( Budget Travel Information for Backpackers in Beijing )
Before you go to Beijing:
Beijing is a should-see student travel spot. Beijing is a city full of vitality. She is waiting for young students like you to feel and touch. Make travel plans for before you go.
1. You need a passport and a tourist visa.
2. Find the best airfare to Beijing from student airfare agencies like Student Universe and large travel websites like expedia and travlocity as well.
3. Study the major attractions in Beijing and find the favorable sites you like. See"Top 10 Must See Attractions in Beijing".
4. Learn some Chinese simple sentences:
Are you going to visit Beijing China? Worried about your inability to speak Chinese ? Please find below the useful information for you:
a. It's better to pick up some simple Chinese phrases before going. How to learn Chinese?
You may turn to some websites for help. They offer Chinese learning lessons:
1) Learning Useful Chinese Phrases for Travellers
2) http://14.travel-way.net/~chinese/index.html
3) http://www.ecchinese.com/
4) http://www.transparent.com/languagepages/chinese/chinese.htm
5) http://www.craigslist.org./
Note: Chinese is a phonic language , very often similar words have different meanings based on pronounciation and different words have similar pronounciation. No pain, no gain!
b. You may go to your local bookstore or library and getting some audio tapes for Chinese learning.
c. You also try to find a community college or school offering Chinese learning for beginners.
d. Each year a huge number of travellers with little knowledge of Chinese language visit or even work in China, actually you will have no big problem at all. You know more and more local Chinese are learning English. And they are pleased to practice with you. No worry! You can find assistance anywhere.
What should you pack for Beijing?
Learn how to pack the basics for Beijing. Winter ( from Dec. to Feb. ), Beijing is cold and dry, sometime coupled by strong winds. Your lips will feel very dry and uncomfortable. Don't have to take a hat to keep from the wind. You can eaily buy a hat here in Beijing at a good bargain. Take a lipstick to moisten your lips. Beijing has heating system, which is a compulsory measure from the Beijing local government. So it's quite warm and comfortable in your hotel or any indoor places during your trip. you don't have to bring a overcoat from home which will be a burden for you for such a long trip. You can get it quite cheaply in Beijing. You may go to Yashow Market or Silk market for your overcoat, or a parka, hat, scarf, gloves, or warm socks. Since the indoor Beijing is quite warm, you suggest you have a fairly heavy overcoat and one thin sweater It's a bad idea of having two or three sweaters ! Too many sweaters will make you uncomfortable and embarrassed once in a warm room while you have no way to take them off! Sweating inside! So overcoat + thin sweater is a ideal choice. Easily take on and easily take off. Spring and summer is the rain season in Beijing. Bring a very small umbrella and light rain coat or jacket that can be rolled tight for toting in your day pack while touring. The summer in Beijing is very hot! Don't forget to get your sunglasses. Autumn ( Sept and Oct ) is the best season for sightseeing in Beijing.
See Beijing Weather and Beijing China Travel Tips.
Arriving in Beijing:
When you arrive at the Beijing Capital Airport, you may take a rest and have some coffee at Starbucks or KFC that have the outlets in the international arrival hall. You can exchange your money at the banks in the hall. See Currency Converter.
Beijing Capital Airport has two terminals. Most of the international incoming flights land on the terminal two while terminal one is for a few domestic flights. The second floor of terminal two is for arriving flights and the first floor is for outgoing flights. So when you get to Beijing capital airport, you are on the first floor of the terminal two.
To get to the downtown Beijing from the airport, you have two choices - taking shuttle bus or taxi. For shuttle bus, you should go out of the hall and find some coaches waiting outside. There are several lines. Please be sure where you are going and choose the right line. It costs about RMB 20 ( USD 3 ). If you are not quite clear about the distance between your hotel and the bus stop, we suggest you take the shuttle bus to get to the Aviation Building in the downtown, then take a taxi to your hotel. For taking taxi from the airport to the downtown Beijing, you should wait in line for the taxis waiting outside. For taking taxi, please pass through the "black cab drivers" who may follow at your heels. These black taxi whose rates are far above the going fare. Please head straight for the taxi line outside the arrival doors. Make sure they use the meter, and if you notice irregularities, just point it out. Even local residents are sometimes the victims of meters that ominously read RMB100 (until, with the push of a button, the original fare is restored). You will have to pay an extra RMB10 (roughly US$1.4 = RMB10) for the Airport Expressway toll. Once it is learned that a foreign tourist is overcharged RMB 400 from the airport to the downtown area! Normally the ride costs about RMB 150 ( US$20). Most taxi driver speaks little English, maybe, just a few words. So please show your hotel in Chinese. Airport taxis come in RMB2. The flag of the former drops at RMB12 and goes up in RMB2 increments per kilometre after four kilometres. Taxis can be rented for the whole day for 8 hours, and the best way to do this is to bargain directly with the driver. Expect to pay at least RMB350 for the day. Please keep in mind - "a legal taxi's plaque number starts with the number "B"!
