Language: Chinese Mandarin
Currency: Chinese Yuan (CNY)
Calling Code: +86
The People's Republic of China is a country in
East Asia. With more than 1.4 billion inhabitants (2020), China is
the second most populous country in the world and the third largest
in terms of its total area. According to its socialist constitution,
the People's Republic of China is "under the democratic dictatorship
of the people", but is continuous right from the start ruled by the
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in an authoritarian to totalitarian
manner. To this day, she is accused of serious human rights
violations.
The People's Republic was proclaimed by Mao
Zedong on October 1, 1949 after the fall of the Republic of China in
the Chinese Civil War. It is estimated that 45 million people died
in the famine triggered by Mao's "Great Leap Forward" (1958-1961),
and up to 20 million more died in the subsequent Cultural Revolution
from 1966. Only after Mao's death and the onset of the end of Maoism
in China did the country develop into an economic and technological
superpower on the basis of a cautious reform and opening policy from
1978 onwards. Since 2016, the World Bank has included the country
among the countries with an income level in the upper midfield. On
average, the Chinese economy grew by 8.9% annually from 2000 up to
and including 2019. In addition to doubling China's share of world
trade, gross domestic product increased sixfold during this period,
so that by the end of that period China had grown to become the
world's second largest economy. According to observers, however,
since the takeover of power by the “outstanding leader” Xi Jinping
in 2012, the People’s Republic has been backsliding again in terms
of social and economic freedom and is becoming increasingly
ideological and internationally aggressive.
The People's
Republic of China is one of the official nuclear powers, is a
permanent member of the World Security Council and a member of the
World Trade Organization, World Bank, APEC, BRICS, UNESCO, Interpol,
G20.
Here is a selection of the most important and
well-known cities.
1 Chengdu – The capital of Sichuan is also
called the city without a sky because the sun is rarely seen there. The
climate is humid and warm. The city lures with its traditional
Sichuanese cuisine and its special charm - but you should bring some
knowledge of Mandarin with you, as only a few people speak English
there.
2 Chongqing - The largest city in the world - Chongqing
(pronounced "dschong-dschin", approx. 32 million inhabitants) - has the
flair of a French satellite town. If you arrive at night, it can happen
that you find the city bearable, blinded by the neon signs that are
everywhere. A stay in this city is only worthwhile by visiting the
nearby Three Gorges, which have now also fallen victim to a dam and are
more similar to the three great rivers. Even if the city's high-rise
backdrop is impressive, the title "biggest city in the world" is a bit
of misnomer. In fact, the 32 million inhabitants are spread over an area
the size of Belgium. The core city has about 6 million inhabitants. Due
to the river there is regularly a foggy haze over the city, in summer
with temperatures above 40 degrees the city is also called the fire pot.
3 Guangzhou – The former canton has developed into an important trading
metropolis as part of the boom in the Pearl River Delta. In terms of
tourism, it mainly offers a contrast to the nearby special
administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
4 Nanjing – Nanjing
(often Nanking in German) - which literally means "southern capital" -
was the country's capital during the times of the Chinese Republic and
is certainly one of the most beautiful cities in China. Beautiful
temples and parks attract visitors to the metropolis on the Yangtse.
However, you should refrain from visiting in the summer months - Nanjing
is one of the four hottest cities in China.
5
Beijing – The capital of the People's
Republic of China attracts with the Imperial Palace, also known as the
Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, countless street markets, an active
nightlife and a short distance from the Great Wall.
6 Qingdao – The
former German colony has blossomed into a popular tourist destination in
recent years. In addition to holidays on the sandy beach, mountain trips
to the adjacent Laoshan Mountains, where Taoism is at home, are also
possible. Here you can visit a 2400 year old Taoist temple.
7
Shanghai – Along with Beijing and Xi'an, Shanghai is the tourist
must-see in China. Compared to Beijing, there are no major tourist
attractions (important destinations include the river promenade "The
Bund", the Yu Garden and the Jin An Temple), but the city's high-rise
landscape is extremely impressive. The future being built in Shanghai 24
hours a day turns the megalopolis into a single attraction. In addition,
Shanghai is the shopping city par excellence in China. Xujiahui and
Nanjing Road are just a few of the shopping spots in this metropolis of
millions. If you want to holiday in Shanghai, you can also travel to
some interesting suburbs, out of the high-rise landscape and into the
idyll.
8 Shenzhen – Shenzhen was created as a special economic zone
around the former colony of Hong Kong and has experienced a huge
economic boom over the past 20 years, with no end in sight.
9 Suzhou
– A smaller metropolis about 100km west of Shanghai is Suzhou
(pronounced Su-dscho). The listing of the entire downtown of Suzhou as a
Unesco World Heritage Site should speak for itself. Suzhou was and is
the center of silk production in China. Located at the intersection
between the Imperial Canal and the Yangtze River, it owes its economic
upswing not only to its convenient location, but above all to the
Chinese government's silk monopoly up until the 19th century.
10
Wenzhou – Wenzhou is a small, sleepy metropolis in the south of
Zhejiang. Anyone who misses narrow shopping streets and Chinese smells
in Beijing and Shanghai will get their money's worth here. The parks of
the city are also very beautiful and invite the residents to make music
and the tourists to linger. Since Wenzhou has a subtropical climate, a
visit is advisable, especially in the winter months.
11 Wuhan – Wuhan
is the capital of Hubei Province. Wuhan is considered a smoldering oven,
and it gets quite hot in the summer months. On the other hand, in the
cloudy winter months, the temperatures only reach values around the
freezing point. A well-known attraction is the Yellow Crane Pagoda,
which should not be visited around the New Year festival.
12 Lhasa
– Lhasa is the capital of the autonomous province of Tibet. It is famous
for the Potala, the residence of the Dalai Lama. In addition to the
Potala, the Jokhang Monastery and the Norbulingka Palace (the
traditional summer residence of the Dalai Lama) are also UNESCO World
Heritage Sites.
13 Hong Kong
14 Macao
Summer Palace contains spacious park, residential buildings, temples and many pavilions that lie on the shores of the artificial lake.
Ancient Great Wall is probably the most famous site China was constructed the country from the Northern nomadic tribes.
Hanging Temple is a religious complex perched on a side of a mountain in Shanxi province of China.
Qin I mausoleum is famous for a huge Terracotta Army buried with the Emperor Quin I.
Ming Dynasty Tombs Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty are located 30 mi (45 km) Northwest of Bejing in China.
Putuo Zongcheng Temple is a Buddhist religious complex situated in a Hebei Province in China. Its construction began during Qing Dynasty.
Yungang Grottoes is a massive religious complex carved from a side of a mountain.
Huangshan Mountains are located in Anhui province these mountains started their unique formation 100 million years ago.
Wulingyuan Mountains are located in Hunan Province has some of the most amazing geological formations.
Guilin Hills are picturesque geological formations on a shores of beautiful rivers.
Picturesque Jiuzhaigou Valley lies in Sichuan Province of China.
Medieval Jiayuguan Castle is a beatiful fort with its unique Chinese architecture.
Gyantse Castle is a medieval citadel situated in Gyantse, Xigazê Prefecture in China. It was constructed in 1390.
A tourist visa for a single entry and 30 days stay costs over 100€
including the non-avoidable service fee (as of Nov 2019). In Austria and
Switzerland, contact the embassy or consulate. Visas are not issued at
airports or borders. For a tourist visa, a passport that is still valid
for at least six months is required and for children a child ID card or
children's passport is required. You must also present flight tickets
and confirmation of booked accommodation. Anyone who has visited a
number of African countries must also present a health certificate from
their doctor. It is advisable to apply for the visa at least one month
before departure. Most visas are only valid for 3 months, so do not
apply too early. All arriving foreigners are fingerprinted.
Those
who intend to visit Hong Kong or Macau on their itinerary and then
continue to the PRC will need a multiple-entry visa. A single-entry visa
is no longer valid when crossing the border into Hong Kong or Macau SAR.
Alternatively, you have the option of applying for a new visa in Hong
Kong or Macau.
Under no circumstances should you exceed the
length of stay permitted in the visa. This entails a hefty fine, the
amount of which is calculated based on the number of days overrun.
Departure is only possible after payment and issue of a new visa.
Entry into the Tibet Autonomous Region is only possible with a
special permit.
Foreigners who stay in one place for more than 24
hours are required to report to the local police. If you stay in a
hotel, the hotel automatically accepts this message, for which you have
to have your passport copied at the hotel. If you are accommodated
privately, the respective host must make the report. If you are studying
abroad, you have to report to the police yourself. It is best to take a
Chinese friend with you. For international students who live on campus
but not in an official dormitory, the police may require you to present
a Chinese rental agreement. However, the Chinese rental contract only
has to contain the rent amount, names of the tenant and landlord, the
duration, the location of the apartment and a signature of the tenant
and landlord. The help of a Chinese friend or his Chinese buddy from the
university is worth its weight in gold.
Visa-free short-term
stays in transit: Citizens of 51 nations, including all Schengen
countries, can enter China for 72 hours without a visa when entering
certain airports, provided they present a confirmed onward flight.
Except on arrival in Beijing (Beijing Shoudu Guoji Jichang, PEK), where
the permit can be obtained locally, an application must be submitted
through the airline. Departures via locations other than the airport of
entry are not permitted. Except for Beijing, this regulation applies to
flights via Shanghai* (all airports), Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing,
Shenyang, Dalian, Harbin, Xian, Guilin, Kunming, Hangzhou* (HGH), Wuhan,
Tianjin, Qingdao, Nanjing* (NKG ), Changsha and Xiamen (For places
marked with *, the length of stay has been extended to a maximum of 144
hours since Jan. 30, 2016). The aforementioned registration obligation
also applies to these stays. Any, even short-term overdrafts must be
discussed with the authorities.
