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CHINA ( Relocation, International Movers, City Guide news, Aparthotel, Real Estate, Moving, ... ) 18 - Flights to France and transportation means International flights : Different companies offer international flights : Thai Airways, British Airways, SAS, Finnair, Aeroflot and Lufthansa have a regular flight service. The address of Air China is : P O Box 1000-621, International Airport, Beijing (1) 513 8833 or 3262 Internal tranport : By air : 5 companies fly between Beijing, Shanghai, Canton, Guilin and Xian - Air China, - China General Aviation, - China Southern Airlines, - China Eastern Airlines et Shangai Airlines. - Shangai Airlines   By train : The rail network is very developed but it is impossible to make any reservations from Paris. Most of the trips are very long as the towns are very far apart. By boat : There is a lot of river and maritime transport. The best known cruise is the Yangzi. There is a lot of cruises on the River Li from Guilin. In the Yunnan region the rail and road network are in bad condition. Because of this the trips tend to be very long, you have to count a day to cover a distance of 200 kms. 19 - Time differences In Shanghai, the time is 7 hours ahead of Paris in winter, +6 in summer.   20 - Telecommunications Telephone & telegraph Not too bad for telegrams, telex, fax and telephone. Postal services Deliveries are two or three times a week. It takes one week for a letter. Letters can be opened. You have to go through several formalities for customs clearance of packages. Radio, Télévision Radio and television Programmes are broadcast on RFO or RFI. French television can be picked up in the hotels which have a dish antenna. There are several different Chinese television channels.   21 - Airports Hong Kong's airport is at 7 kms from the centre of town. Air China, P O Box 1000-621, International Airport, Beijing    22 - Car Hire Hong Kong : renting a car without a driver cost from 400-800 Francs per day.  23 - Hotels and Restaurants Pékin : SWISSOTEL**** Xian : GRAND NEW WORLD*** Chengdu : JING JIANG*** Shanghai : SOFITEL HYLAND**** Beijing : Swissotel **** Xian : Grand New World *** Chengdu : Jing Jiang *** Shanghai : Sofitel Hyland ****  24 - Information Festivities (not always on the same date, nor always observed) : Chinese New Year (4 days in January or February, depending on the lunar year) Woman's Day - 8th March Youth Day - 4th May Day of the Dead, the Dragons, Autumn, Children and the Army - 1st August Events, Exhibitions and Trade Fairs (representatives in France) P & T China : an international exhibition of equipment and technology for the post and telecommunications. Insurance Foire Coface : 60%. From 3rd - 9th May. Mr Shurck, tel 01 40 73 31 31 Energy exhibition - every two years. In the last exhibition there was 60 exhibitors, 6 French. 40,000 professional visitors. Insurance Foire Coface : 60%. From 14th - 19th May. Madame Le Baudrier, tel 01 40 73 37 14 Achemasia - an international exhibition on chemical engineering and biotechnology. Held every 3 years. Insurance Foire Coface : 60%. From 13th - 19th May. Madame Cousquer, tel 01 40 73 34 89 Metal China - exhibition on the metallurgical industry. From 7th - 12th September. M Boquien, tel 01 40 73 31 81 Citme - international exhibition on textile machines. From 21st - 26th November. M Boquien, tel 01 40 73 31 81 Agro Expo China - international exhibition of agriculture and livestock. From 7th - 11th April. Mlle de Cahouet, tel 01 40 73 34 82 Cosmetics Hair and Beauty - exhibition of perfume and cosmetics. From 14th - 17th June in Hong Kong. M Fargeas, tel 01 40 73 32 47  25 - Your suitcase Take woollens and good walking shoes if you are going to the provinces and very warm clothes if you are visiting the north in winter. On the other hand in Hong Kong you will want to be elegant in the luxury hotels. Avoid wearing outfits that could shock. In Tibet it is better to wear several layers of clothes and a scarf to protect you against the dust.   26 - French banks in China Société Générale in Canton and Shenzhen BNP in Canton and Shenzhen Paribas in Canton  27 - Schools and education In China 99.9% of the population go through primary schooling (approx.124.21 million people) and 43% go through secondary education (approx. 