We look forward to your participation at the 2013 China-American Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, to be held May 15-17, at the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) headquarters in Beijing, China. There is a welcome reception/registration on Tuesday evening, May 14, at CAE headquarters that you should plan to attend.  Please see the Program for details.

Meeting Format

The symposium runs from Wednesday morning through Friday lunch. In order to achieve the objectives of the program, we ask that you attend all sessions of the entire symposium. This meeting is unlike other meetings you may attend where it is possible to pick and choose the sessions in which you wish to participate. In addition to showing consideration toward all the speakers, who have worked hard preparing for this meeting, you will reap the maximum benefit from the symposium by participating fully in both the formal sessions and informal events over the course of the 2-½ day meeting.

Posters: In addition to the technical talks given at the symposium, attendees will have the opportunity to present their work in an afternoon poster session on Wednesday, May 15. These posters will be displayed throughout the meeting and provide an opportunity for every participant to share information about his/her work. The material presented can be on posters, but could also include—particularly for those from industry—videos, demonstrations of devices, etc. The maximum poster size is 60 cm (w) by 90cm (h). See the poster session link at the left for additional information..

Tours: As part of the meeting, there will be a tour of a solar energy facility on Thursday afternoon. On Friday afternoon, after the meeting, CAE is organizing a tour of the Great Wall of China for anyone staying over Friday night. Please e-mail Vanessa Lester if you are interested in joining this tour.

Location

The meeting will be held at the Chinese Academy of Engineering Headquarters. 

Chinese Academy of Engineering
2 Bingjiaokou Hutong
Beijing 100088, China 
T:  +86 10-59300264

There will be a shuttle between the hotel and CAE headquarters during the meeting. 

Hotel

Oriental Bay International Hotel
26 Andingmen West Binhe Road
Dongcheng District, Beijing 100011 China
T: + 86-10-58139988 

U.S. participants should make lodging reservations by completing the online travel form before April 1. If you need to make changes to your hotel reservation please contact Vanessa Lester immediately. Chinese participants will coordinate lodging reservation with the Chinese Academy of Engineering directly and should not fill out the travel form.

Travel

The Oriental Bay International Hotel is located about 30 minutes from the Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK). The Chinese Academy of Engineering will provide transportation from the airport to the hotel for U.S. participants arriving on May 14 and departing on May 17 or 18. Please indicate you flight schedule on the travel form so pick up/drop off can be arranged. After clearing customs and immigration, a CAE staff member will meet you at the exit outside the baggage claim area holding a sign "CAFOE 2013." If you somehow cannot find the CAE contact, or you are arriving or departing on days other than May 14, 17, or 18, there are taxi and shuttle instructions here.

All U.S. participants whose travel will be paid by NAE must make their airline reservations through Kentlands Travel. This is Academy policy, and we cannot make exceptions. Please see the travel memo for additional information.

Visa Information

All U.S. citizens traveling to China will need to acquire a visa from the Chinese Consulate in your area. Those who hold passports from other countries must check whether or not a visa is required to enter China. Fill out the passport/visa form by January 25 providing passport and visa information. Utilizing this information, CAE will complete visa authorization forms, which will be distributed by FOE staff to U.S. participants so you can apply for your visas. Please note that most countries will not issue visas if the passport will expire within six months of the travel dates.

Important information for obtaining the visa: The visa application form number is 2011A. This form will allow you to obtain an F visa, which is for business. Any blank spaces left on the form must be filled in with "N/A". In addition, you will need an invitation letter from the Chinese organization that is sponsoring the meeting. Please use the authorization form generated by the Chinese Academy of Engineering and sent to you via e-mail on February 7. If your are requested to provide a business letter on letterhead to get your visa, please e-mail Vanessa Lester to have one sent to you by the NAE. Contact information for the Chinese Academy of Engineering is listed below:

Hongtao Ren
Director
Department of International Cooperation
Chinese Academy of Engineering
Bingjiaokou Hutong,
Xicheng District, Beijing, China 100088
Phone: +86 10 5930 0000

The visa application, and all supported documentation and photos, cannot be mailed to the consulate. You must bring all documents in person and return in person to collect the visa when it is ready. There are also no options to get the visa same-day for an additional fee. You may however be able to use the Travisa service to submit information online for a $60 fee. The Chinese consulate recommends getting your visa 1-3 months prior to the meeting date. For more information, please visit the Chinese Embassy website for business (type F) visas. If you have any additional questions, please contact the Chinese consulate in Washington, DC at chinavisadc@gmail.com.

Emergency Contact Number

In case of emergency, please contact Mr. Zhao Yang, cell phone # +86 13521488970.