Most Europeans visiting China arrive by plane. A number of Chinese
cities are served by direct flights from Europe, including Beijing,
Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Qingdao, Shenyang and Hong
Kong. Apart from that, every major Chinese city can be reached via a
transfer connection. If you plan ahead and look for something, you can
get tickets for less than €600 (as of Nov 2015). The difference in
quality between European and Chinese airlines is now negligible.
Anyone departing from Europe and changing to a domestic flight at a
Chinese airport must make sure that their luggage has been checked
through to the destination airport or whether they have to take it
through customs at the transfer airport and check it in again. Until
recently, check-through to the final airport was not possible. Outward
flight from Germany to Bangkok, Thailand with Eurowings costs between
200 and 300 €, depending on how early you book. There are often very
cheap flights from Bangkok to various countries in East Asia, for
example China, as well as Southeast Asia, for example Singapore (as of
Feb 2017).
The internationally applicable safety regulations also
apply in China, and this also applies to domestic flights.
Beijing is a terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway. You can also enter the territory of the People's Republic of China by train from Hong Kong, Vietnam and North Korea. The border control takes place either at the destination station, or you have to leave the train for the formalities.
There are international bus connections to Chinese cities from some
of China's neighboring countries, especially in Southeast Asia. You can
also travel directly to selected cities on the Chinese side by bus from
Hong Kong and Macau. For the border controls you usually have to leave
the vehicle. Some connections are not open to foreigners.
Entering China with your own car or motorcycle is difficult and
sometimes involves considerable costs. Chinese license plates and a
Chinese driver's license are required. Furthermore, a guide (watchdog)
is necessary. For motorcycles, this means that an additional vehicle
must be included. As a result, the cost of a stay can quickly amount to
several thousand euros (e.g. 3100€ for 4 motorcycles in the province of
Xinjiang for a 5-day stay, entry Torugart Pass via Kashgar, Aksu to
Chorgas for exit to Kazakhstan).
The Beijing Traffic Management
Bureau offers relatively good information. Here you can find detailed
information in English and Chinese.
Entering the country by
bicycle as your own means of transport is relatively uncomplicated. The
former main means of transport in China is increasingly being replaced
by motor vehicles, but it is still widespread.
There are several ferry connections to coastal cities in the People's Republic of China from Hong Kong and Macau. Information and tickets are available at the respective ferry terminals. The exit formalities take place before boarding the ship, the entry formalities after leaving the ship on the Chinese side.
By plane
Flying has been booming in China for about ten years.
Almost every major Chinese city has an airport, which in many cases is
newly built and generously dimensioned. The number of flight connections
is also increasing rapidly. The numerous Chinese airlines mostly own
aircraft recently procured from western countries. Flying is therefore
no less safe in China than in Europe.
Domestic flight tickets
cost the same regardless of the airline. However, it is common for
discounts to be granted depending on the booking situation. For this
reason, it is advisable to book flight tickets locally or through a
Chinese booking portal - the largest of these portals is ctrip.com.
Abroad, prices for Chinese domestic flights are usually significantly
more expensive.
The airports in Chinese cities are often located
very far outside of the cities and are not always optimally connected in
terms of transport. Delays and flight cancellations are not uncommon.
For this reason, when planning your trip, you should always check
whether the same route could not be covered more comfortably by
high-speed train.
Those wishing to fly from China to Hong Kong or
Macau by plane must note that these flights are considered international
flights. It is usually much cheaper to fly to Shenzhen or Zhuhai and
cross the border overland from there. International flights with China
as the starting point are usually significantly more expensive than
abroad.
By train
China has been building a high-speed network
since 2006, which is already by far the longest in the world and is
being expanded rapidly. The vehicles that run on the high-speed lines
are made in China but incorporate European and/or Japanese technology.
With the new routes, new stations with huge dimensions have also
emerged, so that a journey with the high-speed train is a very relaxed
form of travel. On many routes, the train is the better and cheaper
alternative to the plane.
Away from the high-speed network, there
is a conventional rail network on which trains of various categories and
equipment run. These either connect regions where high-speed has not yet
penetrated or cater to an audience for whom high-speed is not
affordable.
The category of a train can be recognized by its
number. The following categories exist:
Bullet trains are numbered G
(高速 gāosù) or C (城际 chéngjì). They drive between the major cities at up
to 300km/h and, depending on the number, stop at a few or very few
stations.
Trains numbered D (动车 dòngchē) travel up to 200km/h and
offer comfort similar to G or C trains. They are also available in a
night train version with sleeping cars.
Trains numbered Z (直达 zhídá)
connect major cities with direct services without many intermediate
stops. These are often night trains with a higher level of comfort and
the latest rolling stock. They are a very comfortable and usually
cheaper alternative to a longer journey on the high-speed train.
Until a few years ago, the express trains T (特快 tèkuài) were the best
that the Chinese railways had to offer. Many of these trains have given
way to high speed trains and are now found as a cheaper alternative to
high speed trains and on secondary routes. They are slower than the Z
trains, stop more often and have older carriages.
Trains beginning
with K (快速 kuàisù) are slower and older than those beginning with T.
Trains without letters are the slowest and oldest. They are the cheapest
way to travel and are preferred by migrant workers. Many of these trains
run off the main traffic routes, but tourists rarely see them.
There are few trains that start with other letters (regional or special
trains).
There are two to three compartment classes in the
high-speed trains:
Hard sitting (硬座) or second class means 2:3
seating on seats that cannot be adjusted. They are slightly narrower
than in European second class.
Soft seating (软座) or first class means
2:2 seating and seat adjustability. It roughly corresponds to European
first class. Recommended for overweight foreigners. More cultured fellow
travelers. Some trains still offer business class (商务座).
No
standing room tickets will be sold.
The conventional trains
offer:
Soft lie (软卧) in four-man compartments, comparable to the
European sleeper
Hard couchettes (硬卧) in six-man compartments, like
European couchette cars, but without a compartment door
Soft seat
(软座), comparable to European first class
Hard sitting (硬座),
comparable to European second class, depending on the age of the
carriage. However, on trains that cater to migrant workers, one can also
come across bench seats with 3:3 seating, the backs of which are built
at a 90-degree angle and the seat surface is of minimal size and
padding.
Unreserved (无座) usually means standing room. Such tickets
are sold unlimited and also for long distances. The price is identical
to that of the hard sitting card. Around public holidays, visitors can
also be embarrassed to have to travel a longer distance without a seat.
Longer rides in hard-pack compartments are a good way to get in
touch with the average Chinese. If you have enough time, you can
definitely try it out. Fellow travelers will turn out to be loud,
cordial and outgoing, soon you'll be sharing food, looking at photos on
your cell phone and playing cards - even if you speak little Chinese.
You can buy tickets at the train stations or at one of the ticket
offices scattered around the towns. All tickets are personalized, so you
have to show your passport when you buy a ticket. Ticket sales usually
start 20 days before the train departs. When demand is low, you can just
go to the train station and get a ticket for the next train; in the
summer holidays or around public holidays, this procedure involves the
risk of only traveling after a long waiting time or in a standing room.
All tickets are only valid for a specific train on a specific date, so
it is highly recommended to find out the number of the train you want
and to insist on that train when making your purchase. Otherwise you
risk arriving at your destination at an impossible time. The sales staff
usually only speaks Chinese; those who do not speak Chinese must either
get help from a native speaker or write down the necessary data. Don't
expect great advice at the counter, if you need help you should go to a
travel agent or a helpful citizen.
China Railways Internet Ticket
Sales (12306.cn) is reserved for Chinese ID card holders. However, as a
foreigner you can use it to look up departure and arrival times, train
numbers, ticket prices and availability. In the future, China Railways
plans to abolish printed tickets.
Most Chinese cities have
multiple train stations. The correct station is on the ticket, under no
circumstances should you go to another station. You can only enter the
main hall of Chinese train stations with a valid ticket. At the station
entrance, the luggage is x-rayed and the ticket and the corresponding ID
are checked. You wait for the train in your own waiting room, and you
can only step onto the platform shortly before the train departs.
Because of these procedures and the size of the buildings, it is
advisable to be at the station at least 20 minutes before the train
departs. The ticket can be checked during the journey, in any case you
need it at the destination station to get out of the station. During the
journey you can buy food and drinks according to Chinese taste, tea
water is available free of charge in every carriage. The punctuality of
the trains is surprisingly high given the sometimes long distances. The
hygienic condition of the toilets depends on the train category and
deteriorates over the course of a long journey. You should bring your
own paper and soap.
Cost examples (as of January 2019): If you
want to travel from Beijing to Xi'an, you can choose between a
high-speed train for the 1212km (4.5 to 6 hours, 515¥ hard seat, 825¥
soft seat, 1627¥ business, 12 trains per day) or a night train (11.5 to
14.5 hours, ¥156 sit hard, ¥268 lie hard, ¥422 lie soft, 8 trains per
day). If you simply ask for a Beijing-Xi'an ticket at the counter, you
risk being booked on Z151: arrival Xi'an 03:23. So you should insist on
Z19 (Beijing - Xi'an non-stop, arrival 8am). Those who enjoy long
journeys by train can take the night train from Beijing to Kunming (4
trains per day, 34 to 44 hours, 302¥ sit hard, 513¥ lie hard, 814¥ lie
soft). You can get from Shanghai to Beijing by Chinese railways'
racehorse - train G2 or G4 - in 4:24 hours (hard seated 554¥, 290km/h
average speed). If you want to mingle with the common people in a
sustainable way, you can also choose train 1462 and cover the distance
in 22 hours at ¥156 - average speed 59 km/h.
Departure time and
delay: In contrast to the more common delays in Germany, these are very
rare in China. In China you have to reckon with the fact that the train
sometimes even leaves too early. In practice, this means that it is
quite possible that if you arrive at the platform 3 minutes before
departure and therefore still 3 minutes before departure, the railway
staff will not let you onto the train in order to avoid a delay. In
part, however, you can still convince the railway staff to let you
board.
