People's Republic of China

In October is our long-awaited trip back to Asia.  After last year's visit to Hong Hong and Macau we wanted to check out China.  Pretty much everyone needs a tourist visa to visit China and for Americans it costs $140.  However, if you're only stopping through Beijing on your way to another country then you can visit the city for up to 72 hours visa free.  The plan is to spend three days in Beijing and then it's on to South Korea.  So here's a bit about China.  

The People's Republic of China, 中华人民共和国, was established in 1949 as a communist state after more than two decades of civil and international wars.

China is the largest country in Asia and the fourth-largest in the world after Russia, Canada, and the USA.  It borders Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, India, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Vietnam, plus the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

Geographically China covers five time zones but the entire country is on China Standard Time which is GMT+8.

China is slightly smaller than the USA (counting Alaska and Hawaii).  With over 1,379 billion people it is the world's most populous country.  Beijing is the capital city and Shanghai with more than 23,7 million people is the largest city.

China is home to one of the world's earliest civilisations.  China was traditionally ruled by dynasties which were basically hereditary monarchies.  The last dynasty was replaced by a republic in 1912.  There was a civil war between the Nationalists and the Communists that was interrupted by WW2.  However, it continued after the war until the Communists took the mainland in 1949 and the Nationalists fled to Taiwan.  Here's a short 3-minute video I found out on YouTube about the Chinese Civil War.

©Jabzy

In 1978, economic liberalisation began and has given China one of the world's fastest-growing economies.  It is the world's largest exporter and the second-largest importer of goods.  China is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.  It also has the world's largest standing army.  Here's a video about how powerful the country is.

©Test Tube News

The official name of China's currency is Renminbi which translates to "the people's currency".  A unit of Renminbi is the Yuan (¥).

China is a huge country and it is home to around 290 languages.  The Beijing dialect of Mandarin Chinese is the official language.  About 70% of the country's Chinese speakers speak Mandarin. The written characters have been used for thousands of years.  Even if people speak two different versions of Chinese, and can't understand each other, they can still communicate and be understood through writing.  Traditional characters are still used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and overseas Chinese communities.  Simplified characters were introduced by the government in 1956 to replace the traditional ones.

  

In 1979, China implemented its one child policy in order to deal with its growing population.  In order to address the country's now rapidly ageing population and economic needs, as off 2016, couples are now allowed to have two children.

China has recently been building new islands in the South China Sea for military bases which are causing territorial disputes with neighbouring countries.  Here's a bit more detail about it.

©Vox

China and Czechland have pretty good relations.  The presidents of each country have visited the other over the past couple of years and there's a strategic partnership agreement in place.  Here's a bit more about the economic relationship.

©CCTV

Plus there's the Great Wall of China which is probably the best known symbol of the country.  No visit to China will be complete without a stroll along the wall.

Update 2025:  Here's a short video I found on YouTube about how China acquired nuclear weapons.

©History Matters

Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong & Macau Trip Summary

This was a fantastic holiday.  A whole three weeks away.  The only other time I've ever taken three weeks off was when I went home to Atlanta, Prescott, and Irvine back in 2012.  Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Macau.  Wow!

Krasimir and I met up at Heathrow and then we had a 13 hour flight to Singapore.  We enjoyed our time in Singapore.  I'm really glad that we had a four day layover here because it really broke up the travel time to New Zealand.

It was fun seeing the diversity in Singapore.  All of the unique architecture plus everything from Chinatown to Little India.  The hawker centres were fun and the food was incredible.

While it was fun, I don't have a burning desire to go back.  Don't get me wrong, I would for sure do a layover here again to break up another long trip but, I feel like we got the full experience.  One of the highlights was Changi Airport.  This has to be the best airport ever!  It is one of the busiest airports in the world and it focuses on travellers.  I've never been in an airport that provides art galleries, multiple gardens, a swimming pool and free movie theatres.  For Christmas I really want one of the free foot massage machines that are in the terminals.  

From Singapore we had a 7 hour 40 minute flight to Sydney with an hour layover before our +3 hour flight to Auckland.  New Zealand really is far away from everywhere else.  Auckland was fun and we got to spend time with our favourite Kiwi.

We did all kinds of fun things...hiked up a volcano, saw a gannet colony, saw the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and even saw Priscilla.

Then it was on to Napier which was a nice little town.  It was so wonderful to see the Pacific Ocean again.  This was my first experience with Jetstar airlines which was so much better than any Ryanair flight I've ever taken.



I was shocked however by airport security in Kiwiland.  For domestic flights security is way more relaxed than it is in Europe or the USA.  On some flights we just boarded the plane.  Others when we did go through security there were no restrictions on liquids.  I was shocked seeing being going through with water bottles.  Awesome!

After Napier we were in Dunedin on the south island.  The best part of Dunedin was going out to see the Moeraki Boulders.  Again, I got to see the Pacific Ocean.  It may not seem like a big deal but when you grow up in California and now live in a landlocked country it is a very big deal.

Then it was on to Wellington.  This really is a fab city and I wish that we had had more time here.  It was so great staying with Nat's folks and Robyn and Roger took such great care of us before and after the earthquake.

Leaving Wellington Airport

We were so lucky to have not been on our own on the south island when it happened.  One of my favourite things was sitting down to a Sunday family night dinner.  Everything was so delicious!

Then it was on to Hong Kong via Sydney.  I caught a view of the Sydney Opera House from the plane.  This has sparked a fire so maybe we'll have to head to Australia in 2018, and perhaps a return visit to Wellington (minus the earthquake).




I knew that we would enjoy Hong Kong but...damn!  It was so much better than I had pictured.

