Tuanjiehu Apartment Accomodation Handbook
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TUANJIEHU APARTMENT ACCOMODATION HANDBOOK WELCOME Welcome! Red Gate Residency is delighted to have you. We want to make your residency as inspiring, productive and enjoyable as possible. This handbook should serve as a reference for basic needs in your apartment and area. We have also included information we sent you prior to your arrival. If you have any information or references that you think should be added to our handbook or additional resources, please let us know. APARTMENT SAFETY Please keep the apartment doors locked at all times. When leaving the apartment please: • Close the windows for safety and dust reasons • Turn off all the lights • Turn off air conditioner/heater • Although Tuanjiehu neighbourhood is very safe, if you have valuable or very personal items you may prefer to lock them away in your suitcase. Do not let strangers into your apartment. If they are persistent, ask them to call Xiao Liao at 186 1194 5570 or Emma at 186 1293 3959 to find out what is going on. It could be the gas lady or the water man wanting to read the meter. If they are asking about payment for facilities, take the invoice for them and put it on the fridge for the coordinator or facility manager. It is, of course, OK to have your friends around. But please keep in mind the neighbours who are all friendly and mindful of you. Also, Chinese tend to go to bed early, so keep the noise levels down. It is very important that any guest staying with you for over 24 hours be registered with the police station. Please contact the Residency Director to discuss making sure this happens. Generally the neighbours do not speak English but a friendly Ni Hao (pronounced nee how) and a smile on your part goes a long way. In Beijing all things break, particularly in the hands of heavy-handed foreigners. Please let us know if something breaks, needs to be replaced, or looks dangerous. If it is something urgent, call right away. We can usually attend to it as soon as practical, but sometimes plumbers and electricians maybe the next day, so please be patient. Do not call us in the middle of the night to change a light bulb, but please let us know your concerns. If you find a bill on the door, please put it on the fridge and call the Residency Coordinator. We will arrange for it to be collected and paid. REGISTRATION The first priority after your arrival is the registration of your passport at the police station. Depending on the staff’s availability they may be able to save you the trip by picking up your passport and registering it for you. Please leave your passport on the fridge and be aware that someone may come to take it from you in your within the first 24 hours of your stay. After we register you, you will be supplied with a registration form. You must carry this form on you at all times. You do not need to carry your passport around with you - only this form. TOILET It is quite OK to put paper down the loo, but you must minimize it. Chinese plumbing cannot withstand the quantity of toilet paper that you may be used to using at home. Absolutely do not put any other items down the loo. No tampons, no hair, no gum, etc. toilet paper only. Unclogging a blocked loo is not a pleasant thing – do your best to avoid putting yourself through this. GARBAGE Garbage should be put downstairs outside in the big plastic hoppers. Sometimes the neighbours may want your empty containers – it is pocket money for them. You do not have to sort the garbage. HOUSE CLEANING Your cleaner Li Ayi, will come once a week mainly to do the mopping and dusting – not the washing up, or your laundry. To make it easier, please tidy up your things. In the pursuit of Beijing dust, we do not want to upset you by moving things around which you may not have wanted touched – particularly artwork. WATER The large containers of drinking water in your lodging are included in your residency. You can buy bottled water from the local supermarkets and mini-marts. You can drink the tap water ONLY after boiling it. Washing your teeth with it should not be a problem. If you run out of the filtered water in the apartment, please let the coordinator or Li Ayi know. AIR CONDITIONING AND HEATING Feel free to use the air conditioning, which also has a heating facility. When you go out please turn it off. Both the heating and cooling functions can be set to go on at specified times using the timer setting on the remote. This allows you to heat or cool your space before you come home but keeps electricity costs to a minimum. Building heating is turned on and off seasonally on a fixed date. INTERNET Internet access is included in the residency. You will need to supply your own laptop. All Tuanjiehu apartments now have password protected wireless internet access as well as the option to plug in Ethernet cable for ADSL access. Password and username can be found written on the WIFI router. VPN If you want to access facebook, youtube, New York Times, and other restricted websites while you’re in China, we recommend that you get a VPN. www.astrill.com is a relatively reliable VPN with good customer service. Please let us know if you find one that you prefer so that we can recommend it to other residents! TV/DVD/RADIO The Tuanjiehu apartments receive a range of stations, but only one English language channel – Channel 9 - with a range of informative propaganda programs. The other channels give you an insight into popular culture and government programming. You can buy the latest pirated, but good quality movies from Jenny Lou’s and other reputable establishments. Buying from the dealers on the street maybe cheaper but you will get what you pay for. There is a range of good music channels to choose from on the radio. ** See Additional Resources – Radio for more information on radio stations. ELECTRICITY Generally speaking, electricity in China is 220V, 50Hz. However, most of the plugs in our Tuanjiehu apartments have additional cords that can receive many different kinds of plugs. While staying in either of these locations, unless you have very specific equipment, you will not need a converter or an adapter. TELEPHONE Local calls are included in the package. Each apartment and studio/loft space has a phone and local number that can be used to make local calls. Your number is listed next to your apartment in the chart below. To make long distance calls domestically and internationally, you will need to buy a phone card. Note: Phone cards come in either China wide OR International Residency accommodation phone numbers: (For those calling you from outside of China, they will need to dial their international calling number, +86 10 and then your number below) Tuanjiehu (Downtown Apartments) TJH502 6582 5635 TJH403 6582 3813 Bei Gao (Studio/Lofts) BG1 6434 4001 BG2 6435 8010 BG3 8470 1008 BG4 8470 3012 BG5 6431 6781 BG6 6434 3969 Mobile Phones Red Gate Residency provides a simple mobile phone and SIM card for you. If your cell phone from home uses a SIM card, it may work here once you purchase a Beijing SIM card (Y60-Y100). First, be sure to check with your provider to see if your phone needs to be unlocked. Credit-charging SIM cards (chong zhi ka) are sold at most convenient stores or newsstands. You can buy SIM cards from China Mobile and China Unicom as well. China Mobile has the best China-wide coverage and seems to be located on nearly every block. These cards have English instructions and will add credit to your phone. You can check your credit by dialing 10086. ** See Additional Resources – Chinese Mobile Phones for more information. Calling All regular phone numbers have an area code followed by an eight-digit number. If you add the following prefix to numbers called in Beijing the rate tends to be much cheaper: 12593. Beijing Area code: 010 Country code: 86 International access code: 00 International directory assistance: 115 Weather: 121 Tourist Hot-line: 6513 0828 – press 1 after dialing the number 5 Country and City Codes Australia: 61 Canada: 1 USA: 1 France: 33 UK: 44 New Zealand: 64 Hong Kong: 852 Shanghai: 021 To help your loved ones reach you: Dial international access code for country of origin (00 for the UK and 011 for the US) Dial the country code for China (+86) Dial the city code for Beijing (dial 010) …if this doesn't work try simply 10 Then dial the local number. If a mobile telephone number is used, just dial +86 and then the mobile number. DIRECTIONS We have included written directions to the area in which you live. This does not include the entrance or apartment number. We have also included a map of Beijing. Your guidebook has further information. Please see below transportation information for useful tips on getting out, around, and home again. TRANSPORTATION Most people move around by taxi. There is a good bus system and the subway is fairly easy to negotiate once you have your bearings. Investigate your maps and guidebooks for bus and subway information. Subway Beijing Subway lines open between 5:00am and 6:00am and close between 22:30 and 23:00 For more information, please visit: www.bjsubway.com/ens/index.html.