Saudi Arabia contains the holy Muslim cities of Mecca and Medina, to which all physically and financially able Muslims are required to make a pilgrimage at least once if possible (see Hajj).
Saudi Arabia is one of three countries named for their royal families, along with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and also Liechtenstein. The family were sheikhs of Nejd, the area around Riyadh, but were driven out by a neighbouring tribe, hiding with their relatives, the sultan of Kuwait. Then in 1902, young Abd al-Aziz Ibn Saud and a few dozen lads rode out to raid their home territory. As it turned out, the invaders had been ruling badly, so many locals joined them. They not only re-captured Riyadh, but much of the surrounding territory.
After that, Abdul Aziz set out on a 30-year campaign to unify the Arabian Peninsula. The area united under him became known as Saudi Arabia.
In the 1930s, the discovery of oil transformed the country. Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Saudi Arabia accepted the Kuwaiti royal family and 400,000 refugees while allowing Western and Arab troops to deploy on its soil for the liberation of Kuwait the following year. A burgeoning population, unemployment, aquifer depletion, and an economy largely dependent on petroleum output and prices are all major governmental concerns.
Saudi Arabia is an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. Saudi Arabia has the largest reserves of petroleum in the world (26% of the proven reserves), ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 75% of budget revenues, 45% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings. About 25% of GDP comes from the private sector.
Roughly 4 million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy, for example, in the oil and service sectors. Riyadh expects to have a budget deficit in 2002, in part because of increased spending for education and other social programs.
The government in 1999 announced plans to begin privatizing the electricity companies, which follows the ongoing privatization of the telecommunications company. The government is expected to continue calling for private sector growth to lessen the kingdom's dependence on oil and increase employment opportunities for the swelling Saudi population. Shortages of water and rapid population growth will constrain government efforts to increase self-sufficiency in agricultural products.
Unemployment among young Saudis is a very serious problem. While part of this can be explained by Saudi reluctance to take many types of work, it is also true that imported labor is much, much cheaper than that of the locals.
; '''Terrain''' : mostly uninhabited, sandy desert ; '''Elevation extremes''' : ''lowest point:'' Persian Gulf 0 m <br>''highest point:'' Jabal Sawda' 3,133 m ; '''Natural resources''' : petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper ; '''Land use''' : ''arable land:'' 1.72% <br>''permanent crops:'' 0.06% <br>''other:'' 98.22% (1998 est.)
In winter, though, it's a surprisingly different story. Daytime highs in Riyadh in December average only 7°C, and temperatures can easily fall below zero at night, occasionally even resulting in a sprinkling of '''snow''' in the southern mountains. The winter is also the only season when it rains at all in most of the country, although in many years this is limited to one or two torrential outbursts. In the south, though, this pattern is reversed, with most rain falling during the Indian Ocean's monsoon season between May and October.
The first prayer is '''''fajr''''', early in the morning before the first glint of light at dawn, and the call to prayer for ''fajr'' will be your wake-up call in the Kingdom. After ''fajr'', people eat breakfast and head to work, with shops opening up.
The second prayer is '''''dhuhr''''', held after true noon in the middle of the day. The Friday noon prayer (''jummah'') is the most important one of the week, when even less observant Muslims usually make the effort to go to the mosque. After ''dhuhr'', people head for lunch, while many shops choose to stay closed and snooze away the heat of the day.
'''''Asr''''' prayers are in the late afternoon (1:30-2 hours before sunset), with many shops opening again afterward. '''''Maghrib''''' prayers are held at sunset and mark the end of the work day in much of the private sector. The last prayer is '''''isha'a''''', held around 45 minutes to 1 hour after sunset, after which locals head for dinner. Expats refer to the time between ''maghrib'' and ''isha'a'' as the "prayer window", during which you can hit the supermarket and buy your groceries if you time it right.
Prayer times change daily according to the seasons and your exact location in the Kingdom. You can find the day's times in any newspaper, and the Ministry of Islamic Affairs maintains a handy online prayer time service [http://prayer.al-islam.com/].
