IEEE ICMA 2007
General Information

Heilongjiang

Heilongjiang is called Hei for short, located in the northeast of the country, north and east adjacent Russia, with 3000 kilometers boundary.

In the ancient it is XiaoShen, FuYu in Han dynasty, DongJing, ShangJinDao in Liao dynasty, ShangJingLu in Jin dynasty, LingBei and LiaoNing Xing Sheng in Yuan dynasty, Nv Zhen in Ming dynasty, HeiLongjiang general popedom in early Qing dynasty, Heilongjiang Provence in late Qing dynasty, Now it includes two popedoms, eleven cities, twenty counties. Its acreage reaches 46000 kilo square, capital in Harbin.

Heilong Jiang Province which we call Hei for short is named for the Black Dragon River that separates Dongbei from Siberia; Heilong Jiang represents China's northern limits. Heilong Jiang Province was liberated at 1946 and it was the first liberated province of northeast in China. In the early years after the People’s Republic of China was established, there are two provinces in this area, one is Songjiang Province which has Harbin as its capital, and the other one is Heilong Jiang Province which has Qiqihar as its capital. Harbin was promoted from a province capital to a municipality directly under the central government in 1953. In 1954, Songjiang Province was abolished and incorporated with Heilong Jiang Province to establish a new Heilong Jiang Province that we know now. Since then, Harbin became capital of Heilong Jiang Province

Heilong Jiang Province now has eleven municipalities and two areas. According a population census in 2001, there are total more than 37 million people in this province.

In the helongjiang province, besides han race, there are 51 minorities such as man, chaoxian, menggu, hezhi and so on, the total population of which is five point two percent to the population in province. The biggest population of minority is manzu, 1184490; chaoxianzu, 452398; huizu, 139078; and dahanerzu 42300, both of them having living in province of Heilongjiang for all of their generations. Besides, the smallest populations are xibozu, 9181; hezhezu 3747; elunchunzu 5588; ewenkezu, 2751.

The autonomy county of duerbotemengkuzu is the only region which governed by the minorities in the Heilongjiang province. There are fifty one counties which population of minorities is more than ten thousand. The minorities live All the county and most minorities has living here for generations and generations.

Harbin

Harbin, lying on eastern of Songnen plain, the bank of Songhua River, is center of politics, economy and culture and traffic hub in Heilongjiang province. The special historical course and geographical position make it become an exoticism and beautiful city. It is not only gather the north of the historical and cultural minorities, and the integration of Chinese and foreign cultures. China's famous historical and cultural cities and tourist city, known as the "Jiangcheng", "ice city", "pearl under the Swan," and the "Oriental Moscow", and so on. "Harbin ice and snow Festival" is world-renowned winter tourism. Located at latitude 45 ° 20 '~ 46 ° 20' north, longitude 126 ° 15 '~ 127 ° 30'.

The total square of Harbin is 56579 square kilometer, Harbin includes 8 districts and 12 counties, such as Nan Gang district, DaoLi district, Dongli district, XiangFang district, SongBei district, HuLan district, DaoWai district, PingFang district, A Cheng,Shang Zhi, Shuang Cheng county, Bin county, FangZheng county, YiLan county, BaYan county, WuChang county, MuLan county, YanShou county, TongHe county. The population of Harbin is 9,353,200.

HARBIN (Ha'erbin) is the capital of Heilongjiang Province and probably the most northernmost location that most tourists visit. A city of distinctive character, Harbin is a good place to visit for its winter atmosphere. Boulevards are lined with European-style buildings and white doves flutter their wings in the skyline of the St. Sofia church.

Even though the weather can be very cold, the annual ice lantern festival brings many tourists each year, and the outside influence on this city make it a fascinating place to visit.