Money Exchange in Beijing:
How and where to exchange your money when you travel to Beijing China ?
Usually you may do money exchange at the banks or ATM machine at the Beijing Capital Airport when you arrive. They make the same deal either you do it at the airport banks or at ATM machine. When you do the money exchange, don't forget to take your passport. Please keep your receipt. It is vaild for three months! you can use the receipt to exchange your RMB ( Chinese money ) back to your currency when you leave China. When you run out of money, you can also exchange your money at the counter of your hotel in Beijing. Each hotel has the capacity to do the money exchange for you since Bank of China or other banks in China will have their counters at the foreign-related hotels
Where should you stay in Beijing? How much will it cost?
Beijing hostels are the best way to go for budget lodging in Beijing. Ask to see a hostel room before you pay and choose a dorm (several bunks in one room) for the cheapest Beijing lodging. Expect to pay US$ 8 - 15 for a Beijing hostel bunk.
Top 10 Beijing Hostels:
1) Saga International Youth Hostel, Beijing(北京实佳青年旅舍):
Located in the Heart of Beijing central business district within walking distance to Beijing Central Railway Station and Tian'anmen Square. It takes you 10 minutes to walk to our hostel from the airport shuttle bus terminal of Beijing International Hotel. It is a good idea to stay here for the shuttle to the airport for the next day.
Address: 9 Shijia Hutong, Nanxiaojie, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Phone: 86-10-65272773
ZIP: 100010
2) Downtown Backpackers, Beijing(北京东堂青年旅舍)
Downtown Backpackers is located in the center of the ancient capital of Yuan dynasty, hence called Downtown. This area is now the very famous protected area of old Chinese, called Hutong - Nanluogu alley. Downtown Backpackers is near the Forbidden grove and just behind Beihai Park.
Address: No.85 Nan Luo Gu Xiang, Dongcheng District Beijing
Phone: 86-10-84002429
3) Beijing Far East Youth Hostel(北京远东青年旅舍)
Far East International Youth Hostel, as one of the best hostels in Beijing, is located in a preserved and protected Hutong area, typical local residency neighborhood, 10 minutes' walk away from the alleyways to Tian'anmen Square, Qianmen Business Center and Forbidden City. The well- known Liulichang Cultural Street is only 5 minutes walk. It is in a traditional Chinese courtyard attached to the main building as a comfortable hotel and the courtyard are built in the style of Qing Dynasty.
Address: 113 Tie Shu Jie Xuan Wu District Beijing 100050, China
Phone: 86-10-51958811
4) Beijing Leo Hostel(北京广聚元青年旅舍)
Leo Hostl is the most central hostel in Beijing, located inside the famous Da Zha Lan hutong market streets, which have over 600 years of history, only 5-10 minutes walk from Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Qianmen bus & subway center. There is no problem taking transportation to anywhere you want to go in Beijing. The Leo Hostel is a traditional Chinese hutong hostel, beautifully decorated with traditional furniture and fittings. As an escape from the busy market streets outside, inside the hostel are several peaceful, green seating areas.
Address: Leo Hostel, Guang Ju Yuan Binguan, 52 Da Zha Lan Xi Jie, Qianmen, Beijing, 100051, China.
Telephone: (86) 10 63030879
5) Beijing Feiying International Youth Hostel(北京飞鹰国际青年旅舍)
The Beijing Feiying International Youth Hostel is well located in the heart of Beijing. To go there, you take the subway and get off at the Changchunjie stop through Exit C, then you will see the McDonald's on your right. Just walk 150-metres east and turn right, you will see the hostel. From the Feiying hostel, you take a 5-10 minutes'drive, you will get to Tiananmen Square and the Liulichang Cultural street.
