General Information

Climate and Weather

Guangzhou, located in southern China, features a humid subtropical monsoon climate, boasting mild winters, hot and humid summers, abundant rainfall, and ample sunshine throughout the year. The annual average temperature hovers around 22°C, with the hottest months being July and August when temperatures often reach 28–33°C, accompanied by high humidity that may make it feel even warmer. Winters are relatively mild, with average temperatures ranging from 12°C to 15°C in January, the coldest month, and frost or snow is extremely rare. For more weather information, please click here to visit. 
 

Language

Chinese people speak Mandarin in their everyday lives, knowing a few words of the language can be very beneficial. Many Chinese can speak English and are generally eager to assist you.

Time Difference

Standard Time in China is 8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT +8) and does not observe daylight savings time.

Currency

The unit of currency in China is the Chinese Yuan (CNY). Various notes and coins are used. Notes are available in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 yuan, while coins come in denominations of 1 jiao, 5 jiao, and 1 yuan. The exchange rate is subject to market fluctuations. Click here to calculate live currency and foreign exchange rates.
 

1) Currency exchange 
Foreign banknotes can be exchanged at most banks and other authorized money changers. 
2) Banking hours 
09:00am -17:00pm, Monday through Friday only. 

Payment 

As an important window involved in China’s opening-up in the Greater Bay Area, Guangzhou continues to promote payment facilitation, actively carries out mobile payment pilots, and significantly improves the convenience of payment for foreign visitors, thus creating a more secure, convenient and inclusive payment service environment. In order to bring you a better payment experience, we provide you with payment service guides covering overseas (Visa, MaterCard, JCB) and domestic bank cards, cash, mobile payment (UnionPay, Alipay, WeChat Pay), e-CNY, and other different methods.

For more details, please refer to the Payment Service Guidelines for foreigners in Guangdong  issued by the Guangdong Branch of the People's Bank of China.  

Electricity

The standard electrical voltage in China is 220–240V at 50Hz, and both two-pin and three-pin plugs are used.

Emergency

Police: 110
Ambulance: 120
Fire: 119