Country Information

Flights to China are served by Air China (CA) (www.air-china.co.uk). Autumn, when tourist numbers are down but the weather in many regions remains pleasant, is a good time to find flights. Fares can be higher in and around peak holiday seasons such as Chinese New Year.

¥90, usually included in the airfare. Children under 12 and transit passengers (proceeding within 24 hours) are exempt. A smaller charge (¥50) is payable for domestic flights.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG). (www.shairport.com) Shanghai Pudong International Airport is located 30km (19 miles) southeast of central Shanghai, in eastern China. Tel: <p>(021) 96990.</p>.

Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK). (en.bcia.com.cn) Beijing Capital International Airport is situated 25km (16 miles) northeast of Beijing. Tel: <p>(010) 96158.</p>.

Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). (www.hongkongairport.com) Hong Kong International Airport is located 34km (21 miles) northwest of Hong Kong Island. Tel: <p>2181 8888.</p>.

Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA). (en.shairport.com) Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport is situated 13km (8 miles) southwest of Shanghai city centre. Tel: <p>(021) 96990.</p>.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN). (www.gbiac.net) Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is located 28km (17 miles) north of Guangzhou city centre. It straddles the border of the northern Renhe Town in the district of Baiyun and Xinhua Town in the district of Huadu. Tel: <p>(020) 3606 69993.</p>.

Macau International Airport (MFM). (www.macau-airport.com) Macau's airport opened in 1995 on an extended peninsula of Taipa Island reclaimed from the sea. Its present capacity is 6 million passengers per year. Regular flights connect with many of China's largest cities, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Bangkok. Tel: <p>(853) 5988 888</p>. To/from the airport: Another airborne access route is provided by Heli Express, which operates a frequent daily helicopter service from the Shun Tak Centre in Hong Kong to the Macau Ferry Terminal. (tel: 2872 7288; www.heliexpress.com).

China has a huge number of ports. More than 120 of them are open to foreign ships, but these are almost exclusively used for the import and export of goods and containers. International cruise ships do make use of the most prominent ports, though, with Shanghai, Qingdao and Tianjin among the most popular stop-off points.

Several major cruise lines offer cruises to China. There are regular ferry services linking Chinese ports with Kobe in Japan and the west coast of Korea (Dem Rep). There are regular ferries between Shanghai and Osaka in Japan. Regular ferry services also operate between Weihai, Qingdao, Tianjin and Shanghai in China to Incheon in Korea (Dem Rep). There are regular fast ferry services between Hong Kong and Macau and a number of towns and cities in Guangdong province, including Shenzhen and Zhuhai, operated by Chu Kong Passenger Transport Co (tel: 2858 3876; www.cksp.com.hk) and TurboJET (tel: 2859 3333; www.turbojet.com.hk). Two ferry companies run regular services from Japan to Shanghai: the Shanghai Ferry Company (www.shanghai-ferry.co.jp) and the China-Japan International Ferry Company (www.shinganjin.com/index_e.php). There are also several weekly ferry services between the Chinese coast and South Korea.

International services run from Beijing to Moscow on both the Trans-Mongolian Railway (via Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia) and the Trans-Manchurian Railway (via northeastern China). The Trans-Siberian route runs from Moscow to Vladivostock, and from here you can also cross into China, although the other two routes are more direct. Non-stop, the journey by train takes around 1 week. Allow more time if coming from London or other locations in Western Europe. Train timetables can be found at Man at Seat 61 (www.seat61.com). From Vietnam to China it is possible to take a train which travels from Hanoi to Beijing. There is also a daily overnight train service between Hanoi and Nanning, in Guangxi province, which began in 2009. A second cross-border service, between Kunming and Hanoi, is now closed. There are also four weekly services from Beijing to Pyongyang in North Korea. Owing to demand, it may be necessary to book up to two months in advance. A regular train service runs from Hong Kong to Guangzhou (Canton). There are several trains daily. In Hong Kong, MTR (tel: 2688 1333; www.mtr.com.hk) has express trains servicing Kowloon to Guangzhou. There are also services between Shanghai-Kowloon/Hong Kong (journey time – 19 hours) and Beijing-Kowloon/Hong Kong (journey time – 24 hours). Further information on rail services is available from the Chinese Ministry of Transport (www.moc.gov.cn, in Chinese only). Note: Travellers on the Trans-Mongolian or Trans-Manchurian Railways are strongly advised to search their compartments and lock the doors before departure, owing to an increase in smuggling via this route.

Travelling to China overland is possible, if arduous. China borders multiple countries including Nepal, Mongolia, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Laos, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and India. Border posts are very subject to unexpected closures however; the rules change all the time and these should be checked thoroughly before making a journey by road. Crossings for foreign nationals coming from Russia into China are limited to the Zabaykalsk / Manzhouli border in Siberia. It is advisable to take the advice of a local travel agent and have them organise the necessary paperwork and visas. Within China, tourists are not permitted to self-drive and must use a driver booked through a travel agent.