Address: Behind of No. 10 Building Xuanwumen West Street, Xuanwu District Beijing
Phone: 86-10-63171116
ZIP: 100053
6) Beijing Eastern Morning Sun Youth Hostel (北京东方晨光青年旅舍)
Beijing Eastern Morning Sun Youth Hostel is located on the Floor B4 east building of Oriental Square which is the largest architectural complex in Asia. It is also next to the very famous shopping street - Wangfujing Pedestrian Street.
Address: 8-16 Dongdan santiao, Oriental Palza Dongcheng District Beijing, China
Phone: 86-10-65284347
ZIP: 100005
7) Beijing Zhaolong International Hostel(北京兆龙国际青年旅舍)
The Beijing Zhaolong International Hostel is well located behind the Zhaolong (Great Dragon) Hotel. It is near the Beijing's popular Sanlitun Bar Street, the Lufthansa shopping. The hostel has 35 rooms, with two to six beds in each room. It features air-conditioning, 24-hour hot water, a self-catering dining room, laundry room, general store, game room and a reading room.
Address: 2 Gongtibei Lu Chaoyang District, Beijing
Phone: 86-10-65972299
ZIP: 100027
8) Beijing City Central International Youth Hotel(北京城市青年酒店)
Beijing City Central Youth Hostel is located at the northwest corner of Beijing Zhan Qianjie, across from the Beijing Railway Station. The bus terminal, airport shuttle bus stop and taxi stands are next to the railway station, and Beijing Zhan subway station (Exit A) is just outside the door.
Address: No. 1 Beijingzhanqianjie, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100005
Phone: 86-10-85115050, 86-10-65258866
9) Jade Youth International Hostel Beijing(北京西华智德宾馆) (北京西华智德青年旅舍)
Jade Youth International Hostel is a two-star hotel. It is located in the most flourishing Beiheyan Avenue in Wangfujing, adjoining the Palace Museum in the west, adjacent to the business street of Wangfujing in the east. There are several bus lines around, the public transportation is excellent. The hotel has over 100 guest rooms now with internet center, self-service kitchen and so on will best serve you.
Address: No. 5 North Jade Lane, Beiheyan Avenue, Dongcheng District Beijing
Phone: 86-10-65259966
ZIP: 100006
10) Beijing Drum Tower Youth Hostel(北京鼓楼青年旅社)
The hostel have about 30 rooms with private facilities, there are air-conditioner & long-distance phone and cable TV in the room. In lobby you can get high-speed internet connect and you can use your own computer to surf the net for free. On the terraced roof you can view the drum tower and bell tower, also there have Chinese and western style restaurant can serve you good tastes food, tour office can help you to arrange your tours around BeiJing. It will make you feel comfortable and convenient. It is an ideal place to stay.
Drum Tower Youth Hostel became the member of the International Youth Hostel Association in 2006. There have 23 dorm rooms with share facilities, the dorm rooms at third floor and B floor.
Address : No.51 Jiugulou Dajie, Xicheng District, Beijing, China
Phone : 0086 10-64037702/9907
Beijing Cuisine:
No matter where you are from, you can easily find your home food. In Beijing, a capital of China, you can get almost any kind of food you prefer. There are restaurants of all sizes all over the city, showcasing the foods from all the world.
There are a lot of western fast food options for the those who prefer international standard food (like McDonald's,Pizza Hut, KFC). It's interesting to enter a local small restaurants. Most of them have no English menus, but most offer very good food.
Street food is amazing. Of course, make sure the dishes appears clean. You can find the night snack market in Wangfujing Street. In the over 50 stalls that open each night, you can get all kinds of local flavors from all over China. You even can find the fried scorpions, little whole barbecued birds, or sea horses, or chicken hearts, or livers.
