ICME CME 2013
General Information

Beijing

Beijing, which was founded 3000 years ago, is the capital of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is also the nation's political and cultural hub. Additionally, it is the focal point for the country's transportation, scientific and technological development, education and communication. Its present-day population is over eleven million, thus, it is the second largest city in China. Previously known in English as Peking, the name was changed when the system for spelling Chinese words in English changed; the name in English means "northern capital". Beijing is one of the Great Ancient Capitals of China and has hosted the seat of government for much of China's history. It is the political, economic, academic, and cultural center of the country. Tradition and modern civilization are well integrated in this beautiful city.

The long history of Beijing endows the city with a rich cultural heritage. The Great Wall, one of the world's great wonders and one of the very few man-made structures that can be seen from space, extends several thousand miles, and passes relatively near to Beijing. The Forbidden City includes the most splendid group of imperial palaces in the world. The temple of heaven is the place of worship for emperors of various dynasties of China as well as a splendid representation of ancient Chinese architectural art. These sites have been selected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as representing the world cultural heritage. Hutong (Chinese alleys) and compound courtyards (old Beijing residential quarters) are found throughout Beijing. These streets and buildings have witnessed the ups and downs of the city and the people in past centuries and are symbolic of the life of Beijing people. Few cities have the unique historical charm of Beijing. Its wide thoroughfares, magnificent gate tower and memorial arch, and grand palaces all speak to the extensive history of this city. It also stands as a symbol of China's grandeur, history, culture and mystery. Beijing is also an approachable and visitor-friendly city.

Changes have been taking place day-by-day in Beijing since China's reform and opening to the outside world. As summarized in a popular saying, Beijing is growing taller with more and more skyscrapers while growing younger with the improving living standards and more diversified life style.

This is Beijing, old and young, full of attractions. It is our sincere wish that you will make the best of your time here and we believe you will bring home more than what you expect.

Hotel Information

lBeijing Friendship Hotel

ICME CME 2013 will be held in the city of Beijing, at Beijing Friendship Hotel, which serves as both the official conference hotel and the venue for the technical program. Beijing Friendship Hotel is situated in the center of Zhong Guan Cun High-tech Garden, Beijing Friendship Hotel is in No.1 South St. of Zhong Guan Cun in Haidian District with some famous site scene like Summer Palace, Winter Palace and Xiangshan, there are also some well-known universities including Beijing University and Tsinghua University. As the largest garden hotel in Asia, Beijing Friendship Hotel is recorded into World Architecture Annals published by Cambridege in UK for its large area and typical folk style. Its Chinese taste may be found in its garden architectures, and more history might be discovered with more understanding.

Attractions

l Great Wall

A Chinese saying goes that He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man. If we laid the bricks and rocks used in the Great Wall of Ming to form a wall one meter (1.1 yard) wide and five meters (16.4 feet) high, it could circle the earth at the equator with great ease. It is such a spectacular and formidable architectural feat that anyone who comes to China should not miss it under any circumstances. The Badaling Great Wall, constructed in 1502 (during the Ming Dynasty), once served as a crucial military fortification, and is now the most impressive and representative section of the striking Great Wall. It is about 70 kilometers (43.4 miles) from the downtown area of Beijing. As Badaling was once an important military strategy point, here the wall is comparatively high and firm. It has a length of 3,741 meters (2.3 miles) and it is equipped with dense watchtowers. The wall is about 8.5 meters (27.9 feet) high and slopes inward as it rises in height. The wall is 6.5 meters (21.3 feet) wide at its base, and its rim spans about 5.7 meters (18.7 feet) across.

lTiananmen Square

Tiananmen Square is the geographical center of Beijing City. It is the largest city square in the world, occupying an area of 440,000 square meters (about 109 acres), and able to accommodate 10,000,000 people at one time. In the center of the Square stands the Monument to the People's Heroes, which commemorates the martyrs who devoted their lives to the Chinese people. It reaches 37.94 meters (124 feet) which makes it the biggest monument in Chinese history. The body is made of hardy granite and is surrounded by white balusters. Tiananmen Tower in the south was built in 1417 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). During this dynasty and the following Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) it was where proclamations were issued to the whole nation. The common people were prohibited from entering the tower, but now tourists with tickets are permitted to climb it. It has five arched gates and nine principle hall columns. With the delicately carved white marbles on its base and yellow tiles on the roof, the tower is quite resplendent. Under the tower flows the limpid Jinshui River, across which seven exquisite bridges are perched, named the Golden Water Bridges.

lSun Summer Palace

The Summer Palace, Yiheyuan in Chinese, is the most celebrated imperial garden in China. The garden came into existence early in the 1750s and had once been a summer resort for the emperors. It is acclaimed as a museum of gardens in China, for a visit to this garden bestow on sightseers a glimpse of representative scenes all over China.

Weather

Beijing lies in the continental monsoon region in the warm temperature zone and its climate represents as hot and rainy in summer and cold and dry in winter. The four seasons in Beijing are distinct. It is dry, windy and sandy in spring and hot and rainy in summer. August and September are the end of summer and the beginning of autumn in Beijing. This is the best season of the year when the sky is blue and clear; the air is crisp, mild and humid.

