Practical Guide for Hong Kong People Living in the Mainland - Beijing

113 Pages·2016·2.35 MB·English

Practical guide for Hong Kong
people living in the Mainland
– Beijing
For Hong Kong people who are working, living and doing business
in the Mainland
1
Contents

Introduction of the Beijing Office of the Government of the Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region ........................................................... 3
Preface ................................................................................................................. 5
I. An overview of Beijing ........................................................................... 6
II. Housing and living in Beijing .............................................................. 11
Living in Beijing .......................................................................................... 12
Transportation in Beijing ........................................................................... 21
Eating in Beijing ........................................................................................ 26
Visiting in Beijing ...................................................................................... 26
Shopping in Beijing ................................................................................... 27
III. Working in Beijing ................................................................................29
IV. Studying in Beijing ................................................................................ 32
V. Doing business in Beijing .................................................................... 41
Investment environment in Beijing........................................................... 42
Doing business in Beijing .......................................................................... 44
Business establishment for foreigners (including Hong Kong, Macau,
and Taiwan enterprises) ....................................................................... 45
Labour issues of FIEs ............................................................................ 51
Tax issues applicable to FIEs in the Mainland ..................................... 53
VI. Healthcare and marriage in Beijing ................................................. 61
Seeing a doctor in Beijing .......................................................................... 62
Marriage and giving birth in Beijing .......................................................... 71
VII. Legal services ......................................................................................... 73
Notary services provided by notary organisations in Beijing .................... 74
Law firms in Beijing ................................................................................... 78
Identification institutions in Beijing ......................................................... 78
VIII. Emergency and accidents ................................................................... 80
Emergency contacts .................................................................................... 81
How can BJO Help? .................................................................................... 81
Property loss .............................................................................................. 83
Traffic accident .......................................................................................... 83
Death and related issues ............................................................................ 83

2
Introduction of the Beijing Office of
the Government of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region

The Beijing Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (BJO) was formally set up under the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region (HKSAR) on 4 March 1999. Along with the HKSAR setting
up Economic and Trade Off ices respectively in Guangdong, Shanghai, Chengdu,
and Wuhan, the scope of services provided by the BJO currently focuses in 10
provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in middle north, north ea st and
north west regions, i.e. Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Inner
Mongolia, Xinjiang, Gansu, and Ningxia.
Main functions of the BJO include:
 Enhancing the HKSAR Government’s liaison and communication with the
Central People’s Government, and province, municipalities, as well as
autonomous regions
 Facilitating economic and trade connections
 Promoting Hong Kong to residents of the Mainland
 Providing assistance to Hong Kong people; and
 Processing applications for entry and exit to Hong Kong
BJO is organised into five divisions, including Economic Affairs, Trade and Liaison
Division, Immigration Division, Information Division, Cultural Exchange Division,
and Office Administration Division . It also set up the Liaoning Liaison Unit and the
Tianjin Liaison Unit under BJO in December 2014 and February 2017, respectively .

3
Contacts

BJO Immigration Division, BJO

Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone] Ext. 032

Fax: [phone] Fax: [phone]

E-mail:
Preface

With increasingly close cooperation and frequent communications between Hong
Kong and the Mainland, a growing number of Hong Kong people are living and
working in the Mainland. The BJO has compiled this booklet to provide Hong Kong
people with useful information in relation to working, living, doing business,
investing, studying and travelling in Beijing.
BJO has engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers to collect information and compile this
booklet. Despite our best efforts to ensure that the information contained in this
booklet is accurate, BJO makes no guarantees of the accuracy, completeness and
timeliness of the information contained herein. Readers should verify the
information and pay attention to the latest announcements from the relevant
organisations and government authorities.