Intercity buses are a popular means of transport in China and are an
alternative to air and rail connections. They also enable almost every
connection between larger cities. In some areas there are only bus
connections. The prices for bus trips are low, especially in remote
areas, but the vehicles can be in questionable technical condition, and
the travel comfort is correspondingly poor. Sleeper buses are also
available on longer routes. In most cases, the tickets can be obtained
directly before departure, as there are enough places; usually you have
to show your passport here as well. Buses are therefore an alternative
if the trains are fully booked. Every city has several bus stations, you
usually have to ask for the correct station. English is also not spoken
at the bus station; it is necessary to be able to say the destination in
Chinese or have it written down. The vehicles usually drive back and
forth between two cities, these two cities are written in huge signs on
the front window of the bus in question.
For longer distances,
the bus is the least safe means of transport. Although armed robberies
on intercity buses have become very rare, Chinese television shows
terrible traffic accidents with fatalities every day. In the event of
accidents, traffic jams or road closures, the travel time may
significantly exceed the allotted time. If in doubt, train or even plane
are preferable.
In recent years, subway lines have been put into operation in several
cities; the subways in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are among the
largest in the world. The systems work the same way across China: You
buy your ticket (plastic chip or card) from a machine, which can also be
operated in English. With this ticket you pass the barriers to the
platform. When leaving the subway area, you pass the barriers with the
same ticket. Subway tickets are very cheap, starting at 2¥ and for 10¥
you can go all over Shanghai. If you plan to stay longer in a city, you
can get a value card to save yourself the frequent ticket purchases. In
some cities it is also possible to cross the barriers using a mobile
app.
Especially during rush hour you have to be prepared for
large crowds on the platforms and the vehicles, especially at transfer
stations. Since passengers' luggage is scanned at all subway stations,
there are often crowds and delays here as well. It is important to plan
enough time and to take care of your valuables.
Taxis are very popular and widespread as a means of transportation in
China. They are considerably cheaper than in Europe and even a longer
journey usually only costs a few euros. Taxis in all major cities are
metered. Most drivers are honest and turn on the taximeter without any
special request. Sometimes a fuel surcharge of 1¥ or 2¥ is added to the
taxometer price. As in all travel countries, it makes sense to find out
about the taxi prices on the Internet beforehand so that you don't get
ripped off. In China, however, this is often not a problem. As a rule,
you stop an empty taxi with a hand signal. At certain times - e.g. B.
when the driver is the shift changer, when it rains suddenly or at a
major event, it can be difficult or impossible to get a taxi. In this
case one must either reserve one in advance (negotiate!) or use subway,
bus or private vehicle. You can also hire a taxi for a whole day, for
example to visit sights outside of the cities, in which case you have to
negotiate with the driver. In smaller provincial towns, expect to pay
¥500-600 per day.
Taxi drivers hardly ever speak English, and
supposedly international words like “airport” are often not understood.
It can happen that drivers refuse boarding because communication with
the foreigner is too difficult, the distance is too short, there is a
shift change or there is a traffic jam. In any case, you should be able
to say your destination in Chinese or have written it down in Chinese.
Under certain circumstances (e.g. high prices or fuel shortages) all
drivers consistently refuse to use the taximeter, and then you are
forced to negotiate. Many cities also have drivers without a license
(“black cabs”). Only those who speak Chinese well and know the way to
their destination can board a black taxi with a clear conscience.
Otherwise, as a foreigner, you should avoid this if possible, as there
is a risk of fraud or even robbery. The taxi drivers do not expect a
tip, but round up or down to the full yuan and usually give change
without hesitation.
The taxi industry is also going digital in
China. The currently most popular taxi app is called DiDi, which took
over Uber China in 2016. As a rule, after ordering a taxi service, the
driver calls you to agree on the exact starting point of the journey.
Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to install this app before traveling to
China, because you have to expect that the number of conventional taxis
will continue to decrease. Various taxi app providers Didi Dache (滴滴打车),
Kuaidi Dache (快的打车) and Co. can also be easily paid with payment apps
such as Wechat. These are even cheaper than regular taxis and often have
significantly better cars with more comfort. You can often pay directly
via the taxi apps. A good knowledge of Chinese or the help of a Chinese
friend is required to set up and order taxis. However, you should use
these apps especially for longer stays.
All Chinese cities have an extensive urban bus system. However, the
line maps, stops and destination displays are usually only available in
Chinese, which is why they are usually of little use to the visitor.
City buses are also the slowest mode of transportation in the city.
Nevertheless, as a visitor you are sometimes dependent on buses,
especially when no taxi is available.
The fares are very cheap
(1¥ to 2¥ for a trip in the city), the fare is usually thrown into a
designated box with the driver. If you pay with a prepaid card, you get
a discount.
Cyclists shaped the image of Chinese cities up until the 1980s,
having almost completely disappeared and slowly reappearing on the
streets. Any visitor will be struck by the huge numbers of fellow bikers
lining the roadsides. The Chinese use their bikes as sports equipment in
parks or as a means of transport to the nearest subway station. The
sometimes satanic air pollution, the recklessness of other road users
and the bike paths and side streets that are often blocked with cars
make cycling unattractive. This also applies to visitors, and there are
only a few exceptions.
Few places in China are suitable for
exploring on foot. Walking in a Chinese city means slaloming around
vehicles parked on the sidewalk, lampposts, broken manhole covers, etc.
This and the environmental noise, air pollution, long distances and
possible summer heat make walking very tiring.
Users of GPS
devices should note that in China the displayed values generally deviate
from the actual situation due to government manipulation. In sensitive
border areas, the margin of error can be 200-600 meters!
The standard Chinese language is Mandarin. Cantonese is spoken in
Hong Kong and the adjacent province of Guangdong. Macau also has its own
dialect, and almost every province south of Shanghai has its own
dialect. However, the spelling is the same everywhere except in Taiwan
and partly in Hong Kong. In Taiwan and partly in Hong Kong "Traditional
Chinese" is written, on the mainland "Simplified Chinese". Because of
the strong dialects, it actually happens that northern and southern
Chinese have to communicate in a foreign language.
Chinese
consists of numerous so-called homonyms, words that can have several
meanings when pronounced the same way. The Chinese know from the context
what is meant. The Chinese script consists of tens of thousands of
characters in pictogram form, but many are names. Pupils leave school
with a knowledge of around 3,500 characters, students end up with maybe
5,000 characters. In order to be able to read a newspaper to some
extent, 3,000 characters should be enough. But the grammar is much
simpler. There are no cases or articles. Conversely, the Chinese
regularly despair of why the girl is called, even though she is female.
Translated into Chinese it means "I beat you" and "You beat me". There
are many foreigners who after a few years in China speak quite well but
cannot read. The Chinese, on the other hand, actually have a lot of
trouble pronouncing the R. The trick is to teach yourself the R over
weeks of gargling.
Those who do not speak Chinese will face major
problems in some parts of the country. While acceptable English is
usually spoken in hotels and restaurants along the classic tourist paths
and you can also get help buying train tickets or excursions, you have
to be very patient in other parts of the country. Chinese learn English
at school, but the exams are written. This leads to the phenomenon that
it is hard to find anyone who can speak English, but even away from the
major tourist centers, almost all shops have their trade written not
only in Chinese but also in English characters above the entrance.
English is usually not a problem at hotel receptions, but other
hotel employees can often only understand important phrases, e.g. B.
Name prices. Ticket machines in public subway stations can also be
operated in English and are easy to use. In tourist towns there are also
ticket offices almost everywhere, English is spoken quite well here.
Anyone who takes the bus should know how to do it, nobody speaks English
here. This also applies expressly to all taxi drivers, who do not need
to be addressed with their own names or keywords such as “Airport” or
“Railway Station”, which are known worldwide. Street vendors at tourist
attractions usually speak enough English to negotiate prices. Most
English is best for traffickers who want to take tourists to an
overpriced bar (see security).
It is definitely worth bringing
important words in Chinese characters with you or, for example, having
the hotel or tour guide write them down. However, there is no guarantee
that if you show people the sign for the bus station, they will also
show you the way there. However, China is also a country undergoing
major changes and so things could get much easier in the coming years. A
clear Westernization can be seen throughout the country.
Western
travelers have one advantage: in China, too, only the Arabic numerals
that are customary here are now used. The Chinese script has its own
numbers, but the system is so complicated that it is only used in
bookkeeping. Otherwise all numbers like e.g. B. Prices in the numbers
0-9 known to us.
The standard greeting in China, which can be
used at any time of the day or night, is Ni Hao, which corresponds to
the German Guten Tag, but literally means you well. However, it should
be pronounced separately as Ni-hau, since niau means urine. When
ordering food in restaurants, it is advisable to write down the
characters and the meaning of different foods and animals. Examples are
meat, soup, water, cola, or animals such as duck, pig, beef, etc. It is
easy to form characters from the two characters pig and meat, which then
mean pork.
In today's modern times, it is also recommended to use
apps such as the partly free Pleco software.
China's currency is Renminbi (RMB), which is usually abbreviated to
Yuan (= meter for RMB) or colloquially Kuai. All three names mean the
same thing. The next smallest unit is jiao. 10 jiao equals one RMB. A
jiao is worth 10 fen, the next smaller unit, but there are no coins or
bills for it.
For 1 € you currently get about 7.34¥. In Europe,
cash can be exchanged at a very poor rate. You should only take a
minimum amount with you and only have cash with you in case of an
absolute emergency. With credit cards, you hardly need this emergency
money anymore. Many hotels exchange at the official exchange rate
without any problems. There is an additional fee for withdrawals by EC
card. You can import a maximum of 20,000 yuan to China, but in view of
the poor exchange rates, that would be pointless for normal tourists
anyway.
