**Contents of Main page of Tour Support:

1. ---CALLING to/from CHINA and how to figure the TIME DIFFERENCE

2. ---Basic CHINESE

3. ---CHINA VISA Information and Instructions for 2012 tour


1. CALLING HOME - Calling the US from China

If you are just calling the US using a regular cell phone or land phone, then you just need to dial: 001 + area code + phone number. Note: 00 is for international call and 1 is for the US country code.

Time Difference and how it affects your call home:

It will be Daylight Savings Time for most areas of the US by the first full day of touring in China (occurring at 2 AM local time on 3/14/11 in the US).

Note: for receiving a call in China from the US, advise your friends and family back home that they should ADD (instead of subtract) the appropriate hour(s) shown below to their local time zone to figure out what time it is for you in China. CHINA will be ahead of time in the US and often the next day/date.

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME begins this year on March 11, 2012 (well before we fly to China on March 22)

1. China local time -15 hours = PDST (minus 16 hours before March 11th for PDT)
PDST +15 hours = local time in China (PDT: plus 16 hours before March 11th )

Calling from China to PDST - Easy way - reverse AM and PM and back up an additional 3 hours because China time is ahead of the time in the US.
Example: 9 AM in China = 6 PM the day before on the West Coast.

NOTE: MST is the same as PDST for those living in AZ.

2. China local time -14 hours = MDST (minus 15 hours before March 14th for MDT)
MDST +14 = local time in China (MDT: plus 15 hours before March 14th )

Calling from China to MDST - Easy way - reverse AM and PM and back up an additional 2 hours because China time is ahead of the time in the US.
Example: 9 AM in China = 7 PM the day before in MDST zone.

3. China local time -13 hours = CDST (minus 14 hours before March 14th for CDT)
CDST +13 hours = local time in China (CDT: plus 14 hours before March 14th )

Calling from China to CDST - Easy way - reverse AM and PM and back up an additional 1 hour because China time is ahead of the time in the US.
Example: 9 AM in China = 8 PM the day before in CDST zone.

4. China local time -12 hours = EDST (minus 13 hours before March 14th for EDT)
EDST +12 hours = local time in China (EDT: plus 13 hours before March 14th )

Calling between China and EDST - Easy way is to just reverse AM and PM but remember China is always AHEAD of the time in the US. Example: 9 AM in China = 9 PM the day before in EDST zone.

2. ---Some BASIC CHINESE

Click on this to view and/or print :

BasicMandarinChinese.pdf

3. CHINA VISA Information and Instructions

Everyone must get a visa to go to China, but this is usually a simple and trouble-free process. We do NOT use a Group Visa as this method can cause serious travel. Each passport will be stamped individually with the China visa. The use of a Group Visa can cause enormous problems should one of the group need to separate from the group becuase of any personal emergency, etc.

You will need to complete a China Visa application form (V.2011A) and submit it (with an official Passport-type photo attached). You will normally need to ship to us in the latter part of Jan or early Feb. prior to the tour, via a secure method, your passport along with the completed application form and including an official-type passport photo attached. We review all and then submit the batch collected from the group to our tour operator who also reviews all before presenting to the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco, CA for processing. Once they are processed and all other travel materials and documents are ready, we retrieve all from our tour operator and then ship everything to you, via Fed Ex or UPS with tracking and insurance, usually to arrive at the address you specify sometime near the end of February. Special arrangements can be made for those who have other travel plans that require a different schedule for the handling of the passports and visas.

For those with a foreign passport, you will also need to complete Section "D" of Form V.2011B (see link at bottom of page) and submit your actual "Green card" along with everything else.

You may also opt to obtain your own visa but it is VERY important that you follow the instructions below:

NOTE: the blue links in the instructions "image" below do not work - so here is the direct link to click on to go directly to the China Visa Form (V.2011A) where you can fill in first and then print out or print out and then fill in by hand: http://chinaconsulatesf.org/chn/qianzhen/zgqz/P020110106297943134404.pdf




NOTE: You can view or download a .pdf of the above instructions by clicking HERE.

For those with a foreign passport, copy this link to your browser to view the additional Form V.2011B (complete Section "D") :


This page last updated February 6, 2012