There are five types of sockets in use, one in Hong Kong/Macau, two in Taiwan, and the other two on mainland China. Here they are in pics so you can choose the adapter you may need.
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China Entry Bans – Who is banned from entry and for how long?
The state of borders worldwide is in constant flux and China has recently issued a temporary suspension of entry applicable to most-all foreign nationals wishing to enter Mainland China. You may well wonder, who exactly would be wanting to enter China right now? It turns out quite a lot. Many…
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Virtual China – Visiting Attractions, Museums, and Galleries Online
With China still in stages of Corona lockdown, and many other countries likewise, what to do? Travel is completely out for the time being and social distancing, staying at home while doctors heal the infected and scientists search for the cure is the state of play. So, chin-up and let’s…
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Coronavirus and Staying Safe in China
On 31 December 2019, the Chinese Government notified the World Health Organisation of cases of pneumonia occurring in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of which the cause was unknown. It has now been identified/labeled as a novel coronavirus (nCoV) sometimes referred to as 2019-nCoV and in media as Wuhan Virus, or…
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Tianjin Guide – Intro & Top Attractions
Tianjin (天津市) is a provincial-level administrative region under the direct administration of central government, one of the nine National Central Cities, and one of China’s mega-cities. The city has 16 districts under its jurisdiction, with a total area of 11916.85 square kilometers, a built-up area of 1007.91 square kilometers, a…
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China’s Transition to NEVs and the new Electric Cars for 2020
Like most countries, China has been on a transition to New Energy Vehicles (NEV), or Alternative Fuel Vehicle (新能源汽车) for some time with a strategy centered on pure electric vehicles, along with plug-in hybrid vehicles and fuel cell vehicles. Not only critical for reducing city-level emissions (eg Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen)…
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The Evolution of Chinese High Speed Trains – from Zero to 480km/h+
In a previous post, we took a dive into the development of China’s High Speed Railway (HSR) and running concurrently with that was the development of the EMU’s (electric multiple unit) being the Harmony model trains and the latest Fuxing model, aka China’s bullet trains. When Liu Zhijun took the…
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The Evolution of China’s High Speed Rail Network
On August 1, 2008, China opened its first true high speed railway, the 120 km long Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway. By the end of 2019, around 11 years later, the operating mileage of China’s railways will reach more than 139,000 kilometers, of which 35,000 kilometers are high-speed rail, making it the…
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Chongqing Guide – Intro & Top Attractions
Chongqing (重庆市) is located in the southwestern part of China’s inland, bordering Hubei and Hunan in the east, Guizhou in the south, Sichuan in the west, and Shaanxi in the north. The total area of 82,400 square kilometers, jurisdiction over 38 districts (counties) with a resident population of 31,017,900 and…
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Yunnan Guide – Intro & Top Destinations (5A & 4A Attractions)
Yunnan Province is located in China’s southwest with Kunming serving as the capital of the province. It is adjacent to Guizhou and Guangxi in the east, Sichuan in the north, Tibet in the northwest. It has an international border with Myanmar in the west and Laos and Vietnam in the…
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China’s Top 20 Largest Cities by Population
Here is a list of China’s Top 20 Largest Cities by population with GDP and GDP per person. The population stats are from the 2018 census and financial data is the latest issued data at the time of writing (late 2019). They are in order of population ranking. Chongqing (重庆市)…
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Zhejiang Guide – Intro & Top Destinations (5A & 4A Attractions)
Zhejiang province (浙江 zhè jiāng) is located on the southeast coast of China with Hangzhou as its capital. It borders the East China Sea to the east, Fujian to the south, Anhui and Jiangxi to the west, and Shanghai and Jiangsu in the north. The total area of Zhejiang Province…
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Photos of the Amazing new Beijing Daxing International Airport
Here is a collection of photos of the new Beijing Daxing International Airport, aka Starfish. As of late last month it has slowly been receiving domestic and now international flights. Nanyuan airport has now closed as a public airport with Beijing now serviced by the Beijing Capital Airport and the…
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A Visual Guide to the Types of Foods in China (with 80 dishes to try!)