The Saudi interpretation of Islam views all non-Muslim holidays as smacking of idolatry, and the public observance of Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, Halloween etc is prohibited. In fact, public holidays are granted only for two events: '''Eid ul-Fitr''', the feast at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, and '''Eid al-Adha''', commemorating Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, some 70 days after Ramadan. Even Muhammad's birthday is not observed.
During Ramadan itself, visitors are required to abide by the restrictions of the fasting month, at least in public: no eating, drinking or smoking during the daylight hours. Some better hotels will be able to quietly supply room service during the day, but otherwise you'll have to do your preparations. All restaurants in the Kingdom are closed during the day, the pace of business slows down to a torpor, and quite frankly, this is a time of year best avoided.
There is also one secular holiday: Unification of the Kingdom Day, on September 23rd. Strictly speaking, it's not a public holiday or a festival, but it's treated rather like one anyway.
Expect significant variations in the English spellings of place names in schedules and even road signs: ''Al Wajh'' and ''Wedjh'' are the same place. In particular, Q/G and E/I are interchanged freely (''Qassim/Gassim'', ''Jeddah/Jiddah''), H/A sometimes swap places (''Al-Ahsa''/''Al-Hasa'') and the definite article ''al-'' can be left on or off (''Medina/Almadinah'', ''Riyadh/Arriyadh'').
Saudi Arabia has some of the most restrictive travel policies in the world, and '''advance visas are required''' for all foreigners desiring to enter. The only important exception are residents of the Gulf Cooperation Council nations. Also excluded from visa requirements are foreigners transiting through airports for less than eighteen hours, but many other entry requirements, such as the dress code and restrictions on unaccompanied females, still apply. Nationals of Israel and those with evidence of visiting Israel will be denied visas, although in theory merely being Jewish in and of itself is not a disqualifying factor. Saudis prefer not to grant visas to unaccompanied women, but work permits are common in some fields (esp. nurses, teachers, maids) and possible for anyone if your sponsor has enough connections. Make sure that you have no Israeli stamps or visas in your passport, as entry will likely be refused.
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However, things have loosened up a little compared to the past. Tourist visas, long near-impossible without a Saudi sponsor, are now available but only for guided tours. Transit visas are limited to some long-distance truck drivers and for plane trips. Generally, though, transit visas are free. Hajj (pilgrimage) visas are issued by the Saudi government through Saudi embassies around the world in cooperation with local mosques. Hajjis, and those on transit visas are prohibited from traveling freely throughout the kingdom. Most short-term Western visitors to Saudi arrive on business visas, which require an invitation from a local sponsor which has been approved by the Saudi Chamber of Commerce. Once this invitation is secured and certified, the actual process of issuing the visa is relatively fast and painless (usually under a week, sometimes even on the same day). Getting a work visa is considerably more complex, but usually your employer will handle most of the paperwork.
The fun doesn't end when you get the visa, since '''visas do not state their exact expiry date'''. While the validity is noted in months, these are not Western months but '''lunar months''', and you need to use the Islamic calendar to figure out the length: a three-month visa issued on "29/02/22" (22 Safar 1429, 1 March 2008) is valid until 29/05/22 (22 Jumada al-Awwal 1429, 28 May 2008), ''not'' until 1 June 2008! Depending on visa type, the validity can start from the date of issue ''or'' the date of first entry, and multiple-entry visas may also have restrictions regarding how many days at a time are allowed (usually 28 days per visit) and/or how many days total are allowed during the validity period. This all results in fantastic confusion, and it's not uncommon to get different answers from an embassy, from your employer and from Immigration!
If you have a work visa, '''exit visas are required to leave the country.''' (Business, tourism or Hajj visas do not require exit permits.) You cannot get an exit visa without a signature from your employer, and there have been cases of people unable to leave because of controversy with employers or even customers. For example, if a foreign company is sued in Saudi for non-payment of debts and you are considered its representative, an exit visa may be denied until the court case is sorted out.
Saudi Arabia has '''very strict''' rules for what may be imported: alcoholic beverages, pork, non-Islamic religious materials and pornography (very widely defined) are all prohibited. Computers, VCR tapes and DVDs have all been seized from time to time for inspection by the authorities. If you are unsure if the movie you watch or the video game you play is deemed un-Islamic, it probably be best not to bring them with you to the kingdom. In general, though, inspections aren't quite as thorough as they used to be and while bags are still x-rayed, minute searches are the exception rather than the rule.
