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GOLDEN CRESCENT GROUP
NAIROBI DISTRICT
Unity and Service
E-mail: gcg_nbi@yahoo.com

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  UPDATE - 2!!!!!! 

92^ND CHINA EXPORT COMMODITIES FAIR.

           VENUE: GUANGZHOU (CANTON) - SOUTH CHINA.

A trip organized by the Golden Crescent Group - Nairobi District
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China Export Commodities Fair (C.E.C.F) is China's largest trade fair, a fair of the highest level, and of the most complete Varieties. Preserving its traditions, CECF is a comprehensive and a multifunctional event of international importance. 

1) DATE

We wish to inform all participants that, there are some changes in the dates for the trade exhibition in China. This year, instead of one exhibition from 15 to 25 October, the exhibition has been divided into two phases. These alterations have been made to facilitate, more manufacturers take part and also ease congestion inside the complex during the event. The details are as follows: 

FIRST INAUGURATED IN: The spring of 1957.

FREQUENCY: Twice per year (April and October). 

TIME OF EXHIBITION: October 15 - 30, 2002. 

VENUE:  The C.E.C.F Exhibition Complex, No. 117, Liuhua Road, Guangzhou, P.R China. 

WORKING HOURS: 9:30 a.m ------ 7:00 p.m.
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PHASE 1 : FROM OCTOBER 15 ~ 20, 2002.

PRODUCTS KEPT FOR DISPLAY 

A) RAW MATERIALS

Building Materials, Chemical Products, Minerals, Metallurgical Products & Nonferrous metals. 

B) MACHINERY AND TOOLS

Machinery & Equipments, Small Vehicles and Spare parts, Vehicles, Agricultural & Construction Machinery, Tools, Hardware. 

C) ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES

Household Electrical Appliances, Electronics, I.T Products. 

D) TEXTILES & GARMENTS

Garments, Textiles, Artex, Raw Textile & Yarn. 

E) FOODSTUFF, NATIVE PRODUCE, ANIMAL BY-PRODUCTS, MEDICINES AND HEALTH PRODUCTS.

Foodstuff, Tea, Native Produce, Animal By-Products, Carpets, Furs, Leathers, Medicines, Health Products, Hospital Equipment. 

PHASE 2:  FROM OCTOBER 25 ~ 30, 2002

PRODUCTS KEPT FOR DISPLAY 

A) HOUSEWARE AND ARTICLES OF DAILY USE

Ceramics, House ware, Kitchenware, Tableware, Furniture, Lamps, Light Fixture, Footwear, Headgear, Articles of Daily Use. 

B) GIFTS AND DECORATIONS

Gifts, Decorations, Toys, Clocks, Watches, Optical Instruments, Stone Carvings, Horticultural Products. 

C) OFFICE SUPPLIES AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITY EQUIPMENTS

Office Supplies, Stationery, Sporting Goods, Tour Equipments, Casual Goods, Cases & Bags.

(Stone Carvings and Horticultural Products are exhibited in both phases) 

*****PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE WILL BE A FIVE DAY BREAK BETWEEN THE TWO EXHIBITIONS

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GENERAL INFORMATION 

EXHIBITION AREA:  310,000 square meters 

NUMBER OF EXHIBITORS:   Over 8,000 

NUMBER OF BOOTHS:  Over 15,000 

VARIETIES OF COMMODITIES: Over 100,000 

NUMBER OF VISITORS:   120,576  ( the 91^st Session, 2002 ) 

VISITORS FROM:  185 Countries and Regions ( the 91^st Session, 2002 ) 

TRADE VOLUME: US $ 16.85 Billion ( the 91^st Session, 2002 ) 

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GENERAL INFORMATION ON CHINA

China, (People's Republic of China), is situated in eastern Asia, bounded by the Pacific in the east. The third largest country in the world, next to Canada and Russia, it has an area of 9.6 million square kilometers, or one-fifteenth of the world's land mass.

The border stretches over 22,000 kilometers on land and the coastline extends well over 18,000 kilometers, washed by the waters of the Bohai, the Huanghai, the East China and the South China seas. The Bohai Sea is the inland sea of China.

There are 6,536 islands larger than 500 square meters, the largest is Taiwan, with a total area of about 36,000 square kilometers, and the second, Hainan. The South China Sea Islands are the southernmost island group of China.

Capital Beijing (Area: 16,800 square kilometers; Population: 12.59 million) 

Population Total Population 1.2591 billion (1999) about 22% of total population in the world.