Hong Kong (and a day in Macau) in four days just let's you scratch the surface.  There is so much that I still want to go back and see.  If only I had unlimited holiday time.  

Oh well, next came the +13 hour flight back to Heathrow, a three hour layover before my flight back to Vienna and my Student Agency bus home. At least I've got time today to do some laundry before returning to work tomorrow.

Macau, China

Today we had a day tour of Macau.  From Hong Kong the easiest way to get to Macau is by ferry.  The TurboJet takes about an hour to cover the 64 km (40 miles).

As a Special Administrative Region of China, Macau (and Hong Kong) have their own immigration policies, so passport checks are required when travelling between the two former colonies.  We had to exit through Hong Kong immigration before boarding the ferry.  Once in Macau we went through immigration again.  

There are no passport stamps because both issue paper tickets that you have to hold on to instead.

Macau, 澳門, is home to about 651,000 people, all of them in about an area of 30,5 km² (11,8 miles²) making it the most densely populated place in the world.  Unlike Hong Kong, in Macau there are height restrictions on the buildings so there's not a sea of skyscrapers.

Macau's currency is the pataca.  Fortunately, almost everyplace accepts Hong Kong dollars (or debit cards) so we didn't need to exchange money.

The Historic Centre, which includes around 25 sites which were collectively declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

The Ruins of St. Paul's is what's left of a 17th-century complex.  The Jesuits built it from 1602 to 1640.  At the time it was one of the largest Catholic churches in Asia.  It was destroyed by a fire in 1835 and only the façade remains.

The Fotaleza do Monte was a fort built from 1617 to 1626 to protect the Jesuits from pirates.  From the top of the fort are great views of Macau.

The Macau Museum opened in 1998 and covers the city's history as a former Portuguese colony.  The museum is on the hill of the Fortaleza do Monte.




The Na Tcha Temple was built in 1888.  It was built for the child god of war and people believed that it ended a plague which was effecting the region back then.

The Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady, known as the Sé Cathedral, was rebuilt in 1937.

St. Dominic's Church was completed in 1587.  The current building dates back to the early 17th century.

The A-Ma Temple was built in 1488 and is one of the oldest in Macau.

Gambling is huge in Macau.  Lots of Chinese millionaires come over here to gamble.

It's the Asian version of Las Vegas but I believe that Macau is even more profitiable.  One of the major casinos is Casino Lisboa.

The Maritime Museum opened in 1987 and the current building, which opened in 1990, is built on the site where the Portuguese explorers first landed here back in 1553.



Santa Sancha, also called Macau Government House, was built in 1846.  It is the home of the Chief Executive of Macau.

Macau Tower opened in 2001.  It is 338 meters (1,109 feet) tall making it the 10th tallest freestanding tower in the world.  It was based on the Sky Tower in Auckland.

Senate Square is located in the old town.  The wave-patterned stones definitely has a Lisbon feel to it.  Many tourists really seemed to like the area because it feels like Europe in Asia.  While it's a nice area, I already get to see the real Europe in Europe.




The Macau Grand Prix takes place every November and it is the biggest event of the year. 

Macau

Macau, 澳門, is an autonomous territory but part of China.  It is officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, 中華人民共和國澳門特別行政區.  It borders the Chinese province of Guangdong and is 60 km (37 miles) from Hong Kong.

It is less than one-sixth the size of Washington, DC.  With about 648,000 people living in 30,5 km² (11,8 miles²)  it is the world's most densely populated region.

Portugal colonised Macau in the 16th century making it the first European settlement in the Far East.

When Macau was given back to China on 20 December 1999 it was Asia's last European colony.  It is now a Special Administrative Region.  As part of China's "one country, two systems" policy, Macau is to continue having a high level of autonomy for 50 years which will end in 2049.

Macau has its own government, legal system, police force, immigration policy, postal system, languages, national sports teams and money.  While able to be a part of other international organisations, such as the World Trade Organisation, it is not part of the United Nations.  China is responsible for all diplomatic relations and defence.  The People's Liberation Army is stationed in Macau but it is not allowed to interfere in local affairs.


The official currency is the Macanese Pataca.  Although the Hong Kong Dollar is widely accepted.



The official languages are Cantonese Chinese and Portuguese.  Signs are all in both languages even though less than 1% of the people speak Portuguese.

Macau is one of the world'ß largest gaming centres.  It is very popular with tourists from Mainland China who go to gamble.  Gaming revenue makes up more than 75% of the governments total revenue.

Over the past couple of years the government's take from gambling has decreased due to the slowing of the Chinese economy and the China's crackdown on money laundering and tax evasion.  Here's an interesting video I found out on YouTube that is about the effect of the slowdown.

©Al Jazeera

Update 2023:  Here's a 6½ video I found on YouTube talking about Macau during Covid-19 and the desire invest in more than gambling.

©South China Morning Post

Special Administrative Regions

Hong Kong and Macau are special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, 中華人民共和國的特別行政區.   This is China's "one country, two systems" policy that provides former colonies a certain amount of independence.  

Macau and Hong Kong

Special administrative regions (SAR) are independent from Beijing in that they have their own governments, legal systems, police forces, immigration policies, postal systems, official languages, national sports teams, and money that is separate from the People's Republic of China.  However, they are dependent on China for diplomatic relations and national defence.  A People's Liberation Army force is deployed in each but they are not allowed to interfere with local affairs.

This high level of autonomy is guaranteed for 50 years.  However China has not said what happens when the time is up for Hong Kong in 2047 or for Macau in 2049.  Here's an interesting video I found out on YouTube that talks about these two SARs.

                                          ©CGP Grey