Sometimes the exchange rates for German credit cards are
worse than those in exchange offices and hotels. Here it depends very
much on the region and the place in China and you should inform yourself
beforehand.
If you are in China for a longer period of time, it
is a good idea to let Chinese friends show you how payment apps such as
B. Wechat (like Whatsapp but with a payment function and other
functions) and can thus pay by scanning a QR code. This payment method
is very widespread in China.
Groceries are considerably cheaper
than in Europe. Beverage bottles such as 0.5 ℓ Cola cost about 3¥uan,
even at large attractions no more than 5 ¥. A can of Coke (0.33 ℓ) can
often be had for ¥1 in restaurants in Xiamen. Water is even cheaper.
Pastries in a bakery also only cost a few ¥uan, with a few euros you can
feed a whole family in a bakery. Smaller food markets are ubiquitous,
prices are low here too.
Basically, China is a country with
drastic, sometimes unbelievable price differences. Especially the big
shopping streets in Beijing and Shanghai have a price level that takes
your breath away. You can get everything for that here. The goods there
are most likely genuine. As urban dwellers become more prosperous, it
becomes important to the Chinese to be seen with genuine branded goods.
Buying fakes is now considered embarrassing by many in China. You also
have to be careful at insect markets or other places with exotic food.
The price is often displayed at the top of the stand and these prices
are often disproportionately high. So you should check the prices or ask
before you buy.
The prices in China are sometimes surprisingly
high, especially for electronics. The following should be bought with
caution as the prices are hardly cheaper or the quality is not right:
Accessories for printers, ink cartridges etc.
Any computer material
DVD player, television
Photo equipment is sometimes drastically more
expensive (factor 2 to 3)
Some of the following things can be
purchased at a much lower price:
DVDs, VideoCDs are also available in
legal shops from about 7 RMB each. Ask for a discount for larger
purchases.
Books, here are discounts of up to 80% on German prices.
English literature can be found in the larger bookshops.
Clothes
(clothes, if branded, can be more expensive than here, which still
doesn't protect the buyer from fakes. Also, the Chinese market still
specializes in smaller sizes, 3XL or shoe size 47 are hard to come by
there.)
Attention: There are numerous illegal copies of branded
goods of all kinds in circulation. Caution is required, especially with
electronic media, in order not to be liable to prosecution in Germany.
At the typical tourist markets at sights, nothing is guaranteed to be
real. The Chinese themselves don't shop there because it's too
expensive. However, one can find certain services there, such as
calligraphy and have personal souvenirs made.
Bars in hotels or
on cruise ships can take European prices or even be higher. 5 euros for
a cup of coffee is possible.
European tourism companies often
have their trips carried out by a local partner. Package tourists are
forcibly dragged to sales events, which is common in China. The tour
guides must get proof that they have taken the group there. A large
package travel provider once formulated in its catalog that it was
trying to ensure that there would be no more than one a day. Sometimes
you can definitely learn something in real companies, sometimes only
pseudo-workers are presented for show purposes, who only work for the
seconds in which the tourists are in sight. These shops are very
expensive, you can spend thousands of euros there. The only reason to
buy there at all is that the tour operators guarantee to refund the
money if the goods are counterfeit.
Sellers in China are very
aggressive. Sales staff, even if they are obviously only employees, run
after the tourist and it is difficult to fend them off.
Typical
travel souvenirs:
Chinese tea
pasta
calligraphy
Stamps with
Chinese and Latin characters, e.g. B. with your own name or that of
loved ones. The best place to buy them is at the Great Wall at Badaling.
silk
Tsingtao Beer Named after the brewery that was once founded as
Germania Brewery by German settlers.
Negotiate
It is important
in China that you negotiate the price before buying. You point to the
item you want and take it. After that, you can negotiate the price
verbally if you speak Chinese, or alternatively have the sales price
shown to you on your cell phone or the seller's calculator and then type
in the price you are willing to pay in yuan on your cell phone. You can
always at least halve the original price. If you negotiate well and
hard, discounts of 90% and more can be achieved. In normal food
supermarkets, fixed restaurants and in public facilities such as train
stations, etc., it is admittedly not customary to bargain.
Food is central to Chinese culture and food is very important to the
Chinese. It's not for nothing that people like to say chi fan le ma
(Have you eaten yet?) instead of Ni Hao as a greeting. In recent years,
however, the Chinese have become quite alienated from their favorite
topic of food. The many food scandals, which also cost human lives, have
left too deep a mark. The greed for profit promoted by the government
has also made many food producers lose their inhibitions and prudence.
The dishes that are served in China differ significantly from the
Chinese cuisine that we get in Germany at the Chinese restaurant on the
corner. The food can also be significantly hotter in China. The Chinese
eat warm food three times a day. So hotel with Chinese breakfast means
fried noodles, egg rice, soup and the like. You can also get warm or hot
orange juice at the Chinese breakfast in Chinese hotels. Warm or hot
water is also very common. The Chinese also like to drink non-chilled
beer, as it is believed that it is better for the stomach and therefore
healthier.
The Chinese kitchen is basically an all-recycling
kitchen. Pig noses, chicken feet, even scorpions are eaten. However, no
pets. Cats not at all, dogs only if they are specially bred meat dogs.
However, many Chinese do not eat dogs, scorpions or other exotic foods
for the rest of their lives. The package tourist does not have to be
afraid that such bizarre foods will be foisted under some breading. The
food that you get served as an average tourist essentially corresponds
to what is known from Chinese restaurants. For image reasons, the
Chinese government wants to significantly limit the consumption of
animals that are considered pets elsewhere. The majority of Chinese eat
pork, beef, poultry, fish and other seafood. Fish and sea creatures are
particularly common in coastal towns. There is often a very varied and
very good cuisine in this area with special regional dishes. If you
still want exotic dishes such as dogs, snakes, etc., you have to search
specifically for them, as only very few restaurants offer them and often
only at special times. Of course, Chinese friends are very helpful in
finding such restaurants and often wonder what people from the West want
to try. The prices for these exotic dishes are often particularly high.
Contrary to popular belief in the West, rice is rarely used in many
dishes. It is only served if you are not full. You can often order it
separately. The large selection of dishes that are often eaten with
others at the same time at a round turntable makes rice completely
unnecessary. These round revolving tables are more likely to be found in
expensive restaurants and you usually only sit at such tables if you are
eating with a larger group.
Street food stalls abound in China.
One often hears from people who live longer in China that they are a
good supply option if you know the right ones. The turnover is so high
that nothing can get old there. They are less suitable for short-term
travelers because they quickly have to reckon with diarrhea due to the
unfamiliar diet. Here, as everywhere else in the world, it is important
to ensure that the food is fresh and well-cooked. At street stalls you
can often find vegetables and especially good fruit at reasonable
prices. Here you should make sure that these are freshly peeled and cut
in front of your eyes. In Xiamen, a whole mango freshly peeled and cut
costs about ¥12 to 15 (depending on the size of the mango) (as of Jan
2017) Unpeeled and uncut mangoes are of course also cheaper. Of course,
the regionally occurring fruit such as mangoes, dragon fruit, etc. also
tastes much better because it is not harvested unripe and transported
for a long time.
Especially compared to Germany, Chinese dishes
are much fresher. This shows up e.g. B. in restaurants where there are
often aquariums where you can choose the still living fish, lobster,
etc. These are then killed in the kitchen and prepared and served
absolutely fresh. Flavor enhancers and other additives are often used
depending on the price range of the restaurants. Allergy sufferers
should also make sure that there is nothing in it that they are allergic
to. For example nuts etc.
For brave tourists, it is recommended
to just go to a restaurant and order whatever is on the menu. In the
vast majority of cases you get outstanding tasting dishes that you would
not expect. Of course, you can also use vocabulary to limit the dishes
to e.g. B. Soup with pork or soup with noodles.
Vegetarian and
vegan restaurants are rather unusual. But here, too, there is more and
more demand from tourists as well as locals and the offer is constantly
expanding. Especially in the big cities.
The Peking duck
(Chinese: 北京烤鴨 / 北京烤鸭, běijīng kǎoyā) is one of the most famous dishes
in Chinese cuisine and is mostly served in specialized restaurants. The
duck is shown to guests, then the skin is cut into even diamonds, the
fat scraped off and served in rolled-up pancakes with a sauce and spring
onions as a starter. The meat is then cut into bite-sized, thin slices
and served as a main course with various side dishes.
Dim Sum
(Chinese: 點心 / 点心) are small filled dumplings that are usually served
steamed or fried in bamboo baskets. We also know this dough as
Dampfnudel. It is found in innumerable variants, especially in the south
and east of China. When eating, you should be careful because the
filling is often very hot. This filling - if available - can be hearty
or sweet, e.g. B. minced meat or date sauce. Beans or fibrous, dried
pork (which then looks like fluff) are also popular. In practice you
have to be surprised.
Literature:
Françoise Hauser: China en
Wok. In: In Asia, Vol.6 (November/December) (2007). - culinary excursion
to China
In this section, special restaurants and grocery stores, such as
bakeries and co. presented.
Xiamen City, Fujian Province
Paulaner Brauhaus, Kempinski Hotel Xiamen, No. 98 Hubin Middle Road,
Siming District, 361004 Xiamen, Fujian Province, China. Tel: +86 (0) 592
235-1613, Fax: +86 (0) 592 235-1999, Email:
paulaner.xiamen@kempinski.com. A large German restaurant on the ground
floor of the "Kempinski Hotel Xiamen" in Xiamen. There is German beer,
German sausages and other German specialties. In 2016/2017 there was a
German chef. This restaurant was also known as a monthly meeting point
for all Germans, Austrians and Swiss (as of Feb 2017). I personally do
not know whether this is still the case and whether there is still a
German chef. The music is quite good. Compared to Chinese restaurants,
the prices are significantly more expensive and range in the middle to
upper price range. Instead of about 15-25¥ as in cheap and good Chinese
restaurants, you have to be prepared for about 230-250¥. Unfortunately,
like many western restaurants, this restaurant has the bad habit of
adding a flat tip to the bill of 10 to 20% (as of Feb 2017). The quality
of the food was very close to German sausages and the dishes (made
according to a German recipe) were good to very good. Open: Sun-Sat
17:30-23:30. Accepted payment methods: Unionpay, Visa, Master, American
Express, JCB, Diners Club, Cash, WeChat pay, Ali pay.