5
I. An overview of Beijing

6
Beijing at a glance
Beijing is the capital of China, and the political, economic and cultural centre of the
country. Beijing serves as a hub for both land and air transportation, and plays an
important role in the contexts of both domestic and international communications.
 GDP as of 2017: RMB 2800.04 billion
 Land area: 16,400 square kilometres
 Population: 21,707,000 (by the end of
2017)
 Subways lines: 20
 Districts: Xicheng District, Dongcheng
District, Chaoyang District, Haidian
District and other 12 districts. Among
them:
- Xicheng District lies government
agencies, the Financial Street and
the Xidan shopping area
- Dongcheng District lies most of the
cultural relics
- Chaoyang District lies the Central Business District and the majority of
foreign embassies, and is the first choice of residence location for many
expatriates
- Haidian District lies the Zhongguancun Science Park, Tsinghua University,
Peking University as well as other famous higher education institutions

Climate
Each of the four seasons in Beijing carries distinct features. Spring and fall are
short while summer and winter are relatively long. Summer is usually hot with an
annual precipitation at approximately 720.6mm, concentrating in June, July, and
August. Beijing has low relative humidity around an annual average of 57%, which
may drop to 46% or below in winter. Winter can be dry and cold and daily average
temperature can fall below zero ℃.

7
Tips
Visitors to Beijing in winter are advised to bring moisturising products such as
shower gel and lotions and warm clothing such as hats, scarfs, gloves, thick
trousers, warm shoes, etc. Adequate indoor heating is available in most places, but
it can also lead to dryness.

Air quality
The concentration of PM2.5 particulates is an important air quality indicator.
According to the US Environment Protection Agency, if Air Quality Index exceeds
250, people should consider refraining from outdoor activities and take
precautionary measures such as wearing PM2.5 facemasks when going out.

Tips
 Real-time AQI is available at Beijing Municipal Environmental
Monitoring Centre.
 N95 facemasks are ideal choices. It is better to replace the mask every four
hours.

Currency and payments
Mainland’s official currency is Renminbi (RMB), commonly known as Yuan. Paper
bill includes 1, 5, 10, 20, 50,100 Yuan and 1, 5 Jiao, and coins include 1, 5 Jiao and 1
Yuan. Currency exchange service is available at Beijing Capital International
Airport, banks and major hotels.
Banking service is available for Hong Kong people living in the Mainland. In
general, Hong Kong people need a mobile phone that has access to short messages.
Basic documents required for opening bank accounts include, but are not limited
to, the following:
 Identification Document, e.g. passport, Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong
and Macau residents (commonly known as ‘Home Visit Permit’) ;
 Statement with residential address.

8
Please check with specific banks for detailed application process and related
information if necessary.

Tips
 Hong Kong people can start bank accounts in banks with service institutions on
both sides if travels frequently to Mainland to reach flexible cross-border capital
arrangement.
 Mobile payment has gradually replaced cash and card payment and become the
most popular payment method in the Mainland.

Voltage
Household voltage in the Mainland is 220 volts. However, the shape of the power
plug is different from those commonly used in Hong Kong and thus a plug adapter
may be required.

Tips
The typical shapes of power plugs in the Mainland are shown in the pictures below:

Travel documents for visiting
Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macau resident (i.e., Home Visit
Permit) is the valid travelling document used by Hong Kong residents who are
Chinese citizens for traveling to the Mainland. Hong Kong residents can apply for
the Home Visit Permit in Hong Kong at China Travel Service (Hong Kong) Limited
(CTSHK). For more information, please click here.
Hong Kong people of other nationalities who plan to travel to the Mainl and can
apply for Chinese visa at the CTSHK or the Office of the Commissioner of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the P RC in the HKSAR with valid foreign passport or
travel documents. For more information, please click here.

9
Tips

Hong Kong residents over 18 years old with a Home Visit Permit Card and
completed fingerprint and portrait information collection can exit and enter the
Mainland through the ‘automated border control channel’. The information
collection is nationally available.

Public holidays in 2018
Holiday Date No. of Days
New Year December 30 - January 1 3
Spring Festival February 15 (New Year’s Eve) – 7
February 21
Qingming Festival April 5 – April 7 3
Labour Day April 29 – May 1 3
Dragon Boat Festival June 16 – June 18 3
Mid-Autumn Festival September 22 – September 24 3
National Day October 1 – October 7 7

For specific arrangement of public holidays in 2018, please click here.

According to the Labour Law of the PRC:
Pay no less than 200 per cent of the normal wages if work is arranged on off days
and no make-up off days can be arranged.
Pay no less than 300 per cent of the normal wages if work is arranged on statutory
holidays.

10