53,837 million). In upper education there are about 190 students per 100,000 inhabitants, that is 2,536 million students in all. In recent years the records show that 145 million people are illiterate. Amongst them, 35 million are aged between 15 and 40. In 1995 they represented 12% of the population, the biggest majority lives in the countryside (90%). The government's objective for the year 2000 is to have brought this rate of illiteracy down to 5% for people between 15 and 50. The official length of schooling is 9 years. In 1994 there were 1065 higher education establishments, 96,744 secondary schools and 696,681 primary schools. There were 5.55 million teachers and 388,000 professors. Private education. In 1995 there were about twenty private schools in Beijing. A year's schooling costs between 3,600 and 9,600 dollars inscription, boarding and teaching cost 1750 dollars more. The best schools are Shangli (primary school), Jianhua and Huacheng (experimental schools). Since 1995 the government has forbidden the construction of new private schools. In the provinces there already exists 629 of which 31 propose de luxe schooling. School fees in these establishments go from 18,000 to 30,000 dollars, up to 35, 000 for some of them.   Higher education. State Education Commission Division of Foreign Student and Scholar Affairs Bureau of Foreign Affairs, 37 Damucang Hutong, Beijing 100816 Most Chinese universities use the Han Yu language. It is indispensable to speak it fluently (2 years course). For all information contact the State Education Commission Division of Foreign Student and Scholar Affairs Bureau of Foreign Affairs 37 Damucang Hutong, Beijing 100816   There are nearly 2.8 million students registered in 1000 higher education establishments. 41,000 inscriptions are made every year for a master's degree and 8,000 for a doctorate. In 1995 930,000 students started school, 30,000 more than the year before.   Post graduate studies 424 universities and 351 research institutes attract the 150,000 students who passed the preliminary entrance exam for the 43,000 seats available. In general the final exams are held between April and June. Higher education used to be free in China, but not since 1994. About 40 universities propose teaching at a price which varies between 1000 and 1500 yuan. A student who continues his studies in China costs the state an average of 10,000 yuan. It has been decided that an organization granting loans will be set up for students who cannot afford higher education and who do not qualify for a grant. Foreign students, approx. 37,000 in 1995/96 received grants from the Chinese government.  28 - Guides   Publications in English on higher education :  « Study in China - A guide for Foreign Students », Beijing Languages Institute Press « Chinese Universities and Colleges - A guide to institutions of higher education in China » publié par (published by) Higher Education Press « Directory of Selected Chinese Universities and Colleges open to Foreign Students » publié (published by) par Higher Education Press Bibliographies : Working with the Chinese, recommended by the LCI, edition Nathan, 1995, 126 pages. 74 Frs Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Handbook of the French Abroad, 1992 APEC Working abroad "Job dossiers", 1992 China, from Revolution to Reform, edition Syros, 206 pages, 110 Francs The economic developement of eastern Asia, editions La Découverte, 128 pages, 49 Francs The revenge of the Chinese world, edition Economica, 200 pages, 98 Francs.  29 - Observations In China they drive on the right. Nowadays China resembles a bit Suharto's Indonesia, open to western multinationals and corruption. Criminality is severely punished (1400 capital offences). 30 - Customs clearing The time it takes for clearing depends on the means of transportation used. By plane you should count 2-3 days, by sea about a week. For certain objects or perishable goods it can be done in a day. It is possible to clear goods in most places where a custom's office is to be found. It is also possible to clear goods inside the county and to organize transportation under bond. There are privileged economic zones which get special treatment concerning customs duties. Merchandise can be stocked in hangars at varying prices. It is free for a week when the goods arrive by sea, after that the price is 20 yuan a day for a 20 foot container (20 x 0.625 Frs). In the case of air transport it can be stocked freely for 3 days then it costs 0.8 yuan per kilo a day. Bulk transport is permitted. Containers must be deposited under bond by the customs' services.

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