Saudi Arabia has 3 international airports at Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. The airport at Dhahran is now closed to civil traffic, so passengers to the Eastern Region now fly into Dammam, or into nearby Bahrain (which is much better connected) and then cross into Saudi Arabia by car.
Saudi Arabia is served by the national airline '''Saudi Arabian Airlines''' [http://www.saudiairlines.com/], often referred to by its Arabic name ''Saudia''. Saudia has a reasonable safety record, but many of their planes are on the old side and the quality of service, inflight entertainment etc tends to be low. Virtually all Gulf airlines and most major European airlines fly into Saudi. During the Hajj, numerous charter flights supplement the scheduled airlines.
Foreigners living in Saudi Arabia can often get sensational discounts on outbound flights during the Hajj. Airlines from Muslim countries are flying in many loads of pilgrims, and do not not want to go back empty.
Probably the most popular service is between Dammam/Khobar and Bahrain, operated by the separate Saudi-Bahraini Transport Company (SABTCO) [http://www.sabtco.biz/]. There are five services daily at a cost of SR50/BD5 and the trip across the King Fahd Causeway takes around two hours on a good day; see Bahrain for details.
Automobile crossings exist on all the borders, although those into Iraq are currently closed. The eastern crossings to Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE are heavily used, all others rather less so.
Internal travel permits are a thing of the past, so once you've gotten into Saudi, the country is your oyster. There are, however, three exceptions:
The Saudi Arabian Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) [http://www.saptco.com.sa/] operates long-distance buses linking together all corners of the country. Buses are modern, air-conditioned and comfortable, but often slow, and the bus stations are more often than not located several kilometers away from the city center. The Riyadh-Dammam service, for example, costs SR60 and takes around 6 hours.
Special "VIP" services operate on the Riyadh-Dammam and Riyadh-Bahrain sectors. For a surcharge of about 50%, you get a direct, non-stop city center-to-city center services, plush seating and a meal on-board -- all in all, quite good value, if the sparse schedules match your plans.
The railway network in Saudi Arabia is seriously underdeveloped, with only one line running between Riyadh, Al-Hofuf and Dammam, but it's still the only passenger train service in the entire Gulf. There are plans to extend the network to Jeddah and build a Mecca-Medina link during the next few years.
The trains are operated by '''Saudi Railways Organization''' [http://www.saudirailways.com/english/e_default.htm] and have 3 classes: Second, First and the delightfully named Rehab. First and Second classes are very similar, with aircon and two-by-two seating, but First has a few inches of extra legroom. Rehab (VIP) class, on the other hand, has plush leather seats, roof-mounted flat-panel TVs showing Arabic entertainment, and slick waiting lounges at stations. There are no reserved seats, so show up early to claim yours, and beware that most carriages reserve the forward-facing seats at the front of each carriage for families. Trains have a cafeteria car serving up drinks and snacks, as well as push-trolley service.
A ticket from Riyadh to Dammam costs SR60/75/120 in Second/First/Rehab. There are four trains each day in both directions, and the trip takes 4-5 hours. (Note that, as of May 2008, the timetables on SRO website are outdated.) It is advisable to buy tickets in advance as the trains are often sold out. You can reserve tickets by calling their service center in Dammam (''+966 3 827 4000'') and then pick up the tickets from the nearest railway station 24 hours before departure.
If you are involved in a car accident all parties are required to stay where they are and wait for the Traffic Police (call 993) to turn up, with can take up to 4 hours. They will issue an accident report and English is unlikely to be spoken by the Police, even in big cities. You then have to take this report to the Traffic Police Station and get it stamped a few times in different queues (this takes most of a morning). Only then can any damage to the car be repaired (Car garages are not allowed to do body work without this report).
It is not uncommon for the Traffic Police to resolve the incident there and then by determining the guilty party and deciding compensation. So, should it be your fault the Police will ask you to pay an amount to the other party - have money with you.
At the present time, access to car rentals is limited to males 21 and older. '''Women cannot drive on public roads or ride bicycles'''.
