About Hongkong
Hong Kong: Law and Attentions
1. It is illegal to keep your ID card with you in Hong Kong. Please mind you: take identification attached a personal photo (like passport) at anytime.
2. No smoking in Hong Kong. All working places, pubic places, restaurants, streets and most of public playgrounds forbid smoking. No Smoking areas are mainly: cinema, theatre, music hall, lift, game centre, bus and airport; working and public places, indoor, “public playgrounds”; hospital, school, kindergarten, university, public swimming beach, public swimming pool, court, public transport interchange, escalator. In the places of no smoking (including public vehicle), if smoking, you will be imposed a fine of maximum HK$5000.
3. When you are in Hong Kong, be careful for taking a lift. When you are taking a escalator, don’t stand in the left. As Hong Kong people praise for “time is money”, they even advance while taking an escalator. If you stand in the left way, you will stand in the way of others’ wealth.
4. It is not proper to bargain too much in Hong Kong. While shopping in Hong Kong, many people will follow their bargaining habits in the mainland and think it good to buy things with a big bargaining. However, it is wrong to do so. Businessmen in Hong Kong won’t bid a high price, so people there seldom bargain. If you really want to bargain, 1/10 of bargaining will be suitable.
Hong Kong: Bank and Currency
Generally, banking hours are 9am to 5pm from Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5:30pm on Friday, 9am to 1pm on Saturday.
It is common to see ATM. It is also very convenient for mainland travelers to find ATM with UnionPay. Hong Kong HSBC has a kind of “electronic currency” ATM which provides 24-hour service of HK$ for VISA card and MasterCard clients. For those who use American Express Card, they can use (JETCO) ATM to withdraw cash.
In Hong Kong, there are more than 30,000 POS machines with mark of UnionPay in stores and about 2,500 ATM can serve for clients with UnionPay Card which basically covers the main tourist area and shopping centers in Hong Kong.
While consuming in the UnionPay special merchants or withdrawing cash in ATM, China Unionpay will exchange HK$ into RMB and the exchange rate is subject to the present day.
While using credit card to withdraw cash, you should pay high interest and handing charge so that you’d better use debit card to withdraw cash in the ATM.
When you are consuming with a dual-currency card, be remind of a cashier to use UnionPay POS because UnionPay network is free for exchange charge and cross-border transaction fee as well as other favorable items.
While swiping card, cashiers will usually ask you whether using UnionPay network or not. Some stores maybe don’t post up “UnionPay”, you may take the initiative to ask the clerk.
Currency
Hong Kong is a free financial market so that there is no limitation for travelers carrying any form of currency to cross the border.
The official currency of Hong Kong is HK$. The current exchange rate between HK$ and RMB is about 0.88:1. Coin is issued by Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region which is 1 Jiao, 2 Jiao and 5 Jiao in cupreous and HK$ 1, HK$ 2 and HK$ 5 in silvery and HK$ 10 in Ni-cupreous. Paper money with HK$ 10 is issued by the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong Government, back color of which is purple. Some other HK$ 10 in green back color is issued by Bank of China, HSBC and SCB. They are also in charge of paper money of HK$ 20, HK$ 50, HK$ 100, HK$ 500 Yuan and HK$ 1000. HK$ 20 is in blue, HK$ 50 is in green, HK$ 100 is in red, HK$ 500 is in brown and HK$ Yuan is in golden.
When converting in Hong Kong, if you don’t hold an account of the specific bank, you will pay 50-100 Yuan as handing charge. Moreover, currency exchange under 50 Yuan is not accepted. If you want to convert change, you’d better go to the currency exchange shops or hotels. But different currency exchange shops are significantly different in exchange rate. According to rules of Hong Kong, all currency exchange shops should present the posted rate and deliver receipts to clients in time. Before converting, travelers should inquire the handing charge of exchange rate and traveler’s check. There is no limitation in Hong Kong to take currencies out of border. When visiting outside, you’d better take some changes because some shops cannot afford the changes of HK$ 1000 Yuan.