Getting There & Away

Despite over 115 ports of entry and exit, most visitors to China travel via Hong Kong or Shanghai. The national carrier is the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC, known on international routes as Air China), which also operates a company called Dragonair as a joint venture with the Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific (bookable through Cathay Pacific worldwide). If you are leaving China by air, there's a departure tax of Y90, payable only in local currency, so be sure you have enough yuan to avoid a last-minute scramble at the airport moneychanging booth.
You can travel to China and back from Europe or Asia without having to leave the ground. Exotic routes include Vietnam-China, the Trans-Siberian railway, Tibet-Nepal, Xinjiang-Pakistan and Xinjiang-Kazakstan - but don't even think about bringing your own car, as foreigners are rarely allowed to drive in China. Other entry points include Zhuhai-Macau, Kashgar-Islamabad (Pakistan) via the Karakoram Highway, Urumqi-Almaty (Kazakstan), Kashgar-Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Beijing-Pyongyang (North Korea) and Pinxiang/Hekou-Dong Dang/Lao Cai (Vietnam). You can take a slow boat to China from Japan or South Korea. Popular places to sail to and from include Shanghai, Xiamen (opposite Taiwan), Tanggu (near Tianjin), Macau and - of course - Hong Kong.