Gross Domestic Product (G.D.P)  (1999): 8205.4 billion Yuan RMB (about $980.6 billion USD)

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS (Provinces, Autonomous Regions and Municipalities) (China has 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities and 2 Special Administrative Regions - Hong Kong and Macao).

History China, one of the four oldest civilizations in the world, has a written history of 4,000 years and boasts rich cultural relics and historical sites. It is the inventor of compass, papermaking, gunpowder and printing. The Great Wall, Grand Canal and Karez irrigation system are three great ancient engineering projects built 2,000 years ago. Now, they are the symbols of the rich culture of the Chinese nation. China has gone over a long history of primitive society, slavery society, feudal society, semi-feudal, semi-colonial and the present socialist society.

 Languages The national language is Putonghua (the common speech) or Mandarin, which is one of the five working languages at the United Nations. Most of the 55 minority nationalities have their own languages. Cantonese is one of the local dialects of southern China. As a written language, Chinese has been used for 6,000 years.

 Rivers China has 50,000 rivers each covering a catchment area of more than 100 square kilometers, and 1,500 of them cover a catchment area exceeding 1,000 square kilometers. Most of them flow from west to east and empty into the Pacific Ocean. Main Rivers include the Yangtze (Changjiang), Yellow (Huanghe), Heilong, Pearl, Liaohe, Haihe, Qiangtang and Lancang. The Yangtze of 6,300 kilometers is the longest river in China. The second longest Yellow River is 5,464 kilometers. The Grand Canal from Hangzhou to Beijing is a great water project in ancient China. It is of 1,794 kilometers, making it the longest canal in the world. 

Religions China is a multi-religious country. Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism, with the first three being more wide spread. Various religions exert different influence on different ethnic groups. Islam is followed by the Hui, Uygur, Kazak, Kirgiz, Tatar, Dongxiang, Salar and Bonan nationalities; Buddhism and Lamaism are followed by the Tibetan, Mongolian, Dai and Yugur nationalities; Christianity is followed by the Miao, Yao and Yi nationalities; Shamanism is followed by the Oroqen, Ewenki and Daur nationalities; the majority Han nationality believes in Buddhism, Christianity and Taoism.

Topography With a broad area, China's topography is very complex. The outline descends step by step from the west to the east. Mountains and hilly land take up 65 percent of the total area. There are five main mountain ranges. Seven mountain peaks are higher than 8,000 meters above sea level. The Bohai Sea, East China Sea, Yellow Sea and South China Sea embrace the east and southeast coast.

Money Chinese Money is called Renminbi (RMB) (means "People's Currency"). The popular unit of RMB is Yuan. The official exchange rate between U.S. Dollar and Renminbi Yuan currently is about 1 : 8.3 (1.00 Dollar = 8.30 Yuan). 1 Yuan to 10 Jiao, 1 Jiao to 10 Fen (There are parts of China the Yuan is also known as Kuai and Jiao is known as Mao. Chinese currency is issued in the following denominations: one, two, five, ten, fifty and a hundred Yuan; one, two and five Jiao; and one, two and five Fen.

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2) ACCOMODATION

Arrangements have been made for accommodation in China, all participants will be informed regarding the hotel. Rate for the hotel for each room (double bed) is appx. U.S Dollars 72 per night  (bed only).

P.S - The hotel is only 10 minutes drive from the Trade Fair complex and it is also situated near some Muslim Restaurants. 

Participants intending to visit only the second phase of the exhibition are requested to contact the undersigned, so that we may be able to book the hotel for you in China accordingly. 

3) VISA

As earlier mentioned, Visa has to be obtained by participants directly from embassies in their respective countries.

The following information was given to us from the Chinese Embassy in Nairobi. 

1. It is necessary for people applying for a visa to have an invitation letter from the organizer.
2. For Kenyan citizens the Visa processing fee is ksh 2200/=.
3. We informed the embassy that a larger number of people were interested in attending the trade fair and in response, the Embassy offered to give us 20% discount on Visa. We are trying to negotiate for the same discount for members applying for a visa in other countries so that everyone may benefit.
4. Persons holding a British or an American passport, who reside and work in a foreign country under a permit, can apply for a Visa directly from the Chinese Embassy in that country. This also applies to other nationals working in foreign countries.
5. It is necessary for everybody who intends to visit China to obtain a visa.
6. It is also necessary to carry all health documents when visiting China.
7. Participants are required to carry their invitation letters with them when visiting China.
8. Two passport size photographs are required for the Visa.