Nearly all road signs are in English as well as Arabic.
The riyal is also pegged to the Bahraini dinar at a 10:1 ratio. If you are considering travelling to Bahrain, some businesses will accept riyals, but the dinar is not easily convertible in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia is still largely a cash society, and credit card acceptance is surprisingly poor outside luxury hotels and malls. ATMs are ubiquitous, although those of many smaller banks do not accept foreign cards; Samba and SABB are probably your best bets. Moneychangers can be found in souks, but are rare elsewhere. Foreign currencies are generally not accepted by merchants.
Tipping is generally not expected, although service staff are always happy to receive them and taxi fares are often rounded up (or, not uncommonly, down). Expensive restaurants often slap on a 10% service charge, although due to lax regulation many employers simply usurp it (ask your waiters if they receive any of it or not if you would like to tip them). There are no sales taxes in Saudi, and for that matter, there aren't any income taxes either!
Carpets are a favorite purchase, most of these coming from nearby Iran. Jeddah in particular has lots of carpets, many brought by pilgrims who sell them there to help finance their trip to Mecca.
Large gold and jewelry markets are prominent in all major cities. Bargaining is a norm in most small to medium sized stores. Mecca and Medina offer a lot of variety in terms of luggage, clothing, jewelry, knick-knacks, souvenirs, toys, food, perfume, incense, and religious literature, audio, and paraphernalia.
Large, well maintained air-conditioned malls and grocery stores (i.e. Safeway, Giant Stores, Carrefour [http://www.carrefourksa.com/]) are scattered throughout the kingdom. Note that all shops, even those selling women's clothing and lingerie, are staffed exclusively by men and have no dressing rooms. You may be offered use of a back storeroom for trying on clothes, but it is best to ''not'' accept the offer — a number of women have been raped this way.
'''Desert excursions''' are particularly popular with the native Arabs. There are few desert dune bashing tour operators, if any, but ATV rentals are often found along the roadside on the outskirts of major cities and expats often arrange convoy trips into the desert. The Empty Quarter has the most awesome scenery — and requires the most preparation.
'''Scuba diving''' is popular on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast. Jeddah has a number of dive operators.
'''Amusement parks''' (many of them indoor) are often found near malls or beaches. Many large cities have public parks and small zoos. Horseback riding, camel riding, etc. are also available at horse-racing tracks and some popular beaches. Many upscale hotels provide light activities (especially hotels located along the beaches).
'''Movie theatres''' are banned in the Kingdom, but DVD shops abound, although the selections are often tame and/or censored. Satellite TV and downloading entertainment from the Internet is thus very popular.
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Cheaper yet are the countless '''curry shops''' run by and for Saudi Arabia's large Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi community, which serve up large ''thali'' platters of subcontinental fare for under SR10. Just don't expect frills like air-conditioning.
Finding restaurants that serve actual Saudi cuisine is surprisingly difficult, although many larger hotels have "Arabian" (usually Lebanese) restaurants. Your local Saudi or expatriate host may be able to show you some places or, if you're really lucky, an invitation to dinner at home.
If, on the other hand, you're looking for a hazelnut frappucino, Starbucks and its legion competitors have established a firm foothold in the Kingdom's malls. These usually welcome women, although 2008 saw several arrests of unmarried couples "mingling".
As for the coffee (''kahwa'') itself, try ''mirra'', made in the Bedouin style. Sometimes spiced with cardamom, it's strong and tastes great, particularly drunk with fresh dates. Tea (''chai'') usually comes with dollops of sugar and perhaps a few mint leaves (''na'ana'').
'''Do not drink and drive!''' is good advice anywhere, but especially in Saudi Arabia. If you have an accident, or otherwise attract police attention, the consequences might be serious indeed.
The locally-brewed white lightning called ''siddiqi'' (Arabic for "my friend") or just ''sid''. In addition to being illegal, it's also extremely potent (anything up to 90-odd percent alcohol), remarkably unpalatable and may contain dangerous impurities.
As elsewhere in the Gulf, Saudis are big fans of various '''fruit juices''', ranging from the ordinary (apple, orange) to the downright bizarre (banana-lemon-milk-walnut, anyone?).
