Category Archives: Censorship

June 21, 2017 GDANSK, POLAND Housed in a $134-million, state-of-the-art building, Polands Museum of the Second World War opened early this spring. The museum, which took more than five years to construct, tells the story of Polands war experiences, which given the way the country is sandwiched between Germany and Russia are among the most tragic of all the conflict.

But even before the museum opened, it was already mired in controversy. The museums acting director, Karol Nawrocki hired when former director Pawel Machcewicz was fired, two weeks after the museum opened has complained that the exhibits about the rise of communism are too light, and the music is too happy, underplaying how deeply the political ideology inflicted damage on the Polish people.He has already indicated that he will be making changes to some exhibits.

In Hungary, meanwhile, it is a university that is in the sights of the government.Last week, students were busy finishing their spring term classes at Central European University, founded by American philanthropist George Soros. But even as faculty and students swarmed through the CEU buildings, clustered in the elegant heart of Budapest, a new law was taking aim at the Hungarian- and American-accredited university.

Both Polands Museum of the Second World War and Hungarys CEU one brand new, the other formed at the fall of communism have been seen as symbols of the advances in free thought and open societies in post-Soviet Europe. And the fact that both have become targets of their ruling governments is a sign, some critics say, of government attempts to control cultural and historic narratives and undermine academic freedom to consolidate political control.

The moves in central Europe hark back to an earlier era, in contrast to the anti-immigrant, anti-globalist nationalism taking root in western Europe, says Anton Pelinka, a professor of nationalism studies at CEU. The French nationalistic renaissance or German nationalistic renaissance is not about Alsace-Lorraine, says Professor Pelinka, referring to the historical land dispute. But Hungarian and Polish nationalism is very old fashioned. Taboos were perpetuated under communist rule, he says.But now, post-communist nationalistic regimes have created new taboos.

The war museum opened in March in the center of Gdansk, near a post office that was one of the first places Germans attacked the country during the war.It was commissioned in 2008 by then-Prime Minister Donald Tusk, today president of the European Council, and was intended to look at the war through an international lens. But the museum was barely open before the ultraconservative Law and Justice party (PiS) firedMr. Machcewicz and announced that some of the exhibits would change.

Mr. Nawrocki, the current director, says the museum the most expensive ever built in Poland has great potential. But I don't get [from the current exhibitions] the answer to a basic question what we Poles want to tell the world about our war experience, he says.

Poland suffered enormously in World War II, with 20 percent or more of its population killed,borders redrawn, and the war ending in communist rule. The new museum was not intended to diminish the Polish experience, says Machcewicz.But part of its purpose, he says, to tell a fuller story about the war, which may break ground for Poles, who havetended to cling to black-and-white ideas about victims and perpetrators.

One of the exhibits includes house keys that belonged to Jews in the village of Jedwabne, who were killed by their Polish neighbors with help from Nazis soldiers. The exhibits also spend time on atrocitiesperpetrated by the Soviet Union, as well ason the 3 million Russian soldiers who suffered in German captivity. The museum pushes Poles from the comfort zone, Machcewicz says, because we show how other nations suffered during the war.

Poles views are mixed, with some welcoming a new perspective, and others rejecting it. Kazimierz Burzynski, a retiree from Gdansk, says he is disappointed that there is not more about Poland in an educational center at the museum.But he also faults PiS opponents for politicizing the issue for political gain. [They are] discussing our issues abroad, involving foreigners in our discussion.

Internationally, the debate in Hungary has resonated even more widely.The Hungarian parliament passed a higher education law in April that effectively singles out the CEU, as it would require the school to open a campus in New York, where it is registered, or cease operations in Budapest.The university has announced that it will continue to operate in academic year 2017-2018, but its long-term future is now unclear. Negotiations between Hungary and the state of New York are expected later this month in an effort to find a solution before October, when the schools license to operate can be withdrawn under the new law.

The university was founded by Mr. Soros who was born in Hungary in 1991, with the stated intent of helping to usher in democracy in post-Soviet Europe. It has been operating in Budapest since 1993. Today CEU has over 1,400 students, including many who are seen as leaders in the region,and it is considered a major center of independent scholarship. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban who has said that he sees illiberal democracy as the right path for Hungary says that the university has cheated by violating Hungarian rules, and that no institution should enjoy an unfair advantage.

For many observers, the new law has more to do with Mr. Soros as symbol of liberalism than with academic censorship.It is not about attacking academic freedom, its more like generating a conflict between the government and more pro-Western organizations or figures like George Soros,says Dniel Mikecz, an expert on social movements at the Republikon Institute. It is much easier to campaign with a scapegoat as enemy of the state. You dont have to raise the salaries of public servants, or introduce such benefits for the people.

Whatever Orbans motivations for moving against CEU, many observers fear its an open Hungarian society that is at stake. Orban has also clamped down on funding for NGOs and independent media, and rolled back checks and balances on the Hungarian constitution.

Globally, the fight over the CEU has stirred a firm response.

Two dozen Nobel laureates and academics and institutions around the world have declared support for the university. The law threatening its existence has been rebuked by the European Parliament, which started infringement proceedings against Hungary, prompting tens of thousands of protestors to the streets.I think free institutions and academic freedom strike a chord with a lot of people. It is a core democratic value. It is a core European value, says Michael Ignatieff, the president and rector of CEU.

For many of todays Europeans, its discomfiting to see politicians fighting for control of higher education and other cultural institutions. Machcewicz, a historian, says PiS views historic policy as one of its main pillars. He says the Polish government has set out to achieve control in ways that range from censuring art to announcing plans for new historic museums.

In rejecting our exhibition I see a growing anti-EU and xenophobic atmosphere, a rejection of Europe and multiculturalism, he says. While he says he sees a comparison between the Hungarian government's move against the CEU and the Polish government's decisions about his former museum, he characterizes Orbans move as a cynical power grab, while in Poland he suggests that something deeper is stirring. The Polish right wants power, too, but it is more ideological and radical, he says. The current government is striving for a cultural revolution in Poland.

Its not a direction that sits well with some Polish citizens. Sabina Woch is visiting the Gdansk museum with her 10-month-old son and her in-laws, eager to see the museums exhibits before the government makes any changes. World War II did not take place only in Poland or Europe, and its important to know what was happening in other continents, she says. Politicians should not decide who should run such institutions like a museum; its not their role.

Sara Miller Llana contributed reporting to this story from Paris.

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Moves against Polish museum and Hungarian university stir fears of ... - Christian Science Monitor

Chris Finan

CONTACT: Jas Chana, NCAC Communications Director jas@ncac.org, 212-807-6222 ext.107

New York, NY, June 21, 2017- The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), an alliance of 56 national non-profit organizations, announced today that it has hired Christopher M. Finan as its next executive director. Joan Bertin, the current executive director, is stepping down after leading the organization for 20 years. NCAC promotes freedom of thought, inquiry and expression and opposes censorship in all its forms.

We are indeed lucky that a free expression advocate the caliber of Chris Finan has agreed to lead the NCAC to its next chapter, said Jon Anderson, chair of the NCAC Board of Directors and president and publisher of Simon & Schuster Childrens Publishing. In this most challenging of times for First Amendment rights, we need someone with the experience and reputation that Chris brings to the table in protecting the rights of all Americans to express themselves as they choose.

Finan has a long career as a free speech activist. He is currently director of American Booksellers for Free Expression, part of the American Booksellers Association (ABA). In 1982, he joined Media Coalition, a trade association that defends the First Amendment rights of booksellers, publishers, librarians and others who produce and distribute First Amendment-protected material. In 1998, he became president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. The foundation merged with ABA in 2015.

Finan has worked closely with NCAC as a member of the board of directors and as a board chair. In 2007, he and Bertin created NCACs Kids Right to Read Project, which supports parents, students, teachers and librarians who are fighting efforts to ban books in schools and libraries.

I am very grateful for the opportunity to lead an organization that plays such an important role in protecting free expression. I am also very fortunate to be succeeding Joan Bertin, who has led NCACs vigorous defense of free speech during a time of growing censorship pressure, Finan said.

As examples of NCACs recent advocacy, Finan pointed to statements defending publishers who are pressured to censor books that some critics consider offensive, condemning the Trump administrations attacks on the press and criticizing the Walker Art Centers decision to dismantle a sculpture after accusations that it was cultural appropriation.

