Las estructuras en ICTG
Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de la República Popular China
INTRODUCTION
Located in East Asia, on the western shore of the Pacific Ocean, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has a land area of about 9.6 million sq km, and is the third-largest country in the world, next only to Russia and Canada. From north to south, the territory of China measures some 5,500 km, stretching from the center of the Heilongjiang River north of the town of Mohe (latitude 53° 30' N) to the Zengmu Reef at the southernmost tip of the Nansha Islands (latitude 4° N). When north China is still covered with snow, people in south China are busy with spring plowing. From west to east, the nation extends about 5,200 km from the Pamirs (longitude 73° 40'E) to the confluence of the Heilongjiang and Wusuli rivers (longitude 135° 05' E), with a time difference of over four hours. When the Pamirs are cloaked in night, the morning sun is shining brightly over east China. China has land borders 22,800 km long, with 14 contiguous countries: Korea to the east; the People's Republic of Mongolia to the north; Russia to the northeast; Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan and Tajikistan to the northwest; Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bhutan to the west and southwest; and Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar to the south. Across the seas to the east and southeast are the Republic of Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The Chinese mainland is flanked to the east and south by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas, with a total maritime area of 4.73 million sq km. The Bohai Sea is China's continental sea, while the Yellow, East China and South China seas are marginal seas of the Pacific Ocean. A total of 5,400 islands dot China's vast territorial waters. The largest of these, with an area of about 36,000 sq km, is Taiwan, followed by Hainan with an area of 34,000 sq km. Diaoyu and Chiwei islands, located to the northeast of Taiwan Island, are China's easternmost islands. The many islands, islets, reefs and shoals on the South China Sea, known collectively as the South China Sea Islands, are subdivided into the Dongsha, Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha island groups.
CLIMATE
China has a marked continental monsoonal climate characterized by great variety. Northerly winds prevail in winter, while southerly winds reign in summer. The four seasons are quite distinct. The rainy season coincides with the hot season. From September to April the following year, the dry and cold winter monsoons from Siberia and Mongolia in the north gradually become weak as they reach the southern part of the country, resulting in cold and dry winters and great differences in temperature. The summer monsoons last from April to September.
The warm and moist summer monsoons from the oceans bring abundant rainfall and high temperatures, with little difference in temperature between the south and the north. China's complex and varied climate results in a great variety of temperature belts, and dry and moist zones. In terms of temperature, the nation can be sectored from south to north into equatorial, tropical, sub-tropical, warm-temperate, temperate, and cold-temperate zones; in terms of moisture, it can be sectored from southeast to northwest into humid (32 percent of land area), semi-humid (15 percent), semi-arid (22 percent) and arid zones (31 percent).
A Brief Introduction to the Tourist Visa
A tourist visa, issued to aliens who come to china for sightseeing and visiting relatives, is marked with ?L? in the many kinds of Chinese visas. Visa L is characterized by a short duration of stay, usually 30 days, no more than 90 days, and could not be extended upon expiration. Group visa, another kind of tourist visa, is applied by foreigner traveling in tour groups. Group visa is not issued on the passports, but on a separate paper, which requires the group members enter and exit the Chinese border together. From Nov. 15th 2000, aliens traveling to Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions(SAR) in tour groups organized by travel agencies registered in the above-mentioned SARs are exempted from visa requirements for a period of not exceeding 6 days when entering into the following Chinese mainland cities: Guangzhong, Shenzhen, zhuhai,
Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jinangmen, Zhaoqing, Huizhou,etc. The premise is that the traveler shall have the citizenship of a country having diplomatic relations with the People?s Republic of China and carrying an ordinary passport.
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