Dalian

Dalian Christianity Cheng'en Church

Can use the #201 trolley as the stop is at the intersection of the two streets. Locals and foreigners alike welcomed, with services in Mandarin.

Church in Swishotel

Real Sunday service in a knock-off hotel. Foreign passport owners only.

Crime, particularly street crime, is low in Dalian as it is in most of China. That said, the people in northeastern China are on average more aggressive than their southern counterparts and fights do happen. Most often when alcohol is involved. While foreigners are unlikely to be targeted, one would be wise to avoid any heated exchanges. Additionally pickpockets do operate, so care should be taken with valuables especially in busy shopping areas or on crowded buses or trains.

Probably the greatest safety risk you'll face in Dalian is from the traffic which can be chaotic at the best of times. China has the highest rate of road fatalities in the world and allowances made for pedestrians are practically nonexistent. Marked crossings seem to serve little purpose other than as target ranges. Dalian's many wide avenues may be good for congestion but by creating more fast flowing traffic than in, say, Beijing they make life harder for pedestrians. The best way to cross the road other than over bridges, through tunnels or at traffic lights is to wait for a gap in the traffic and run. Don't under any circumstances expect cars to stop for you.

Health-wise Dalian's relatively low levels of pollution when compared to other domestic cities mean health problems from bad air are less of an issue than in other Chinese cities. The water, while technically drinkable, is made drinkable via the addition of hefty amounts of chemicals and pipes are seldom kept in the best condition so boiling is pretty much mandatory, and bottled water is usually a safer bet -- locals either boil tap water or buy filtered water. Tap water should be fine for brushing teeth and washing with, however. The complete lack of any health inspection mechanism means food poisoning is a constant danger, but most restaurants should be OK. Even still, however, nice restaurants are known to sell outdated seafood from time to time. Avoid any restaurants that seem strangely quiet customers tend not to return to places that leave them on the toilet for a week. It's always a good idea to pack a few diarrhea tablets before leaving, just in case. Hospitals are liberally scattered throughout the city with the Friendship Hospital on Wuwu Lu +86 0411 8271 8822 and the first affiliated hospital of Dalian Medical University Also known as "Fuyi" in Chinese are the most likely to have English speaking staff. China's hyper-capitalist health-care system means that payment in cash is required before any treatment is dished out, so make sure to bring a few hundred yuan with you should you need medical attention.

cope

Though credit and debit cards are gradually becoming more widely accepted at department stores and supermarkets most stores and all attractions still operate on a cash-only basis and only the very largest or most expensive shops accept foreign credit cards. It's generally best to ensure that you have a decent amount of cash on hand when going out. ATMs are located at virtually all bank branches, and most though not all of the large banks now accept foreign debit or credit cards. Bank of China branches all have the ability to take cards from foreign banks, and most offer English instructions. For more advanced financial transactions converting currency or travellers checks, for instance the best places to go are the Bank of China branch on the north side of Zhongshan Square and the HSBC branch on Renmin Lu just east of the Shangri-la hotel.

contact

The area code for Dalian landlines is 0411 the "0" is not needed if dialing locally. The main local telephone operator is China Netcom (http://www.chinanetcom.co...). Almost all hotels have at least a perfunctory business center offering Internet access though usually at a far higher price than at an Internet café but most of the splurge hotels offer it for free.

There are a handful of public phones, as in standalone phones. These are few and far between, however, and to use them you need to purchase an IC card which can't be used for anything else. More practical, and cheap, are the phones that can be found at convenience stores or kiosks. To use these simply indicate you wish to use one, dial the number and then hand over the money usually less than ¥1 for short local calls to the shop assistant at the end. Not all such phones will allow you to dial outside of Dalian, however, and very few accept international calls those that do will have the letters IDD on the telephone sign outside the shop/kiosk.

For international calls the best places to go are the phone bars often labelled 电话吧 (diànhuà ba), generally found around residential areas. To make a call simply walk in, choose a vacant phone and when finished indicate which phone you used to the cashier typically the phones have a number written above them. Prices can be highly variable, but a reasonably long call shouldn't come to more than ¥50. A more expensive, and possibly more convenient, option is to ask to use the phone in hotel lobbies.

Calling cards known as IP cards are plentiful and, as in the rest of China, offer the cheapest way of calling overseas. Be aware, however, that not all brands of cards offer oral English instructions, so those not fluent in Mandarin would be best sticking to the two main brands China Netcom and China Telecom.

Mobile phones, and mobile phone stores, are plentiful in Dalian. If you have an international roaming plan then you should be able to use your phone to call within Dalian, though this can be very expensive. For those staying for longer than a week or two it may be cheaper to buy a local SIM card expect to pay around ¥50-100. The three main operators, China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom, operate on different standards. Select one of the three operators based on what type of phone you have. China Mobile and China Unicom utilize GSM, China Telecom CDMA.

Internet cafés, as in most Chinese cities, are plentiful and on nearly every street corner, especially in residential areas and around universities. Just look for the characters 网吧 wǎng ba on shop fronts. In the town center they're less numerous, though there are a few around the railway station and Victory Square. Expect to pay ¥1-5 for an hour. Foreigners are not allowed in Internet cafes without a special ID card which only Chinese Nationals can obtain. Wifi is available in coffee shops like Amici and Starbucks scattered throughout the city.

China Post offices are scattered around the city, with the two main branches located just west of the railway station and on Zhongshan Square. These branches, as with most larger post offices in the city, offer Western Union wiring facilities, though the branch next to the railway station is the only one which can receive funds.