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National Coalition Against Censorship Chooses New Leader - Blogging Censorship

Deutsche Welle

Qatar's censorship in Berlin Deutsche Welle A freshly renovated villa from 1907 in a wealthy Berlin suburb belongs to the state of Qatar. It's now being used as the embassy's Arab Cultural House. But the topless figure in front of the building has vanished.

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Qatar's censorship in Berlin - Deutsche Welle

USA Today Network Mike Davis, Asbury Park (N.J.) Press Published 7:24 a.m. ET June 21, 2017 | Updated 21 hours ago

Grant Berardo, a Wall High School junior, saw his image digitally altered with a plain black T-shirt in his yearbook. Mike Davis

Grant Berardo's T-shirt was digitally altered in the Wall (N.J.) High School yearbook. He wore a Donald Trump campaign shirt for his portrait. On Thursday, June 15, 2017, the school district superintendent said the yearbooks will be reissued.(Photo: Provided by Joseph Berardo Jr. via Asbury Park (N.J.) Press)

WALL, N.J. The scandal over censorship of merchandise and quotes from President Trump in a New Jersey high school yearbook has reached the White House.

President Trump and the director of his campaign thanked Wall High School students Montana and Wyatt Dobrovich-Fago, who reported a quote and logo featuring Trump's name removed from their class yearbooks.

The campaign also sent the teenagers a care package with shirts, hats, pins and patches.

More: Trump shirt censored, now school has to re-issue yearbook for everyone

"Thank you Wyatt and Montana two young Americans who arent afraid to stand up for what they believe in. Our movement to #MAGA is working because of great people like you!," Trump posted on Facebook.

In a letter, campaign executive director Michael Glassner commended the students for "voicing their support" for Trump.

"It is more important than ever that we, as Americans, stand up for our beliefs and hopes for a better country," Glassner wrote. "And, as you know, it takes courage to do so. But freedom of expression should never go out of style let's not forget that!"

Wyatt, a junior at the school, wore a sweater vest featuring a Trump campaign logo on the school's picture day. But in the yearbook, his photo was cropped and the logo was barely visible an act Superintendent Cheryl Dyer has ruled was not intentional.

More: N.J. teacher suspended over Trump yearbook censorship

His sister, Montana, picked a quote from Trump to run alongside her freshman class president photo: "I like thinking big. If you are going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big," Trump's quote read.

Traditionally, all Wall class presidents can pick a quote. Montana's was submitted before the deadline and it's not yet clear whether it was purposely excluded, Dyer said last week.

Another student, junior Grant Berardo, saw his picture digitally altered before being published in the yearbook. Instead of the navy blue Trump campaign shirt he wore during the photo shoot, his yearbook photo featured a nondescript black T-shirt an "intentional" alteration, Dyer ruled.

The school board Tuesday voted to formalize a suspension handed down to digital media teacher Susan Parsons, who Dyer suspended through the end of the school year last week.

The board is expected to continue discussing the case in executive session at future meetings, board attorney Michael Gross said.

Parsons, 62, was included on a list of re-hired teachers for the 2017-18 school year with a $92,000 salary, but that list was finalized before the yearbook censorship came to light.

More: Teen's Trump T-shirt censored in yearbook photo

She has not returned multiple calls to her home seeking comment.

In response to the censorship scandal, Dyer last week ordered new yearbooks to be printed and reissued. Private, anonymous donors have contributed "at least $10,000" to cover the cost, Dyer said after Tuesday's board meeting.

But some members of the Wall school community have said it's not enough. Dyer has come under fire for handling the investigation despite last year posting a New York Times opinion article about "bullying in the age of Trump" on the school website.

Wyatt also criticized Dyer for the "blatant anti-Trump stuff that's caused concern" for him.

"I feel like there's something else to the story. One person wouldn't just do this," Wyatt said. "There needs to be a proper investigation into this."

School Board President Allison Connolly disagreed, applauding Dyer and district administrators for "facing this situation head-on."

"We find the allegations of censorship disturbing and are taking the charges that students have had their rights compromised seriously," she said.

Follow Mike Davis on Twitter:@byMikeDavis

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Trump thanks teens for 'standing up' to yearbook censorship - USA TODAY

The show must not go on.

So sayeth some of President Trumps most ardent fans, who spent the past week and a half attempting to shut down a production of Julius Caesar with a Trump-like character in the title role.

These Trumpkins part of a bloc known for mocking political correctness, safe spaces and undue efforts to avoid offending the pwecious feewings of others deemed the show politically incorrect, unsafe and offensive.

Peaceful protest would be well within their rights. But these illiberal cultural illiterates instead wanted curtains for the offending Elizabethan play.

They stormed the stage at multiple shows, including Sunday evenings closing performance. They yelled and screamed inside and outside the open-air production part of the Public Theaters annual Shakespeare in the Park series to drown out dialogue they disliked. They threatened violence, sometimes quite graphically.

Some even sent death threats to other productions of Shakespeare and other plays in other parks.

In this, they are more like Caesars plebeian partisans than they may realize: It is no matter, his names Cinna, a member of a murderous mob cries in Act III, Scene 3 of the play, before tearing apart an innocent poet with the bad fortune to bear the same name as a perceived enemy of the state.

The justification for these present-day disruptions and threats is that, at least according to (wrong) right-wing media reports, the production advocates assassination of a Trump-like Roman tyrant. But the only people lately threatening political violence in the name of Julius Caesar are those who wanted to shut this play down.

If these reactionaries had actually thought about the play, theyd realize its portrayal of the aftermath of assassination offers the opposite lesson: that those who attempt to defend democracy by undemocratic means pay a terrible price and destroy the very thing they are fighting to save, as the Public Theater put it in a statement to theatergoers.

Theres a part of me that wants to rejoice that, 168 years after New Yorks Astor Place riots (also inspired by a contentious interpretation of the Bard), the theater can still be a source of so much controversy. In recent months not just Julius Caesar but also Hamilton has brought a raucous and artistically challenging rialto to the center of national social discourse.

Still, needless to say, death threats are not the type of intellectual engagement and social validation that most theater nerds were looking for.

The violent rhetoric of recent days is certainly no fault of the Public, even if, in choosing to portray Caesar with blondish hair, an ultra-long tie and a Slovenian-accented paramour, it clearly intended to provoke. But then, last years Taming of the Shrew production also had a Trumpian character portrayed by a woman, no less and earned no incendiary Fox News coverage.

Nor is this debacle the fault of a few misguided protesters alone.

After all, they were just firing the latest salvo in the ongoing war against the free exchange of ideas, that most precious and endangered of liberal democratic values.

Plenty of conservatives like to believe that illiberalism is confined to liberal college students. Certainly there is evidence that millennials are at the vanguard of hostility to free speech. But as I have written time and again, attempts to stamp out speech are not confined to young or old, or left or right.

Instead, End of History be damned, there is a growing sense on both sides of the aisle, and among all generations, that the free marketplace of ideas is broken. Everyone seems to believe that the inferior and dangerous ideas of their enemies are unfairly gaining ground; therefore, the words and beliefs of those enemies must be fair game for suppression.

And yes, attempts to shut down Julius Caesar like attempts to shut down conservative campus speakers are about objections to words and beliefs. They are not about protecting politicians or vulnerable minority groups from physical harm, despite the claims of would-be censors.

If this were really about blocking public entertainment that put lives at risk, youd find more Trump fans and college students alike disrupting football games.

In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare hinted that he expected his play to offer lessons for generations to come, though perhaps not the ones his characters believe they are offering.

How many ages hence/Shall this our lofty scene be acted over/In states unborn and accents yet unknown! declaims Cassius, after proudly smearing himself with the slain Caesars blood.

Censors willing, lets hope Cassius prediction continues to hold true.

Catherine Rampell (crampell@washpost.com) was a reporter for The New York Times and The Chronicle of Higher Education before joining The Washington Post as a columnist.

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Disrupting 'Caesar' play mostly about censorship - The Register-Guard

John Boone , ET 10:00 AM. MDT June 21, 2017

Mentorship is not a new hat for Judd Apatow -- after all, he's the guy who helped guide a then-unknown Lena Dunham and Girls to success. Lately though, he's only increased his efforts, with Pete Holmes on Crashing, Paul Rust on Love and now Kumail Nanjiani's first feature film, The Big Sick.