Must see scenic and historical sites in Beijing:
There are five major scenic spots for first - time visitors to Beijing, namely, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace ( these three are within the city ); Great Wall and Ming Tomb ( the two sites are in the suburb). To cover the 5 sites, you have to spend 2 full days. Tiananmen Square can be coupled with the visit to Forbidden City since they are next to each other. In the evening, if you are not dog-tired, you can mix with the local people, and go to Wangfujing Street shopping and enjoying local flavors at Donghuamen night market. The other night, you may go to Houhai Bar street to take a rest having some drinks while enjoying the night view of the Houhai lake. If you only have one day free in Beijing, we suggest you visit Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and Great Wall -- the highlight of the Beijing highlight! If you have an extra day in Beijing ( third full day ), you may go to visit Hutong by taking rickshaw. Still, if you have more free time, you can take some side trips to Chengde, Beihdaihe, Mountain Tai, Qufu or Datong. If you have more time for sightseeing, you can go to Xian, Shanghai or Guilin, even Yangtze River cruise. The scenic spots and tour cities just mentioned are the "must to see" sites while you travel in Beijing China. See Top 10 Must See Attractions in Beijing.
How to go to the Great Wall?
You have four ways to go to the Great Wall:
1) Take a local seat-in coach tour organized by a local travel agency to Badaling, Mutianyu or Simatai. The tour of Mutianyu and Simatai exclude any shopping. No worry! But these tours have fixed departures, so have nice and well arranged travel plan in advance.
2) Take a local private tour organized by a local travel agency to the Dadaling,Mutianyu,Simatai,Jinshanling or Huanghuacheng. The tour to Badaling includes some shoppping at two stops. It's all right. Life is beautiful! Do't be afraid if shopping. It's a different experience.
3) Take a public bus to the Great Wall. First take a cab to the Deshengmen bus station and take an express bus to the Badaling Section of the wall. The bus leaves from behind the Bell tower and is the no. 919 (make sure you get righ texpress, airconditioned bus, not the normal one which stops all the way).
4) Ask the concierge at your hotel and arrange a taxi for you to go to the Great Wall. It is pricy, but it's more flexible.
Getting around in Beijing:
Touring Beijing with a tour group is good for the first time tourist. But if you really want to travel independently, you should break off from the pack and do some touring on your own. We provides some tips and insight on how to get about Beijing and some spots in the suburban area. See Beijing Transportation.
You can take the public bus to the main attractions outside Beijing. See Beijing Long-distance
A review of Beijing traffic from a tourist:
I went to Beijing last month and found the traffic in Beijing is not a small problem. You can find traffic jam is quite serious just like other big cities in the world. You know, there is a growing number of middle class who can now afford to purchase cars (some of car are even very expensive). There is only a small percentage of Beijing people who are able to buy cars. But considering 12 million of Beijing population,this small percentation means huge number of cars! In the peak hours of the morning and afternoon, the traffic jams is quite serious, something like New York, very often the traffic comes to a standstill. Last time I had some bad luck and couldn't find any taxi returning to my hotel during rash hours. Sometimes, I even had to try several cabs before I could locate an empty taxi. I suggest travelers to Beijing hiring car or van for their trip in Beijing due to the shortage of cars during the peak hours to keep their travel scheduled. Just one more thing, crossing a street is annoying. You will find cars, buses, and bicycles mixed to spoil your day. Try to follow a group of people while crossing a street. There is little possibility of being hit when you go with a large group of people.
Walks Beijing:
Experience the fascination of the Capital Beijing on our walking tours! You'll see it all as our English-speaking tour guides take you to both the old Beijing and the trendy Beijing! Taking a walk in Beijing is not an easy job. But it does pay off if you take some time to explore the inside of Beijing. Especially, it's constructive to take a stroll around the hutongs (old alleys and quadrangles).
Beijing Public Buses: Huge number of public buses cover the whole city of Beijing. Taking a public bus can be an experience in itself. you can both save your money and keep your trip adventurous. Of course,the buses are often very crowded but it's really interesting to mix with the locals. Don't be afraid of the buses though sometime you do have the danger of being harmed by pickpockets. Just watch out! Normally on each bus there is a person whose main job is to sell bus tickets. But a few bus lines have no real person selling tickets. All the prices are written on bus windows. When you enter the bus front door, you just put a coin or small note to the tiny hole. The driver will take care of your money to make sure you have paid the ticket. In these cases, we need to give the exact amount for the ticket. The ticket fair rangs from RMB 1 to 5 due to the different destinations. Bus lines are very complicated but thanks to the "route sign" at each station, we can easily have our way out. Once you are on the bus, you can ask the ticket person whether the bus goes to where you are going, or ark the driver. It's the safest way to make sure you are on the right direction. More about Beijing public bus, please see Beijing Bus.
