Asia and Oceania

• Travel Summary
• Safety and security
• Local laws and customs
• Entry requirements

• Health
• Natural disasters
• General
 

Travel Summary

• There are confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus (Swine Flu) in Mainland China, including British Nationals. The Chinese government continues to place great emphasis on screening and surveillance, rapid detection, quarantine and treatment. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised its Pandemic Threat Alert Phase to Level 6 . There is a dedicated Swine Flu page on the FCO website. Guidance on Pandemic Flu can be found on the UK Department of Health . See the Health section of this advice for more detailed information on quarantine and other measures that have been put in place by the Chinese authorities.
  
  
• Over the past year, there have been a number of violent incidents in different parts of the northwest Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, resulting in a number of deaths, including civilians.  No reports of death or injury involving foreign nationals.  In April 2009 a bomb blast in Urumqi City (the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) killed one and injured several others and, in July, state media reported almost 200 deaths and 1600 injuries as a result of serious rioting there.  Also in Urumqi, in early September media reported a number of arrests following a resurgence of violence and protests resulting in five deaths.
  
  
• Outbreaks of Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) in China have led to a small number of human fatalities. The most recent fatalities were in January 2009. See the Health (Avian Influenza) section of this advice and the Avian and Pandemic Influenza for more details.
  
  
• Heightened security measures surround the 2009 National Day celebrations (1 October) and, in late September, local media reports indicated that Chinese authorities had suspended travel to Tibet.  The ban is likely to be short-lived, and cover the period from 25 September until 10 October 2009.  See the Tibet section of this advice for more details.
  
  
• Similarly, local travel in and around Beijing will be severely disrupted during 30 September and 1 October 2009.  Less severe disruption may continue for a few days immediately thereafter, with popular tourist attractions and sites remaining closed.  See the Local Travel section of this advice for more details.
  
  
• The tropical cyclone season in China normally runs from May to November, affecting the south eastern coastal regions of China. On 10 August 2009 the state media agency Xinhua reported that Typhoon Morakot was down-graded to a tropical storm after causing heavy flooding in Fujian and Zhejiang Provinces (eastern China). Reports indicate that more than 473,000 residents of Zhejiang province were evacuated ahead of the typhoon, in addition to 480,000 in Fujian Province. Wenzhou City in Zhejiang Province has been severely affected with reports of property damaged, roads flooded and the city’s airport closed. We have had no reports to date of British nationals injured in any of the affected Provinces.  See the Natural Disasters section of this advice and Tropical Cyclones for more details. 
  
  
• There is an underlying threat from terrorism in China. This reflects both the global risk of indiscriminate terrorist attacks and the possibility of terrorist acts by groups opposed to the Chinese Government.  They could be indiscriminate including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers.
  
  
• In 2008, 551, 523 British nationals visited China (Source:  National Tourism Administration of the People’s Republic of China).  Most visits to China are trouble free. 301 British nationals required consular assistance in China in the period 01 April 2008 – 31 March 2009 for the following types of incident; deaths (47 cases); hospitalisations (41 cases); and arrests, for a variety of offences (129 cases). During this period assistance was also requested with regard to lost or stolen passports (826 cases).
  
  
• You are required to carry your passport at all times as the Police regularly carry out random checks, but you should take precautions against pick pocketing and other street crime.
  
  
• We recommend that you obtain comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling.  You should check any exclusions, and that your policy covers you for all the activities you want to undertake.  See the General (Insurance) section of this advice and Travel Insurance for more details.

Safety and security

Terrorism

Domestic Unrest

Ethnic tensions in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (north west China) have led to a number of serious violent incidents over the past year, resulting in the deaths of police officers, security guards, assailants and civilians and in a large number of injuries.

In April 2009 a bomb blast in Urumqi City (capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) killed one and injured several others.  In early July, state media (Xinhua news agency) reported 197 deaths and more than 1,600 injuries after serious rioting erupted in Urumqi City.  Although the situation was brought under control, tensions again erupted in violent protests in early September leading to five deaths and an unknown number of injuries and arrests.  Reports indicated the situation was extremely tense, with an increased number of military and armed police on the streets and low levels of pedestrian and regular traffic movement; some reports that access to Urumqi City was restricted and foreigners were not being allowed into the city.  On 6 September, State media reported that a number of senior party officials and Public Security Bureau staff in Urumqi had been dismissed as protestors had been demanding.  This action appears to have reduced the tensions somewhat, with businesses reportedly re-opening; the airport remains open.  Schools due to re-open on 7 September have remained closed because of an outbreak of swine flu.  Although foreign nationals do not appear to have been targeted in the unrest, further violence is possible, and British nationals are advised to be aware of heightened ethnic tensions and disruption to travel at this time and to avoid all areas where demonstrations and large gatherings are taking place. It should also be noted that, within Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, access to the internet and to international telephone lines is blocked; text messaging is also blocked at this time.  Services are unlikely to be restored in the short term.  To keep yourself informed of developments, monitor local and international media and regularly check this travel advice and register your trip with the Embassy in Beijing.

