Earth Quake Warning from China:

As some of you might have heard, there was a huge earth quake in China just a few days ago. This was posted by the Canadian in China website:

To the Canadian Global Community,

We urge all Canadians to keep out of the Sichuan area if you are planning to travel to the region (Canadian Consular information below). Keep your prayers and thoughts for the thousands still trapped or missing, while the death toll is up to 12000 and rising, only 58 people have been rescued, hampered by bad weather and challenges in getting equipment to the epicentre. The article below by CTV will give you a closer description of the disaster relief efforts for the quake stricken area. Check out the link for the comments made online, some will warm your heart while some will leave you cold. And those with good broadband in your region, check the latest video coverage here:
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/earthquake-in-china/#clip52679

Some Canadian students from BC were caught in the quake but are well. For Canadians in Beijing & Sichuan, please note to register with Voyage Canada. If you are in a region affected by the earthquake, please send the Beijing Consular an email(beijing.consular@international.gc.ca) indicating your registration number and current status. The Travel Report for China is periodically updated to include Travel Advisories for the regions in China. An “avoid non-essential travel” warning for Sichuan Province is currently in place. (For those that are unable to send emails due to downed communication lines but have a mobile phone, the Canadian Consulate in Chongqing phone number is 23-6373-8007.)

Two organizations are coordinating donations. Individuals wishing to contribute may contact:

China Charity Federation (an official donation-receiving organization under the MCA)
Bank: Operation Dept. of the Bank of China Headquarters
Bank address: No.1 Fuxingmennei Dajie, Beijing
Account No: 00100914908091014
Account Name: China Charity Federation
Contact number: +011 (8610) 6608-3191, 6608-3260, 6605-5848; Fax +011 (8610) 6608-3264

China Red Cross (under the supervision of the MCA)
Bank: Jiuxianqiao branch, CITIC Bank
Foreign Account No: 7112111482600000209
Account Name: China Red Cross
Contact number: +011 (8610) 6513-9999, 6402-7620

If you are interested in coming into China, you might want to wait a few days to a few weeks depending on your urgency. Please don’t go to the Sichuan area at all.

Curious about China?

I’ve been getting a few interesting questions about China from board mates, so I’ll post the questions and my answers here. If any of you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comment section.