Ask Us: You've got questions about China, we've got answers (Questions 21-25)

Ask Us: You've got questions about China, we've got answers (Questions 21-25)
Jan 19, 2009 By eChinacities.com

Visiting or living in another country is always a difficult experience. From greetings to where to put the toilet paper (or even where to get the toilet paper), food shopping to apartment hunting there’s a wealth of information that we’d like to know NOW.

Now there’s a way. Send us an email with your question and if we choose your question our resident experts will answer it for you. Drop us a line at cs@eChinacities.com. Don’t worry, help is on the way.


Questions:

1-5    6-10    11-15     16-20

21. What is the best part of the Great Wall?
22. What are the 5 tallest buildings in China?
23.
What is a Special Economic Zone and where are they?
24.
What is the deal with tipping?
25.
What is the non-Chinese looking language on Chinese money?


What is the best part of the Great Wall?

There are widely varying opinions about this and it really does just depend on what you like. Most people are coming to the Great Wall from Beijing and the most common places to go are Badaling, Simatai, Mutianyu, and Jianshanling. There is also Bubeikou, Jiankou, and Huanghuacheng.

Badaling is the nearest to Beijing and the most touristy. If you're going in summer it's going to be crazy and probably not very good. The better options are Mutianyu and Simatai.

Simatai is steep but you can take a cable car up and ride the zip line line down, if you dare. Mutianyu is very steep and not always perfectly restored, not a very good place for the elderly or for smaller children. It's a workout but there are less people and gives you far more insight into how difficult life on the Wall must have been and just how 'great' an architectural achievement it really is.. You can take a cable car up and, if you'd like, a tobaggon down.

Huanghuacheng is ideal for hikers in reasonably good shape who want to enjoyr more nature and exercise more without being chased by hordes of sellers and don't mind the extra effort it takes to get to this less touristy spot.

What are the 5 tallest buildings in China?

The tallest completed buildings in mainland China are:
1) The Shanghai World Financial Center which has 101 floors and is 492 meter tall
2) The Greenland Square Zifeng Tower in Nanjing – 89 floors, 450 meters tall
3) Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai, 88 floors, 421 meters tall.
4) CITIC Plaza in Guangzhou – 80 floors, 391 meters tall.
5) Shun Hing Square, Shenzhen, 69 floors reaching to 384 meters.

Currently there are buildings under construction in Shanghai and Tianjin that are projected to reach 632 and 570 meters respectively.

The tallest building in the world right now is Taipei 101 in... Taipei, but when the Burj Duba building in Dubai is finished Taipei 101 will be number 2.

What is a Special Economic Zone and where are they?

A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is, very basically, a region designated by the government to have different laws regarding finance and business. In China SEZs offer tax incentives to foreign companies and offer greater independence on trade activities. There are 4 principles that define SEZs economically – construction relies on attracting and utilizing foreign capital, many of the companies are joint ventures or solely foreign owned, products are made for export more than domestic use, economic activities are driven primarily by market forces.

The image below shows all the SEZs in mainland China.

What is the deal with tipping?

There is no tipping in mainland China. If it seems weird to you now, don't worry, you'll get used to it real quick. You do not need to tip taxi drivers, bartenders, waiters or waitresses. One possible exception is food delivery drivers/bikers although this seems to depend on the person. Be warned though, the tipping is not the same in non-mainland China, find out before you visit Hong Kong, Taiwan, or Macao.

What is the non-Chinese looking language on Chinese money?

Starting in 1955 all RMB bills have writing in five languages on them.

ZHONGGUO RENMIN YINHANG means People's Bank of China and the same phrase is written in the Mongol, Tibetan, Uighur, and Zhuang scripts on the back of every bill.

The Zhuang people live in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China and in Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou, and Hunan as well. Their total population – an estimated 18 million – which makes them second only to Han Chinese in terms of ethnic population.

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