'China Travel: What To Note' ↓

In major China cities such as Guangzhou and Hangzhou, taxis are equipped with fare meters and machines to print receipts. Ask for a print receipt when you leave the taxi, which usually shows the taxi fare, the taxi number and the license number of the taxi driver.  This receipt would be useful if you suspect that you are ripped off and want to lodge a complaint.

Nowadays, because of the rise in fuel price, many cities allow for taxi fuel sub-charge ranging from RMB0.5-1.0 per journey. Say Guangzhou, which imposes on passengers a fuel sub-charge of RMB1 per taxi journey. So do not be surprised if you are asked to pay RMB1 more on top of the charge shown by the taxi meter.

Shenzhen was being labeled as one of the dangerous Chinese cities because of its large migrant population. In response, the municipal government has been aggressively setting up video cameras in public space to monitor its population to curb the crime wave. 

According to the report in South China Morning Post magazine, over the past two years, more than 200,000 video cameras have been set up along main streets, in train stations, in shopping malls, in parks and along highways. And to disguise the surveillance cameras, many of them pass off as lighting columns. The cameras then beam live video to a central city database.

It is projected that within two years, Shenzhen, a city of 12 million, will have as many as 2 million surveillance cameras, the highest concentration in the world.

The deputy police chief of the city boasted that this surveillance “social experiment” was paying off with crime rates having fallen by more than 10% since 2006 when the surveillance cameras started to emerge.

Of course, the surge in the surveillance cameras in Shenzhen is only part of the Central Government’s move to monitor its vast population with latest video and internet technology, especially ahead of the Beijing Olympics, as stepped up security measures. It is worried that this surveillance campaign will only further gather up pace, not lessen, after the Olympics.

But first of all, image touring or living in a city where you are monitored everywhere. In fact, the increased surveillance has angered some residents in Shenzhen. News broke out in May that a rooftop surveillance camera set up just 3 km from the Hong Kong border, was used to scan an apartment block and shots of naked women getting in and out of bath, images fed from the camera, later splashed across a local newspaper.

This is no coincidence. For in a city or country where its people are closely watched , incidents like this - violations of privacy - are bound to happen.

There is always concern that Shenzhen, the first city to implement China’s open door policy, is not a safe city - crimes are rampant, including those against Hong Kong people and foreigners. The following facts explain why.

Only two million of the city’s population of 14 million have permanent resident permits, and Shenzhen is home to 7% of the nation’s migrant workers. In this highly mobile city, nearly 80% of the crimes are committed by migrants.

Recently the city mayor Xu Zongheng also attributed the security problem to busy cross-border traffic between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Crimes are committed through exploiting the loopholes, he said.

No matter the reason(s), the fact remains that Shenzhen is not a safe city. So when you travel to there, watch out for your belongings and personal safety, particularly in busy areas such as train/bus stations.

Do you know that as a foreigner in China, it is very easy for you to open a bank account? If you want to travel to China, especially for quite some time, you may need to carry not a small amount of money. Then you should consider opening a bank account in China so that you can deposit and withdraw money whenever and wherever you want. You don’t need to always carry a large stack of bank notes or traveler checks.

Just go to any branch of the big banks and show your passport and China visa, fill out some forms, and you will have a China bank account.

You will be issued a bank passbook when you open the bank account. If you want a bank card to withdraw money, which you should do, you can have one upon payment of 10RMB (with Bank of China). And you will be given a pin number for accessing your account with the card.

In other words, it is free to open a bank account in China. But if you want to have a bank card to use the ATM machine, you will have to pay RMB10 or so.

However, beware of the traps and tricks. Say, if you open a bank account with Bank of China in Guangdong province, it is perfectly free for you to deposit or withdraw money inside the province. However, if you want to use an ATM machine of Bank of China in another province, each time you will need to pay 10RMB. If you deposit money over the bank counter, you will need to pay a higher charge of 40RMB or so.