Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(
www.skype.com
) and Viber (
www.viber.com
) can make calls either very cheap
or free. China Mobile outlets and some newspaper kiosks can sell you a SIM
card, which will cost from ¥60 to ¥100 depending on the phone number (num-
bers with eights are more expensive, numbers with fours are cheaper) and will
include ¥50 of credit. When this runs out, you can top up the number by buy-
ing a credit-charging card
(chongzhi ka)
from China Mobile outlets and some
newspaper stands. Ensure your mobile is unlocked for use in China. Buying a
mobile phone in China is also an option as they are generally inexpensive.
Cafes, restaurants and bars in larger towns and cities are frequently wi-fi en-
abled.
LANDLINES
If making a domestic call, look out for very cheap public phones at newspaper
stands
baokanting
) and hole-in-the-wall shops
xiaomaibu
); you make your
call and then pay the owner. Domestic and international long-distance phone
calls can also be made from main telecommunications offices and 'phone bars'
huaba
). Cardless international calls are expensive and it's far cheaper to use
an International Phone (IP) card.
Area codes for all cities, towns and destinations appear in the relevant
chapters.
PHONECARDS
Beyond Skype or Viber, using an IP card on your mobile or a landline phone is
much cheaper than calling direct, but they can be hard to find outside the big
cities. You dial a local number, punch in your account number, followed by a
pin number and finally the number you wish to call.
Time
The Chinese live by both the Gregorian and the lunar calendar. Time
throughout China is set to Beijing time, which is eight hours ahead of GMT/
UTC. There is no daylight saving time in China. When it's noon in Beijing the
time is 2pm in Sydney, 4am in London, 11pm in New York (previous day) and
8pm in Los Angeles (previous day).
