Workshop on Drought and Extreme Temperatures: Preparedness and Management for Sustainable Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery

(16-17 Feb.2009, Beijing, China)

Expert Team Meeting

(18-19 Feb. 2009, Beijing, China)

INFORMATION NOTE

u     General

Workshop on Drought and Extreme Temperatures: Preparedness and Management for Sustainable Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery and the Expert Team Meeting will be held at:

CMA Conference Center, 1^st floor

46 Zhongguancun Nandajie, Haidian District

Beijing 100081, China.

Tel: 86-10-6840-0093

Fax: 86-10-6840-3467

u     Hotel information

Block reservation has been made at Shenzhou International Hotel (4 stars).

Shenzhou International Hotel is located in Beijing's flourishing western business district, just minutes from Zhongguancun, the city's high - tech/IT zone, and only 100 meters to the main entrance of CMA. It offers a full range of amenities, including a large variety of services, such as restaurants, rooms, business center, halls for meetings and symposiums and recreational facilities of international standards.

There are several different room types for your choice:

Standard Room A: 438 CNT (Twin beds, without breakfast)

Standard Room B: 458 CNT (Twin beds, without breakfast)

Standard Room C: 438 CNT (King-size bed, without breakfast)

Business Room A: 518 CNT (Twin beds, with breakfast)

Business Room B: 558 CNT (Twin beds, with breakfast)

Check-out time: 12 Noon

Address:  31 Zhongguancun Nandajie, Beijing, China

Postal code: 100081

Tel: +86-10-68118888, Fax: 68118910

u      International Travel

Participants are required to forward flight details (flight numbers, arrival and departure times & dates) to the travel agency consigned by the Secretariat (sunyuan@cma.gov.cn) as soon as possible. This is a prerequisite for your hotel reservation and pick-up service.

u      Local Transportation

Beijing Capital International Airport is located in northeast of Beijing, capital of People's Republic of China, and about 25km from the Tiananmen Square.

Airport-Hotel

LOC members will meet you at the Beijing Capital International Airport. Please look for a person holding a placard displaying the CMA and WMO logos. This person will guide you to Shenzhou International Hotel.

Taxi: Taxi is convenient at the airport. Depending on traffic conditions, it takes about 40 minutes from the airport to Shenzhou International Hotel. The charge is around 120 Yuan RMB (US$17), including the 10 Yuan RMB highway toll.

Hotel-Airport

Transportation from the hotel to the airport on departure will be arranged by LOC.

u     Important dates

15 January, 2009: Deadline for submission of pre-registration form and abstract

16 February, 2009: Registration in Beijing

16-17 February, 2009: Workshop

18-19 February, 2009: Expert Team Meeting

u     Programme

The provisional programme of the Workshop and Expert Team Meeting will be available on BCC’s webpage:

http://bcc.cma.gov.cn/en/

u     Registration

16 February, 2009 from 8:00-9:00 AM at the 1^st floor of CMA Conference Center.

There is no registration fee.

u     Time zone

In relation to Greenwich, Beijing is +8 hours.

u     Electricity, internet and e-mail

The electrical voltage in China is 220V. Internet and E-mail are accessible for participants in Shenzhou International Hotel by broadband or telephone line. Internet and Email accession are also available at the conference venue.

u     Reconfirmation of airline ticket reservations

Please contact the front desk or business center of Shenzhou International Hotel if your need to call to reconfirm your airline ticket, or contact Local Organizing Committee (LOC) members to ask for help during the meeting.

u     Social events

The conference reception hosted by CMA will be held at 18:00pm in February 16, 2009. (Location to be decided). All participants and their accompanying persons are invited to join the reception.

A local expedition will be arranged on 18 February 2009. The details will be available in due course.

u     Weather

Beijing has a continental climate with clearly defined seasons. The weather in Beijing during the meeting will be cold and generally dry. The average temperature is about -1.5℃. The mean maximum is 4℃ and minimum -6.9℃. The average precipitation during Feb. is 6 mm with 3 days of snow.

u      Medical care and insurance

The meeting secretariat will be on duty all day during the meeting. Please contact the Secretariat or LOC members for first aid or medical care services. The medical fee should be borne by the patient.

Participants are strongly advised to arrange their own overseas travel insurance.

u     Identity badge

During the meeting, all delegates and their accompanying persons are kindly requested to wear the identity badge. The badge serves as a pass for meetings and meals.

If participants have any questions, please contact the LOC members who are identified by their badges.

u     Currency exchange

The official currency in China is RMB (Chinese Yuan). Currency exchange centers can be found at airport, local banks. The currency exchange service also can be provided at a Branch of Bank of China, which is close to Shenzhou International Hotel.

Travelers’ checks are not widely used in China and are accepted only by major banks and some hotels. The Bank of China will cash your traveler check. The exchange rate for US$ and EURO fluctuate with time. Recent examples are:

US$ to RMB: around 100: 683

EURO to RMB: around 100: 957

u     Visa Application

Visas are required to enter to China. An official invitation letter for this application will be sent to those who have returned the Pre Registration Form.

It may take some time to process the visa; therefore, you are encouraged to begin the visa application as soon as possible.

Correspondence should be addressed to

Mr. SUN Yuan

Beijing Climate Center

China Meteorological Administration

46 Zhongguancun Nandajie, Haidian, Beijing 100081, China

Telephone: +86-10-68400093

Fax:  +86-10-68403467

Email: sunyuan@cma.gov.cn

cc: liqx@cma.gov.cn