China Travel Information

Travel Alert Status

Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Time Difference

UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

time zone note: China is the largest country (in terms of area) with just one time zone; before 1949 it was divided into five

Travel Climate

The country lies almost entirely in the temperate zone. Only Hainan Province and the southernmost portions of Yunnan and Guangdong Provinces and the Zhuang Autonomous Region of Guangxi lie within the tropics. A monsoon climate is a major influence in the south. The north and west have a typical continental climate, although winters are extremely dry and summers quite rainy.

During summer, warm, moist, maritime air masses bring heavy rains to eastern China, and hot, humid, summer weather is typical. Winter offers a sharp contrast when cold, dry Siberian air masses dominate and often reach the southern provinces. Little precipitation falls during the colder months; clear days with low humidity and low temperatures are the norm.

Travel Currency

6.626

Language Spoken

Standard Chinese or Mandarin (official; Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry); note - Zhuang is official in Guangxi Zhuang, Yue is official in Guangdong, Mongolian is official in Nei Mongol, Uyghur is official in Xinjiang Uygur, Kyrgyz is official in Xinjiang Uyghur, and Tibetan is official in Xizang (Tibet)

Languages

Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages

Note: Mongolian is official in Nei Mongol, Uighur is official in Xinjiang Uygur, and Tibetan is official in Xizang (Tibet)

Ethnic Groups

Han Chinese 91.1%, ethnic minorities 8.9% (includes Zhang, Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, and other nationalities)

National Holiday

National Day (anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949)

Geographic Coordinates

35 00 N, 105 00 E

Location

Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam

Airports

463

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