Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Shanghai has two daily English-language newspapers. The
Shanghai Daily
(
www.shanghaidaily.com
) is published locally. The
China Daily
(
www.chinadaily.com.cn
)
is
the national newspaper published in Beijing. The English edition of the Chinese-language
People's Daily
is available online at
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn
. Foreign newspapers
and magazines are only available at the city's four- and five-star hotels and foreign-language
bookstores. One of the best sources is The Portman Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, which carries
the
South China Morning Post
,
International Herald Tribune
,
Asian Wall Street Journal
and
magazines like
Economist
,
Time
and
Newsweek
.
Shanghai also has several free English-language publications of varying quality, most with
useful listings for restaurants, bars and entertainment spots. Among the best are
Time Out
(
www.timeoutshanghai.com
) and
City Weekend
(
www.cityweekend.com.cn
). These
magazines are available at many bars, restaurants and cafes around town. The online
www.smartshanghai.com
portal is also a useful reference.
Radio
BBC World Service is accessible on radio. English-language programming is on FM 101.7
and FM 103.7.
Television
Shanghai has two English-language TV channels. News and cultural programmes are broad-
cast on China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 9, while ICS is a locally produced channel
with slightly more entertaining programming, including foreign movies. Most hotels will offer a
range of international cable and satellite channels.
MONEY
The Chinese yuan (CNY) is also known as renminbi (RMB). One yuan or renminbi (colloqui-
ally called
kuai
) is divided into 10 jiao (or
mao
); one jiao is divided into 10 fen. RMB bills are
issued by the Bank of China in the following denominations: one, five, 10, 20, 50 and 100.
Coins come in denominations of 1 kuai, and 50 and 10 fen.
Major currencies can be changed at hotels, but you must be a registered guest, or at
Bank of China and ICBC, which requires a passport. Be sure to keep the foreign exchange
receipt, which is required to change your remaining renminbi back to your home currency.
International credit cards and bank cards (Cirrus, Plus, Visa, MasterCard, American Ex-
press) can be used to withdraw local currency from ATMs, which are found throughout the
city. International credit cards are now accepted at major hotels and most restaurants - al-
though many Chinese restaurants and small hotels only take cash or domestic credit cards.
Cash is also king in the markets and most smaller local shops.