Transportation

All the registrants should make their own local transportation in the city. Travel by taxi is the most convenient and fastest option for the journey. Beijing is not only famous for charming natural scenery but also for large numbers of taxis and the cheapest taxis cost: RMB2.00 per km with base price RMB10.00! Please prepare some changes in advance for taxi fee or city bus cost in the staying in Beijing.

It takes about 40 minutes by taxi from the Beijing Capital Airport to Beijing Friendship Hotel, the taxi fare is about RMB 120 (approx. US$18), tollgate fee is RMB10. Whenever you arrive at the airport, there are always many taxis waiting at the airport to pick up passengers. We suggest you wait for taxi at the airport designated taxi station (Exit No. 7). Please ask for a receipt with the taxi.

Useful Information

lLanguage: Official language is Mandarin and most people also use their local dialect. The standard spoken Chinese is Putonghua. English can be understood by many young people and is used in hotels and big restaurants. In all tourist hotels, staff can speak in English, Japanese and other languages. They can also write down addresses or instructions in Chinese for taxi drivers or others. In addition, roads in major cities are signposted in Pinyin, the official Romanization system of the Chinese characters, which makes it quite easy to get around with the help of a map.

lCurrency: Renminbi (RMB) is the only currency to be used in China. RMB is also called Chinese Yuan. The unit of Renminbi is yuan and with smaller denominations called jiao and fen. The conversion among the three is: 1 yuan = 10 jiao = 100 fen. Paper notes are issued in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50 and 100 yuan; 1, 2 and 5 jiao; and 1, 2 and 5 fen. Coins are issued in denominations of 1 yuan; 5 jiao; and 1, 2 and 5 fen.

Money exchanges by cash or traveler’s cheques can be made at the branches of Bank of China at Harbin International Airport, hotels and tourist stores. Please remember to keep the receipt to exchange back to foreign currency when leaving China.

lCredit Cards: Visa, Master Card and American Express are the most commonly used in China. Cards can be used in most middle to top-range hotels, Friendship and department stores, but they cannot be used to finance your transportation costs.

lTime: GMT + 8 hours (the whole of China is set to Beijing time)

lElectricity: Electricity is 220 Volts, 50 AC; plugs can be three-pronged angled, three-pronged round, two flat pins or two narrow round pins.

lWater: Bottled mineral water can easily be bought in all stores and street kiosks for RMB3. And sometimes hotels provide it free of charge. Furthermore, potable water is only available in a few 4 to 5 star hotels, while water in thermos flasks in rooms is usually non-potable tap water.

lMeasurement: In Metric system

lTipping: Tipping is not customary outside of the foreign joint-venture hotels and is officially discouraged. But hotel bellboys usually expect RMB 2 – 5 per bag.

lAttention: Smoking is prohibited in public places in Harbin, such as hospitals, office buildings, theatres, cinemas, museums, planes, and trains

lHotlines: 110 - Police;119 – Fire;120 – Ambulance

Conference Information

Venues and Hotel

ICME CME 2013 will be held in the city of Beijing, at Beijing Friendship Hotel, Beijing, which serves as both the official conference hotel and the venue for the technical program.

Being a 5 star hotel, it is situated in the center of the prosperous business district of Beijing within easy access to the subway station. The stylish design reflects the perfect blend of art and architecture, where you with always feel at home thanks to the ambience and charm of personalized 5 star hotel service, where the word over make it their choice to conduct business.

Chinese Address Cards

Conference Room and Registration Desk

The ICME CME 2013 Conference Rooms and Registration Desk are on the 1st floor, Building 8 (嘉宾楼) as the following.

Conference Registration

A conference registration desk on the 1st floor, Building 8 (嘉宾楼) will be set up and opened at the Pre-Function Area of Beijing Friendship Hotel during the following hour:

May 25, 2013: 15:00 ~ 18:30

May 26, 2013: 08:30 ~ 17:15

May 27, 2013: 08:30 ~ 17:15

May 28, 2013: 09:00 ~ 11:00

Internet Access

Free Internet access will be provided during the conference period, to the ICME CME 2013 participants at the Building 8 on 1st floor of the Beijing Friendship Hotel. Broadband Internet access services are also provided at the conference hotels for a fee. For the fee information, please contact the hotel you are staying directly.

Social Events

The social events organized by the ICME CME 2013 include the conference reception, the awards banquet, the conference registration, etc.

Conference Reception

The Conference Reception will be held from 17:30 to 18:30 on May 25, 2013 at Meeting Room 5, 1th floor, the Building 8, Beijing Friendship Hotel. All the conference participants are welcome to join this event.

Awards Banquet

The Awards Banquet (Hosted by Beijing Institute of Technology) will be held from 18:30 to 21:00 on May 27, 2013 at Banquet Hall, Friendship palace, Beijing Friendship Hotel. All the conference participants are welcome to join this event.