Non-alcoholic versions of alcoholic drinks are popular. Two of the most common are '''Saudi champagne''', basically apple juice and Sprite or soda water, and '''malt beverages''', ie. non-alcoholic beer, always sweet and often strongly flavored with mango, strawberry, apple, lemon etc essences. You can even get apple-flavored Budweiser!
Larger, more expensive hotels are abundant in all major cities. After the lull caused by the insurgency in 2003, prices have been rising again, and you can expect to pay north of US$200 for a weekday night at a good hotel in any of the big Saudi cities. In exchange, you usually get excellent service and the ability to work around some restrictions (eg. restaurants that stay open through prayer hours and daytime room service during Ramadan).
'''Smoking''' is the one sin that the Wahhabis haven't gotten around to banning yet, and consequently everybody smokes everywhere: hotel lobbies, airport lounges, shopping mall food courts, drivers in their taxis, etc. If this is a problem, be sure to request non-smoking rooms in hotels.
The Kingdom has a wide-reaching national health-care system, but the services provided by this program are quite basic. Private hospitals are often run with the participation of foreign partners. These facilities range from fairly rudimentary to very advanced and very expensive. Pharmacies are widely available and prescriptions are not required for most medications. Psychoactive medications are tightly controlled and available only through government pharmacies.
Bottled water is easily available, and as they say, is more expensive than gasoline.
To get a working visa, you must have a Saudi sponsor. Then to get an exit visa, you need your sponsor's signature. This can lead to major problems.
A low-level insurgency which targets foreigners in general and Westerners in particular continues to bubble. The wave of violence in 2003-2004 has been squashed by a brutal crackdown by Saudi security forces and there have been no major attacks in the cities for several years, security remains tight and it is prudent not to draw too much attention to yourself. Foreigners should register their presence with their embassy or consulate. Emergency alert systems using e-mail and cell phone messages are maintained by many governments for their guest workers.
Four French tourists, part of a larger group that had been camping in the desert, were shot and killed by terrorists near Madain Saleh in early 2007. Due to this, mandatory police escorts — which can be an interesting experience, but can also be annoying, restrictive hassles — are sometimes provided for travel outside major cities, in areas like Abha, Najran and Madain Saleh.
While Saudi Arabia has one of the ''lowest crime rates in the world'', a certain background level of non-violent opportunistic theft like pickpocketing and purse snatching does exist. Lock doors and keep valuables on your person.
Saudi society endeavours to keep men and women separate, but '''sexual harassment''' — leers, jeers and even being followed — is depressingly common. Raising a ruckus or simply loudly asking the harasser ''anta Muslim?'' ("are you Muslim?") will usually suffice to scare them off. However, women who willingly or otherwise find themselves alone with Saudi men run a real risk of being raped.
Violations of Saudi law can bring a visitor into contact with the local police and justice systems. The Saudi justice system is notoriously harsh and gives no leeway to non-Saudis, and embassies can provide only limited help in these situations. See Respect for how to stay out of trouble.
Visitors to Saudi Arabia are '''required''' to respect local conventions, in particular regarding Islam. While first-timers in Saudi Arabia are often regaled with tales of beheadings, amputations and whippings, the full harshness of Saudi law is reserved for true criminals like drug smugglers. With a modicum of common sense you'll be just fine, and should a visitor accidentally cause some minor offense, the reaction will generally be amusement rather than anger.
In practice, though, most visitors will be primarily concerned with the '''code of morality''', involving things like women not covering up properly, not observing prayer or (during Ramadan) fasting times, etc. These rules are enforced by the infamous '''''muttawa''''' (pl. ''mutawain''), the zealous volunteers of the religious police formally known as the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. Confusingly, the exact rules and their enforcement vary greatly both with time and from region to region, with the Nejd region around Riyadh being the most strict, the Eastern Province being the least strict, and the Hejaz around Jeddah being somewhere in the middle. However, 99% of the time, encounters with the muttawa (especially for non-Muslims) simply result in verbal warnings. The muttawa ''do'' have the power to detain those suspected of un-Islamic conduct, but — in theory — must hand them over to the police before interrogation, and neither can they apply judicial punishments like whipping without a trial. Reports of abuse and even deaths in muttawa custody are still depressingly common.
