In China, the telephone services are classified into three types - the local telephone service, the domestic direct dial (DDD) telephone service and the international direct dial (IDD) telephone service. The manually connected telephone services are chargeable by a basic calling time of three minutes while the direct dial services by one minute.

1. Local telephone service

Local telephone sets are generally installed at public telephone booths in urban areas, with the calls limited to the local region only. Each call is chargeable at a rate of 0.30 Chinese yuan for every three minutes. If no more coins are given after three minutes, the call will be automatically cut off.

2. Domestic direct dial telephone service

The domestic direct dial telephone service is simply referred to as the DDD, which is automatically connected to the receiver through direct dialing. Using a telephone set with the DDD function, one can directly dial the area code and the telephone number of the receiving end before getting through to the receiver. In making a DDD call, the user should firstly dial a "0" to get out of the local area, secondly the area code and thirdly the telephone number of the receiver in a sequence. DDD telephone sets are available at hotels, restaurants and airports as well as in all parts of urban areas, making it easy for users to find one. The DDD telephone service has been able to connect more than 1,400 Chinese cities to one another. The DDD provides convenient, quick and time-saving communications service for users.

The call rates of telephone services are set in line with the distance between the calling and receiving ends. Where the distance between the two ends is less than 800 kilometers, the standard call rate will be 80 Chinese cents for every one minute. Where the distance exceeds 800 kilometers, the rate will be 1 Chinese yuan for every one minute, together with a long-distance call rate of 10 Chinese cents for every one minute.

Over recent years, along with rapid development of the telecommunications sector, China has begun to apply a system of cutting down rates for midnight long-distance calls.

3. Direct dial, or IDD, telephone service to other countries as well as to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan

The international direct dial telephone service to other countries, as well as to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan is referred to as the IDD on a unified basis. Using a telephone set with the IDD function, the user can contact directly more than 200 countries and regions by dialing "00" to get out of the country, secondly the country or regional code, thirdly the relevant area code and fourthly the telephone number of the receiver in a sequence and without a break. IDD telephone sets are available at hotels, restaurants and airports as well as in commercial areas, providing convenience for users.

Likewise, IDD calls are also chargeable at basic rates calculated by the minute, and according to different period of time, with preferential rates for calls at night as well as on Saturday, Sunday and official holidays.

Telephone call cards are available for sale at telephone exchanges, big hotels and guest houses. Telephone call cards are in two types - the magnetic cards and IC cards, which are separately used on different types of phone sets. Using a telephone call card, one can make local, DDD or IDD calls. The denominations of call cards are 10 Chinese yuan, 20 Chinese yuan, 30 Chinese yuan, 50 Chinese yuan, 100 Chinese yuan and 200 Chinese yuan.

Following the continued development of the telecommunications sector in China, people are becoming accessible to advanced telecommunications services, such as the conference telephone and visual telephone services.

The IDD call rates have been simplified into two kinds: 1. Except the Middle East region, it is 12 Chinese yuan per minute for other Asian countries (11.60 Chinese yuan for Vietnam, 5.40 Chinese yuan for Korea, and 5.30 Chinese yuan for Mongolia); 2. It is 15 Chinese yuan for other countries and regions.

It is five Chinese yuan per minute to call from various domestic places (except Guangdong) to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

4. IP telephone service

Following the development of Internet in China, IP telephone has been chosen by the people for it is cheaper than ordinary telephone calls. It is 0.3 yuan/minute to make a domestic long-distance call, 4.8 yuan/minute to make a call to other countries and 2.5 yuan/minute to make a call to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. So far, IP telephone service has been operated in a dozen big cities in China, connecting 150 countries and regions, including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, Asia, Europe, South and North America and Pacific regions, and it is free to surf through phone among these open cities.

5. Internet

In the past few years, China has seen a rapid development in the post and telecommunications network, various companies such as China Telecom, Union Telecom, Jitong and China Wangtong have competed fiercely with each other, making it easy for clients to use internet and the price continues to go down. One may say that Internet has entered every corner of the country. Those who tour China or make a business trip to China may easily enter the Chinanet, which will be a great help to them.

Since 1978, the development of posts and telecommunications has entered a new historical stage. The scale and volume of the telephone network, and the level of technology and services have all realized qualitative leaps. China has built up its public telecommunications network to cover the whole nation and link it up with the rest of the world.

The public postal network now boasts complete services and multiple transportation means. Many advanced methods are used, including optical cables, digital microwave networks, satellites, program-controlled exchanges, mobile telecommunications and data telecommunications. By the end of 1999, the nation¡¯s total mobile telephone exchange capacity had reached 160 million circuits, and the number of mobile telephone users had reached 43.24 million, making China the third-largest market for mobile phones in the world. The total number of telephone users in China reached 110 million in 1999, accounting for 13 percent of the nation¡¯s population, while the percentage in 1978 was 0.38 percent; and in urban areas, the percentage in 1999 was 28.4 percent, while in 1978 it was only 1.9 percent. In rural areas, 79.8 percent of the administrative villages now have telephones. China has 102,000 post offices nationwide, and the total length of postal routes and rural mail delivery routes reaches 6.215 million km. All large and medium-sized cities provide international express mail service, and have developed international automatic telex, data transmission, express fax, and TV program transmission services. Besides, various services via the Internet, including e-mail and e-commerce, are now available.