"I think it's among the best movies we've ever been a part of," Apatow says of The Big Sick, out June 23. "It's scary to come out in the summer against all these behemoths, but there's always room for one movie that people go see just because it's awesome. We're hoping that there's a little sleeper appeal."

I sat down with Apatow at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, along with fellow producer Barry Mendel (who produced Apatow's Funny People, This Is 40 and Trainwreck, as well as Oscar-nominated films The Sixth Sense and Munich), to discuss their movie and Sony's now-scuttled "clean" movies initiative, which Apatow denounced on Twitter, saying, "Shove the clean versions up your a**es!"

RELATED: How Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon Turned Their Heartbreak and Happiness Into 'The Big Sick'

ET: You both have had long careers, including numerous movies you've worked on together. In terms of looking for projects, what do you find inspires you these days?

Judd Apatow: I like human comedies -- or dramedies. More than anything, I'm interested in people just dealing with everyday things that are difficult, and there is more than enough comedy and drama in that. Every once in a while it's fun to do something big and silly, so I also really enjoy when I get a chance to work with Will Ferrell and Adam McKay or with the Lonely Island guys. But I'm always fascinated by people dealing with the everyday difficult stuff in life.

Barry Mendel: For me, it's like, I forgot who said it -- it was maybe Jesse Helms? -- about pornography: "I don't how I describe it, but I know it when I see it." [Laughs] I'm more that way. I don't really have a philosophy about it. In this case, when Kumail came in and told us the story of what happened with Emily, it was just like, "Wow." Just, like, the light goes on.

Do you think a project can ever be too autobiographical?

Apatow: I think the key is that you have to always be aware that it's a movie. The audience doesn't care that most of this happened. They just want a good movie. During development, we definitely said, "Well, that's what happened, but it's kind of boring. So, maybe we could spice that up a little bit." [Laughs] We're not presenting this as an 100 percent accurate story. It's just the inspiration for our movie.

Many of your movies also draw inspiration from your life. Is that something you had to wrestle with in your writing, writing what you know but not being confined by the historical details?

Apatow: I just never thought anything about me was interesting, so I didn't think about writing from my personal experience.

Mendel: It's almost like the opposite journey, of writing about things that were fantastical and moving towards the personal.

Apatow: Yeah, and I think a lot of people do that! It's why people like Louis [C.K.], after decades of work as he got more and more personal, people connected with it more. It's always a big mix between fabricated and real things, as it should be. I mean, it's the only fodder you have to create with.

You are both known for nurturing young talent. And obviously that talent is what catches your eye, but what does someone like Kumail do to keep you invested?

Apatow: I think that he works so hard. I like working with people on their first movies. I think that you never get that level of effort again. And I think that most people only have a couple of amazing stories from their lives, so you're getting the best of them. And I like the passion that people have when they're trying to prove they can make a movie or be a movie star. Later in your career, you just get offered a script and maybe you get a week or two to punch it up, and maybe they rehearse it for a day before they shoot, and that's why a lot of movies don't come out well. But when you do something like this, where we developed it for three or four years before we shoot it, there's so much love and care that goes into it. That's what I like! I like being at the moment of inception for people.

Mendel: I would say Kristen [Wiig on Bridesmaids], Amy [Schumer] and Kumail had never written a script before, so they're panicked every night. They're waking up in the middle of the night with ideas and writing them down. It's like they can't believe they're getting paid to do it. It's not a job. It's the greatest thing that ever happened to them. So, it's so great for us to get to work with people who have that vibe about what we're doing. It refreshes our experience of what we do.

Apatow: Because when you're making your 20th movie, it might be the 20th most incredible thing that's ever happened to you! [Laughs]

Judd, how do you balance producing those projects with writing and directing your own?

Apatow: It always energizes me with my own work. It's always a reminder how much I should care and how truthful I can be. I think in the last few years, I haven't been able to write as much, because I've been working on the TV show with Pete Holmes, Crashing, and Love on Netflix. But that's OK, because I think the world is changing and all that matters is that I'm creating things.

Mendel: You're also working on your third documentary.

Apatow: Yes. I'm working on a documentary about Garry Shandling right now and we have a documentary about the Avett Brothers that's going to be on HBO in January. So, I've been enjoying that format. I'm just happy to make stuff. Ultimately, I don't think it matters what the frequency is of me writing or directing a movie. It doesn't really matter to anybody else. I'm just trying to put good things out there.

You recently called Sony Pictures' clean movies initiative "absolute bullsh*t." What would something like that mean for your movies? [Two films that Apatow produced, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Step Brothers, were of the first films Sony made clean versions of.]

Apatow: Well, it goes against everything you want in your relationship with a studio. The most important agreement you have is that they will not f**k with your movie once it's done. And so it's pretty sleazy to say, "We're going to take the version of the movie you like the least and try to distribute it to even more people." When you edit a movie for television or for an airline, you're doing it very reluctantly. And you don't want people to watch it that way! But it is part of the business that you can't prevent. It preceded you. But they're trying to create a new initiative, and we're allowed to say, "No. We've agreed to ruin our movies for television and airlines and we're hopeful that due to streaming, most people aren't watching it in those formats. We do not want to spread it." And our movies were not built to be made for children. That's the other weird part about it is, Now I can show it to six year olds! Well, even the essence of it isn't meant for six year olds, or whoever you're marketing it to. But it's a real violation of the spirit of our creative relationship, and I'm assuming that they will quickly realize it and not do it.

That basically answers my last question, which was you have the theatrical release and then sometimes an extended or unrated cut. Is there a way to make a PG or PG-13 version of your movie that you'd be happy with?

Apatow: That's not even the question. The question is, Whose decision is it? I could edit it to, like, a six minute short if I want to! But that becomes the decision of the filmmaker. If Martin Scorsese wants to do a 14-minute, clean Wolf of Wall Street for kindergarteners, I guess he should be allowed to do it. But certainly the head of the studio shouldn't be allowed to do that without his approval. That's the issue. And I do think it will get quickly resolved.

Mendel: In France they call it, Le Droit Moral.

Apatow: What does that mean?

Mendel: The moral rights. Of the artist. The artist is implied in the French version.

I kind of want to see that Wolf of Wall Street for kindergarteners. I think if you edited out any scene with swearing or nudity, it would only be 14 minutes anyway.

Apatow: [Laughs] Exactly. I remember watching Goodfellas on a plane once, and every time they said the C-word, instead they would say "Bundt cake." And you could tell it was kind of an eff you from someone in the Scorsese world. Actually, you know what it was? It was Glengarry Glen Ross. [Directed by James Foley.]

Mendel: We did it on Rushmore, too. We did "foot rub" for "handjob." Every time it said "handjob," we just said "foot rub."

Apatow: I think we had one where we were trying to replace every curse in the entire movie with the word "tomato."

[Note: As Apatow predicted, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment soon after announced they would no longer release the "clean version" of a film if the director objected, claiming, "We believed we had obtained approvals from the filmmakers involved for use of their previously supervised television versions as a value added extra on sales of the full version."]

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EXCLUSIVE: Judd Apatow on 'The Big Sick' and Clean Movies Censorship: 'It's Pretty Sleazy' - 9NEWS.com

119 for fire 120 for medical

China (; Zhnggu), officially known as the People's Republic of China ( Zhnghu Rnmn Gnghgu) is a huge country in Eastern Asia (about the same size as the United States of America) with the world's largest population.

With coasts on the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, in total it borders 14 nations. It borders Afghanistan, Pakistan (through the disputed territory of Kashmir), India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam to the south; Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to the west; Russia and Mongolia to the north and North Korea to the east. This number of neighbouring states is equalled only by China's vast neighbour to the north, Russia.

This article only covers mainland China. For Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, please see separate articles.

The roughly 5000-year old Chinese civilization has endured through millennia of tumultuous upheaval and revolutions, periods of golden ages and anarchy alike. Through the recent economic boom initiated by the reforms of Deng Xiaoping, China is once again one of the leading nations in the world, buoyed by its large, industrious population and abundant natural resources. The depth and complexity of the Chinese civilization, with its rich heritage, has fascinated Westerners such as Marco Polo and Gottfried Leibniz through the Great Silk Road and more ways of culture exchange in centuries past, and will continue to excite - and bewilder - the traveler today.

