Matthew B. Christensen - Decoding China: A Handbook for Traveling, Studying, and Working in Todays China

Appendix 1
USEFUL WEBSITES FOR BEFORE YOU GO

GENERAL INFORMATION

U.S. Department of State

http://www.state.gov/p/eap/ci/ch

Information about China, Hong Kong and Macau. Includes background notes as well as the Library of Congress country study of China.

http://www.state.gov/p/eap/ci/taiwan

Background notes about Taiwan.

TRAVEL

General Information

http://www.chinatour360.com

Provides private and package tours to all areas of China, as well as airline and train ticketing services.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com

Offers private, small group, and package tours to China. Descriptions of top attractions, city guides, and other travel related resources.

http://www.synotrip.com

A Chinese travel agency that helps tourists connect with tour guides, and also arranges other travel related services.

http://wikitravel.org/en/China

This wiki provides a wealth of information on everything related to traveling in China. Content is organized according to topic and subtopic making it easy to navigate and use.

Ticket Booking

http://www.ctrip.com

A well known and trusted online travel agency similar to Travelocity.

http://www.elong.net

Another well-known online travel agency, providing the same services as Ctrip above.

http://www.flychina.com

Has a long history of providing discount international airline tickets to China. They now also offer domestic tickets and hotel, tour, and visa bookings.

Discussion Forums

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forum.jspa?forumID=19&keywordid=84

The Thorn Tree Discussion Forum for China is a forum for travelers to ask questions and swap information on traveling in China. Discussions are searchable with separate threads for different areas of Northeast Asia. There are also forums for Taiwan, Tibet, etc.; use the index at http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa

Train Travel

http://www.seat61.com/China.htm

General train travel information including ticketing, schedules, fares, and recommended trains for popular routes.

WEATHER

http://weather.com.cn

Detailed weather forecasts for all major cities and an amazing number of small towns in China. Cities are arranged alphabetically by pinyin. An English mirror site is provided.

LIVING

General Online Classified Advertisements

http://58.com

In Chinese, but very easy to navigate and use. Simply choose the city, district and category you are looking for.

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/forum/29-classifieds

Targets English-speaking expats. Jobs and housing seem to be the most popular postings.

http://www.zhantai.com

Craigslist in Chinese. Choose any major city on the right-hand side.

http://geo.craigslist.org/iso/cn

Craigslist for China! The format and functionality is exactly the same as for U.S. cities. A great place to find an apartment or room for rent.

http://www.justlanded.com/english/China

For expats new to China. Find a place to live. Find a job. Find a friend.

Housing-Specific Online Classifieds

http://www.5i5j.com

Makes finding a place to buy or rent seem easy. New or used apartments in a variety of cities.

http://www.at0086.com/two/provider.aspx?cid=523

Apartments for rent in Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan, or Shenzhen. In English.

http://www.wanhai.com.cn

Specializes in selling and renting properties in Beijing. In English, and very user-friendly.

Yellow Pages

http://www.wo116114.com

Get 411-type info here. Pretty good for the Beijing area, but not so great for other cities.

CITY-SPECIFIC RESOURCES

Beijing

http://www.agendabeijing.com

An online English language magazine catering to the Beijing expat community.

http://beijing.asiaxpat.com

Articles, classifieds and personals for the expats in the capital.

groups.yahoo.com/group/Beijingcafe

A Yahoo! Groups listserv, essentially for expats living in Beijing.

http://www.beijingchina.net.cn/transportation

In English. Lists train schedules for Beijing as well as taxi, bus, and metro information.

http://www.beijinghikers.com

An eco-friendly company that leads group and private hikes.

http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijing

A variety of resources for the Beijing expat. (Also available for Shanghai and Guangzhou.)

www.innbeijing.org

At International Newcomers Network, find out about group gatherings for those fresh off the plane and the old China hand alike.

http://www.thebeijinger.com

Classifieds, a blog, and forums for the Beijing expat community.

http://www.timeout.com/cn/en/beijing

The latest and hippest happenings in the capital. (Also serves Shanghai.)

Nanjing

http://www.3dnanjing.com

A 3-D map of Nanjing with bus and metro routes is useful for finding your way around. However, the site may not work on all computers.

http://www.hellonanjing.net

Resources, classified ads, and discussion boards for the growing Nanjing expat community.

http://www.nanjingexpat.com

A variety of resources for the Nanjing expat.

Shanghai

http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai

Good resource for finding an apartment and a job in Shanghai.

http://shanghai.asiaxpat.com

Resources for the foreigner in Shanghai.

http://www.shanghaiexpat.com

A clearinghouse of all things expat in Shanghai. This community is very active.

NEWS AND INFORMATION

Newspapers Published in China

http://libguides.mit.edu/content.php?pid=146063&sid=1247887

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_the_Peoples_Republic_of_China

http://www.world-newspapers.com/china.html

Chinese News Sources

CCTV http://www.cntv.cn/index.shtml

China Daily http://www.chinadaily.com.cn

Chinese News Digest http://www.cnd.org

Chinese News Net http://www.chinesenewsnet.com

Peoples Daily http://www.people.com.cn

Xinhua News Agency http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/index.htm

English News Sources

CCTV http://english.cntv.cn/01/index.shtml

China Daily http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/index.html

Global Times http://www.globaltimes.cn

International Business Times China/Hong Kong http://cn.ibtimes.com

Peoples Daily http://english.peopledaily.com.cn