Money Questions - Training in China

The Chinese currency is called "Yuan" or "Ren Min Bi". For one Euro you get about 10 Yuan. You can find the exact exchange rates at x-rates.com. I recommend you change all your money into Yuan when you arrive to China. This way you will not draw special attention to your foreign bills and it will not be harder to cheat you. Click Here for more information about wushu training in China.

More: Money Questions

  • The best way to withdraw money in China is using a credit card like visa or master card. Some ATM's also accept debit cards like Maestro or Visa Electron. However, I never tried debit cards myself. If you are staying for more than just a few weeks, and your parents want to send you money every month, you can also ask them to send cash via Western Union. A credit card would be better and cheaper though. You can also open an account at the Bank of China in Yun Cheng and ask your parents to send money per EFT - Electronic Funds Transfer. That's not the fastest form of receiving money, but it used to work best around 2002. I don't have any experience with traveler's checks, but I think that would work too. If there are any problems receiving the money, you may have to go to He Ze, the next biggest city, a 90 minutes bus ride from Yun Cheng.
  • The school will ask you to pay in cash. Unfortunately they don't accept credit cards or traveler checks. Sometimes they will also ask for US-dollars, but you can't withdraw dollars. So you would have to change from Chinese Yuan into US-dollars and pay the interest for changing the money. I recommend you tell them you can't draw dollars and if they still want american money, they would have to pay the interest themselves. After all that's the truth and you should not pay extra for their special wishes.
  • The shops and most hotels in Yun Cheng & surrounding area don't accept credit cards. So, again you will have to find an ATM to draw cash. There is one in the Bank of China and one in the Agricultural Bank of China in Yun Chang. Those places are 10 minutes from the school and if you walk, it will take you about 20 minutes.

Advice: Money Questions

  • Don't carry around your credit cards all the time. Keep your money, the cards and your passport in a save place.
  • When you have to draw money while being in China, I recommend you draw it a few days before you run out of cash. Sometimes the ATM's in Yun Cheng don't work, so will have to wait 1 or 2 days.
  • Only draw money when the bank is open and always bring along your passport. If the ATM swallows your card, you want to be able to complain in the bank and of course you should also be able to identify yourself.
  • If you draw money with a credit card, I recommend you draw it at a cashpoint and not inside a bank. Some Chinese banks charge incredible fees for drawing money inside.
  • When you arrive to China, don't bring all your money in cash. By Chinese law you are only allowed to bring a few hundred dollars in cash. Besides, the risk that somebody will rob you, is higher if you are carrying cash-bundles in all your pockets.
  • Buy a wallet with a chain.