China General

The official name of the country is People’s Republic of China (PRC). In Chinese Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó 中华人民共和国
The more commonly used name is China. In Chinese: Zhōng guó 中国
The Chinese name means central kingdom/country.

The capital city is Beijing, and the city with the largest population is Shanghai. There are 22 provinces, exclusive Taiwan, which is considered a province by the Chinese government, but not by the Taiwanese. Besides the provinces there are also five autonomous regions and four municipalities. Hong Kong and Macau are considered Special Administrative Regions.

The country is led by the Communist Party of China and it is a socialist republic. The current president of the People’s Republic of China is Hu Jintao. The prime minister is Wen Jiabao.
The official language is Mandarin Chinese, also known as Pǔtōnghuà 普通话.

Population 1.3 billion
Life expectancy: 71,8

GNI (US$): 2.6 trillion
GNI per capita (US$): 2,010.0
GDP (US$): 2.7 trillion
Annual growth GDP: 10.7%
Inflation, GDP deflator (annual %): 2.9

Exports of goods and services (% of GDP): 36.8
Imports of goods and services (% of GDP): 32.9

Source: Worldbank China Data Profile

Money

The currency of Chinese money is Yuan and the exchange rate is linked to the US dollar, which means that the exchange rate between the US dollar and the Yuan is constantly the same. One Yuan consists out of 10 jiao, which consists out of 10 fen. There are notes of 1, 2, and 5 jiao, and 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Yuan. There are also coins of 1, 2, 5 fen, 1 and 5 jiao, and 1 Yuan.

Other names for the currency are Renminbi (RMB), meaning money of the people, and kuai, which is used often in spoken language.

It is not possible to get Chinese money in foreign countries, it is therefore wise to bring either US dollars or Travellers Cheques and change these in the Bank of China. Other currency such as Euros is still fairly impossible to change in China. It is also possible to take money from a foreign bank account through an ATM. Probably the best bank to go to is Bank of China. Payment by credit card is possible in more high end shops and restaurants.