The recorded history of Chinese civilization can be traced to the Yellow River valley, said to be the 'cradle of Chinese civilization'. The Xia Dynasty was the first dynasty to be described in ancient historical chronicles, though to date, no concrete proof of its existence has been found. Nevertheless, archaeological evidence has shown that at the very least, an early bronze age Chinese civilization had developed by the period described.

The Shang Dynasty, China's first historically confirmed dynasty, and the Zhou Dynasty ruled across the Yellow River basin. The Zhou adopted a decentralized system of government, in which the feudal lords ruled over their respective territories with a high degree of autonomy, even maintaining their own armies, while at the same time paying tribute to the king and recognizing him as the symbolic ruler of China. It was also the longest ruling dynasty in Chinese history, lasting about 800 years. Despite this longevity, during the second half of the Zhou period, China descended into centuries of political turmoil, with the feudal lords of numerous small fiefdoms vying for power during the Spring and Autumn Period, and later stabilized into seven large states in the Warring States period. This tumultuous period gave birth to China's greatest thinkers including Confucius, Mencius and Laozi, who made substantial contributions to Chinese thought and culture.

China was eventually unified in 221 BC by Qin Shi Huang, the 'First Emperor', and the Qin Dynasty instituted a centralized system of government for all of China, and standardized weights and measures, Chinese characters and currency in order to create unity. Until today, the ideal of a unified and strong centralized system is still strong in Chinese thought. However, due to despotic and harsh rule, the Qin dynasty lasted for only 15 years as the Han Dynasty took over in 206BC after a period of revolt. With the invention of paper and extensive trade with the West along the Silk Road, along with relatively benevolent imperial rule, the Han was the first golden age of Chinese civilization. Ethnic Chinese consider themselves to be part of the 'Han' race till this day.

The collapse of the Han Dynasty in 220 CE led to a period of political turmoil and war known as the Three Kingdoms Period, which saw China split into the three separate states of Wei, Shu and Wu. Despite lasting for only about 60 years, it is a highly romanticised period of Chinese history. China was then briefly reunified under the Jin Dynasty, before descending into a period of division and anarchy once again. The era of division culminated with the Sui which reunified China in 581. The Sui were famous for major public works projects, such as the engineering feat of the Grand Canal, which linked Beijing in the north to Hangzhou in the south. Certain sections of the canal are still navigable today.

Bankrupted by war and excess government spending, the Sui were supplanted by the Tang Dynasty, ushering in the second golden age of Chinese civilization, marked by a flowering of Chinese poetry, Buddhism and statecraft, and also saw the development of the Imperial Examination system which attempted to select court officials by ability rather than family background. Chinatowns overseas are often known as "Street of the Tang People" ( Tngrn ji) in Chinese. The collapse of the Tang Dynasty then saw China divided once again, until it was reunified by the Song Dynasty, this collapse was preceded by the secession and independence of Vietnam in 938 CE. The Song ruled over most of China for over 150 years before being driven south of the Huai river by the Jurchens, were they continued to rule as the Southern Song, and although militarily weak, attained a level of commercial and economic development unmatched until the West's Industrial Revolution. The Yuan (Mongol) dynasty first defeated the Jurchens, then proceeded to conquer the Song in 1279, and ruled their vast Eurasian empire from modern-day Beijing.

After defeating the Mongols, the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) re-instituted rule by ethnic Han. The Ming period was noted for trade and exploration, with Zheng He's numerous voyages to Southeast Asia, India and the Arab world. Initial contact with European traders meant China gradually reaped the fruits of the Colombian exchange, with silver pouring in by the galleon through trade with the Portuguese and Spanish. Famous buildings in Beijing, such as the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven, were built in this period. The last dynasty of the Qing (Manchu) dynasty (1644-1911), saw the Chinese empire grow to its current size, incorporating the western regions of Xinjiang and Tibet. The Qing dynasty fell into decay in its final years to become the 'sick man of Asia', where it was nibbled apart by Western powers. The Westerners established their own treaty ports in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Tianjin. China lost several territories to foreign powers; Hong Kong and Weihai were ceded to Britain, Taiwan and Liaodong were to Japan, parts of the North East including Dalian and parts of Outer Manchuria to Russia, while Qingdao was ceded to Germany. Shanghai was divided among China and eight different countries. In addition, China lost control of its tributaties, with Korea and the Ryukyu Islands ceded to Japan.

The two thousand-year old imperial system collapsed in 1911, where Sun Yat-Sen (, Sn Zhngshn) founded the Republic of China ( Zhnghu Mngu). Central rule collapsed in 1916 after Yuan Shih-kai, the second president of the Republic and self-declared emperor, passed away; China descended into anarchy, with various self-serving warlords ruling over different regions of China. In 1919, student protests in Beijing gave birth to the "May Fourth Movement" ( W S Yndng), which espoused various reforms to Chinese society, such as the use of the vernacular in writing, as well as the development of science and democracy. The intellectual ferment of the May Fourth Movement gave birth to the reorganized Kuomintang (KMT) in 1919 and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the French Concession in Shanghai, 1921.

After uniting much of eastern China under KMT rule in 1928, the CCP and the KMT turned on each other, with the CCP fleeing to Yan'an in Shaanxi in the epic Long March. During the period from 1922 to 1937, The eastern provinces of China grew economically under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek and his KMT government, with marked economic expansion, industrialization and urbanization. Shanghai became a truly cosmopolitan city, as one of the world's busiest ports, and the most prosperous city in East Asia, home to millions of Chinese and 60,000 foreigners from all corners of the globe. However, underlying problems throughout the vast country side, particularly the more inland parts of the country, such as civil unrest, famines and warlord conflict, still remained.

Japan established a puppet state under the name Manchukuo in Manchuria in 1931, and launched a full-scale invasion of China's heartland in 1937. The Japanese initiated a brutal system of rule in Eastern China, culminating in the Nanjing Massacre of 1937. After fleeing west to Chongqing, the KMT realized the urgency of the situation signed a tenuous agreement with the CCP to form a second united front against the Japanese. With the defeat of Japan in 1945, the KMT and CCP armies maneuvered for positions in north China, setting the stage for the civil war in the years to come. The civil war lasted from 1946 to 1949 and ended with the Kuomintang defeated and sent packing to Taiwan where they hoped to re-establish themselves and recapture the mainland some day.

Mao Zedong officially declared the establishment of the People's Republic of China on 1 Oct 1949. The new Communist government implemented strong measures to restore law and order and revive industrial, agricultural and commercial institutions reeling from more than a decade of war. By 1955, China's economy had returned to pre-war levels of output as factories, farms, labor unions, civil society and governance were brought under Party control. After an initial period closely hewing to the Soviet model of heavy industrialization and comprehensive central economic planning, China began to experiment with adapting Marxism to a largely agrarian society.

Massive social experiments such as the Hundred Flowers Campaign ( bihu yndng), the Great Leap Forward ( dyujn), intended to collectivize and industrialize China quickly, and the Cultural Revolution ( wchn jij wnhu d gmng), aimed at changing everything by discipline, destruction of the "Four Olds," and total dedication to Mao Zedong Thought, rocked China from 1957 to 1976. The Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution are generally considered disastrous failures in China. During the Cultural Revolution in particular, China's cultural heritage, including monuments, temples, historical artifacts, and works of literature sustained catastrophic damage at the hands of Red Guard factions. It was only due to the intervention of Zhou Enlai and the PLA that major sites, such as the Potala Palace, the Mogao Caves, and the Forbidden City escaped destruction during the Cultural Revolution.

Mao Zedong died in 1976, and in 1978, Deng Xiaoping became China's paramount leader. Deng and his lieutenants gradually introduced market-oriented reforms and decentralized economic decision making. Economic output quadrupled by 2000 and continues to grow by 8-10% per year, but huge problems remain bouts of serious inflation, regional income inequality, human rights abuses, ethnic unrest, massive pollution, rural poverty and corruption. While the larger cities near the coast like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have grown to become rich and modern, many of the more inland and rural parts of the country remain poor and underdeveloped. The former General Secretary of the Communist Party, Hu Jintao, has proclaimed a policy for a "Harmonious Society" ( hxi shhu) which promises to restore balanced economic growth and channel investment and prosperity into China's central and western provinces, which have been largely left behind in the post-1978 economic boom. The current General Secretary of the Communist Party, Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, have pursued an ambitious policy of social reform, particularly income redistribution, poverty relief, and environmental improvements. Furthermore, a highly ambitious crackdown on corruption started by the previous administration has only been expanded. Growth in China has finally slowed down in recent years and seems to be leveling off.

