General Information

◆Passport and Visa
You will need a valid passport and visa for visiting China. We recommend that you apply for a tour visa.
You may apply for a tour/or a visitor's visa at the Chinese Embassy, or at the nearest consulate general. It may take a few days or weeks to get your visa. For detailed information, please contact your local Embassy or Consulate.

If you prefer to apply for a vistor's visa (no longer than 15 days), the procedure to get a formal invitation letter from Tsinghua University is the following (all forms are available at the CICF conference website):

(1)	To complete conference registration form and pay registration fee
(2)	To complete invitation-letter application form (including your name, passport number, and email it to cicf@sem.tsinghua.edu.cn Tel: 86-10-62773180

It takes two weeks to issue an official invitation letter for Visa application, we advise that you complete all forms before June 1, 2010.

◆Weather
The average daily temperature of Beijing is about 35 °C, All meeting rooms have air conditioning.

◆Insurance
To protect yourself and your personal belongings while you are traveling in a foreign country, it is your responsibility to obtain adequate travel and health insurance before leaving your own country.

◆Electricity
Electricity is supplied at 220V, 50Hz in China.

◆Currency Exchange
In China, RMB is the only accepted currency. However, exchange centers can be found at airports, most hotels, and in large shopping centers. The exchange rate is about US$ 1 = RMB 6.8. When exchanging money, please keep your receipt by which you can change any remaining RMB back to foreign currency when leaving China. Visa and Master Card are accepted in many department stores and hotels.
The Bank of China and most hotels will cash travelers - checks issued by any major foreign bank or financial institution for which you must show a passport and pay a 0.75 percent commission. Travelers' checks signed over to a third party cannot be cashed in China, but can be presented for collection through the Bank of China.

◆Reconfirmation of Air Ticket
Departure airline ticket (international) needs to be reconfirmed 72 hours prior to departure. You can do this by calling the airline offices. Please note that these offices are not typically open on weekends.

All the on-site conference payment could be paid by the above credit cards.Traveler's checks are not acceptable.