Beijing Guide Beijing Guide Beijing Guide
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BEIJING GUIDE BEIJING GUIDE BEIJING GUIDE Beijing is one of the most magnificent cities in Essential Information Money 4 Asia. Its history is truly impressive. The me- tropolis is dynamically evolving at a pace that Communication 5 is impossible for any European or North Amer- ican city. Holidays 6 As is quite obvious from a glance at Tianan- men, the literal center of the city, Beijing is Transportation 7 the seat of communist political power, with its vast public spaces, huge buildings designed ac- Food 11 cording to socialist realism principles and CCTV systems accompanied by ever-present police Events During The Year 12 forces. At the same time, this might be seen Things to do 13 as a mere continuity of a once very powerful empire, still represented by the unbelievable DOs and DO NOTs 14 Forbidden City. With Beijing developing so fast, it might be Activities 17 difficult to look beyond the huge construction sites and modern skyscrapers to re-discover . the peaceful temples, lively hutong streets and beautiful parks built according to ancient prin- ciples. But you will be rewarded for your ef- Emergency Contacts forts – this side of Beijing is relaxed, friendly and endlessly charming. Medical emergencies: 120 Foreigners Section of the Beijing Public Se- Time Zone curity Bureau: +86 10 6525 5486 CST – China Standard Time (UTC/GMT +8 hours), Police: 110 no daylight saving time. Police (foreigner section): 552 729 Fire: 119 Contacts Tourist Contacts Traffic information: 122 Tourist information: +86 10 6513 0828 Beijing China Travel Service: +86 10 6515 8264 International Medical Center hotline: +86 10 6465 1561 2 3 MONEY COMMUNICATION Currency: Renminbi (RMB). 1 Yuan (元, kuai) = 10 At markets, don’t be afraid to ask for 15% of the Electricity the province where the SIM was purchased. SIM Jiao (角) suggested price and expect to bargain hard for The standard electricity supply in China is 220 volt cards can be purchased in cell phone shops or everything. Check the prices of desired goods on – 50 Hz AC with NEMA 1-15 USA 2 pin (North Amer- directly with the operators but you will need your The easiest way to obtain Chinese money is to the internet beforehand. Effective tactics are to ican socket with flat blades) and CEE 7/16 Euro- ID to buy it. The prepaid cards have usually the withdraw it from an ATM belonging to one of the state that you’ve seen it elsewhere cheaper or plug (two round pins) in one socket. You will most domination of 30, 50 or 100 元. larger banks. Regional banks usually don’t accept walking away – the price may drop significantly. If probably need an adaptor or transformer, to be foreign cards but there are always some working the seller agrees with your price, you are obliged bought only at authorized shops. There are also many public phone booths. Note ATMs. Standard international charges apply and to buy. that you can use them only with a special pre- you can be sure of not getting any counterfeit Languages paid card called IC that can be purchased in bills. The student discounts are usually applicable only newsagents’ or at post offices. The main spoken language is Chinese, with sim- for students of Chinese universities. plified characters. Expect conversational knowl- Exchanging money in banks is safe too, only more Meal, inexpensive restaurant – 30 元 The country dial code is +86, the area code for Bei- edge of English only in touristy areas and in the difficult – it is truly a bureaucratic process with Street food – 1 – 10 元 jing is 10. tourism industry. lots of forms to be filled in that can take an enor- Meal for 2, mid-range restaurant, three-course mous amount of time. You need your passport to – 180 元 Internet The best way to get by is to phonetically learn exchange money. Combo meal at McDonald’s – 27 元 the basic phrases and memorize basic charac- There is an abundance of cheap Internet cafés Small bottle of water – 1 元 ters (restrooms, exit, up/down for traveling with and almost every hostel has at least one com- Exchange bureaus are very rare and they require Domestic beer – 10 元 trains – the bunks in sleeper trains are marked puter for use by guests. Despite this, Internet your passport as well. Never exchange money on Souvenir t-shirt – 30 元 with the characters, numbers). Always have the access may be quite limited as extensive cen- the street or in an unofficial bureau. Keep your Gasoline (1 liter) – 7.85 元 name and/or address of the place you are stay- sorship is in operation. Luckily, there are many exchange receipts in case you will want to ex- Hostels (average price/night) – 50 元 ing written in