China is a single-party socialist state ruled by the Communist Party of China. China has actually only experienced one open nation-wide election, in 1912. The government consists of an executive branch known as the State Council ( Gu W Yun), as well as a unicameral legislature known as the National People's Congress ( Qungu Rnmn Dibio Dhu). The nominal Head of State is the President ( zhx, lit chairman) which is a largely ceremonial office with limited powers and the Head of Government is the Premier ( zngl). In practice, while neither one holds absolute power, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China holds the most power, while the Premier of the State Council is the second most powerful person in the country.

The country is administratively divided into 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions and 4 directly-controlled municipalities. Each of the provincial governments is given power over the internal, often economic, affairs of their provinces. Autonomous regions are given more freedom than regular provinces, one example of which is the right to declare additional official languages in the region besides Mandarin. In addition, there are the Special Administrative Regions (SAR) of Hong Kong and Macau. Both Hong Kong and Macau have separate legal systems and immigration departments from the mainland, and are given the freedom to enact laws separately from the mainland. Their political systems are more open and directly electoral in nature. Taiwan is also claimed by the PRC as a province, though no part of Taiwan is currently under the control of the PRC. Both governments support re-unification in principle and recently signed a trade pact to closer link their economies, essentially removing the danger of war.

China is a very diverse place with large variations in culture, language, customs and economic levels. The economic landscape is particularly diverse. The major cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai are modern and comparatively wealthy. However, about 50% of Chinese still live in rural areas even though only 10% of China's land is arable. Hundreds of millions of rural residents still farm with manual labour or draft animals. Some 200 to 300 million former peasants have migrated to townships and cities in search of work. Government estimates for 2005 reported that 90 million people lived on less than 924 a year and 26 million were under the official poverty line of 668 a year. Generally the southern and eastern coastal regions are more wealthy while inland areas, the far west and north, and the southwest are much much less developed.

The cultural landscape is unsurprisingly very diverse given the sheer size of the country. China has 56 officially recognized ethnic groups; the largest by far is the Han which comprise over 90% of the population. The other 55 groups enjoy affirmative action for university admission and exemption from the one-child policy. The Han, however, are far from homogeneous and speak a wide variety of mutually unintelligible local "dialects"; which most linguists actually classify as different languages using more or less the same set of Chinese characters. Many of the minority ethnic groups have their own languages as well. Contrary to popular belief, there is no single unified Han Chinese culture, and while they share certain common elements such as Confucian and Taoist beliefs, the regional variations in culture among the Han ethnic group are actually very diverse. Many customs and deities are specific to individual regions and even villages. Celebrations for the lunar new year and other national festivals vary drastically from region to region. Specific customs related to the celebration of important occasions such as weddings, funerals and births also vary widely. In general contemporary urban Chinese society is rather secular and traditional culture is more of an underlying current in every day life. Among ethnic minorities, the Zhuang, Manchu, Hui and Miao are the largest in size. Other notable ethnic minorities include: Koreans, Tibetans, Mongols, Uighurs, Kirghiz and even Russians. In fact, China is home to the largest Korean population outside Korea and is also home to more ethnic Mongols than the Republic of Mongolia itself. Many minorities have been assimilated to various degrees with the loss of language and customs or a fusing with Han traditions. An exception to this trend is the current situation of the Tibetans and Uighurs in China who remain fiercely defensive of their cultures.

Some behaviours that are quite normal in China may be somewhat jarring and vulgar for foreigners:

Some long-time foreign residents say such behaviours are getting worse; others say the opposite. The cause is usually attributed to the influx of millions of migrants from the countryside who are unfamiliar with big city life. Some department stores place attendants at the foot of each escalator to keep folks from stopping to have a look-see as soon as they get off - when the escalator behind them is fully packed.

On the whole, however, the Chinese love a good laugh and because there are so many ethnic groups and outsiders from other regions, they are used to different ways of doing things and are quite okay with that (in tier one and tier two cities at least). Indeed the Chinese often make conversation with strangers by discussing differences in accent or dialect. They are very used to sign language and quick to see a non-verbal joke or pun wherever they can spot one. Note that a laugh doesn't necessarily mean scorn, just amusement. The Chinese like a "collective good laugh" often at times or circumstances that westerners might consider rude. Finally, the Chinese love and adore children, allow them a great deal of freedom, and heap attention upon them. If you have children, bring them!

In general, 3, 6, 8, and 9 are lucky numbers for most of the Chinese. Three means high above shine the three stars while the three stars include gods of fortune, prosperity and longevity. Six represents smoothness or success. Many young people choose the dates with six as their wedding days, such as the 6th, 16th and 26th. Eight sounds so close to the word for wealth that many people believe eight is a number that is linked to prosperity. So it is no surprise that the opening ceremony for the Olympics started at 8:08:08 on 08/08/2008. Nine is also regarded as a lucky number with the meaning of everlasting.

Four is a taboo for most Chinese because the pronunciation in Mandarin is close to death. Some hotels will have their floor numbers go straight from three to five much like some American hotels have their floor numbers go from twelve to fourteen, skipping the "unlucky" number 13.

Given the country's size the climate is extremely diverse, from tropical regions in the south to subarctic in the north. Hainan Island is roughly at the same latitude as Jamaica, while Harbin, one of the largest cities in the north, is at roughly the latitude of Montreal and has the climate to match. North China has four distinct seasons with intensely hot summers and bitterly cold winters. Southern China tends to be milder and wetter. The further north and west you travel, the drier the climate. Once you leave eastern China and enter the majestic Tibetan highlands or the vast steppes and deserts of Gansu and Xinjiang, distances are vast and the land is very harsh.

Back in the days of the planned economy, the rules stated that buildings in areas north of the Yangtze River got heat in the winter, but anything south of it did not this meant unheated buildings in places like Shanghai and Nanjing, which routinely see temperatures below freezing in winter. The rule has long since been relaxed, but the effects are still visible. In general, Chinese use less heating, less building insulation, and wear more warm clothing than Westerners in comparable climates. In a schools or apartments and office buildings, even if the rooms are heated, the corridors are not. Double glazing is quite rare. Students wear winter jackets in class, along with their teachers and long underwear is very common. Air conditioning is increasingly common but is similarly not used in corridors and is often used with the windows and doors open.

There is a wide range of terrain to be found in China with many inland mountain ranges, high plateaus, and deserts in center and the far west. Plains, deltas, and hills dominate the east. The Pearl River Delta region around Guangzhou and Hong Kong and the Yangtze delta around Shanghai are major global economic powerhouses, as is the North China plain around Beijing and the Yellow River. On the border between Tibet, (the Tibet Autonomous Region) and the nation of Nepal lies Mount Everest, at 8,850 m, the highest point on earth. The Turpan depression, in northwest China's Xinjiang is the lowest point in the country, at 154 m below sea level. This is also the second lowest point on land in the world after the Dead Sea.

China is a huge country with endless and affordable travel opportunities. During holidays, however, hundreds of millions of migrant workers return home and millions of other Chinese travel within the country (but many in the service sector stay behind, enjoying extra pay). Travelers may want to seriously consider scheduling to avoid being on the road, on the rails, or in the air during the major holidays. At the very least, travel should be planned well well in advance. Every mode of transport is extremely crowded; tickets of any kind are hard to come by, and will cost you a lot more, so it may be necessary to book well in advance (especially for those travelling from remote western China to the east coast or in the opposite direction). Train and bus tickets are usually quite easy to buy in China, (during the non-holiday season), but difficulties arising from crowded conditions at these times cannot be overstated. Travellers who are stranded at these times, unable to buy tickets, can sometimes manage to get air tickets, which tend to sell out more slowly because of the higher but still affordable (by western standards) prices. For the most comfortable mode of transportation, air travel is the obvious choice. There is an emerging ultra-modern bullet train network which is also very nice, but you may still have to potentially deal with many insanely overcrowded, smoke-filled, cold, loud and disorganized train depots to get on-board. The spring festival (Chinese New Year) is the largest annual migration of people on earth.

