Receiving money in China is relatively straightforward, but there are a few issues to pay attention to. There are three main options you have:

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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://ltl-chinois.fr/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/exchange-money.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3427" title="exchange money" alt="" src="http://ltl-chinois.fr/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/exchange-money-300x225.jpg" width="300" height="225" /></a>Use Your Cash Card</span>

In our experience this is the easiest and cheapest way of withdrawing money in China, especially as the exchange rate used is usually better than what you would get if you exchanged cash. Bank fees vary, but usually are charged per transaction, so it is cheaper to withdraw larger amounts with fewer transactions. As LTL is based in the Central Business District, there are plenty of ATMs within walking distance. They all accept major credit and cash cards.

Most ATMs in China will let you withdraw up to 20,000 RMB per day and 3,000 RMB per transaction. Everbright Bank, in the same building as LTL, has two ATMs that let you withdraw up to 5,000 RMB per transaction, which can reduce bank charges.

<strong>Note:</strong> Check your withdrawal limits with your home bank before you come to China. If this is set at a low limit, you will have to do more transactions to get to your money, which both costs time and increases bank charges.

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<span style="font-size: large;">Exchange Cash</span>

Most major currencies can easily be exchanged into RMB at any bank. The rates are set by the Bank of China and therefore all the same, so it does not matter where you exchange it. Non-Chinese citizens can exchange up to 50,000 USD per calendar year.

<strong>Note:</strong> If you think you’ll possibly want to exchange money back before you leave, keep the exchange receipts, as you might be required to show them when exchanging RMB into foreign currency.

<strong>Note:</strong> Private money changers exist in China and can exchange money too, however this is not legal. They do so for just a marginally better rate and are not worth the risk.

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<span style="font-size: large;">Bank Transfer</span>

You can open a bank account once in China to which you can transfer USD, Euro, Swiss Francs, HKD, AUD and Japanese Yen and then exchange them at the bank into RMB. To open a bank account, you just need to take your passport to the bank, fill out the relevant forms and the account will become active the same day. More than a dozen different banks have branches in the Sunshine 100 and neighbouring areas. We use Everbright Bank and find them quite helpful, but any of them can open a Chinese bank account for you without problems. While you might have to wait at any of them, the Bank of China has a reputation for especially long waiting times.

<strong>Note:</strong> It takes about three days for money from foreign countries to arrive in China.

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<span style="font-size: large;">List of Banks close to LTL</span>

These are all in the same or a neighboring building, and all have ATM facilities:

[list type=bullets-blue ]
<ul>
	<li><a title="Everbright Bank" href="http://www.cebbank.com/Channel/90969" target="_blank">Everbright Bank</a></li>
	<li><a title="China Construction Bank" href="http://www.ccb.com/en/home/index.html" target="_blank">China Construction Bank</a></li>
	<li><a title="China Communication Bank" href="http://www.bankcomm.com/BankCommSite/en/index.jsp" target="_blank">China Communication Bank</a></li>
	<li><a title="Shenzhen Development Bank" href="http://www.sdb.com.cn/website/page/files/wcms/SDB/primary/en/InvestorRelations" target="_blank">Shenzhen Development Bank</a></li>
	<li><a title="China Agricultural Bank" href="http://www.abchina.com/en/" target="_blank">China Agricultural Bank</a></li>
	<li><a title="Bank of China" href="http://www.boc.cn/en/index.html" target="_blank">Bank of China</a></li>
</ul>
[/list]