The nature scene of Harbin is charming and gentle, clearly four seasons .The Sun island, Siberia Tiger Park, Stalin park near Songhua River, SongFeng Mountain, ErLong Mountain, YuQuan hunting ground and YaBuli are famous scenic spot. Harbin is one of world ice culture cradlelands. YaBuli alp skeeing, ZhaoLin park ice Lanterns garden party, winter swimming in SongHua river ,snow carving, ice and snow traveling are famous at home and aborad, concert in summer harbin and China Harbin economy commerce Symposium. Major venues include Zhaolin Gonyuan on Shangzhi Jie for ice sculpture; Taiyang Dao Gongyuan (Sun Island Park), across the river for snow sculptures; and the Ice and Snow Palace (Bingxue Gong), a collection of buildings constructed entirely of ice and snow on the banks of the Songhua Jiang.

Located on the Songhuajiang River, Harbin became a major trading outpost for domestic trade and international trade with Russia. This Russian influence can be seen in many of the buildings and churches around the town, and there are many Russian speakers in Harbin

Hotel Information

lShangri-La Hotel, Harbin

IEEE ICMA 2007 will be held in the city of Harbin, at Shangri-La Hotel, Harbin, which serves as both the official conference hotel and the venue for the technical program. Being the first and only international 5 star hotel, Shangri-La Hotel, Harbin, Harbin sits downtown by the scenic Songhua River and overlooks the Central Business District. Surrounded by spectacular landscape, the Hotel features elegantly-appointed rooms, a 24-hour business Centre, modern meeting facilities and the finest dining in Harbin. Guest can also pamper themselves in the Health Club, completing its range of impeccable service. Wireless internet access is available throughout function spaces and public areas. Guest rooms for delegates attending IEEE ICMA 2007, at a special ICMA 2007 rate, can be reserved only through the conference.

This 5-star hotel is a centrally located just minutes from the city's cultural spots, government offices, convention centers, and 20-30 minutes from Harbin International Airport for under US$15, depending upon the traffic.

lHarbin Wang Jiang Hotel

For student and budget travelers, ICMA 2007 has arranged accommodation at Harbin Wang Jiang Hotel. At very affordable rates. Within walking distance to the Shangri-La Hotel, Harbin, This hotel is clean but its facilities are relatively primitive, so we recommend this hotel only to domestic student ICMA2007 participants.

Attractions

lSonghua River

Harbin is an enchanting city with natural beauty and the Songhua River winding through it. The most beautiful natural scenery is found along the Songhua River in the northern part of the city, extending some 10 kilometers. The banks of Songhua River and the island found in the middle are ideal natural tourist attractions and sun bathing areas. The lofty Commemoration Tower of Victory over Flood, the flying Songhua River Road Bridge, the exquisite River Club, the magnificent circular Labor's Stadium, along with skillful art carvings in Stalin Park and constructions with childhood color all make the Songhua River look much more supple and graceful and appealing.

lSaint Sophie Church

Being put into construction in September 1923. It locates at No.95 Tou Long Street Dao Li District and belongs to First and completed on November 25th.1932. The church reflects Byzantine architectural features with 721 square meters in area and 53.35 meters in height. It is the largest Orthodox Eastern church in Harbin. Russian style domes Rome style arch high windows and many combinations of different architectural arts all embody the special fascination of the church. Now the church has become a bright spot in the architectural art sceneries of Harbin. In 1996 it was designated as Harbin Architectural Art Gallery. Everyday it attracts lots of tourists and local people to come here for visiting, relaxing and taking pictures, it is getting more and more attention both from home and abroad.

lSun Island

Harbin’s Sun Island Scenic Spot locates on the north bank of the Songhua River, covering an area of 4 million square meters and facing the SiDalin Park, it is a famous summer resort for traveling and relaxing. In early 1920’s, it was a white Russian’s resort. After many times of reconstructions and renovations, it has become a place for sanatorium, leisure and amusement.

Weather

Harbin is infamous for its very cold winters - it is at the same latitude as Montreal, and winter temperatures as low as -38.1°C have been recorded. Bring more clothes than you will think you will need so that you can layer. Average daytime summer temperatures are in the mid 20s (°C) with a few weeks reaching low 30s, while the coldest part of winter averages a chilly -17°C.