Lunar New Year dates The year of the Horse started on 31 Jan 2014

China has five major annual holidays:

The Chinese New Year and National Day are not one-day holidays; nearly all workers get at least a week for Chinese New Year, some get two or three, and students get four to six weeks. For National Day, a week is typical.

The Chinese New Year is especially busy. Not only is it the longest holiday, it is also a traditional time to visit family. The entire country is pretty much shut down during the period. More or less all the migrant workers who have left their farms and villages for better pay in the cities go home. This is often the only chance they have. Everyone wants to go home, and China has a lot of "everyone"! Around the Chinese New Year, many stores and other businesses will close for several days, a week, or even longer, so unless you have close friends or relatives in China, it is not ideal to visit during this period.

Also, during early July university students (twenty-odd million of them!) go home and in late August they return to school, jamming transportation options especially between the east coast and the western regions of Sichuan, Gansu, Tibet, and Xinjiang.

A complete list of Chinese festivals would be very long since many areas or ethnic groups have their own local ones. See listings for individual towns for details. Here is a list of some of the nationally important festivals not mentioned above:

In addition to these, some Western festivals are noticeable, at least in major cities. Around Christmas, one hears carols mostly English, a few in Latin, plus Chinese versions of "Jingle Bells", "Amazing Grace", and for some reason "Oh Susana". Some stores are decorated and one sees many shop assistants in red and white elf hats. For Valentine's Day, many restaurants offer special meals. Chinese Christians celebrate services and masses at officially sanctioned Protestant and Catholic churches as well.

Non-guidebooks, either about China, or by Chinese writers.

Travel:

Literature:

History:

For a complete list of provinces and an explanation of China's political geography, see: List of Chinese provinces and regions.

We cover Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan in separate articles. From the practical traveller's point of view, they are distinct as each issues its own visas, currency and so on.

Politically, Hong Kong and Macau are Special Administrative Regions, part of China but with capitalist economies and distinct political systems. The slogan is "One country, two systems".

Taiwan is a special case. At the end of the civil war in 1949, the Communists held most of China and the defeated Nationalists held only Taiwan and a few islands off the Fujian coast. That situation continues to this day; Taiwan has had a separate government for more than 60 years and as such, is governed "de-facto" independently. However, most world bodies do not recognize it as a sovereign state - amongst other factors, this may be attributed to the strong influence of the PRC government in this matter. Both governments in theory support eventual reunification of these "two Chinas", but there is also a significant pro-independence movement within Taiwan.

China has many large and famous cities. Below is a top ten list of some of those most important to travellers in mainland China. Other cities are listed under their specific regional section. See the Dynasties and capitals section for a detailed list of China's many previous capitals.

You can travel to many of these cities using the new fast trains. In particular, the Hangzhou - Shanghai - Suzhou - Nanjing line is a convenient way to see these historic areas.

Citizens of the following countries do not need a visa to travel to Mainland China;

For 15 days

For 30 days

For 90 days

Residents of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cuba, Georgia, Guyana, Laos, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, North Korea, Pakistan, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam must have their passported endorced as "For public affairs" by the Chinese government in order to enter visa free.

For citizens of Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and United States/American Samoa, you are allowed a 144-hour visa-free stopover in Shanghai/Hangzhou/Nanjing or a 72-hour visa-free stopover in Beijing, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Guangzhou, Guilin, Harbin, Kunming, Qingdao, Shenyang, Tianjin, Wuhan, Xi'an or Xiamen provided you meet several conditions including:

More details can be found here: [5]. There is also a dedicated discussion and wiki-style summary on China's visa-free stopover policies in the FlyerTalk forum.

If you do not qualify for the 144 or 72 hour visa-free stopover (for example, if you are not flying into or out of one of the qualifying airports, or if you are not a citizen of one of the qualifying countries), you may be able to avail of the 24 hour visa-free stopover instead. This is available at all airports in China served by international flights (except for Fuzhou, Mudanjiang, Shenzhen and Yanji airports, and available at Urumqi airport only if you spend no more than 2 hours in Urumqi). The 24 hour period begins from your scheduled flight arrival time, until your scheduled flight departure time. For the 24 hour visa-free stopover, there are no territorial restrictions on your movement within mainland China (except Tibet) during your stopover, and you are not required to fly out of the same airport as the one you flew into. For example, if you arrive in Beijing at 06:00, you can travel to another city and fly out of another airport as long as your scheduled departure time is before 06:00 the following day.

Those visiting Hong Kong and Macau are able to visit the Pearl River Delta visa-free only under certain conditions.

Citizens of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, and Turkmenistan can visit visa-free for 30 days, if traveling with a tour group that is accompanied by a representative of a tour operator registered in both countries.

The special economic zone province of Hainan allows visa-free access to Mainland China (Only Hainan though) for 15 days for nationals of the following countries; Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Finland, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States. As long as they are visiting as part of a Chinese government controlled agency in Hainan with 5 people or more. Nationals of Germany, Russia, and South Korea can enter visa-free for 21 days with a tourist group of 2 people or more.

Citizens of Russia can visit the city of Suifenhe visa-free for up to 15 days. As long as you are accompanied by someone. Residents of the Amur oblast can visit the city of Heihe visa-free for 24 hours.

Residents of the East Kazakhstan Region in Kazakhstan can visit the city of Tacheng without a visa for 72 hours, which is about 3 days.

Most travellers will need a visa ( qinzhng) to visit mainland China. In most cases, this should be obtained from a Chinese embassy or consulate before departure. Visas for Hong Kong and Macau can be obtained through a Chinese embassy or consulate, but must be applied for separately from the mainland Chinese visa. However, citizens from most Western countries do not need visas to visit Hong Kong and Macau. Visitors from most western countries can stay in Hong Kong with free visa for 7 to 90 day. The time duration should depend on which country you are from. However, people from Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cuba and Ethiopia have to apply for a visa for Hong Kong before they travel to HK.

The most notable exception to this rule is transit through certain airports. Most airports allow a 12- to 24-hour stay without a visa so long as you do do not pass through immigration and customs (stay airside) and are en-route to a different country.

To visit mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau residents of Chinese nationality need to apply at the China Travel Service, the sole authorized issuing agent, to obtain a Home Return Permit (), a credit card sized ID allowing multiple entries and unlimited stay for 10 years with no restrictions including on employment. Taiwan residents may obtain an entry permit (valid for 3 months) at airports in Dalian, Fuhzou, Haikou, Qingdao, Sanya, Shanghai, Wuhan, Xiamen and China Travel Services in Hong Kong and Macau. Visitors must hold a Republic of China passport, Taiwanese Identity Card and Taiwan Compatriot Pass ( tibozhng). The Compatriot Pass may be obtained for single use at airports in Fuzhou, Haikou, Qingdao, Sanya, Wuhan and Xiamen. The entry permit fee is 100 plus 50 for issuing a single-use Taiwan Compatriot Pass. Travellers should check the most up-to-date information before traveling.

Visa overview

Getting a tourist visa is fairly easy for most passports as you don't need an invitation, which is required for business or working visas. The usual tourist single-entry visa is valid for a visit of 30 days and must be used within three months of the date of issue. A double-entry tourist visa must be used within six months of the date of issue. It is possible to secure a tourist visa for up to 90 days for citizens of some countries.

Tourist visa extensions can be applied for at the local Entry & Exit Bureaus against handing in the following documents: valid passport, visa extension application form including one 2-inch-sized picture, a copy of the Registration Form of Temporary Residence which you receive from the local police station at registration.

Some travellers will need a dual entry or multiple entry visa. For example, if you enter China on a single entry visa, then depart the mainland to Hong Kong or Macau, you need a new visa to re-enter the mainland. In Hong Kong, multiple entry visas are officially available only to HKID holders, but the authorities are willing to bend the rules somewhat and may approve three-month multiple entry visas for short-term Hong Kong qualified residents, including exchange students. It is recommended to apply directly with the Chinese government in this case, as some agents will be unwilling to submit such an application on your behalf. For holders of multiple entry visas to renew your visa you must leave China. The easist way was to go to Hong Kong, Seoul or some other country, cross the border and re-enter China. A new way is to go to Xiamen and cross to Jinmen island. Jinmen is held by Taiwan and like Hong Kong is offically considered leaving China. See details of below on boats to China.