Beijing Subway is very convenient:
For most tourists, Chinese or foreigners will feel the beijing subway trains very clean, fast and fairly comfortable. But,of course, except during weekends or rush hours, the subway trains are very crowded and packed! The subway runs each 5 or 6 minutes daily from 5:00 to 22 or 23:00. The fare is RMB 3 - RMB5 per ride for any distance. With one subway line still under contruction, now there are mainly two subway lines in Beijing: one straight line running under Chang'an Avenue and its line extends from Sihuidongzan in the east to Pingguoyuan in the west; another one circles under the northern part of the Second Ring Road. You can transfer between these lines at Fuxingmen station and Jianguomen station with no transfer fee. To find a subway entrance, you can study your map first, to see which is the nearest station. At each station there are usually four entrances in four directions. Then you should look for a large blue sign with letters BD. If you still can not find it, you may ask a Chinese "di tie". Then walk down stairs to enter a station and go to buy the ticket. Above the platform,the tickets are sold . When going down to the platform, give your ticket to the checker at the top of the stairs. On both tunnel walls of the platform, you can still can find signs and maps in Chinese and Pinyin showing the next station and assisting you to decide which subway train to take. Once inside the train you also can find complete system maps in Chinese and Pinyin, and an announcement both in Chinese & English tells you the name of the next station. So if you find you are on the wrong direction, you can just get off at the next station, (It usually takes about 5 or 6 minutes to travel between stations.), and get on the train running to the opposite direction. No transfer fee will be charged.
Beijing bike riding is a good choice:
As a western tourist, if you are staying at one of the cheap budget hotels in Beijing, then they may have bikes available for rent around 10 RMB per day with a deposit RMB 200. Riding around Beijing is easy as there are many bicycle lanes for you to use and the downtown area is mostly flat terrain. Bike riding is a great way to get off the main roads and head for the hutongs between Beihai Park and the Drum Tower. Be sure to lock your bicycle as bike theft is still a big problem in Beijing. There are some bicycle parking lots on the side of the streets that have an attendant who will watch your bike for small money.
Beijing City Layout:
Beijing is very big and quite extending. The present city still find its the basic outline of the Imperial City 500 years ago in Yuan Dynasty with a clear north-south axis and a lot of narrow lanes. The round line of the subway and the second-ring road almost liken the none-existant old city wall. The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square are located in the middle of the city.
The place cycling the Forbidden City once held court officials and noble families. Many of these old residential housees can still be found in the hutongs or alleys. These hutongs now become the popular sites for a visit to the city. It's a shame in some other parts of the city, the old alleys are being fast destroyed for new buildings.
Not far from the south of the Forbidden City is Wangfujing Street, a busy walking commercial street and the layout of some famous hotels. Wangfujing is walking distance to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.
To the Northeast of the Forbidden City is Chaoyang District, which holds a lot of the city's expat community and also the layout of lots of hotels which are for foreign clients. To the North is the Badaling Great Wall and Juyongguan Great Wall. The Beijing Capital International Airport is located to the northeast of the city with about 40 minutes by drive.
Northwest to the Forbidden City is Weigongcun which hold lots of higher learning institutes, like Beijing university, Tsinghua University and more. The Summer Palace is also situated to the northeast of the city center.
Shopping in Beijing: 10 famous shopping streets including the Wangfujing, Dongdanbei, Longfusi, Xidanbei, Qianmen and Xiusuhi streets, and Liulichang Cultural Street. These streets boast modern malls and boutiques or special articles shops and provide various kinds of services.
The goods tourists to Beijing prefer to buy are unique handicrafts and cultural relics full of Beijing flavor, such as cloisonn? jade ware, bronzes and stone tablets with inscriptions, writing brushes, ink sticks, paper and ink slabs, antiques, paintings, calligraphic works and handicrafts including dough figurines, facial masks and kites unique to Beijing.
Dongsi Street:
This shopping area is located at the north end of Wangfujing near Longfu Temple. The Longfu Building is a large department store. Shops of every size and description as well as privately owned stalls are in the area.
