
detailed street maps of Hong Kong,
have a look at the Hong Kong
Island Street Map and the Kowloon
Street Map for sale in
English-language bookshops.
Countrywide maps , which
you should buy before you leave
home, include the excellent
1:4,000,000 map from GeoCenter,
which shows relief and useful
sections of all neighbouring
countries. If you want very
high-resolution maps showing details
of terrain, especially useful for
cyclists and trekkers in the
wilderness parts of western China,
the Operational Navigation Charts
(Series ONC) - actually designed for
pilots - are worth having a look at.
One of the best maps of Tibet is Stanfords
Map of South-Central Tibet;
Kathmandu-Lhasa Route Map,
published by Stanfords in London.
Chinese tourist promotion offices
Australia 19th floor, 44
Market St, Sydney, NSW 2000 (tel
02/9299 4057).
France 116 Avenue des
Champs-Elysees, 75008 Paris (tel
1/44218282).
Germany Ilkenhanstra. 6,
D-60433 Frankfurt am Main, (tel
069/520135).
Japan 6F Hamamatsu Cho
Building, 1-27-13 Hamamatsu Cho,
Minato-Ku, Tokyo (tel 81/03 3433
1461).
Singapore 1 Shenton Way,
No 17-05, Ribina House, Singapore
0106 (tel 65/221 8681).
Spain Gran Via 88, Grupo
2, Planta 16, 28013 Madrid (tel
01/5480011).
UK 4 Glentworth St, London
NW1 (tel 020/7935 9787).
USA Ste 6413, 350 Fifth
Ave, Empire State Building, New
York, NY 10018 (tel 212/760-1710
automated or tel 212/760-8218); Ste
201, 333 W Broadway, Glendale, CA
91024 (tel 818/5 45-7505).
China online
China Today
www.chinatour.com
A big, colourful map of
China, cultural background,
list of tourist hotspots, current
politics (nothing exciting), real
estate estimates, tour
operator details, some
festivals, and much more.
Patchy, but fairly
detailed in what it chooses to
cover.
General
www.cyberway-to-china.com/index.html
Well-structured, regularly
updated and comprehensive articles
on business, travel and
historical background. A good
browse.
www.travel.com/country/ch4/index.html
Good general information, plus
you can book hotels and make travel
reservations.
Beijing
beijingscen.com/cissue/index.html
Irreverent and informative
magazine for foreign residents in
Beijing, including jobs, cartoons,
housing and listings.
Hong Kong
darkwing.uoregon.edu/~felsing/hkstuff/hkshelf.html
Business-oriented magazine
including currency conversion rates,
city practicalities, daily
news, entertainment listings
and a bit of colonial history.
Shanghai
www.shanghai-ed.com
Online listings magazine aimed
at expats.
Tibet
wwwtibetinfo.net
Currently the most
authoritative source of information
on contemporary Tibet, with
excellent news and travel reports.
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