Changsha
City, Hunan Province
Bach's Bakery, Xiang Chun Xiang #8, Kai Fu Qu,
Changsha, Hunan, China (The address is an alleyway, not a street, so
it's not easy to find.). Tel: +86 731 8862 6264. The German bakery
(Chinese name for "Bach" is "Ba He") specifically recruits deaf people.
It is based in Changsha City, Hunan Province. It has been managed by the
German Uwe Brutzer (Chinese name: Wu Zhengrong) and his wife Dorothee
Brutzer (Chinese name: Du Xuehui) since it was founded in 2011. Open:
Mon-Sat 8am-8pm, Sun closed.
Xihulou (西湖楼, English West Lake
Chamber), HongShan Tourism District JinMa Food City, Changsha, China
(Chinese: 长沙市开福区马栏山西湖楼酒家). Tel: +86 731 8425 8188, Email:
67298800@qq.com. The restaurant in Changsha, the capital of the central
Chinese province of Hunan, is one of the largest restaurants in the
world. With its 4,000 seats it is considered the largest restaurant in
Asia; after being entered in the Guinness Book of World Records as the
largest Chinese restaurant in the world. Xihulou was founded in 2000 at
the foot of West Lake Mountain in the medieval city of Liuyang by Ms.
Qin Lingzhi. At the beginning of 2003, the construction of the new
catering facility of unprecedented scale began in the Kaifu district of
the city of Changsha. After more than a year of construction, the new
West Lake Chamber was opened in October 2004. Located 20 minutes from
Huanghua International Airport, the restaurant complex covers an area of
88 mu (about 5.8 hectares) in the developing Jinma Restaurant City.
Opposite is Changsha's largest park, Yuehu Park. The numerous buildings
and parks were built in the traditional architectural style. The whole
complex includes four different areas. Area A includes 70 larger and
smaller rooms, including the performance hall, where performances take
place daily. Area B includes ten luxury private rooms in the style of
imperial palaces. Area C includes nine luxury Cantonese-style booths,
and Area D is a snack food street. Priority is given to traditional
Chinese dishes of Hunan cuisine and Cantonese cuisine, which are
prepared in five large kitchens. The restaurant employs 1,000 people,
including 300 chefs. Approximately 700 chickens and 2,600 pounds of pork
are processed each week. The restaurant complex offers large parking
lots for buses and cars in front of its door. There will also be a hotel
on the site. In October 2004, the Guinness Record Center Shanghai
confirmed Xihulou as the largest restaurant in China. In May 2006, it
received the "First 5-Star Tourism Restaurant" award from the Changsha
City Tourism Bureau. Feature: Hunan cuisine.
In fact, even the biggest nightlife areas in Shanghai and other major
cities are mostly "dead" around 11pm, nightlife takes place in most
major cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Qingdao only in a small part of
the city. After midnight this is mostly in "red light districts" where
bars are still open. The Chinese don't really know nightlife, and in
some cities there is no public transport at night, you have to rely on
taxis. The prices in the bars can vary greatly, from €1 per beer to €10
and more, all variations are available. Don't be afraid to go to bars
with locals; an interesting discussion can develop.
China is
probably one of the few countries where you can get into the best clubs
in the city for free. The tables in such clubs usually cost 1000 to
2000€ per night. There are also drinks like whiskey, beer, vodka, rum,
cola etc. and snacks like nuts, watermelon very often free of charge.
The only thing you have to do is write to the club manager/customer
advisor via Wechat and tell them when and with many people you are
coming. You can get the contact details from German or other foreign
students in China. There can be no question of a dead nightlife at all.
Partying until 5 a.m. is the norm among foreign students. In the past
(approx. before 2012) foreign students even got money (approx. 80€ per
night) for partying. This was and is of course illegal as a student visa
does not allow you to work and you risked being expelled from the
country. The background to this probably unique rule is that foreign
students are primarily attracted to "white" Chinese visitors to the
respective nightclubs. Chinese people often even ask you to come to
their table and invite you to drinks and food. The "whites" are
considered a status symbol. Here, however, caution is advised that one
should not bear part of the costs later, although this occurs very
rarely. For tourists who like to party and stay longer in China, it is
therefore advisable to visit the local universities and ask the foreign
students for the Wechat contact of the respective club manager.
Especially at the end of the semester, the foreign students can tell you
very well which clubs are the best and what kind of music is played. It
should also be mentioned that this free regulation could not be
established for bars.
Caution for weak drinkers: the Chinese like
to drink to “Ex”, such a “competition” cannot harm a normal European
man, you can also gain prestige with your Chinese friends in this way.
Favorite beer is usually Tsingtao This on ex-drinking is introduced with
the word Gānbēi (干杯), which means "Cheers" in German. Gānbēi doesn't
always mean that you drink to "Ex".
Peking Opera is the
representation of well-known Chinese fairy tales and myths. The
performances are highly stylized, and understanding everything requires
insider knowledge. The Beijing Opera has been suffering from a decline
in audiences for years because the young Chinese are staying away.
Accommodation is available in all possible categories and price
ranges. Since the Chinese also prefer to book via Internet portals and
also rate the hotels there, the price level has also become a good
indicator of the quality level. The hotel prices are higher in the
metropolises than in the smaller towns. In the low season, hotel prices
are significantly lower than in the high season.
In principle,
hotels need a license in order to be able to accommodate foreigners.
This rule is not always strictly followed: those who have the
opportunity to go to the country, which is untouched by tourism, will
also find accommodation there in hostels that do not have such a
license. In places where the situation is tense (e.g. Xinjiang), this is
impossible.
China's four and five-star hotels have a performance
and price level that can be compared to European luxury hotels,
especially in the metropolises. Those who can do without luxury will
find numerous chains in China that offer cleanliness and decent comfort
for prices around ¥300. Through booking sites like Booking.com and
others, you can find good and clean rooms with a good breakfast for less
than 300 yuan (approx. 39 euros - as of March 31, 2020). If the sparse
breakfast is laid out and you don't like it, it is advisable to book a
room without breakfast and go to the nearby restaurants. If available,
of course.
Due to the size of Chinese cities, it makes sense to
choose accommodation that is convenient to places to visit and
transportation. For example, five-star hotels in industrial parks often
offer very cheap weekend rates, but they are far from tourist
attractions and difficult to reach without a taxi. Due to the cheap taxi
prices, a restaurant located a little further out is not a problem. The
only important thing is to have the name and address in Chinese
characters (if you don't speak Chinese) for the journey to and from the
hotel, hostel etc. and to make sure that you use regular taxis - theirs
Have taxi meters turned on too. In principle, it is advisable to book or
reserve a room via the booking portal you trust. If you go to a hotel
without booking, you ignore the posted room prices and ask in Chinese
for the discounted price.
In general, the hotel room is paid for
when you check in. Most hotels also require a deposit, which can be paid
by credit card or cash. Checking in is usually a longer procedure, as
the police registration has to be done at the same time. In the room
there is usually free bottled water and numerous items that are to be
paid for when used. Occasionally these items have fancy prices.
Disposable toothbrushes, toothpaste and other hygiene items of dubious
quality are usually available in the bathroom, and there are also
breathing masks in the closet in case of fire. The mattresses in China
are usually much harder than in Central Europe. Chinese hotels usually
do not have non-smoking rooms, which is why the rooms smell more or less
subtly of stale cigarette smoke. It's accepted practice to fuss at the
front desk and ask for another room if it smells too strong or is
otherwise not okay.
When checking out, the front desk staff will
typically call the maid, who will check the room for consumption of
chargeable items and theft. Only then will you get your deposit back.
You definitely have to plan for these extra minutes. With a bit of luck,
you can get items that you left in your room back straight away.
China is safe. There is crime and as a tourist you are a preferred
destination like almost everywhere else in the world. Purses and
valuables should therefore always be protected and the safe in the hotel
should be used. Despite the generally low crime rate, depending on the
city, there may be areas that are not recommended to visit at night.
Cash payment is preferred, but avoid carrying large amounts: 1,000
to 1,500 RMB should be the upper limit, except when paying at the hotel
or similar. EC cards and credit cards work without any problems at most
automatic teller machines (ATM). Danger! Some credit cards have to be
activated for use abroad.
In the cities, the police are
omnipresent, but you shouldn't get into overly dark alleys or red-light
districts, since crime there, like everywhere else in the world, is
massively higher. By the way, not everyone who looks like that is a cop.
Most of the uniformed men standing to attention belong to private
security services, even in public institutions. That doesn't stop these
private security services from marching in a military goose-step that
most military units in the world couldn't pull off.
Above all,
the trick with the knockout drops is repeatedly reported. The supposedly
nice companion, who you met in the disco or the hotel bar, mixes
knockout drops into your drink when you go to the toilet. This can still
happen in the disco or the hotel bar, but usually only in the hotel
room. If you come to after 1-2 days you will find yourself robbed and
your credit card plundered. It is advisable to never go "on tour" alone
here.
The same applies to nocturnal walks in pub districts.
Usually there are still a few deserted corners between the bases of the
pub crawl - and these can be fatal. Usually two people come up to you -
one holds out a knife or pistol, the other takes your wallet - and
they're gone. A second person protects immensely here. If you get into
such a situation, you should not play the hero, but hand out the money.
