China
I have only been to Chengdu so my knowledge of China is virtually non existent. Any information will be gratefully received.

Just something to be aware of :-) If you are Rh negative be sure not to bleed in China they do not have this blood type and their blood banks don't stock it. Type O blood is also rare, so I guess extreme sports are out over here.

Many cities once closed to foreigners are now open, it seems the Chinese have finally learnt the value of tourism.

Always have your next destination in mind, because if you get arrested for being in a forbidden area they will ask where you came from and promptly send you back, think about it, your next destination or back where you came from?, free transport, sound good?

Navigating It is rather difficult to find your way around here as all the street signs are only in Chinese. I got a street map but it is so hard and tedious to find where you are with a written language like this. I later discovered it was so much easier to keep a map and felt tip pen handy and every time I turned a corner I marked it on the map. This way it did not take me 30 mins to find where I was.

Do Not panic when surrounded by lots of the locals, (especially in the rural areas) it is just something they like to do. On saying this I found the people amongst the most friendly I have met so it is nothing to worry about. :-).

Money There are two currencies in China : a) the Peoples Money, RMB. Renminbi and b) the Tourist Money, FEC. Foreign Exchange Certificates. Both are called yuan. I found if you changed your money on the street you got just over 50% more for your dollar.(Note it is not illegal to have RMB) Most major Hotels will only accept FEC. (Very crafty) but the smaller places will accept RMB. I would advise you to carry at least a little FEC.

Chengdu
This is the capital of Sichuan and has a 2500 year history. It was famous for its superior silks, now it is famous for its Laquerware and Embroidery. It boasts a superb outdoor market (keep a day spare for this) where most of the meat on sale is still alive. They have all kinds of animals including snails, fish, eels, dogs, rats and some I do not even know. It is so funny to see people going home with live chickens and geese hanging from their bicycle handlebars. Talking of bicycles I have never seen so many in my life (and I have worked at and visited many university towns) they ride about six abreast on the roads and it is an endless trail, If you think your major cities are busy wait till you see this :-) There is a very good shopping center here but if you want cigarettes buy them from the street vendors they are much cheaper, as is the food from the same people. There are numerous places to eat here but again all menus are Chinese only, so a few people together each picking a different meal is the best bet. There are some great restaurants overlooking the rivers (at night the rivers are lit up its a great sight) the food is fantastic and the scenery even better.(They even have knives and forks here, but still the menus are only Chinese) :-)

Where to stay
The best place to stay is the Jinjiang Guest House this is where most foreigners stay. Prices vary from 25yuan per night to 1500 yuan per night. It is a 1000 bed hotel so I would imagine there is always room, certainly when we were there, there was plenty of spare rooms. It is situated in almost central Chengdu near the shops and markets and river. I found every morning right outside the gates were two or three black market guys, real handy no problems.

Where to visit
There are numerous places to go unfortunately most are hours out of town on real bad roads so it is advisable to ask in the hotel (they speak English in the Jinjiang Guest House) what it is best to do, they will even book you a room in advance so there is no language problem there. A place not to be missed is the Wolong Nature Park (8-9 hours bus ride from Chengdu)with its Pandas. Another good place to go here is the Exhibition Hall. Just outside is a massive statue of Chairman Mao I am guessing the height of it is somewhere around 16-20 metres. If you are into Chairman Mao you can (could when I was there) buy the original famous red book in many of the flea markets and small second hand shops.

Any further information on anywhere in China would be gratefully received
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