Sites and Activities

• The Museum of Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses is praised as 'the eighth wonder of the world’.
• The Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang is listed as a World Heritage site.
• The City Wall of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) is the largest and most intact Ming Dynasty castle in the world.
• The 3,000 years old Banpo Village Remains  dates from the Neolithic Age (~8000 BC to 5000 BC),
• The Forest of Stone Steles contains 3,000 inscribed stone pillars for different periods from the Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty.
• The Famen Temple is the 'forefather of pagodas and temples in Central Shaanxi,' because it holds the finger bones of Sakyamuni -- the founder of Chinese Buddhism.
• Mt. Huashan, one of the five best-known mountains in China, located ~120 km east of Xi'an, is famous for its breathtaking cliffs with unique characteristics.

Currency

Xi’an uses Renminbi (RMB), the currency of the People’s Republic of China.  The principle unit is the Yuan, which is broken down into 10 jiao.
U.S.      $1 = 6.835 RMB as of June 9, 2009
Euro     €1 = 9.572 RMB as of June9, 2009

Weather

The climate in Xi’an is temperate, with an average annual temperature of 13.3 °C (55.9 °F).  The average temperature in May is 19.4 °C (66.9 °F), ranging from 13.8 °C (56.8 °F) to 25.8 °C (78.4 °F).  The average number of rainy days in May is nine, with 65 mm (2.6 inches) average rainfall.

Passport and Visa

A tourist visa is needed to enter China. Either employ a visa service (e.g., mychinesevisa.com, visaexpress.net, bcvisa.cbm) or go to the Consulate in person to apply for the visa. Check with the China Embassy and local travel agents for details.   Visa applications can take several weeks to process in the U.S.

Required passport and visa information can be obtained at http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/hzqz/

Electrical Supply

220V, 50Hz. Representative plug types are Type A, Type I, and Type C or Type G.

Combination plug type common in China hotels showing
Type A/I connection (top) and Type C (bottom)

Type G plug type (rare)

A good all-around adaptor plug set is recommended.

Conference Language

The official conference language is ENGLISH.