 4) INVITATION LETTER (**Essential)

All members, who are interested in visiting China for the trade exhibition, are requested to submit their names, as it appears on their passports by August 20, 2002 to the undersigned or any G.C.G members. 

This will assist us in sending all members with their respective invitation letters.

(The deadline has been extended to 25^th September 2002)

As the dates for the exhibition are nearing, and this being a peak season, we have to pay a 50% deposit to confirm the hotel reservations. Members are kindly requested to confirm participation at their earliest.

5) AIR TICKET

Travel Agents have been appointed within East Africa, who will assist participants in reserving their seats as per the itinerary.

Emirates Airlines has been selected  to fly the trade delegation to Hong-Kong and Return.

 Kindly contact the following at your earliest to confirm your airline bookings. 

FOR KENYAN AND UGANDAN PARTICIPANTS PLEASE CONTACT 

  FOR TANZANIAN PARTICIPANTS  PLEASE CONTACT

 
(FOR EAST AFRICAN RESIDENTS ONLY!)

To make things more convenient and simplified the above travel agents have agreed to process the visas for all the participants.

Please forward your passport, two passport size photographs and your invitation letter to the travel agent appointed in your region, who will submit your application and obtain for you the visa from the Chinese Embassy.

THE FOLLOWING IS ALSO REQUIRED FOR THE ABOVE

1) Kindly submit your passport, two passport size photographs and the invitation letter to your travel agent by THURSDAY 26^TH SEPTEMBER 2002.

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6) DEPARTURE

Herewith attached, please find complete Itinerary for the trip, departure from Nairobi.

There is a small change in the date of departure, we have now decided to leave one day earlier (i.e. we shall leave on Saturday 12-Oct, instead of Sunday 13-Oct) and we will be breaking the journey and staying overnight in Hong-Kong.

This decision was made to enable participants take a rest from the long tiring trip.

Participants, flying in from different countries directly to Hong-Kong will be able to meet and join the G.C.G trade delegation at the following hotel in Hong Kong. 

IMPERIAL HOTEL (Near Sheraton),

NATHAN ROAD,

KOWLOON,

HONG-KONG.

SATURDAY 12^TH OCTOBER 2002.

Departure from Nairobi by Emirates at 18:10 hrs. (East African Time)           

SUNDAY 13^TH OCTOBER 2002.                                                  

Arriving in Dubai at 12:30 a.m. (U.A.E time).

Departure from Dubai by Emirates at 2:30 am (U.A.E time) the same night, to Hong-Kong.

Arrival into Hong-Kong at 12:30 p.m (Hong-Kong time)

By the time we clear from the airport and check-in at the Hotel it will be 4:30 p.m (Hong Kong time)

Spending the night in Hong Kong.

 MONDAY 14^TH OCTOBER 2002.

Departure from Hong-Kong, by train***, to (Canton) South China.

Arrival into Canton

***Cost of ticket for the train - U.S Dollars 100 (return).

 TUESDAY 15^TH OCTOBER 2002.

Attending the Trade Exhibition in China.

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For more information please do not hesitate to contact the following: -

 Director                 Cr. Murtaza H.M. Dhalla    Tel: +   254 722 517 110
                               E-mail: crystauto@iconnect.co.ke

Deputy Director     Cr. Aliraza A. Manji            Tel: +   254 722 687 895
                               E-mail: royal@nbi.ispkenya.com

Secretary               Cr. Zeeshan S. Hassanali      Tel: +   254 733 786 114
                               E-mail: hasnain@skyweb.co.ke

G.C.G  E-mail address            gcg_nbi@yahoo.com

All participants, attending the trade fair in China, will be going as a group. Please note that the above is not a pre-packaged trip. All participants have to arrange for their visas and tickets.

The approximate cost for this trip is U.S Dollars 2000, this includes airfare and accommodation, but excludes meals.

We are arranging for invitation letters for visa purpose and arranging for travel agents who will assist participants in reserving their seat.

The main objective of the Golden Crescent Group is to enlighten members about the exhibition taking place, so that our community may also achieve maximum benefit by attending this useful and informative trade show.

We have also requested the Secretariat - Africa federation to post all information pertaining to the exhibitions taking place throughout the year on their website as well as notifying members through their e-mails.

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Zeeshan Sajjadali Hassanali,
Hon. Secretary,
Golden Crescent Group,
Nairobi District.
Kenya.