Chinese, the same applies for the ways to outflank the protection, such as various change RMB back to your currency when leaving 4* hotel (average price/night) – 600 元 sights you want to visit – this is the only way to software or VPN. China. Car-hire (medium-sized car/day) – 880 元 communicate with taxi drivers. Also, learn the Chinese signs for numbers; they are different to Internet Resources Don’t count on using cards. Visa, MasterCard and Tipping Western ones. Official Beijing Website (www.ebeijing.gov.cn) American Express are accepted at bigger hotels, Tipping is not customary in China. There is one Beijing Practical Information (www.beijingpage. restaurants and in better shops but that’s it. It is exception though: the tour guides usually depend Mobile Phones com) also always safer to pay with cash. on tips (as a result of very competitive prices of There’s a standard mobile network (GSM 900/1800) Useful blog about travelling in China (www. tours for non-Chinese). ’ china-mike.com) Tax Refunds and Chinese CDMA network that s incompatible with American SIM cards. If coming from Europe, There’s no VAT except for in Hainan and there- the probability that your phone will work there fore, no tax refunds. is high and it can be legally used. Needless to say, the roaming will be probably expensive and Prices there’s a portion of randomness – you phone or Bargaining is essential and not just at markets; operator might or might not work. you might need to bargain even in small grocery shops – they always try to charge tourists more, China Mobile and China Unicom are the two even for basic goods. most popular phone operators. Their SIM cards work nationwide but roaming applies beyond 4 5 HOLIDAYS TRANSPORTATION January 1 – New Year Public Transportation The fares are very cheap (usually just 1 元) and are 1st day of 1st lunar month – Chinese New Expect public transport to be extremely crowded usually paid to the bus attendant during the ride. Year during rush hours. The subway is still prob- Buses numbered 1 to 300 serve the city center March 8 – International Women’s Day ably the fastest way to travel in Beijing. The and buses with numbers above 900 connect the 5th solar term (April) – Qingming Festival streets constantly suffer from congestion and rural surroundings of Beijing. May 1 – Labor Day the chances of getting stuck on a bus or in a taxi May 4 – Youth Day is almost 100%. There are night buses numbered 200+ that run June 1 – Children’s Day from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. 5th day of 5th lunar month (June) – Dragon Beijing Subway (bjsubway.com) – employs com- Boat Festival prehensible maps and bilingual signs every- If you are staying longer, you might consider pur- August 1 – Army Day where. Its network is expanding very fast; make chasing the Yikatong (一通) prepaid card with 20 元 15th day of 8th lunar month (September) – sure you have an up-to-date map. The system deposit. The cost of subway tickets is unchanged, Mid-Autumn Festival is simple enough: A single ticket costs 2 元 and but it significantly reduces the cost of using buses October 1 – National Day allows any interchange except for the Airport Ex- (up to 60 %). The celebration of Chinese New Year and National press. Purchasing tickets is very easy; there are Day lasts three days. It is not advised to travel dur- vending machines at every station. Don’t forget To get to the Great Wall, Ming Tombs or other ing those dates – the majority of shops and places to keep your ticket as you will have to use it when sites beyond the Beijing metropolitan area, don’t are closed and it is very difficult to get train tickets leaving the subway as well. be afraid to take public transport – the sites are and accommodation – family visits are customary well-connected and you will always be helped to during holidays. Check out the Flash Subway Tour (www.ebeijing. find the right stop and line. Overall, the experi- gov.cn) if you'd like to learn more about the sub- ence is incomparable to tour buses arranged for Opening Hours way. the foreign tourists, not to mention the difference The standard opening hours for banks and post in price. offices are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The big shops and Buses (www.bjbus.com) – the bus system is quite shopping malls are usually open 10 a.m. to 10 difficult to use. For instance, there are usually no Taxis p.m. and restaurants serve meals from 10 a.m. to English signs and no maps of the route. At the Taxis are inexpensive in Beijing. However, there 11 p.m. Expect the main sights to be open daily, same time, no trip to Beijing is complete with- is always the risk of being ripped off or getting 8:30 a.m.