IEEE ICMA 2011
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 Empark Grand Hotel

IEEE ICMA 2011 will be held in the city of Beijing, at Beijing Empark Grand Hotel, which serves as both the official conference hotel and the venue for the technical program. Located in the west business district of Beijing and the east side of Zhongguancun, Beijing Empark Grand Hotel - the modern 5-star hotel including accommodation, exquisite dining, entertainment, conferencing, office building, flat apartment, offers breathtaking views of the Summer Palace, Ba Da Chu Park, West Hill, Fragrant Hill. The highway around city near the hotel gives the direct access to the Ba Da Ling Great Wall and it takes 35 minutes to get to the Beijing Airport. With a total square area of 180000, the hotel features lobby, lobby lounge, tea house, business center, commodity department, cafeteria, bar, Japanese restaurant, Chinese Restaurant, conference rooms, banquet hall, executive floors, underground non-night city, satisfying every need of today's smart business and leisure travelers.

Attractions

lGreat 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.

lSummer 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 Empark Grand Hotel, the taxi fare is about RMB 100 (approx. US$12), 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 Beijing 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 Beijing, such as hospitals, office buildings, theatres, cinemas, museums, planes, and trains

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

Conference Information

Venues

IEEE ICMA 2011 will be held in the city of Beijing, at Beijing Empark Grand Hotel, which serves as both the official conference hotel and the venue for the technical program.

Beijing Empark Grand Hotel, a 5 star hotel, is located in the west business district of Beijing and the east side of Zhongguancun with a total square area of 180000, the hotel features lobby, lobby lounge, tea house, business center, commodity department, cafeteria, bar, Japanese restaurant, Chinese Restaurant, conference rooms, banquet hall, executive floors, underground non-night city, satisfying every need of today's smart business and leisure travelers.

Chinese Address Cards

Conference Registration

A conference registration desk will be set up and opened at the Pre-Function Area of Beijing Empark Grand Hotel during the following hour:

August 7, 2011: 14:00 ~ 18:30

August 8, 2011: 08:00 ~ 18:00

August 9, 2011: 08:00 ~ 18:00

August 10, 2011: 08:00 ~ 16:00

Internet Access

Free Internet access will be provided during the conference period, to the IEEE ICMA 2011 participants at the Conference Room on 2nd floor of the Beijing Empark Grand 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.

Special and Social Events

The social events organized by the IEEE ICMA 2011 include the conference reception, the awards banquet, the conference registration, the farewell party, etc.

Conference Reception

The Conference Reception will be held from 17:30 to 18:30 on August 7, 2011 at International Conference Room, 2^nd floor of Beijing Empark Grand Hotel. All the conference participants are welcome to join this event.

Awards Banquet

The Awards Banquet (Hosted by Beijing University of Technology) will be held from 18:30 to 21:00 on August 9, 2011 at Banquet Hall of Beijing Empark Grand Hotel. All the conference participants are welcome to join this event.

Farewell Party

The Farewell Party will be held from 15:30 to 16:30 on August 10, 2011 at International Conference Room, 2^nd floor of Beijing Empark Grand Hotel. All the conference participants are welcome to join this event.