An armed robbery and a murder differ only marginally in Chinese criminal
law.
However, the following smuggler trick is much more common
than the knockout drop scam: You are approached by young men or women
who speak English or even German very well and have a lively
conversation for a few minutes. A change of location to a nearby bar or
tea room is then suggested. The bill that you get served there can reach
four-digit sums in euros. Talking is safe, but definitely don't call. As
a tourist, you can hardly escape this scam, especially in Beijing.
You also have to be careful of street vendors. First, negotiations
or short rejection talks are often used for pickpocketing. Secondly,
traders in Beijing in particular know that they are mostly dealing with
newcomers to China. Counterfeit money is often given as change, because
the dealer assumes that the tourist does not know the money that well.
Criticism of the government can create problems. The uprising on
Tiananmen Square in particular is a taboo topic locally. The Chinese
leadership is not stupid and they know that the Chinese are talking
about it. But at least in the square itself, you don't want to hear
that. There have been cases where tourist guides told their groups at
Tiananmen Square about the student revolt in a foreign language, but
plainclothes secret police understood that language. The tour guides
were immediately arrested and the tour group was left without a guide.
Road traffic is a very significant source of danger. Traffic rules
are almost completely ignored. Here you can see the sudden wealth of
China. While it was still possible to ride bicycles or mopeds like
singed pigs without major consequences, this led to dramatic accident
figures with many fatalities within a few years as cars became more
widespread. Although only one in ten Chinese owns a car, according to
official figures, around 100,000 people lost their lives on the roads.
However, anyone who has ever experienced Chinese traffic is more
surprised that there are not many more. The attitude is certainly
helpful: the Chinese take grotesque risks, but not aggressively. The
other road user is not the enemy that you insult, but rather you think
it will be all right. Almost "harmonious chaos". On the autobahn, people
overtake on the left and right, maneuvering at intervals of one meter at
speeds of 80 to 100 km/h. On country roads you share the lane with
everything that has wheels or legs. The horn is honked regularly, which
certainly prevents many accidents. The horn should make the other person
aware that you are behind them. The law of the strongest or larger
applies, according to which it is regulated who should withdraw and give
way. The order is roughly truck, bus, car (taxis sometimes have
priority), motorcycles, scooters, bicycles and only then pedestrians.
As in Vietnam, cross the road at traffic lights or zebra crossings
whenever possible, although traffic in China is less congested and
therefore easier to cross. Under no circumstances should you rely on a
zebra crossing. Hardly anyone stops at a zebra crossing because of a
pedestrian. Taxis also often run red lights, and they always do when
they want to make a right turn. No motorist obeys any traffic rules
because of a pedestrian. If you don't think about it, you'll have your
first accident at the arrival airport. Before crossing, make sure that
the vehicles still have enough distance to the zebra crossing and that
you do not run directly into a vehicle. After that, you should walk
briskly but at a steady pace in order to be predictable for drivers.
Avoid fast sprints unless necessary. From the corner of your eye you
should observe the speed and distance of the vehicles. You should avoid
looking directly at the driver. This is usually interpreted in such a
way that the pedestrian is careful and the driver no longer has to be
careful. On the other hand, if you don't look directly, the drivers
usually take care not to run over the pedestrian.
Traveling to China is stressful for your health: the long journey,
the time change, the suddenly changed daily rhythm, the air pollution
and, last but not least, the Chinese food mean that many tourists fall
ill on the way. Diarrhoea, vomiting and coughing are particularly
common. It is therefore advisable to consult your family doctor before
you travel and to put together a small first-aid kit. Medicines are also
available in China, but not the brands and/or compositions known in
Europe. Anyone who has to take medication regularly should therefore
take sufficient quantities with them. You should also talk to your
family doctor about vaccinations. Most doctors recommend at least being
vaccinated against hepatitis. You should also inquire about the
vaccinations required by the Chinese government.
On site you have
to follow certain rules to stay healthy. This includes not drinking tap
water, not eating food from dodgy street stalls, eating lots of rice and
avoiding overly oily or spicy foods at the beginning of the trip. With
tap water, you shouldn't rely on boiling it in the hotel's own kettle.
Although this kills bacteria, some of the water is contaminated with
oils or other substances that cannot be removed in this way. Also, these
substances are not always visible. But water bottles are very cheap and
therefore also recommended for the preparation of tea. When it comes to
water bottles, you should make sure that they are still sealed in their
original condition. Bottled water is also recommended for brushing
teeth. You should only eat well-cooked food that is still hot and peel
fruit. Meat should be avoided on the street and in small snack bars
without refrigeration. It is best to only eat fish that is absolutely
fresh, i.e. only in restaurants that show you the live fish beforehand.
Particular attention should be paid to personal hygiene. Of course,
unprotected sexual contact should be avoided.
If you get sick in
China and need medical help, it is best to have a doctor recommended who
speaks English (or even German). In the metropolises there are
international hospitals that cater to foreign patients. The Chinese
healthcare system is also efficient outside of the major cities,
although you will probably have to take a translator with you. In China,
there are hardly any doctors in private practice like there are in
Central Europe; you go to a hospital or a clinic, even for outpatient
treatment. In any case, you have to pay a fee when registering, and
treatment and medication are also to be paid for on the spot. Little
attention is paid to privacy - several patients can be in the doctor's
office at the same time. Those who are treated as inpatients usually
come to a multi-bed room in which there are other patients and their
relatives. As a foreigner you will feel slightly stared at. In China you
will be prescribed many infusions and few oral medications, Chinese and
Western medicine will be administered in combination. Large halls are
available for the infusions, where nurses take care of the patients and
TVs blare in every corner.
Many Chinese have a certain distrust
in their health care system. Doctors are suspected of prescribing more
expensive treatments and medicines than necessary, prescribing too long
hospital stays and generally only thinking about their own earnings.
There is also a fear of counterfeit medicines. Further information can
be found under Practical information in the chapters on tropical
diseases and traveling healthy.
Chinese toilets are unfamiliar to
many western tourists. For more information and tips see Toilets in
China.
According to the World Bank, 16 of the 20 cities with the
greatest environmental pollution in the world are in China alone. Smog
must be expected. This applies above all to the particularly affected
cities such as Beijing, even more so in the winter months. The English
Wikipedia article on smog in China gives a good overview of the problem
and the cities affected. It is therefore advisable to buy certified FFP2
or FFP3 masks in Germany for the trip. Air filters for your own
apartment are worthwhile for longer stays. The Chinese government
publishes the exposure values via app and internet. These values are not
always correct. For some cities such as Beijing you can therefore fall
back on the readings of the American embassy and consulates. Xiamen, for
example, is a very clean city in terms of air and roads and at the same
time green.
China is a paradise for smokers. Most Chinese men and a growing
minority of Chinese women smoke. Cigarettes are cheap, even western
brands. With a few exceptions, smoking is everywhere, with no-smoking
signs being mostly ignored. The government's half-hearted efforts to
reduce tobacco abuse among the population seem to be having little
effect.
Smoking is really taboo on planes, high-speed trains and
better hospitals. The staff there ensure that the smoking ban is
observed. Not permitted but mostly tolerated by staff, it is also in
air-conditioned trains and buses, taxis, elevators and other enclosed
spaces. If you are a foreigner in these places and ask the Chinese
smoker to stop smoking, you can hope for support from the non-smoking
Chinese.
Smoking is common practice in restaurants, in nightlife
or in hotel rooms, and as a foreigner you will not be able to do
anything about it. But there are also many restaurants where you don't
smoke. There are also many hotels that offer non-smoking rooms.
In the south around Hong Kong, the climate corresponds roughly to a
warmer, North African character, the central region around Shanghai &
Nanjing has roughly the same weather as in southern Spain or Cyprus,
i.e. about 1-2 colder months with temperatures around 0 degrees, rarely
snow and in summer for about three months from June to August almost
every day over 30 degrees, mostly 32-36 degrees.
The further
north you go, the colder the climate gets. Beijing probably has a
weather comparable to that in Poland, i.e. three to four really cold
months, but still a warm summer, while the more inland provinces of
Outer Mongolia can have -30°C in winter, but a quite pleasant climate in
summer offer.
As a travel recommendation, if you like pleasantly
warm but not hot weather, it can be said in general:
Winter: South
China, incl. HK, Macao, Taiwan.
Late Autumn/Early Spring: South
China, depending on the weather to Shanghai.
Autumn/Spring: Central
China, areas around Shanghai and Nanjing.
Early Fall/Late Spring:
Beijing, Inner Mongolia, south to Shanghai, weather permitting
Summer: northern provinces, it is warm almost all over China with
temperatures above 40 degrees, i. H. summer is the least suitable for
vacationing there.
The city of Xiamen is particularly worth
visiting in summer and autumn. Autumn (September to October) is
particularly suitable. Approximately May to October. The background is
that November to around April the temperatures drop sensitively to
around 13 to 17°C. From February to April there is sometimes heavy
rainfall. In summer it is pretty hot (over 30 °C) and muggy. September
to October temperatures range between 23 and 28°C and are very pleasant.
Often there is also a light pleasant wind. Xiamen is also characterized
by its very clean air, lots of greenery and beaches.
One should never publicly discredit anyone; if someone has made a
mistake, you can address the person, but it must be done politely and
always with a solution that both sides can see. Also, you shouldn't
criticize your Chinese interlocutor directly, but if possible through
the flower. Also, this criticism should only be expressed in a
one-to-one conversation and not in front of others.
While blowing
your nose in public is completely normal in Germany, it is better not to
do so in China. If you have to, you should turn away from the other
person or table with your handkerchief. It is more tolerated in tourist
areas, but at least you should not put the handkerchief in your pocket,
but throw it away.
The Chinese, on the other hand, spit on the
street floor with maximum glee and volume, or step just outside the shop
or office where they work. Even if this spitting on the ground is not
popular even among the Chinese, it persists.
