COMING AND GOING
Before You Come
Please make sure your travel documents and visas are in order.
All visitors to Hong Kong and Mainland China must hold a valid
passport. Residents of some countries require a visa to enter
Hong Kong. This can be obtained through any Chinese Consulate.
Anyone who is not a Chinese citizen will need a visa to travel
to the Mainland. You are advised to buy your own travel insurance
before you come. If you have special dietary requirements, please
inform us by e-mail or fax.
Upon Arrival Upon arrival in Hong Kong you
are advised to obtain HK$500 cash for initial expenses (US$l
app. HK$7.75). Money can be exchanged at the minibank at the
Hong Kong International Airport, Lo Wu or Kowloon railway station.
You may also withdrawn Hong Kong dollars from ATMs.
Traveling,
Eating and Shopping Hong Kong has an efficient public
transportation system that includes buses, taxis, a railway
(KCR) and an underground railway (MTR). For sight-seeing and
shopping, the most convenient form of travel is the KCR (New
Territories) and the MTR (Hong Kong Island and Kowloon). Both
the KCR and the MTR have Kowloon Tong stations, which are within
walking distance to the Baptist University. For those places
not directly accessible by railway, it is suggested that you
take a taxi to and from the nearest railway station.
We may have the highest number of restaurants
per capita in the world. If you enjoy exploring, you will find
Hong Kong offers all kinds of cuisine (Chinese, Japanese, Thai,
Vietnamese, American, European, etc.) in all kinds of environments
(from outdoor stalls to elegant restaurants). However, the correlation
between the quality of food and the price is low.
Around the corner from the Conference Center
is a student cafeteria serving inexpensive food. On Junction
Road near the conference venue there is a Park'n Shop supermarket
and several restaurants and several banks. Two nearby shopping
centers are Lok Fu Shopping Centre (at Lok Fu MTR station) and
Festival
Walk (at Kowloon Tong MTR station). Lok Fu has a more local
flavour while Festival
Walk is more modern and more expensive. It is a 15-minute
walk from the University to either of these shopping centres.
Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay are two large
shopping areas in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Tourist Association
also provides information at the airport and at either terminus
of the Star Ferry on where to shop. You can exchange foreign
currency into local currency at money changers, or banks (usually
the best rate). Almost everywhere in Hong Kong there are automatic
teller machines that dispense local currency to holders of major
credit cards.
Climate Hong Kong's climate
is sub-tropical, tending towards temperate for nearly half the
year. Air-conditioning is very popular in Hong Kong. Thus, we
recommend you to bring a sweater or jacket with you. The table
below shows some useful meteorological normals and extremes
for Hong Kong's June in 2003.
Rainfall: |
Total 523.5mm |
Temperature: |
Mean 27.7oC,
Max 33.3oC, Min 24.8oC |
Relative humidity: |
Mean 81% |
If Departing by
Air Please remember to reconfirm your return flight
soon after arrival. Also put aside the HK$80 per person departure
tax that will be required when you leave Hong Kong by air.
Remark: Taxis charge passengers for all tunnel tolls plus HK$5 for handling each piece of luggage.