In this intro to the broad range of authentic Chinese foods, we’ll cover the top food categories with the popular dishes to try for each one, plus, their Chinese names so you can order with ease. Chinese cuisine is one of the world’s top cuisines featuring a diverse range of…
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The Complete Guide to Authentic Chinese Dumplings
Everything you wanted to know about Chinese dumplings including the different types, how to make authentic Chinese dumplings, filling recipes, dipping sauces, and more. The humble Chinese dumpling, or jiaozi (餃子) has a history of more than 1,800 years being a traditional specialty food and a staple food and local…
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The Top Ten Beaches in China
Think China doesn’t have some amazing scenic beaches? You might be surprised. Beach culture has never really been a big thing in China but lately, it is growing fast and exposing more of the scenic coastal areas that the Country offers. Here are the top ten beaches and coastal areas…
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An Introduction to the 8 Famous Chinese Cuisines
This guide will provide an easy to digest intro to China’s famous cuisines with dish suggestions. I truly believe that the more knowledge you have about the local cuisine, the more rewarding your food experiences in China will surely be. It’s fair to say that one of the key experiences…
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Guide to Authentic Dim Sum Dishes for Yum Cha & Zao Cha
In this guide, I am going to introduce a legendary part of Cantonese cuisine and culture that is dim sum, yum cha, and zao cha. Including all the top dim sum dishes you need to be trying, plus their Chinese names and pics for easy ordering at any dim sum…
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Authentic Chinese Food: The Top 20 Foreigner Friendly Dishes
Here is a list of super delicious dishes in China that can be found in most cities and that visitors to China will love at first bite. For the new visitor, Chinese cuisine can seem a little intimidating and even altogether scary when not well understood, it can take a…
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The Five Great Mountains of China (Wuyue 五岳)
Wuyue (五岳) is the general name of the five famous mountains in Chinese Han culture and is the product of the combination of ancient folk mountain god reverence, the concept of the Five Elements and imperial excursions and meditation in ancient times. The “Five Sacred Mountains” (or Wuyue – 五岳), also…
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China’s Top Ten Snack Streets
Here is a list of the top ten snack streets and its no coincidence that they are also near to major scenic areas. Also fascinating is that many of them have been famed destinations of the Chī huò (foodie) for centuries. They really are quite special destinations especially for food…
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The Signs of the Chinese Zodiac and What They Mean
Chinese zodiac (十二生肖), or Shēngxiào, is deeply ingrained in Chinese culture and folklore as a system of interpreting character traits and fortune-telling via animal characters connected to a time cycle on the traditional Chinese calendar. Your birthdate is matched to one of the twelve animals or zodiacs and it is…
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China’s Four Famous Mountains of Taoism
The four famous mountains of Taoism in China (道教四大名山) are Qiyun Mountain in Anhui, Wudang Mountain in Hubei, Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan, and Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi. The four mountains are dedicated to the Guangzong Purdue Tianzun, the Zhenwu Emperor, the Moral Tianzun, and the Demon Protector. Taoism is China’s…
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The Four Famous Mountains of Chinese Buddhism
With the introduction of Buddhism from India around the time of the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), temples and monastic halls were built on what would become the four famous mountains of Chinese Buddhism. The four famous mountains of Chinese Buddhism (中国佛教四大名山) are Wutai Mountain in Shanxi, Putuo…
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Zhangjiajie & Wulingyuan Scenic Area – Travel Guide
Zhangjiajie (张家界市), a city located in Hunan Province, is famed for its mountainous regions featuring karst rock formations that were the inspiration for the scenes in the movie Avatar. Near to the city is the Wulingyuan Scenic Area featuring large-scale limestone karst landforms in the northern part of the scenic…
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Mount Huangshan, Anhui – China’s Most Beautiful Mountain – Travel Guide
Huangshan, aka Yellow Mountain, is a famous scenic mountain located in southern Anhui Province. It features amazing scenery the exact liking to that in many famous Chinese paintings, along with rock formations, waterfalls, hot spring, and most famously its cloud viewing areas. It features 36 peaks with the main peak, Lotus…
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Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan – An Immense area of Ecological Wonder
The Three Parallel Rivers originate in the Tibetan Plateau flowing from north to south for 170 kms to Yunnan Province crossing several mountains along the way. It consists of the Salween River (怒江 Nujiang River), the Mekong River (澜沧江 Lancang River) and the Yangtze (金沙江 Jinsha River) and its mountain ranges. It is…
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Pingyao Ancient City of Shanxi Province – Travel Guide
Pingyao Ancient City is located in Shanxi Province with a history of more than 2700 years. It is the most complete ancient city in the Han nationality region of China. The city was founded on an existing settlement by Zhou Xuan Wang of the Zhou Dynasty sometime around 800 BC and…
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Chengjiang Fossil Site of Yunnan Province
The Chengjiang Fossil Site is located in the mountainous area of Yunnan Province and covers an area of 512 hectares. It is the most preserved early Cambrian marine fossils in the early Cambrian period, showing a wide range of invertebrate and spinal life hard tissues and soft tissues. The Chengjiang…
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Yuanyang Rice Terraces of Yunnan – Travel Guide
The Honghe Hani Rice Terraces are the ancient system of rice-growing terraces developed by the Hani ethnic people some 1,200 years ago. Located in Yuanyang, Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The terraces’ history spans around 1,200 years and cover a staggering 16,000 ha. The terraced rice fields cover four…