Crime

At least 197 deaths and more than 1,600 injuries have been reported by the state media agency (Xinhua) after serious rioting in Urumqi City, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (north west China) on 5 July. Although the situation is under control there remains a significant police and security presence in Urumqi City. Although foreign nationals do not appear to have been targeted in the unrest, further violence is possible. We advise British nationals to avoid all areas where demonstrations and large gatherings are taking place in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and be aware of heightened ethnic tensions and disruption to travel at this time. British nationals should note too that access to the internet and to international telephone lines has been blocked in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is unlikely to be restored fully for some time. You should keep yourself informed of developments, including by regularly checking this travel advice, and you should register your trip with the Embassy in Beijing.  

Serious crime against foreigners is rare.  However, crime does occur both in cities and in the countryside.  In an apparently random attack, an American man was killed and American woman injured in down town Beijing near the Drum Tower on 9 August 2008.

Business Disputes

Political Situation

China Country Profile
 
China is in practice a one party state.

Local Travel

Road Travel

Sea Travel

Rail Travel

Local laws and customs

Entry requirements

Visas

Passport validity

Registering with the Chinese authorities

Stays of more than six months

Travelling to Hong Kong

Transiting China

Travelling with children

Health

In August 2009 the state media agency Xinhua reported the death of three people, and the infection of nine others, of pneumonic plague in Qinghai Province (north-western China). Ziketan town (population about 10,000), near Xinghai, where the outbreak occurred was quarantined on 2 August although this quarantine was lifted on 8 August.

Pneumonic plague is a virulent form of plague that attacks the lungs.

There are confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus (Swine Flu) in Mainland China, including British nationals.

The Chinese government continues to place great emphasis on screening and surveillance, rapid detection, quarantine and treatment and stringent measures for detection are in place at ports of entry across China. China’s strategy for dealing with A(H1N1) differs from that of other countries in that it centres on ‘containment’.  The effect of this is that quarantine measures are particularly rigorous in both Beijing and Shanghai, and these measures may be replicated at other airports if the situation deteriorates – by way of example, large numbers of British nationals entering Beijing from the UK were quarantined in July 2009. If your flight is subjected to these measures you may experience lengthy delays between landing and the transition from the airport to a designated hotel or hospital (this process regularly takes around five hours or so). Very little information is provided, and rarely anything in English, until arrival at the designated hotel/hospital.  Reports indicate that some passengers find the process confusing and upsetting.  In these circumstances, Consular staff can assist by liaising with health professionals.        

You should be aware that, if any passenger on, for example, an aircraft, has flu-like symptoms this may lead to all passengers being quarantined for up to seven days, until health officials are satisfied all are free of the A(H1N1) virus.  Any passenger having come into direct/indirect contact with anyone suspected of having the virus may also be quarantined.  Levels of quarantine differ; all suspected victims are hospitalised, others are confined to hotel rooms, still others are asked to self-monitor and stay at home.  You should be aware that the quarantine conditions across Mainland China vary and food and drink choices are limited, as are entertainment options (for example TV may not be available in hospitals and, if it is, may only show Chinese channels). If you intend to travel to China for any reason, please be aware that you may be quarantined for up to seven days if there is a suspected victim on your flight (i.e. not necessarily you).  These measures could impact significantly on your overall travel plans. 

Any British national affected should report the details to the Embassy's Consular Section on (010) 8529 6600 where staff will be able to offer consular assistance, though access will be limited to telephone contact due to Chinese quarantine restrictions.  As far as possible we will continue to deliver a consular service for British nationals in China, although there may be a limited service depending on the scale and severity of the swine flu outbreak. Many countries may have limited availability of anti-viral drugs. Consular staff will be able to provide advice on the availability of healthcare in China but we cannot provide medical treatment (including anti-viral medication). Given the WHO’s declaration of a phase 6 pandemic alert, stringency measures may be increased further by the Chinese authorities. Baggage and freight are also under inspection.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised its Pandemic Threat Alert Phase to Level 6. The WHO website at has additional details. There is a dedicated Swine Flu page on the FCO website. Guidance on Pandemic Flu can be obtained on the UK Department of Health website.

The WHO does not currently consider Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) to be a significant threat to public health in China. See the WHO website for more details.

Rabies is common in China, which has the second highest incidence in the world.  Rabies has been the most prevalent cause of death from reportable infectious disease in China since 2006. The number of fatalities from the disease rose to 3,293 in 2006, an increase of 27% over 2005. (Source: NaTHNaC website)

Hand, foot and mouth (HFMD) disease is a regularly occurring illness in China (and elsewhere).  An intestinal virus, a variant of HFMD, also occurs annually in China. Both diseases are usually more severe in children and babies, and generally peak in the summer months.  The disease is again affecting China, mainly in Shandong and Anhui provinces. By 2 April 2009, estimates of incidence varied from between 1,700 and 18,000, and up to nine deaths of young babies have been reported.