Burping is also
considered completely normal. It can often happen that the food that was
ordered is not served in restaurants, especially when it comes to
non-Chinese specialties. If the waiter speaks English or you speak
Mandarin, you are welcome to ask. Naked criticism is not appropriate.
Children: China is a very child-friendly country. When you travel
with children, you find that the Chinese are suddenly much more sociable
than expected. Children are considered a status symbol and when they are
blond they attract attention, even in the most touristy places. Souvenir
photos with Europeans are very popular with Chinese from the western
provinces, with (small) children the interest is even greater. Everyone
wants to touch the beautiful blond hair and will incessantly explain
that your child is beautiful. Of course, all this only happens with the
consent of the parents and always with the utmost respect. In any case,
you don't feel like you're on display, but on the contrary, as if
everyone couldn't wish for anything better than getting to know you. The
children themselves usually cope surprisingly well with the hustle and
bustle.
Public nudity is frowned upon. Even going topless on the
beach is not appropriate.
After several wars between China and
Japan and a very cruel occupation of China by the Japanese, the
historical relationship is strained to this day. This should be taken
into account in discussions. In any case, the Chinese are of the opinion
that the Japanese copied their culture from the Chinese.
Tipping
was completely unknown until a few years ago. Thanks to foreign
visitors, Chinese in the commercial and tourist centers now know what a
tip is and accept it even when they don't expect it. In the provinces,
it is still the case today that you should save on tips, where it can
definitely be taken as an insult. Especially in larger western hotels
and restaurants, a flat tip of 10 to 20% of the price is calculated.
Unfortunately, this bad habit is increasing.
It is always helpful to speak a few words of Mandarin, especially if
you are planning longer trips to the western provinces. In the northern
regions, Russian is helpful (the official, first foreign language in
school) and in the south, French can sometimes also score points.
Internet is available practically everywhere in hotels via cable or
WLAN, usually free of charge. The connections are quite fast, at least
when they are accessed for the first time. However, once you have tried
to open a page that could possibly be system-critical, the network
becomes excruciatingly slow. The online appearances of ARD and ZDF are
partially blocked, the portals of newspapers, however, are mostly
accessible. Google and Facebook don't work at all. There are no problems
with Wikivoyage. In particular, social networks such as Facebook,
Twitter, search engines and porn sites are blocked. To circumvent this,
paid VPNs are recommended. Free VPNs should be avoided for a variety of
reasons. However, China's measures to control the Internet are becoming
increasingly strict and VPN providers are also being partially or
completely blocked. Of course, this should be checked before departure
in order to be able to benefit from promotional campaigns.
If you
don't take your own laptop with you: Hotels from mid-range upwards
usually have a so-called business center, in which there are also
Internet PCs. However, the prices are high (usually 1 yuan per minute)
and the connection is slow. This is not good for more than short mails.
On the other hand, if you bring your own device and want to type Chinese
characters, you can often find free programs (so-called IME) on the
Internet or in the operating system that can be installed afterwards.
Keyboards still have Latin letters in the QWERTY layout. But as soon
as you open a program interface, everything is in Chinese. Of course,
you can simply enter your desired website in the address line and it
will be displayed in the desired language. Problems arise when the
computer reports a question, which is then only in Chinese and you can
only tell from the letters Y and N that it is a yes/no question. This is
often used to confirm that passwords should be saved. If you want to
delete your passwords and browser history at the end of a session, you
have to work your way through Chinese-language menus. For security
reasons, you should therefore redirect your e-mails to an e-mail account
set up especially for the trip, which you can delete after the trip. And
under no circumstances should you do online banking in hotels or
internet cafes. Not least because the outdated Internet Explorer 6 is
very widespread there.
Incidentally, the Chinese themselves type
the pronunciation of the Chinese character into computers and mobile
phones using Latin letters and receive a suggested list of possible
Chinese characters as they type. That sounds cumbersome, but since the
Chinese are practiced and you can directly select entire syllables or
words, you can write with it quite quickly.
As already described
in the area of food, transport, etc., it is advisable to use various
apps such as Pleco (Pleco Software), Taxisapps, Wechat, etc. There are
also many great map apps that also work in offline mode.
Mobile
phone: In the past, it was not possible to use your own mobile phone in
China because China uses its own mobile phone standards that are
incompatible with western mobile phones. This has improved since models
from Chinese manufacturers are also sold in Europe, and these mobile
phones then also work in China. However, models from western
manufacturers still do not work in China (exception: iPhone). You should
refrain from buying a SIM card in China, even if it is possible without
any problems, because then you will "enjoy" the Chinese censorship. If
you surf exclusively in roaming via your home provider, you don't have
the problem.
Postcard postage to Europe costs 4.50 yuan. The best
place to hand in your postcards is at the hotel, sometimes a few yuan
fees are added. The postage time to Europe is about one week.
There are numerous television stations in China, mostly from the state
CCTV. CCTV News, also known as CCTV 9, broadcasts in English and
provides minimum information about world events. As far as non-Chinese
issues are concerned, the information is useful, otherwise it can become
one-sided. German football results are also reported there or games are
sometimes broadcast live on other channels, but then at night due to the
time difference. Depending on the hotel, there are also the news
channels BBC and CNN, and occasionally Deutsche Welle TV. The Chinese TV
stations are full of military and historical films. Occasionally there
are also German TV series, then of course dubbed by Chinese state
television.
Today's People's Republic of China is the result of a two-hundred-year process in which the Chinese Empire was replaced and China was transformed into a modern state. The dramatic events that accompanied this process still shape the country's political actors today.
Around 1800, China had reached its greatest expansion and economic
power and produced about a third of all goods in the world. In terms of
domestic and foreign policy, however, the Chinese empire was
comparatively unstable and weak at the beginning of the 19th century. As
in Europe, the population had grown rapidly, but industrialization only
started with a great delay due to China's isolation from the outside
world. The available arable land per capita had fallen. Hundreds of
riots broke out; the Taiping Rebellion (1851-1864) is considered the
most devastating war of the 19th century, the great Muslim rebellions
were no less cruel wars. The trade balance developed negatively after
the forced opening of China. The Qing Empire had little to oppose the
increasingly aggressive foreign powers, neither in the first or second
Opium War nor in the Sino-French War of 1885/86 and the Sino-Japanese
War of 1895. Large areas in northern Manchuria and in East Turkestan
were lost to the Russian Tsardom in the treaties of Aigun in 1858 and
Beijing in 1860. In addition to these humiliating defeats came the
Unequal Treaties, which in the course of the 19th century led to
increasing heteronomy, loss of territory and high compensation payments
to foreign states.
Foreign pressure on China led to the
self-empowerment movement, to modernization in the education system and
in the military, and the first Chinese began studying abroad. There were
beginnings of industrialization, which in turn was largely driven by
foreigners. However, the Hundred Days Reform initiated by Emperor
Guangxu failed. The "Boxer Rebellion," which was not an anti-government
uprising but a movement directed against the imperialist powers and
which the Chinese government sought to prop up, brought forces together
with the aim of expelling all foreigners ; this fight of the "boxers"
(the first of them were trained in traditional martial arts),
misleadingly called "uprising", led to the war between China and the
United Eight States, i.e. the German Empire, France, Great Britain,
Italy, Japan, Austria-Hungary , Russia and the USA. After the
suppression, the victors forced further concessions from the imperial
family in the so-called “Boxer Protocol” of 1901. It was in this
environment that Sun Yat-sen founded the Chinese Revolutionary League in
Tokyo in 1905, which was to become the forerunner of the Kuomintang. He
called for the establishment of a republic, the end of the Qing dynasty,
a nation-state and land reforms. In 1911, the Wuchang Uprising broke out
and the Xinhai Revolution that followed resulted in Emperor Puyi's
abdication. This ended the succession of several dynasties that ended in
221 BC. by Emperor Qin Shihuangdi. At the end of 1911, Sun was elected
interim president of the Republic of China in Nanjing. The proclamation
of the republic met with approval, especially in the big cities. It was
short-lived, however, as Yuan Shikai dissolved parliament in 1914 and
ruled as a dictator.
Yuan Shikai had enough military under his command to avoid China's
disintegration. However, he was unable to stop the advance of foreign
powers; He had attempts at civil society suppressed, and the Kuomintang
was banned in 1913. The country's elites therefore turned their backs on
the state during this phase and pursued their own interests. Yuan had
himself proclaimed emperor on January 1, 1916, while Japan deliberately
weakened him by issuing the Twenty-One Demands. The central government
lost control of China's politics, the country fragmented, the provincial
military governors and hundreds of warlords fought for influence in
shifting alliances. Chaos and misery reigned, the population suffered
under oppression. Mongolia and Tibet declared their independence.
However, the phase of fragmentation was also a creative time in which
the intellectual climate changed through confrontation with Western
ideas. The May Fourth Movement became the starting point for numerous
political and intellectual currents, and schools and universities were
founded. Capital and knowledge from abroad flowed into the treaty ports,
and the basis for developing the economy was laid.
After the
October Revolution in Russia, there was also a fascination with
socialist and communist ideas in China; In 1921 the Chinese Communist
Party was founded. Lacking industry as a basis for a proletarian
movement in China, the Comintern supported both the Kuomintang and the
Communist Party (CP). As part of the First United Front, the two parties
cooperated against the warlords and Japanese expansionism. With Soviet
help, the Whampoa Military Academy was founded in 1924, from which
numerous officers emerged who were important in later Chinese history,
such as Chiang Kai-shek and Zhou Enlai. After Sun Yat-sen's death in
1925, tensions arose in the united front that delayed progress in the
Northern Campaign. After securing Shanghai in March 1927, Chiang
Kai-shek had thousands of (supposed) communists killed and a strike put
down on April 12, 1927, which broke up the united front. Chiang, who
controlled the army within the Kuomintang, outmaneuvered the party's
left wing and set up a counter-government in Nanjing. In June 1928 his
troops succeeded in taking Beijing, which initially reunited China.
