The China Guidebook: A traveler’s guide to the People’s Republic of China

306 Pages·1979·27.318 MB·English

by  Arne J. deKeijzer, Fredric M. Kaplan (auth.)

THE
CHINA
GUIDEBOOK
DEDICATED
to the promise of enhanced
understanding among nations
on the occasion of the establishment
of full diplomatic relations
between the People's Republic of China
and the United States of America,
January 1, 1979

1979/80 Edition
THECHINA
GUIDEBOOK
A traveler"s gUide to the People"s Republic of China
ARNE J deKEIJZER
fREDRIC M. KAPLAN
with an Introduction by
ESTHER GOLLOBIN
M
THE CHINA GUIDEBOOK.
Copyright © 1979 by Eurasia Press, Inc.
First published in the United States 1979
This edition published 1979 by
THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
London and Basingstoke
ASSOCIATED COMPANIES IN
Delhi Dublin Hong Kong Johannesburg
Lagos Melbourne New York
Singapore and Tokyo
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may
be reproduced or transmitted, in any form
or by any means, without permission.
This book is sold subject to the
standard conditions of the Net Book Agreement.
BRITISH LIBRARY IN CATALOGUING
PUBLICATION DATA
deKeijzer, Arne J.
The China Guidebook.
I. China-Description and travel-1976- -Guidebooks.
I. Title II. Kaplan, Fredric M.
915.1'04'5 DS712
ISBN 978-0-333-27255-8 ISBN 978-1-349-04907-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-04907-3
u.s.
Typography by Lithograph Inc.
Cover and book design by Kathie Brown
Cover photograph by Audrey Topping
Frontispiece and draWings, pages 45, 107, 139,
167, and 273, by Chen Chi
Color maps prepared by Hammond, Inc.,
Maplewood, New Jersey
CONTENTS
NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 8
PREFACE 11
INTRODUCTION
Some Advice to the China-bound Traveler
by Esther Gollobin ............ 13
I TRAVELING TO CHINA
THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA-AT A GLANCE 19
China's People. . . . . . 19
China's Political System . . . . . . . . 19
China's Economic System . . . . . . . 20
TRAVEL TO CHINA IN THE LATE 1970s 21
Categories of China Travel 22
Australia-China Travel . . 27
Canada-China Travel. . . 27
Hong Kong-China Travel 28
Japan-China Travel . . . . 30
New Zealand-China Travel 31
United Kingdom-China Travel 31
United States-China Travel 32
APPLICATION PROCEDURES. . . 35
Special Interest Travel . . . . . 36
Official Travel Contacts in the PRC 37
PRC Agencies for Specialized Travel 37
China's State Trading Corporations 38
PRC Diplomatic Missions Abroad 40
What to Pack ........... 41
What Not to Pack . . . . . . . . . 42
INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE CONNECTIONS 43
PRC Customs .... . . . . 44
II TRAVELING IN CHINA
Itinerary . 45
Climate . 45
Language 49
Currency. 50 5
Postal Service and Telecommunications 51
Health ........ . 52
Hotel Accommodations 55
Food ..... 55
Entertainment . . . . . 58
Shopping ...... . 59
Restrictions and Duties on PRC Purchases 62
TRANSPORTATION IN CHINA ... 64
GROUP TRAVEL IN CHINA . . . . . 67
Norms of Behavior and Decorum 69
FOR TRAVELERS WITH SPECIAL INTERESTS
Visiting China's Schools by John Israel . 72
Visiting China's Health Care Facilities
by Ruth and Victor Sidel . . . . . . . . 80
Viewing Art and Archeological Sites in China
by Annette Juliano ............ . 84
Visiting the Chinese Export Commodities Fair
(The Canton Trade Fair) . . . . . . . . . . . 91
III THE CHINA TOUR,
CITIES AND SITES
Anshan .. 100 Shanghai 210
Changchun 102 Shaoshan 230
Changsha 103 Shenyang 232
Cheng chow 108 Shihchiachuang 237
Chengtu 112 Sian 238
Chungking 117 Soochow 246
Hangchow 122 Tachai 252
Harbin .. 129 Taching 254
Huhehot 130 Talien 256
Inner Mongolia 130 Tatung 258
Kunming .. 134 Tientsin 259
Kwangchow 138 Tsinan 261
Kweilin . 157 Tsingtao 262
Loyang . 163 Urumchi 263
Nanking 164 Wuhan 265
Nanning 171 Wuhsi 271
6 Peking 174 Yen an 277
I V BIBLIOGRAPHY:
A Reading List for China Travel . . . . . . . . . .. 280
V CHINESE PHRASES FOR TRAVELERS ...... 284
V I TRANSLITERATION GLOSSARY OF PLACENAMES 291
V I I INDEX 294
The Authors 303
Photo Credits 304
CITIES ALPHABETIZED BY PINYIN SPELLING
Anshan 100 Guilin 157 Shaoshan 230
Beijing 174 Hangzhou 122 Shenyang . 232
Changchun 102 Harbin 129 Shijiazhuang 237
Changsha 103 Huhhut 130 Suzhou 246
Chengdu 112 Jinan 261 Tianjin 259
Chongqing 117 Kunming 134 Uriimqi 263
Dalian 256 Luoyang 163 Wuhan 265
Daqing 254 Nanjing 164 Wuxi 271
Datong 258 Nanning 171 Xi'an 238
Dazhai 252 Qingdao 262 Yan'an 277
Guangzhou 138 Shanghai 210 Zhengzhou 108
MAPS
The People's Republic of China (Full Political) Insert
The People's Republic of China (Provinces) Inside Front Cover
The People's Republic of China (Tour Cities) Inside Back Cover
Imperial Palace (Ku Kung) 188
Kwangchow (Canton) 140
Peking 180
Shanghai 214
TABLES AND CHARTS
China Friendship Associations . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Head Offices of China's Foreign Trade Corporations 39
Selected Overseas Diplomatic Missions of the PRC 40
Temperatures and Precipitation in China 48
Chinese Currency (RMB) Exchange Rates ... . 50
Postal Rates .................. . 51
Selected Foreign Diplomatic Missions in Peking 54
Distance Between Main Tourist Cities . . . 65