In the 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic the UNAIDS/WHO Working Group estimated that around 690,000 adults aged 15 or over in China were living with HIV; the prevalence rate was estimated at around 0.1% of the adult population. This compares to the prevalence rate in adults in the UK of around 0.2%.  You should exercise normal precautions to avoid exposure to HIV/AIDS. For more general information on how to do this see HIV and AIDS.

You should seek medical advice before travelling to China and ensure that all appropriate vaccinations are up-to-date. For further information on vaccination requirements, health outbreaks and general disease protection and prevention you should visit the websites of the National Travel Heath Network and Centre NaTHNaC and NHS Scotland's Fit For Travel or call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.

For more general health information see Travel Health.

Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)

There are intermittent outbreaks of Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) in poultry in China that have resulted in small numbers of human fatalities (five so far in 2009, in Beijing, Shandong Province, Hunan Province, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and three in 2008, in Guangxi, Guangdong and Hunan Provinces). These are usually confined to rural areas and infection is generally believed to arise from close contact with live infected poultry; infected animals are culled.  The latest cases to have been reported, all in January 2009, are one in Beijing, after having come into contact with poultry in Hebei Province, south of Beijing; one in Shandong Province, east of Beijing, one in Hunan Province, central southern China and, most recently, one in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (north western China) and another in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (southern China).

Since the end of 2003, a number of human deaths have also occurred in Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Laos, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.

The risk to humans from Avian Influenza is believed to be low.  However, as a precaution, you should avoid visiting live animal markets, poultry farms and other places where you may come into close contact with domestic, caged or wild birds; and ensure poultry and egg dishes are thoroughly cooked.

The WHO has warned of the possibility that the Avian Influenza outbreaks could lead at some point to a human flu pandemic, if the virus mutates to a form, which is easily transmissible between people.

British nationals living longer term in an Avian Influenza affected region should take personal responsibility for their own safety in the event of a future pandemic, including considering their access to adequate healthcare and ensuring travel documents are up to date.

Natural disasters

Earthquakes

China is located in an active seismic zone and is periodically subject to earthquakes. On 12 May 2008 an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale struck south western China, 92 kms northwest of Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan Province. It caused significant damage to the infrastructure, with just under 70,000 fatalities and left around 5 million people homeless. The most recent aftershock, measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, was recorded in the Wenchuan area on 15 January 2009.

Normality has returned to the bulk of Sichuan Province and travel is safe. The only exceptions relate to entering Beichuan and Wenchuan districts where reconstruction work is ongoing. Some roads remain difficult to travel along in areas devastated by the earthquake. Wolong Panda Reserve has re-opened, but with limited facilities. You should follow the advice of local authorities and monitor local and international media for updates.

Other earthquakes to affect China recently have occurred near Guantun Township, Yao'an County, Yunnan Province (south western China) in July 2009 (6.0 on the Richter scale); near Da Qaidam, Qinghai Province in November 2008 (6.3 on the Richter scale); in Hotan, Xinjiang Province in March 2008; and in Yunnan Province in south-west China in June 2007, both of the latter measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale. Earthquakes of similar magnitude have also occurred in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, and Yunnan Province in 2003.

Flooding

Parts of central, southern and western China, particularly those bordering the Yangtze River, are susceptible to flooding.  On 6 July 2009 the state media news agency (Xinhua) reported torrential rains in southern and central China forcing more than 300,000 to flee their homes and 16 fatalities caused by floods, landslides and building collapses, affecting Hunan and Fujian Provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. As a result you should check your route and monitor local weather reports before travelling to these Provinces.

Typhoons

The tropical cyclone season in China normally runs from May to November, affecting the south eastern coastal regions of China.

On 10 August 2009 the state media agency Xinhua reported that Typhoon Morakot was down graded to a tropical storm after causing heavy flooding in Fujian and Zhejiang Provinces (eastern China). Reports indicate that more than 473,000 residents of Zhejiang province were evacuated ahead of the typhoon, in addition to 480,000 in Fujian Province. Wenzhou City in Zhejiang Province has been severely affected with reports of property damaged, roads flooded and the city’s airport closed. We have had no reports to date of British nationals injured in any of the affected Provinces

Prior to Typhoon Morakot the last typhoon to affect China was Typhoon Hagupit in September 2008.  During Typhoon Neoguri in April 2008, over 100,000 people were evacuated from their homes on Hainan Island. Tropical Cyclone Wipha in September 2007 also destroyed homes and killed five.  For more detailed information see Tropical Cyclones or contact the Japan Meteorological Agency.

General

Insurance

Lost/stolen passports

Registration

Fire precautions

Money

Teaching appointments

Tibet

Contact Details

Beijing

British Embassy

Shanghai

Guangzhou

Chongqing

British Consulate-General 
Suite 2801, Metropolitan Tower, 68 Zourong Road

Tel:  (00 86) (023) 6381 0321

Fax:  (00 86) (023) 6381 0322

Office Hours (GMT):  0100-0400 and 0500-0900

E-mail: CONS-Chongqing@fco.gov.uk

Consular district:  Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou.