Climatic Features

China is largely located in the temperate zone, with the southern part of the country stretching over the tropical and sub--tropical zones and the northern part close to the frigid zone. Since China is under the heavy influence of a continental monsoon climate marked by complex and diverse climatic conditions, there is a big ditTerence in temperature in winter between north and south and little difference in summer.

Beijing is under the influence of the temperate continental climate with four distinct seasons. The summer is hot, rainy and humid, while the autumn is warm and sunny with clear sky and  crisp air, the best season of year.

During the time of the Congress (late August to mid September), the average temperature of Beijing is 21 .8 "C (71 .2 F), with the average daily high at 27.5 "C (8l .5 "F) and daily low at l6.8 "C (62.2 "F). Precipitation is moderate. At the time of the major excursion to south China, the local temperature is a bit higher, averaging 25 .5 "C (77.9 F) in  Shanghai  for  instance.

Clothing

The  Congress  is  convened  at  the  time  when   the  sweltering  hot  weather  is  at  its  end   and  the  cool  days  are  around  the   corner.With  little  change  in  clothing  at  this   time  of  the  year,the  streets  in  Beijing   are  decorated  by  people  in  charming  and   attractive  dresses.At  the  end  of  August,people   are  mostly  in  short  sleeves  outdoors.During  the   later  period  of  the  Congress  when  nice   and  cool  weather  sets  in,long  sleeves  are   more  appropriate.It  rains  occasionally  then.

The  temperature  in  Beijing  International  Convention   Center  is  around24±2C(75.2±3.6F).

Currency  &Credit  Cards

Currency:The  currency  of  the  People's  Republic  of   China  is  know  as  Renminbi(RMB)and  the  most   frequently  used  notes  are  of  such  denominations   as 1jiao,2jiao,5jiao,1yuan,2yuan,5yuan,10yuan,50yuan  and 100yuan.Also  commonly  used,theRMB  coin are  of such face values as I fen, 2 fen, 5 fen, I jiao, 5 jiao and I yuan. RMB is commonly represented by the symbol "Y" in writing which often appears on commodity price tags. The conversion of yuan, jiao and fen is 1 yuan = 10 jiao = 100 fen.

Credit Cards: The major foreign credit cards accepted by the Bank of China (BOC), Beijing Branch and special merchants include VISA, Master Card, American Express, Diners Club, JCB, etc. which can be used for cash withdrawal, consumption and other services at any BOC branches, merchants or ATMs with signs of these credit cards. Should you have any problems in using the credit cards, please contact the Credit Card Customer Service Center of the Bank of China by the telephone number : +86 10 6517 6688.

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