It is your time to visit China for a business trip, but you do not want to miss the opportunity to check some turistic places. Why not visit the Giant Buddah in Hong Kong, or the casinos in Macau?
Whether you are an expert on travelling to find good business opportunities, or are planning a first adventure through China, it is worth to check out this important tips. With this, and future posts, I hope to bring some useful information for the curious or the ones that are organizing the agenda, so you can rest assure that you will take the best advantage out of such a (tiring) trip.
Specially if you are going to the South of China (region of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Hong Kong, etc) you cannot miss this hints.
1 – Organize your agenda on a strategic way
(a) Study the map of China (yes, believe you in me, I have seen many senior business people failing in such a primary item) and make a list of which cities you must visit.
(b) Do a good research for the flights schedule to define the route that best suits you.
(c) You may ask the factories that you are visiting to fit into your schedule, as possible. If you don’t know it yet, they have more interest in receiving you than you in paying a visit. In some good cases they will do all the efforts to receive you, even if the time of your visit didn’t fit very well on their opening time. Generally speaking, the Chinese people receive very well the foreigners during the business trip, and in some cases will warmly assist a foreigner. They know that you really do not understand a thing, and that you will appreciate ($$$) the help.
2 – Prepare a 2 entrance visa
This tip is the golden star in your schedule! Your business trip may include a bit of leisure and sightseeing among so many meetings and appointments. Especially if your trip is to the South of China, if you have the chance, ask for a visa with 2 entries. This way you can go inside China to visit the factories and exhibitions, and still visit the special areas outside mainland China, such as Hong Kong and Macau (or even Taiwan). With a second entrance allowed, you can return to mainland China a second time and meet your last appointments.
Did you already get your visa and were only allowed 1 entry? There is still some hope. In case that you have only 1 entry, you can enjoy Hong Kong and Macau the same way! You just need to step by whenever you do not need to enter China again, such as flights or any other appointment inside China. Plan ahead!
3 – Currency
Be reminded that the special zones of China use different currency systems difering from mainland China. They are more devalued, that’s why it is always best to take a portion of the local currency in cash with you. Look for the best exchange rate and consider to change from USD to the local coins, rather than from RMB to the local currency, since (sometimes) the money lost in the transaction is bigger if done from RMB.
Is it your first trip to China? The first contact with the factories? Thinking whether or not you should travel alone? Do you need more information about Canton Fair?
So stay tuned for the next posts!
See you around!
CriaMacau™ 