There may be restrictions on visas for political reasons and these vary over time. For example:

A few years ago, the Z (working) visa was a long-term visa. Now a Z-visa only gets you into the country for 30 days; once you are there, the employer gets you a residence permit. This is effectively a multiple-entry visa; you can leave China and return using it. Some local visa offices will refuse to issue a residence permit if you entered China on a tourist (L) visa. In those cases, you have to enter on a Z-visa. These are only issued outside China, so obtaining one will likely require a departure from the mainland, for example to a neighbouring country. (Note that in Korea, tourists not holding an alien registration card must now travel to Busan, as the Chinese consulate in Seoul does not issue visas to non-residents in Korea.) They also usually require an invitation letter from the employer. In other cases it is possible to convert an L visa to a residence permit; it depends upon which office you are dealing with and perhaps on your employer's connections.

It is possible for most foreigners to get a visa in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. [1]. . (Dec 2010) Reservations for travel and hotel are acceptable. During busy periods, they may refuse entry after 11:00. There can be long queues so arrive early. Also be aware of major Chinese holidays, the Consular Section may be closed for several days.

Obtaining a Visa on Arrival is possible usually only for the Shenzhen or Zhuhai Special Economic Zones, and such visas are limited to those areas. When crossing from Hong Kong to Shenzhen at Lo Wu railway station, and notably not at Lok Ma Chau, a five day Shenzhen-only visa can be obtained during extended office hours on the spot for 160 (Oct 2007 price) for passport holders of many nationalities, for example Irish or New Zealand or Canadian. Americans are not eligible, while the fee for UK nationals is 450. The office accepts only Chinese yuan.

Any non-Chinese citizen must have a Tibet Travel Permit in order to enter Tibet. This permit is issued by the Tibet Tourism Bureau, and will be checked when going on board any buses, trains or airlines that bound for the TAR. However, the only way to obtain a Tibet Travel Permit is to arrange a tour operated by a Tibet travel agent which at least includes hotels and transportation. Foreigners are also not permitted to travel by public buses across Tibet and are only allowed to travel by private transportation as organised in the tour. Moreover, if entering Tibet from Nepal, one must also joined a group tour and be only allowed on a group visa. The Tibet Travel Permit has to be handed in to the tour guide upon arrival in the airport or train station, and to tour guide will keep the permit until the traveler left the TAR. The Tibet Travel Permit is also required by Taiwanese holding a Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents, but it is not required for Chinese citizens from Hong Kong or Macao holding a Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents.

If staying in a hotel, guest house or hostel, the staff will request to see, and often scan, your passport, visa, and entry stamps at check-in.

If you are staying in a private residence, you are in theory required to register your abode with the local police within 24 (city) to 72 (countryside) hours of arrival, though in practice the law is rarely if ever enforced so long as you don't cause any trouble. The police will ask for (1) a copy of the photograph page of your passport, (2) a copy of your visa, (3) a copy of your immigration entry stamp, (4) a photograph, (5) a copy of the tenancy agreement or other document concerning the place you are staying in. That agreement might not be in your name but it will still be requested.

The main international gateways to mainland China are Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Almost every sizable city will have an international airport, but options are usually limited to flights from Hong Kong, neighbouring countries such as South Korea and Japan, and sometimes Southeast Asia.

Transiting Hong Kong and Macau

If arriving in Hong Kong or Macau there are ferries that can shuttle passengers straight to another destination such as Shekou or Bao'an Airport in Shenzhen, Macau Airport, Zhuhai and elsewhere without actually "entering" Hong Kong or Macau. A shuttle bus takes transit passengers to the ferry terminal so their official entry point, where they clear immigration, will be the ferry destination rather than the airport. Please note that the ferries do have different hours so landing late at night may make it necessary to enter either territory to catch another bus or ferry to one's ultimate destination. For example, it would be necessary to clear immigration if going from HK Int'l Airport to Macau via the Macau Ferry Terminal. The most recent information on the ferries to Hong Kong can be found at the Hong Kong International Airport website.[7]

While many major airlines now fly to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, budget seats are often scarce. For good offers, book as early as possible. Tickets are particularly expensive or hard to come by at the beginning or end of summer when Chinese students abroad return home or fly back to their universities around the world. As with other travel in China, tickets can be difficult to get and will be expensive around Chinese New Year.

If you live in a city with a sizable overseas Chinese community, check for cheap flights with someone in that community or visit travel agencies operated by Chinese. Sometimes flights advertised only in Chinese newspapers or travel agencies cost significantly less than posted fares in English. However if you ask, you can get the same discount price.

See also: Discount airlines in Asia

Information: As a result of the H1N1-flu pandemic there are some kinds of health-checks currently in effect. These may be as simple as a customs person judging your appearance to IR-cameras checking for elevated body temperature. If there is a suspicion of flu, you will be quarantined for seven days.

Airlines and Routes

China's carriers are growing rapidly. Airbus estimates the size of Chinas passenger aircraft fleet will triple from 1,400 planes in 2009 to 4,200 planes in 2029.

Major domestic airlines include China Southern [8], China Eastern [9], Air China [10], and Hainan Airlines [11].

Fliers may prefer Asian airlines as they generally have more cabin staff and quality service. Hong Kong based Cathay Pacific [12] is an obvious possibility. Other candidates include Singapore Airlines [13], Japan Airlines [14], and Garuda Indonesia [15]. Korean Air [16] often has good prices on flights from various places in Asia such as Bangkok via Seoul to North America. Connecting flights may be cheaper than direct flights so keep this in mind. Korean Air also flies to more than a dozen Chinese cities.

Flights between Europe and China

China can be reached by train from many of its neighboring countries and even all the way from Europe.

China has land borders with 14 different countries; a number matched only by its northern neighbour, Russia. In addition, mainland China also has land borders with the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, which are for all practical purposes treated as international borders. Most of the border crossings in western China are located in remote mountain passes, which while difficult to reach and traverse, often reward travellers willing to make the effort with breathtaking, scenic views.

Relations between the two nations are frosty, but the Nathu La Pass between Sikkim in India and Southern Tibet has recently reopened for cross-border trade. Currently the crossing is not open to tourists, and special permits are required to visit from either side.

Entering China from Myanmar is possible at the Ruili (China)-Lashio (Myanmar) border crossing, but permits need to be obtained from the Burmese authorities in advance. Generally, this would require you to join a guided tour.

For most travelers Hanoi is the origin for any overland journey to China. There are currently three international crossings:

You can catch a local bus from Hanoi's eastern bus station (Ben Xe Street, Gia Lam District, tel: 04/827-1529) to Lang Son, where you have to switch transport to minibus or motorbike to reach the border at Dong Dang. Alternatively there are many offers from open-tour providers; for those in a hurry, they might be a good option if they offer a direct hotel to border crossing transfer.

You can change money with freelance money changers, but check the rate carefully beforehand.

Border formalities take about 30 minutes. On the Chinese side, walk up past the "Friendship-gate" and catch a taxi (about 20, bargain hard) to Pingxiang, Guangxi. A seat in a minibus is 5. There is a Bank of China branch right across the street from the main bus station; the ATM accepts Maestro cards. You can travel by bus or train to Nanning.

You can take a train from Hanoi to Lao Cai for about 420,000 VND (as of 11/2011) for a soft sleeper. The trip takes about 8 hours. From there, it's a long walk (or a 5 minute ride) to the Lao Cai/Hekou border. Crossing the border is simple, fill out a customs card and wait in line. They will search your belongings (in particular your books/written material). Outside the Hekou border crossing is a variety of shops, and the bus terminal is about a 10 minute ride from the border. A ticket to Kunming from Hekou costs about 140; the ride is about 7 hours.

At Dongxing, you can take a bus to Nanning, a sleeper bus to Guangzhou (approximately 180), or a sleeper bus to Shenzhen (approximately 230, 12 hours) (March 2006).

From Luang Namtha you can get a bus leaving at around 08:00 going to Boten (Chinese border) and Mengla. You need to have a Chinese visa beforehand as there is no way to get one on arrival. The border is close (about 1 hr). Customs procedures will take another hour. The trip costs about 45k Kip.

Also, there is a direct Chinese sleeper bus connection from Luang Prabang to Kunming (about 32 hours). You can get on this bus at the border, when the minibus from Luang Namtha and the sleeper meet. Don't pay more than 200.

