China

BEIJING IDENTITY CARD Currency: In June 2018, 1 Yuan = 0.13 Euros Area code: + 86 (China) 10 (Beijing) 22 (Tianjin) Time difference: +6 hours GETTING THERE FINNAIR, the Finnish airline which in 1988 was the very first in Europe to operate a direct service to China, now offers a daily flight between Paris and Beijing via...

It was a titanic project that was not so easy to achieve. The new TGV line linking the new West Kowloon station in Hong Kong to those in Shenzhen and Guangzhou (Canton) will have been delayed for three years and cost 10.8 billion dollars, a third more than it cost...

A historic first flight for Aigle Azur was made between Orly and Beijing. Passengers were greeted with fanfare on landing after a 10 hour 45 minute journey. The French airline inaugurated the flight on 5 September using an Airbus A330-200. This same model will operate the route three times a week and will be able to carry...

Louvre Hotels Group's Asian offensive continues in China, India and South Korea. The hotel group, owned by the Chinese conglomerate Jin Jiang, announced its strategy for its Kyriad brand in Asia on 20 June. After starting to develop its Golden Tulip and Campanile brands in China last year, Louvre Hotels has opened...

China Eastern, Air France's partner on the France-China route, is working to open a Paris-Beijing route, according to Heng Yu, the airline's Senior Marketing Manager Europe in Paris. "We are working very hard to obtain a new daily frequency between Paris and Beijing with the opening of the new airport for the Chinese capital. It is possible...

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has been predicting it for several years, and it is now a reality: in China, air transport has become the world's second largest market behind the United States in terms of passenger and freight traffic volume. Over the next decade, it is even set to become the world's biggest market, probably...

Your group is growing from strength to strength. How far do you intend to go? Pierre-Frédéric Roulot - We are the world's fifth-largest hotel group, and our ambition is to be number three within two years. In 2017, we opened nearly 1,000 establishments around the world, two-thirds of them in China, where our group...

Mandarin Oriental had once planned to open in the CCTV Tower, designed by Rem Koolhaas, but it burnt down in 2009. In the end, the brand's first representative in Beijing will be inaugurated in the historic Qianmen district. The hotel will play on the characteristic style of the hutongs, the narrow streets of old Beijing,...

True to its strategy, Finnair is going to continue its development on the Asian market. On Wednesday, the Finnish carrier announced its flight schedule for summer 2018, which will be marked by the arrival of a new route: Nanjing. This Chinese city of 7 million inhabitants, located less than 300 km north-west of Shanghai, will be...

The China of today resembles the United States of yesterday in terms of air transport from Europe. 25 years ago, all European airports were dreaming of North Atlantic routes. And from Berlin to Marseille, from Bologna to Belfast, airlines were opening routes with varying degrees of success. This is the same...

Report Serge Barret Photos Alain Parinet. And indeed, it works! Just when you thought you'd come across the same old, same old, expecting the umpteenth postcard; just when you were a bit snobbish and tried valiantly to turn down the Victoria Peak excursion on the pretext that you wanted to discover a trendy Hong Kong;...

Partners in a joint venture since 1 July 2016 and both members of the SkyTeam alliance, Air France and China Eastern Airlines have just strengthened their ties to help business travellers to China from France. Companies will now be able to take advantage of a joint contract, managed by the only...

A renaissance rather than a renovation: this is how the Peninsula group describes the profound transformation of its Beijing hotel, opened in 1989 close to the Forbidden City. More than 120 million dollars and almost two years have been spent restoring the prestige of this "grande dame", which...

The arrival of the budget chain Campanile in China has been in the pipeline for some time now, and was even planned when Louvre Hotels Group was acquired by Jin Jiang International a year ago. The Jin Jiang teams told us this from the outset," recalls Pierre-Frédéric Roulot, CEO of Louvre Hotels Group. They love Campanile,...

China has become one of the world's high-speed rail giants, investing the equivalent of 50 billion dollars over the course of a decade to link not only all of China's major metropolises but also, and increasingly, its secondary cities. The success has been overwhelming. In 2015, 961 million passengers...

Shanghai is continuing its seduction drive without the slightest concession. Particularly with the French, who are coming to live in the Chinese megalopolis in ever-increasing numbers. With almost 1,500 member companies of the Chamber of Commerce and 13,000 expatriates officially registered with the consulate, the city is home to the largest...

Knowing that Wuhan is pronounced Wouran will soon be no more than a question of general knowledge. And with good reason: the capital of Hubei - one of China's richest provinces - is fast becoming a first-class business city. Of course, when you stroll along the banks of the Yangtze, you'll notice...

Identity card Formalities: Passport valid for 6 months after date of entry + visa. Currency: the yuan (CNY). 1 euro = 8.2 yuan (May 2012). Time difference: +6 hours in summer, +7 hours in winter. Area code: +86 (China), 10 (Beijing), 27 (Wuhan), 23 (Chongqing). Getting there Air France...

A Chinese version of the conquest of the West is being re-enacted in Chongqing, almost 2,000 km from Beijing. With a population of 32 million living in an area of 82400 km², Chongqing is the most densely populated city in the world. These extraordinary dimensions are in fact maintained by...

Establishing itself as the new economic centre of southern China is one thing. Establishing this new prestige with dignity is quite another. And one that requires a real helping hand to turn some very exotic ingredients to good account. Three in all: an international event, a new business district and, in the process, a monument...