A valid passport and visa are required to enter China and must be obtained from Chinese Embassies and Consulates before traveling to China. Americans arriving without valid passports and the appropriate Chinese visa are not permitted to enter and will be subject to a fine and immediate deportation at the traveler's expense. Travelers should not rely on Chinese host organizations claiming to be able to arrange a visa upon arrival. Chinese authorities have recently tightened their visa issuance policy, in some cases requiring personal interviews of American citizens. Although a bilateral United States-China agreement provides for issuance of multiple entry visas with validity of up to one year for tourists and business visitors, Chinese consulates often limit visas to only one-entry. See the Foreign Entry Requirements brochure for more information on China and other countries.
Visas are required to transit China. Persons transiting China on the way to and from Mongolia or North Korea or who plan to re-enter from the Hong Kong or Macau Special Administrative Regions should be sure to obtain visas allowing multiple entries. Permits are required to visit Tibet as well as many remote areas not normally open to foreigners. Every foreigner going to Tibet needs to get a travel permit which can be done through local travel agents. Permits cost RMB 100, are single-entry and valid for at most three months. Most areas in Tibet are not open for foreigners. Foreigners can be fined, taken into custody and removed for visiting restricted areas.
Embassy
and Consulate in the US :
For
longer stays and more detailed information, contact the Visa
Section of the Chinese Embassy, 2201 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Washington,
DC 20007 (202-338-6688) or nearest Consulate General: Chicago
(312-803-0098), Houston (713-524-4311), Los Angeles (213-807-8018),
New York (212-330-7409) or San Francisco (415-563-4857). Internet:
www.china-embassy.org/eng/
China
Travel
Health Information :
Vaccination or Disease
Recommendations or Requirements for Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
Recommended if you are not up-to-date with routine shots such as, measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) vaccine, etc.
Recommended for all unvaccinated people traveling to or working in countries with an intermediate or high level of hepatitis A virus infection ( see map ) where exposure might occur through food or water. Cases of travel-related hepatitis A can also occur in travelers to developing countries with "standard" tourist itineraries, accommodations, and food consumption behaviors.
Recommended for all unvaccinated persons traveling to or working in countries with intermediate to high levels of endemic HBV transmission ( see map ) and who might be exposed to blood or body fluids, have sexual contact with the local population, or be exposed through medical treatment, such as for an accident, and for all adults requesting protection from HBV infection.
Recommended for all unvaccinated people traveling to or working in East Asia, especially if visiting smaller cities, villages, or rural areas and staying with friends or relatives where exposure might occur through food or water.
Recommended for travelers spending a lot of time outdoors, especially in rural areas, involved in activities such as bicycling, camping, hiking, or work. Also, children are considered at higher risk because they tend to play with animals and may not report bites.
Recommended if you plan to visit rural farming areas and under special circumstances, such as a known outbreak of Japanese encephalitis, see country-specific information .
Malaria
Drugs to Prevent Malaria (Antimalarial drugs)
If you will be visiting a malaria risk area in China, you will need to take one of the following antimalarial drugs: only atovaquone/proguanil or doxycycline along the China-Burma border in the western part of Yunnan province; atovaquone/proguanil or doxycycline or mefloquine ( primaquine in special circumstances and only after G6PD testing) in Hainan and the other parts of Yunnan province ( see map ). Chloroquine in all other areas.
Malaria risk area in China: Travelers to cities and popular tourist areas, including Yangtze River cruises, are not at risk and do not need to take chemoprophylaxis. Rural areas only of the following provinces: Hainan, Yunnan, Fuijan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Tibet (in the Zangbo River valley only), Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Shandong. In provinces with risk, transmission exists in rural communities below 1,500 m only during warm weather: north of latitude 33°N, July-November; between latitude 25°N and 33°N, May-December. South of latitude 25°N, transmission occurs year-round.