The Karakoram Highway from northern Pakistan into Western China is one of the most spectacular roads in the world. It's closed for tourists for a few months in winter. Crossing the border is relatively quick because of few overland travelers, and friendly relations between the two countries. A bus runs between Kashgar (China) and Sust (Pakistan) across the Kunerjab pass.

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China - Wikitravel

Grant Berardo, a Wall High School junior, saw his image digitally altered with a plain black T-shirt in his yearbook. Mike Davis

High school yearbooks that featured digitally altered photographs of students supporting President Donald Trump will be reissued.

WALL The scandal over censorship of merchandise and quotes fromPresident Donald Trump in the Wall High School yearbook has reached the White House.

President Donald Trump and the director of his campaign thanked Wall High School students Montana and Wyatt Dobrovich-Fago, who reported a quote and logo featuring Trump's name removed from their class yearbooks.

The campaign also sent the teenagers a care package with shirts, hats, pins and patches.

"Thank you Wyatt and Montana two young Americans who arent afraid to stand up for what they believe in. Our movement to#MAGAis working because of great people like you!," Trump posted on Facebook.

THE LATEST:Wall HS to get new yearbooks after Trump shirt censorship

In a letter, campaign executive director Michael Glassner commended the students for "voicing their support" for Trump.

"It is more important than ever that we, as Americans, stand up for our beliefs and hopes for a better country," Glassner wrote. "And, as you know, it takes courage to do so. Butfreedom of expression should never go out of style let's not forget that!"

Wyatt, a junior at the school, wore a sweater vest featuring a Trump campaign logo on the school's picture day. But in the yearbook, his photo was cropped and the logo was barely visible an act Superintendent Cheryl Dyer has ruled was not intentional.

His sister, Montana, picked a quote from Trump to run alongside her photo alongside her role as freshman class president: "I like thinking big. If you are going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big," Trump's quote read.

Traditionally, all Wall class presidents can pick a quote. Montana's was submitted before the deadline passed and it's not yet clear whether it was purposely excluded, Dyer said last week.

Another student, junior Grant Berardo, saw his picture digitally altered before being published in the yearbook. Instead of the navy blue Trump campaign shirt he wore during the photo shoot, his yearbook photo featured a nondescript black T-shirt an "intentional" alteration, Dyer ruled.

FLASHBACK:Wall teen's Trump shirt censored in yearbook

The school board on Tuesday voted to formalize a suspension handed down to digital media teacher Susan Parsons, who Dyer suspended through the end of the school year last week.

The board is expected to continue discussing the case in executive session at future meetings, board attorney Michael Gross said.

Parsons, 62, was included on a list of re-hired teachers for the 2017-18 school year with a $92,000 salary, but that list was finalized before the yearbook censorship came to light.

She has not returned multiple calls to her home seeking comment.

Wall High School(Photo: File photo)

In response to the censorship scandal, Dyer last week ordered new yearbooks to be printed and reissued. Private, anonymous donors have contributed "at least $10,000" to cover the cost, Dyer said after Tuesday's board meeting.

But some members of the Wall school community have said it's not enough. Dyer has come under fire for handling the investigation despite last year posting aNew York Timesopinion article about "bullying in the age of Trump" on the school website.

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DISAFFECTED:Trump supporters at the Shore 'want their country back'

Wyatt Dobrovich-Fago also criticized Dyer for the "blatant anti-Trump stuff that's caused concern" for him.

"I feel like there's something else to the story. One person wouldn't just do this," Wyatt said. "There needs to be a proper investigation into this."

School Board President Allison Connolly disagreed, applauding Dyer and district administrators for "facing this situation head-on."

"We find the allegations of censorship disturbing and are taking the charges that studentshave had their rights compromised seriously," she said.

Mike Davis: 732-643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com

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Trump thanks Wall teens for 'standing up' to yearbook censorship - Asbury Park Press

YouTube apologized after getting hit by allegations that it censors LGBTQ+ content and fixed the bug that apparently caused the issue. Now, the website has apologized yet again and updated its policies in an effort to reaffirm its "commitment that YouTube is a place where all voices can be heard." YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki said she and her team talked to lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer/questioning creators, employees and volunteers to get feedback on the platform's policies. As a result, the company has "broadened Restricted Mode guidelines to ensure that non-graphic, personal accounts of difficult events are available."

In a blog post, the CEO wrote:

"For example, personal accounts of individuals who suffered discrimination or were impacted by violence for being part of a protected group will now be included in Restricted Mode, provided they don't contain graphic language or content. Soon we'll have new content in Creator Academy to describe in detail how to make videos that will meet the criteria for Restricted Mode."

If you look at the website's guidelines, you'll now find this section:

"Some educational, straightforward content about sexual education, affection, or identity may be included in Restricted Mode, as well as kissing or affection that's not overly sexualized or the focal point of the video."

...

"We know there is a risk that some important content could be lost if we were to apply these rules without context. We value stories where individuals discuss their personal experiences and share their emotions. Sharing stories about facing discrimination, opening up about your sexuality, and confronting and overcoming discrimination is what makes YouTube great, and we will work to ensure those stories are included in Restricted Mode. "

The Google-owned website admits that the mode might still not work perfectly despite the tweaks that it made, but it promises that its systems will get better at identifying entries that should and shouldn't be filtered out over time. In addition to making guideline changes, YouTube is introducing a permanent spot on its US spotlight channel for LGBTQ+ videos to be refreshed weekly throughout the year. It's also teaming up with The Trevor Project to offer crisis intervention to members of the community and to prevent LGBTQ+ youth suicides.

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YouTube says LGBTQ+ video censorship won't happen again - Engadget

Was a raid on NDTVs offices earlier this month politically motivated?

In the two weeks since Indias Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched a raid on the offices and the homes of NDTV staffin India, an important conversation regarding government interference in the media has resurfaced. The atmosphere surrounding the issue remainsmurky and longstanding suspicions of the strong nexus between the investigation agency and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have once more been brought to the fore.

On June 5, the CBI conducted its raid, prompting a statement from NDTV declaring that it was based on unproven complaints from a disgruntled former employee. The complaint, on the basis of a loan default, was further dismissed as baseless by the organization, which furnished the proof of repayment along with its statement.

Furthermore, the implication that this raid was based on a year-old complaint that was private in nature sparked concerns that it was politically motivated. Days prior to the raid, as several members of the Indian media have been quick to point out, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Partys spokesperson Sambhit Patra was asked to leave an NDTV debate for his accusations against the channel in the face of criticism.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore responded to this by saying that while the government was committed to protecting freedom of expression, it was also responsible for preserving the law of the land. While voices within the media have indicated that there may well be a case for this raid and that it was premature to cast this as retaliation for government criticism, several prominent members have a different opinion.

The Editors Guild of India has since issued a statement implicatingthis move as a violation ofthe principle of the freedom of the press within a democracy, pegging it as a possible attempt to silence the media. The Press Club of India subsequently organized a meeting to protest the raid. The CBI, in turn, responded with the argument that NDTV was not singled out in this raid process. Explaining that this raid was not about loan default as much as a larger list of violations of banking sector guidelines, the organization placed this investigation along the spectrum of a long list of others on the issue of banking fraud.

However, the absence of a preliminary inquiry ahead of this raid has not silenced the criticism. The Press Club meeting for instance was the site of incensed conversation. Prominent media figures like Kuldip Nayyar and Arun Shourie even discussed parallels between the current governments attitude towards the media and the time of Emergency under former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The ensuing discussion expressed worry at the majoritarian tendencies of the government, a need to move beyond institutional affiliations in the interest of preserving shrinking spaces for dissent, and the absence of protocol in the investigation.

The space for dialogue regarding the actions of the army in Kashmir, the anti-beef agenda, moral policing to name just a few issues has been fast shrinking amid perceptions that the government will seek to retaliate. Comparisons to the Emergency, while perhaps hyperbolic, are nevertheless worrisome as they are indicative of the beginnings of a trend towards heightened censorship in India. The defensiveness of the ruling party in the face of criticism has been on the rise in the past few years, and the NDTV has faced unexpected consequences for the second time in a year, following its24-hour blackout in November 2016.

The recent raids, in keeping with this trend, inspire a feeling of unease and worry regarding what they might foretell.

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In India, Raids Targeting a Prominent News Agency Spark Censorship Fears - The Diplomat