The winter can become dreary if you are a longterm resident, as the entire city uses coal for heat the air quality rapidly decreases during these months.

Harbin can be a great place to visit in the summer. The weather is cool and it seems to be perpetually breezy, and most of Harbin's streets are lined with trees. Because the city is so cold all winter, life almost explodes and people crowd the streets until late at night eating kabobs, playing poker, and drinking Hapi (Harbin Beer). This is a great escape from the heat of Beijing. A trip up to the border regions this time of year would be nice as well.

Transportation

lHarbin Taiping International Airport

Harbin Taiping International Airport, formerly named Harbin Yanjiagang Airport, is 50km southwest of the town, was built in 1979 and began serving as an International airport in 1984. Having expanded during 1994-1997, the airport is equipped under the 4E standards and capable of handling 6,000,000 passengers every year. More than 50 air routes connect it to over 40 Domestic and International cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Seoul and Los Angeles. And it takes 20-30 minutes from Harbin Taiping International Airport to Shangri-La Hotel for under US$15, depending upon the traffic.

lPublic Transport

For getting around the city, the most useful bus is #103, which runs between Zhongshan Lu and Zhaolin Park just each of Zhongyang Dajie. Taxis around the city begin at RMB 7 and charge RMB 1.6 or 1.9 per kilometre respectively. Harbin has lots of one-way streets, so don't panic if it seems your driver is lapping the block. In summer there are small boats (RMB10–30) across the Songhua River, or you can take the ferry (RMB 5).

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 Harbin 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 Harbin, such as hospitals, office buildings, theatres, cinemas, museums, planes, and trains

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

Conference Information

Venues

IEEE ICMA 2007 will be held in the city of Harbin, atShangri-La Hotel, Harbin, which serves as both the official conference hotel and the venue for the technical program.

Being the first and only international 5 star hotel, it sits downtown by the scenic Songhua River and overlooks the Central Business District. Surrounded by spectacular landscape, the Hotel features elegantly-appointed rooms, a 24-hour business Centre, modern meeting facilities and the finest dining in Harbin. Wireless internet access is available throughout function spaces and public areas.

This 5-star hotel is a centrally located just minutes from the city's cultural spots, government offices, convention centers, and 20-30 minutes from Harbin International Airport for under US$15, depending upon the traffic.

Chinese Address Cards

Conference Registration

A conference registration desk will be set up and opened at the Pre-Function Area of Shangri-La hotel during the following hour:

August 5, 2007: 09:00 ~ 18:30

August 6, 2007: 07:30 ~ 18:00

August 7, 2007: 07:30 ~ 18:00

August 8, 2007: 07:30 ~ 16:00

Exhibition

The Exhibition will be held from 15:00 on August 5 to 16:00 on August 8 at the Pre-Function Area of Shangri-La hotel.

Internet Access

Free Internet access will be provided during the conference period, to the IEEE ICMA2007 participants at the Conference Room on 2nd floor of the Shangri-La 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 ICMA2007 include the conference reception, the awards banquet, the conference registration, the farewell party, etc.

Conference Reception

The Conference Reception will be held from 18:30 to 20:00 on August 5, 2007 at the Pre-Function Area, 2^nd floor of Shangri-La hotel. All the conference participants are welcome to join this event.

Welcome Party

The Welcome Party will be held from 18:30 to 20:30 on August 6, 2007 at Harbin Engineering University. All the conference participants are welcome to join this event.

Awards Banquet

The Awards Banquet will be held from 18:30 to 21:00 on August 7, 2007 at Grand Ballroom (Ballroom II) of the Shangri-La hotel. All the conference participants are welcome to join this event.

Farewell Party

The Farewell Party will be held from 17:20 to 18:30 on August 8, 2007 at Grand Ballroom (Ballroom II) of the Shangri-La hotel. All the conference participants are welcome to join this event.