Visa

Foreign visitors have to obtain a visa before entering Shanghai. You can apply for the visa in the Consulate of P. R. China in your country. Alternatively, you can obtain the visa through a travel agency. Special fast applications can be generally completed with 24 hours.

Health and Hygiene

Before entry and departure, all tourists have to fill in the Health Declaration Card. Upon entry, all tourists have to accept the body temperature scanning.

Currency in mainland China is RMB (Ren Min Bi), namely CNY. So is in Shanghai.

Bank: Shanghai Branch of Bank of China is located in Zhongyin Building, No. 200, Yincheng Middle Road, Pudong New District, Shanghai, China. It has dozens of sub-branches. Foreign exchange service is provided in these branches.

Most banks in Shanghai open from Monday to Saturday.

Office Hours: 9:00 - 17:00, From Monday to Friday

9:00 - 13:00, Saturday

Postcode: 200000

Dialing Code: 0086-21

International long-distance telephone: Please dial 00 + country code + city code + telephone number

Telephone: Phone booth is easily found in the street. CNY 0.5 every three minutes and CNY 1 every five minutes at coin call.

Time Zone: GMT + 8

Voltage: 220 V, 50Hz alternating current

Tip: 0 - 15% in restaurants and hotels

Dining: Reservation is necessary. Make a reservation 24 hours beforehand when planning to dine in a well known restaurant. KFC, McDonald's, Yonghe Soybean Milk and Xinya Da Bao provide food delivery.

Toilet facilities: big shopping malls, fast food restaurants, subway station and main scenic spots have clean and sanitary toilets. Some have to be paid. The price is no more than CNY 1.

Emergency:

Fire: 119

Police: 110

Ambulance: 120

Useful Numbers:

Consumer Complaint: 12315

Tourists Complaint: 64393615

Telephone Trouble: 122

Local Telephone Number and Long-distance City Code Inquiry: 114

International City Code Inquiry: 116

Weather Forecast: 121, 221

Zip Code Inquiry: 184

Customer Service Center of Post Office: 185

Train Ticket Reservation: 63171880, 8008207890

Coach Ticket Reservation: 56630230

Hongqiao International Airport Consultation: 62688918

Pudong International Airport Consultation: 38484500

Activities

As with other cities throughout the country, Shanghai celebrates all Chinese public holidays, like Spring Festival, International Labor Day, Children's Day and National Day, etc. In addition to the national holidays, Shanghai's regional folk festivals add their own touch of traditional jubilation to city life. On every Spring Festival Eve, local people swarm to Longhua Temple to toll the bell to celebrate the coming New Year. The Shanghai International Tea Culture Festival is held during April. In May there is the International Dragon Boat Race in the Qingpu District. Established in 1993, there is the Shanghai International Film Festival. This is the only international film festival to be held in mainland China. The Shanghai Tourism Festival is held during September and October; this includes a wide variety of celebrations and activities.

In September, 2004, the Shanghai Formula One World Championship was held for the first time in China. This prestigious event which is the world's fastest, most expensive motoring competition with the highest of technical standards helps to promote the image of Shanghai's economic development and tourism industry and brings commercial opportunity to the city. Shanghai also hosts many other international competitions and conventions, such as the APEC Convention, International Ballet Competitions, etc.