The communists, who had been pushed out into the countryside, tried
to carry out uprisings in some cities and set up Soviet areas. However,
the uprisings in Nanchang in August 1927, Canton in December 1927 and
Changsha in 1930 were crushed. On the other hand, after the autumn
harvest uprising, Mao Zedong managed to hold on to a larger area in the
mountains of Hunan and Jiangxi and set up a Soviet republic using a
strategy adapted to rural conditions. Due to the encirclement by
Kuomintang troops, it had to be evacuated in 1934, the leaders of the CP
withdrew to the north of Shaanxi with the Long March, where they arrived
a year later ideologically consolidated and united. During this march,
Mao won the internal party struggles and was elected chairman of the
Central Committee.
Japan, whose troops had been in northeast
China since 1901 after the Boxer Rebellion, seized Manchuria from the
warlord Zhang Xueliang in 1931 and established the vassal state of
Manchukuo there. In 1933, the Japanese troops took Jehol. In view of the
threat from Japan, the communists demanded an alliance of all parties
and armed forces. However, Chiang preferred to first consolidate
Kuomintang rule over the CP. In December 1936, Chiang was forced to
agree to a second united front, which was only formed after the Marco
Polo Bridge Incident and the open outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese
War. Despite the united front, Chiang deployed his most powerful troops
against the CP. The united front remained correspondingly weak, and
Chiang's troops, despite support from the USA and the USSR, were poorly
organized and had poor morale. This enabled the Japanese troops to
occupy the great plains and coastal areas of China; in Nanjing they
committed a mass murder that lasted several weeks. However, they could
not permanently control the conquered areas. Chiang's government had to
withdraw to Chongqing.
Shortly after Japan's surrender, Mao held
fruitless negotiations with Chiang in Chongqing to settle their
differences. The Kuomintang then tried to get the whole country under
their control, but their troops were undisciplined and lacked a clear
mandate, their representatives were corrupt and feared by the
population. However, the Kuomintang won parliamentary elections held in
1947. The People's Liberation Army, on the other hand, had enough
supporters in the population. They conquered Manchuria in 1948, Nanjing
in April 1949 and Shanghai in May 1949. The Kuomintang government fled
to the island of Taiwan, occupied in 1945, wiped out the local elite and
established a dictatorship.
On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was proclaimed.
This spelled the end of national government on the mainland. The
takeover of power by the CP was not a coup brought about from outside,
but an upheaval supported by a broad majority. In a first phase after
the proclamation of the People's Republic, a land reform was carried out
from 1949 to 1952, in which almost half of the agricultural land was
distributed to around 120 million farmers. "Large landowners" were
expropriated. In 1950, the Communist Party passed a marriage law that,
in addition to the constitution, specified equality between men and
women. In particular, the woman's right to decide whether to marry
herself, the ban on demanding a dowry for the bride or the cohabitant,
the introduction of a minimum age for women, which led to the abolition
of child and forced marriages, or the legalization of the termination of
a marriage Divorce, with corresponding regulations on the division of
property between spouses, permanently improved the situation of Chinese
women. But breaking through traditional rural cultural practices or
educating rural women about the law came up against insurmountable
hurdles. Active and passive women's suffrage was introduced in 1949.
In February 1950, Beijing signed a treaty of friendship and
assistance with the Soviet Union. Priority was given to the development
of the urban economy after the CP concentrated its activities in rural
areas during the civil war. For this purpose, a “coalition of four” made
up of workers, peasants, petty bourgeoisie and national bourgeoisie was
formed under the slogan “New Democracy”. At the 8th Party Congress, Mao
did not find a majority with values such as activism, altruism, unity
with the masses and renunciation of consumption, the path of imitation
of the Soviet development model with the priority development of heavy
industry was confirmed.
Mao Zedong initiated the turning away
from the Soviet model with his speech on the "Ten Great Relations" in
April 1956. He initiated the Hundred Flowers Movement in May 1957 to
mobilize the intelligentsia. When the call for healthy criticism also
led to criticism of the party and individual party leaders, the party
responded with the "campaign against right-wing dissidents", during
which 400 critics were executed and half a million people sent to labor
camps. The departure from the Soviet Union became final in 1958 when the
Great Leap Forward was announced. As part of this campaign, almost the
entire rural population was gathered into 26,000 people's communes and
organized on military principles. They should advance agriculture and
heavy industry as a "production battle" at the same time. However,
planning errors, chaos and natural disasters meant that about 30 million
people starved to death in the three bitter years from 1960 to 1962. Liu
Shaoqi took over the task of consolidating the economy from 1963 to
1964; he was criticized for his actions as a "revisionist".
In
the early summer of 1966, under the pretext of revising undesirable
developments and cleaning up the bureaucracy, Mao began the Cultural
Revolution. The youth were organized into Red Guards, a wave of terror
began against representatives and decision-makers of the state and the
intelligentsia; Schools and universities were sometimes closed for
several years. The individual should be destroyed, the revolution should
be permanent. China became even more closed to foreign countries. In
1968, the “to the country movement” began, with which 15 million young
city dwellers were assigned to work in agriculture. President Liu Shaoqi
and numerous other high party officials were criticized as
"revisionists" and removed from their posts. However, the growing fear
of a Soviet attack after the Sino-Soviet rift also occurred during the
Cultural Revolution phase, which made it necessary to normalize
relations with the USA. After a visit by President Nixon in 1972,
Beijing established diplomatic relations with Washington; Beijing also
took over Taiwan's seat at the United Nations. The Cultural Revolution
ended after Mao's death in September 1976 and the arrest of the "Gang of
Four" in October 1976.
By the time Mao died, his designated successors were already dead:
Lin Biao died in 1971 after an alleged coup attempt, Deng Xiaoping was
associated with the 1976 Tiananmen Square protests after the death of
Prime Minister Zhou Enlai and was demoted. Thus, the hitherto
little-known Hua Guofeng was chosen as Mao's successor. Hua and his
supporters, who stood for the continuation of Mao Zedong's policies,
were outmaneuvered and deposed by Deng by 1980. In December 1978, the
"Four Modernizations" course, which is closely associated with Deng's
name, was confirmed by the party leadership. Victims of the Cultural
Revolution and other excesses were rehabilitated and economic freedoms
expanded. Market economy gradually replaced the centrally planned
economy adopted from the Soviet Union in order to increase the economic
efficiency of the system. A peace and friendship treaty was signed with
the former enemy Japan, and foreign investments were gradually allowed.
Deng visited the United States, which subsequently became an important
foreign policy partner. With the special economic zones, areas were
identified where it was possible to experiment with market economy
mechanisms, and in 1984 another 14 coastal towns were opened.
However, the expansion of economic freedoms was not matched by an
expansion of personal freedoms. Already parallel to the party congress
of December 1978, the public articulated at the Democracy Wall that they
were dissatisfied with the restrictions on freedom, which was closed
after demands for democracy arose. The “campaign against intellectual
pollution” was used against intellectuals who had gradually taken
greater liberties. The negative side effects of the economic reforms,
such as growing inequality, corruption, inflation and the lack of social
security, increased the potential for protest. It erupted when mourning
rallies for General Secretary Hu Yaobang, who had been deposed in 1987
and died in spring 1989, led to renewed demonstrations on Tiananmen
Square. They radicalized themselves parallel to a visit by Mikhail
Gorbachev to normalization talks in Beijing, which ended violently in
early June. From the Chinese perspective, the return of the colonies of
Hong Kong and Macau under the “one country, two systems” principle
represents a further step towards ending the colonization of China. In
addition, relations with Russia have been revived.
Although the
undesired side effects of economic reforms have been the subject of
controversy within the party leadership, the Deng era was a period of
comparatively great unanimity. Rapid economic growth, which drastically
reduced the number of people living below the poverty line from 250
million in 1979 to 45 million in 1999, legitimized the measures. Deng
was succeeded by Jiang Zemin; under him and his successors, the CP
endeavored to defuse the still existing potential for protest by
settling conflicts and applying the law. Among the challenges that the
party and state leadership has had to face since then are the social
conditions of migrant and factory workers, the rapid aging of society
caused by the "one-child policy", and demands for the rule of law, the
fight against corruption and state Arbitrariness.
In the first twenty years of the 21st century, China experienced
unprecedented economic growth. On average, the Chinese economy grew by
8.9% annually from 2000 up to and including 2019. In addition to
doubling China's share of world trade, gross domestic product increased
sixfold during this period, so that by the end of that period China had
grown to become the world's second largest economy. This has had a
positive impact on the quality of life of more than 200 million Chinese,
who have been lifted out of absolute poverty.
Against the
background of its foreign policy geared towards economic expansion,
China also began to underpin its claim to power in the world with
massive development financing for Africa and the One Belt, One Road
project.
During the 2010s, China began attempting systematic
re-education of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. From a Chinese perspective, the
decade was also marked by the confrontation with the Hong Kong protest
movement in 2014, which revived with the protests starting in 2019.
In 2020, an epidemic broke out in the Chinese city of Wuhan with a
wave of disease, which developed into a global pandemic. While the West
was increasingly hit by the pandemic, China was spared the second wave
in autumn 2020 and was able to return to normal everyday life.
With the 14th five-year plan from 2021 to 2025 adopted in March 2021 and
the associated long-term goals up to 2035, the KPC is shifting the
economic focus towards the development of the domestic market. The two
main developments are the expansion of research and development,
especially basic research, and the strengthening of the supply of
manufactured goods and services for national consumption. It is
noteworthy that for the first time all key figures are only target
values and deviations caused by market forces are expressly recognized.
In addition, goals for the development of energy supply and climate
policy are set.