LA Times Travel Show This Weekend!

L.A.'s biggest and best travel event comes to the L.A. Convention Center this weekend, Saturday & Sunday, Feb. 23-24, 10 AM to 5 PM. 

From the top travel experts to hundreds of exciting destinations and exhibitors to show-only deals and trip giveaways, don't miss the one and only LA Times Travel Show.  

Discover how to stretch your travel dollars, savor international cuisine, discover the latest travel gadgets & apps, and get valuable tips from globetrotting experts.

Mark your calenders and get discount tickets now!

For details, please click on the LA Times Events website at:  http://events.latimes.com/travelshow/

China's Longest High-Speed Rail Line

December 26, 2012 marked the opening of the world’s longest (2,298 km or 1,428 miles) high-speed railway, linking the cities of Beijing and Guangzhou. 

Traveling at an average speed of 300 km per hour (or 186 miles per hour), the railway cuts travel time between the country’s capital and the southern economic center to about eight hours.

For more information, please click on the New York Times link that follows:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/27/business/global/worlds-longest-high-speed-rail-line-opens-in-china.html

72-hour Visa Waiver for Beijing and Shanghai

In order to facilitate the international visitors’ short stay for sightseeing in Beijing, the city now adopts a visa-free transit policy, which allows transit passengers with passport of the following 45 countries to stay in Beijing for 72 hours without visa on direct transit from January 1, 2013: 

Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States.

Note: Confirmed flight ticket and valid visa to the third country are required on entry to Beijing Capital International Airport. According to presentations by the Exit and Entry Administration of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau (PSB), the 72 hours will be counted from the moment visitors get their transit permits, but not the time when they land at the airport. Visitors are required to register at a police station with their transit permits within 24 hours after entry.

Note: Shanghai joins Beijing in this new visa regulation. Please refer to 72-hour Visa-Free Transit for more details.

For more information, please click on the Travel China Guide link that follows:

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/beijing/visa-free.htm