''Everything'' in Saudi Arabia is segregated by sex to ensure that unrelated men and women have no possibility of "mingling" (''khulwa'', a punishable crime). Under the rules of segregation, all people are divided into three groups:
Typical examples of segregation include: {| cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 ! Establishment !! align=left | Segregation
Men with long hair might want to consider a cut before entering the kingdom; although shoulder-length locks can be considered reasonable, anything longer can be considered as grounds for ejection from shopping malls and public places by the muttawa.
'''Homosexuality is punishable by death.''' It is common for Saudi men to walk hand in hand as a sign of friendship, but it would be unwise for Western men to attempt the same. Sharing a hotel room as a way of cutting costs is normal, but don't even think about asking for one bed for two. That said, homosexuality still happens, only very discreetly, and it's not uncommon for a foreign man to be approached by an amorous, young unmarried Saudi.
Saudi law prohibits women from '''mingling with unrelated men''', ''even if married'': for example, many family restaurants will not (knowingly) allow a married couple to dine together with a single man. Women may not drive cars, although as of 2008 there are — not for the first time — rumblings that this may soon change. In theory, women may not even be driven by unrelated people (eg. taxi drivers), although this is widely ignored and rarely enforced.
A woman ''may'' travel alone ''with her mahram's permission'', and in the case of foreign women, even without it. They may also stay alone in hotels, although hotels may require written permission on check-in.
While all this legally applies to foreign women as well, in practice foreign women are not restrained by their families in the way that Saudi women are, and can have considerable leeway if they choose to take it. For example, a foreign woman and her boyfriend (or even male coworker) can simply ''claim to be'' husband and wife, and thus mingle freely — although, if caught doing so, the consequences can be severe.
A single woman accosted by the police or the ''muttawa'' and requested to come with them '''does not have to''' (and, for their own safety, should not) go with them alone: you have the right to call your ''mahram'' and have them arrive, and you should use it. However, you may be required to surrender your ID, and you may not leave until the police/muttawa allow you to.
'''Playing music in public''' is also prohibited. However, personal music players and listening to music in private is fine, and there are plenty of music shops in the country's shopping malls if you don't mind permanent marker over Britney's hemline on the cover. It is not uncommon to hear young Saudis blasting the latest hip-hop music in their vehicles, at least when the muttawa are not around.
'''Religious items for religions other than Islam''', including Bibles, crucifixes and any religious literature, are technically forbidden, although these days items for personal use are generally ignored. However, anything that hints of proselytism is treated '''very''' harshly, and the muttawa often bust illicit church assemblies and the like. Public observance of religions other than Islam is technically a crime in Saudi Arabia.
'''Catholic visitors must not be members of the Knights of Columbus.''' It is banned very strictly, perhaps even more strictly than any other fraternal society, under anti-proselytism law. Penalties have ranged from being forced to break the Lenten fast to jail time and deportation to the '''death sentence'''.
The flag of Saudi Arabia bears the Islamic declaration of faith, and desecration or any other inappropriate use of the flag is considered insulting.
Insulting the King and the Royal Family is extremely serious in Saudi Arabia and results in serious punishments.
The three mobile operators in Saudi, incumbent '''Al Jawal''' [http://www.stc.com.sa], Emirati rival '''Mobily''' [http://www.mobily.com.sa/] and newcomer '''Zain''' [http://www.sa.zain.com/] (Vodafone Network) are fiercely competitive, with good coverage (in populated areas) and good pricing. A starter pack with prepaid SIM and talktime starts from about SR 75, and you can sign up in most any larger mobile shop (bring your passport). Local calls are under SR1/minute, while calls overseas are around SR5/min.
And yes, you can bring in your own phone: despite grumblings from the mullahs, both camera phones and multimedia messaging (MMS) are now legal.
While Internet in Saudi Arabia is cordoned off by a filter, it aims primarily at pornography, non-Islamic religious and domestic political sites in Arabic, and (from the traveller's point of view) is nowhere near as strict as, say, China's. Google, Skype, Wikipedia, all major webmail providers etc are all accessible.