Dubai: Dubai welcomed 6.02 million tourists between January and April 2023 – 18.04 per cent up compared to the same period last year. China was among the top 10 source countries. The UAE has become one of the most popular tourism destinations for Chinese travellers for its cosmopolitan culture, safety, convenience of life and more. If you are planning to visit the country for your summer vacation for the first time as a Chinese citizen, these 8 tips will be useful for you.
1. Bring a jacket with you
The UAE’s summer is warm. Its summer season usually starts from May and ends around October, with average minimum temperatures of 26.4 degrees Celsius, average maximum temperature of 45.8 degrees Celsius and average mean temperature of 33.3 degree Celsius, according to the UAE’s National Center of Meteorology (NCM).
However, you will need to bring a jacket with you, because nearly all indoor facilities such as malls, restaurants, amusement parks and museums are equipped with air conditioning – sometimes the indoor temperature can be low and you may feel cold, especially if you are from a region in China that does not need an air conditioner in the summer.
2. Protect yourself from the sunlight
Sunlight can be strong during certain period of a summer day in the UAE:
- Put on sunscreen.
- Wear sun protection clothing such as sun hat, sunglasses, and long-sleeve UV protection jacket.
- Avoid going out at the hottest point of the day, which is usually around 2pm in the afternoon, according to NCM.
3. Exchange some money to UAE dirhams
The UAE’s currency is the United Arab Emirates dirham. According to the current exchange rate, one Chinese Yuan tends to equal to Dh0.51.
Although you can swipe your Chinese bank cards for payment in most shops, stores, and restaurants in the UAE, you should always exchange some cash in dirhams beforehand, in case you need some cash. This can be done at the airport where you land in the UAE, malls within the UAE, as well as specialised money exchange facilities.
Certain merchandising places in the UAE allow Chinese payment methods – Alipay and WeChat Pay. For example, in Dubai, many shops in Dubai Mall and Mall of Emirates allow these two payment methods.
When you enter these places, you will usually see Alipay and WeChat payment signs at the counter. Or, you can ask the store employees if you can make a payment using these two methods. If you can, then the payment procedure is the same as when you make a payment in China – either you will scan the payment QR code they present to you, or they will scan the QR code generated within the Alipay or WeChat pay app on your phone.
4. Obtain a 30-day visa on arrival at the airport in UAE
Chinese passport holders can obtain a 30-day visa on arrival in the UAE. When you land in the UAE, you can make your way to the Immigration Department at the airport, and get your passport stamped for a 30-day stay.
You can also extend this visa, later. According to Visit Dubai, the official tourism website of Dubai, Chinese citizens can extend the visa, with the total validity of stay being 60 days from the date of entry.
To find out how you can do so, you can reach out to the Amer centre’s hotline in Dubai. Here are their contact details:
- Phone number: 800 5111
- Email: amer@gdrfad.gov.ae
Amer centres are service centres that process tourist and residence visas for Dubai’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA).
If you landed at an airport in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, or Ras Al Khaimah, you could reach out to the call centre of the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) on 600 5222 22.
5. Switch on data roaming or get a local sim card
Before travelling to the UAE, turn on the international data roaming service in China at your mobile service provider’s stores. Once you do that, you can browse the internet in the UAE, using your international data roaming service.
Alternatively, you can get one of these local sim cards in the UAE – Etisalat, Du, or Virgin Mobile. They all offer sim card options for travellers, either a tourism sim, visitor line or a tourist plan. You can access their shops or kiosks at the airport where you land in the UAE, or in malls within the country.
6. Rent a car using your Chinese driving licence
Chinese travellers can rent a car and use the driving licence issued in China to drive in the UAE. The documents you need to provide may vary depending on the car rental company you choose to use. However, in general, you will need to provide a copy of your passport and a valid driving licence. Here is more information on renting a car in the UAE.
There are also other options available to you, for travelling within the UAE. You can easily get a taxi by directly hailing one on the street, or by using these two car-hailing mobile applications – Careem and Uber. They are available for download on Apple, Android, and other phone devices. The way to use these two applications is very similar to using the Chinese car-hailing application in China – Didi Chuxing.
If you prefer to use public transportation as your means of travel, Dubai also hosts advanced public transportation systems including the Metro, Tram, buses, as well as water transport. To use these public transportation facilities, you will need to first get a Nol card. They can be obtained at any Metro ticket station, or at a ticket vending machine or online on rta.ae. For public transport options in other emirates, click here.
7. Check for accommodation options on these websites
As one of the most popular tourism destinations in the region, the UAE is home to various types of accommodation choices for travellers – you can find a range of options including high-end luxury resorts, and budget-friendly homestays.
These are the platforms you can use to search for accommodation options in the Chinese language:
- Ctrip (‘Xie Cheng’ in Chinese).
- Tujia.com.
- Booking.com (‘Bing Ke’ in Chinese).
- Airbnb (‘Ai Bi Ying’ in Chinese).
8. Try out different world cuisines in the UAE
More than 200 nationalities live in the UAE for work and/or education, according to u.ae, the official website of the UAE government. As a result, you will be able to try authentic world cuisines in the country, including Emirati, Mediterranean, European, Indian, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese.
If you miss home flavours, you can also find a variety of regional Chinese cuisines, such as Cantonese, Sichuan, Beijing, and Inner-Mongolian cuisine, in the UAE. For example, in Dubai, you can go to areas with a significant population of Chinese expatriates for the Chinese eateries in the areas, including International City China cluster, Deira and Dubai Investment Park. Other than these areas, Chinese restaurants are also scattered around most areas of Dubai.
You can use these Chinese mobile apps to navigate the restaurant scene in the UAE:
- Meituan.com
- Dianping.com
- TikTok (‘Douyin’in Chinese)
- Xiaohongshu
