Announcement

The 4th International Conference on Representation Theory

(July16—20, 2007; Lhasa, Tibet, China)

First Announcement

2007-06-30

文本框: ICRT-IV

文本框: The 4th International Conference on Representation Theory (ICRT-IV) will be held in Lhasa very soon. We believe that every participant has well prepared for the conference, in particular, for the maiden travel to the world roof. In this announcement, we list some points for your attention. 1. Visa to China and special entrance permit to Tibet. Every non-Chinese citizen is required to have a valid Chinese visa in order to enter China. Moreover, every foreign passport holder is also required to show a special permit to Tibet when you board a train or an airplane to Tibet. The visa application is your own business. But we have prepared the special entrance permits for all participants with foreign passports, and made arrangements for passing over the permits to the participants upon your arrival in China. Please contact Hebing Rui at hebingrui@gmail.com if you have any questions. For Chinese citizen, no visa nor special entrance permit is required. Just bring your citizen ID (身份证). 2. The weather of Tibet. Lhasa has cool summers. In July and August, the daytime high temperature in Lhasa is about 25ºC (or 77ºF), and in the night it falls to about 10ºC (or 50 ºF). In places with higher altitude, the temperature may be even lower, and snowing is sometimes possible. So everybody must bring enough clothes when traveling to Tibet. At least, you must have a sweater and a jacket. 3. About high altitude sickness. Because of the high altitude of Lhasa (about 3700m above the sea level), high altitude sickness, also called mountain sickness, may occur to some people traveling from lower elevations. Here are some suggestions for avoiding serious high altitude sickness: a) Do your best --- eat high-carbohydrate foods, sleep well, and relax from hard working --- to keep yourself in good condition. If you have a preexisting heart and/or lung problem, consult your doctor before traveling. If you got a cold or flu, stop the travel to Tibet. b) If possible, take prescribed medication before reaching Tibet and continue to take the medication upon arrival there. c) Avoid active movements and try to relax in the first one or two days upon arrival. Remember: walking slowly, speaking softly, keeping in calm. And, it is commonly suggested that you do not take bath or shower in the first one or two days. d) Use oxygen when necessary. You can easily obtain oxygen supply in Lhasa --- there are card-operating oxygen generators in hotel rooms; you may buy canned oxygen when going out. e) If you feel bad, see a doctor or go to hospital for help. In Lhasa, there are a few hospitals having the best high altitude sickness clinic. 4. Hotels. Participants will lodge at two hotels --- Himalaya Hotel (phone: 0891-6331430) and Jiangsu Ecological Garden Hotel (phone: 0891-6578546). The conference will be held at Himalaya Hotel. We have assigned hotels to participants, and will send notices in e-mails with the hotel name assigned to you. Although you have sent us your requirements about hotel rooms in the supplementary form, but, due to the limitation of conditions, your requirements may only be partly satisfied or even not satisfied. 5. Going from the airport or railway station to the hotel. The Lhasa Airport is more than 50 km away from the city; while the railway station is close to the city. On July 14 and July 15, someone from the conference will meet the arriving participants in the airport and the railway station, and we will also have buses, free for all participants and family members, waiting there. Please tell us the detailed information about your arrival, so that we can make the best arrangement. However, if you arrive on the other days, you must take taxi to your hotel, paying by yourself. Together with the hotel assignment, we will also send you a jpg file with the hotel names in both English and Chinese. Please print out and bring a hard copy with you. If you take taxi by yourself, you may show it to the taxi driver. 6. Credit and debit cards. Most popular international credit cards, such as Visa, Master, American Express, Plus, Diners Club International, and JCB, are acceptable in banks, hotels and big department stores in Lhasa. However, some pocket money is necessary when you arrive in Lhasa. For example, you may need to pay taxi fee or buy some small items from a small store. Moreover, the registration fee and/or family member’s expense should be paid by RMB cash. (No registration fee for invited speakers.) Moreover, money exchange is available in hotels and banks. Here is also some information about local credit and debit cards: Credit and debit cards issued by Bank of China (中国银行), China Construction Bank (中国建设银行) and Agricultural Bank of China (中国农业银行) are acceptable in Tibet; while cards issued by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (中国工商银行) are not acceptable. 7. Conference facilities. The conference facilities have no much difference from conference held in other places. We will provide overhead projector and computerized projector, so that participants can use transparencies or PowerPoint in your presentation. We will also provide a computer with some standard software such as PowerPoint, Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Word, etc. However, if you are going to use some special software, you must have your own laptop. Hope everyone has a pleasant journey to Lhasa, and look forward to meeting you in Lhasa. The organizing committee June 30, 2007