China Travel Forum

[Laura]

We are going to China - probably in March-
I have some questions in the moment:
Do they have ATM machines - ? (we are staying in hotels, too.) - I would
assume they exist in
the big cities?
Or- should we exchange money here in the US?
We need to re-charge batteries for phone, digital camera-- also maybe
hairdryer, etc. - What
electricity do they use??

[Dermot]

ATMs are seen everywhere, but very, very few are connected to the outside world for use by westerners. Don't count on being able to find an ATM that you can use to withdraw funds on a western bank outside of Beijing or Shanghai, and that after a LOT of searching. Even when found, they don't always work! Of course Hong Kong has them everywhere and they work just fine with western cards.
I doubt if you could find Yuan (RMB) to purchase outside of packs made up in small denominations for use as tips. Consider traveler's checks. We used American Express checks and had no difficulty whatsoever changing them in any of our hotels, on board our cruise ship, or in banks. Many merchants will also gladly take them but beware of the exchange rate they offer. Be sure to keep ALL of the receipts that are given to you when you exchange money. You'll need receipts totaling at least what you are exchanging when you want to change your money back when you leave the country.
Credit cards are also accepted almost everywhere in the larger cities and
frequently give the best exchange rate. We used VISA and AMEX cards without difficulty in restaurants, theaters, etc.
All of the major hotels provide 110V AC outlets for shavers and I frequently made use of these for my digital camera. Normal voltage is 220V, so if your hair dryer won't handle that, leave it home and buy one in China. You'll need adapters for the 220V outlets, but these are widely available for very little. Just don't buy them at the airport where you'll pay several times what you can get them for in the city. Leave the phone home.