Diagram of the Trade Fair Exhibition Hall . . 94 7
NOTES AND
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A
s this edition was going to press, President Jimmy Carter and PRC
Chairman Hua Kuo-feng simultaneously announced the stunning
news that China and the United States, after a lapse of 30 years,
would soon establish full diplomatic relations. For at least two years
prior to that announcement, China travel had been undergoing a
revolution. As recently as the mid-1970s, there were few places on
earth less accessible to the Western tourist than China. In 1977,
however, China travel officials began to reexamine the policies that
had for nearly three decades kept the country off limits to all but a
select group of specialists, traders, and sympathetic observers. By
early 1978, China began to welcome the first of what promised to be
an expanding procession of general tour groups from the Americas
and Western Europe. A new age for China travel had begun.
This is not to say that travelers may now blithely pack a bag and
board a plane for Peking, much as they might for Rome, Bombay, or
Tokyo. Although China appears to be less concerned about who
comes to visit, how and when they come are matters that remain sub
ject to a variety of conditions.
The overriding condition-and the one that sets a China visit
apart from travel to many other places -is that most visitors come to
China as part of an organized tour. In 1978, for the first time on any
large scale, the specific authority to form such tours was granted to a
number of airlines, travel agents, and private organizations. While in
China, these tours are conducted according to fixed itineraries
arranged by the official China International Travel Service.
Despite the requirements for advanced booking and the rigors of
exacting, prearranged scheduling, the initial response to these tour
offerings has been overwhelming, and the reaction of the first return
ed travelers has been almost universally enthusiastic. Whatever the
group experience loses in the way of spontaneity, it gains in efficiency.
One's time in China is precious. When one begins to consider all that
has happened in China and all that is going on there now, barely a
moment is to be wasted.
The purpose of this guide is to help visitors make the fullest use of
their time in China. Although getting there is no longer as arduous a
procedure as it was just a few years ago, a number of special steps are
still required, especially for special-interest groups or individuals seek
ing to initiate visits for purposes other than general travel. The first
8 section of the guide includes information on venues and agencies (in-
side and outside China) for categories of visitors other than general
tourists (e.g., professional organizations and business persons). In ad
dition, the guide discusses the special procedures and protocol re
quired by the circumstance of group travel in China.
The section on China itineraries focuses on all major cities and
sites included in general tours through the late 1970s. Each city is dis
cussed in a dual context-its importance in traditional China and its
significance in the contemporary life of the People's Republic. For the
Chinese, the past is used as a means to better serve the present. The
preeminent stress for visitors is on how China lives today. For that
reason, each discussion attempts to account for each city's impor
tance in contemporary China, its role in the revolution, its economy
and culture, and its measured achievements in improving life for its
citizens. Similarly, under the Highlights section for each city, modern
structures, factories, and social institutions are discussed along with
monuments from traditional China.
Time for free activity is short. For larger cities, the guide suggests
some brief walking tours (usually requiring no more than an hour) to
enable maximum use of the free time available. In addition, step-by
step tours of major shopping areas are provided to facilitate "free
lance" excursions.
The last section of the guide contains some useful Chinese phrases
(including both pronunciation and Chinese characters) and sugges
tions for background reading.
With a few minor exceptions, the transliteration of Chinese place
names and references follows the Wade-Giles system, the method still
most commonly used in the West. For cities, alternate spellings in
Hanyu pinyin (the PRe's official system) are indicated at the start of
each section and in the glossary on pp. 291-2.
Every effort has been made to present information that is accurate
and up-to-date. The authors welcome the comments and criticisms of
readers, as well as suggestions1 for aIdditions to future editions.
1
,;.6i
'II-
I -.
The staffs of Eurasia Press and A.J. deKeijzer & Associates played an
indispensable role in assembling, editing, and producing this edition.
They include Arlene Posner, Martha Cameron, Lorna Harbus, and
Mary Elizabeth McGarry. Many good friends of China lent good sense
and experience to the project, notably Esther Gollobin, Norval Welch,
Meyer Harbus, Hugh Deane, Richard Pastor, Helen Scarcella, Ruth
Misheloff, Gary Schoener, and Helen Ewer. For their spirit, friendship 9