Silver Street(Dongdan North Street):
Silver Street is parallel to and one block east of Wangfujing Street, and is an area for Western-style clothing.
Wangfujing Street:
This is Beijing's busiest commercial area and is normally full of shoppers. Besides many shops and restaurants there is an very large many storied mall. Prices are reasonable in this area as many stores are government owned. The street has recently been completely renovated.
The area is a good area to shop in as the visitor will not be cheated or overcharged.
No bargaining here, but lots of fun. The weekend is the most crowded time.
Xidan:
This area is north of West Chang'an Avenue and has many different shopping options. Xiadan Market is the largest shop, and it has recently been modernized. Wide range of merchandise is available along with a friendly and helpful staff makes shopping here extremely interesting. There is also a large Xidan Shopping Center in the immediate area.
Ganjiakou Market:
When visiting the Beijing Zoo, the visitor might want to stop off to visit this market. It is located next to the McDonald's, near the zoo.
Many clothing items are offered, but are mainly for Asian taste.
Hongqiao Market:
Located near the Temple of Heaven on Tiantan Street, this market offers antiques, clothing, porcelain, produce and much more. Shop all three floors in the main building, but don't miss the antiques hidden behind the pearl stalls on the third floor. Lots of souvenirs.
Liangmahe:
This market of about 50 small stores is located across the street from the Kempenski Hotel on the East Third Ring Road. There is a little of everything, but mainly ceramics, paintings and antique furniture. A couple of the furniture stores have larger warehouses in other areas.
Prices look high, but you can really bargain them down here. Stay with it.
Liulichang:
Located southwest of Qianmen, this market specializes in Chinese paintings, calligraphy, rare books, and arts and crafts. At this market the shops all have the look of a traditional Qing Dynasty market area having been rebuilt in the 1980's. A fun place to stroll through and shop.
Panjiayuan:
Antique lovers who know their stuff will be very happy shopping here. Most of the real antiques vendors are in the rear area of the market and are usually peasants from the countryside who sell items collected in their villages. Come very early on weekends, Sunday is the best day for the antiques.
Sanlitun Yaxiu Market:
Located on Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District, near the northeast embassy area, is similar to the Silk Market, but it's an indoor 4-floor store. It is also as crowded. It's full of fake designer, jeans, shoes and ladies wear and so on.
Silk Market:
The old market has been demolished. The new market is open to the public. The new building with an area of 30,000 square meters, known as the New Silk Alley Market, has been completed. There are 1,600 booths in the new building. According to the developer of the building, the advantages of the old market will be available in the new one, targeting the shopping groups including foreign tourists and local white-collar workers.
Longfu Shopping Street:
A pedestrian shopping street, the shops in the section to the west of Longfu Trade Building mainly sell clothes and those in the section to the east of Longfu Trade Building are most snack eateries.
Chongwenmenwai Street:
It is flanked by some big shops and markets such as Jinlun Mansion and New World malls, Hongqiao and Ciqikou markets selling farm produce and aquatic products, and Heavenly Temple Market selling flowers and pot plants.
Qianmen Shopping Street:
This is an ancient shopping street outside Qianmen Gate. It is sided by shops and restaurants. Especially the Dashilar Tourist and Pedestrian Street has many old shops such as Tongrentang Pharmacy, Neiliansheng Shoe Shop, Ruifuxiang Silk and Cotton Fabrics Shop, Quanyechang, Zhang Yiyuan Tea Store and Majuyuan Hat Store.
Beijing Nightlife:
Actually 20 year ago,there was no nightlife of what people expected like today. Now things have changed greatly and the nightlife in Beijing has been developing. In comparison with the other big cities like Shanghai and Hong Kong, Beijing may be regarded soft night experience, but Beijing is becoming more and more attractive when people seek nightlife.
Please find below the three bar areas most popular in Beijing:
Sanlitun Bar street(三里屯酒吧 in Chinese):
ADD: Located in the embassy area.
You can find much of the nightlife is focused around the Sanlitun Embassy district. Sanlitun Street is full of bars of various styles with live music and imported beers. There are many foreign visitors going there. Of course,you also can find many Chinese bar lovers there too. New clubs and bars open and close very fast. It's better that you may ask your friends or hotel people for more information, or pick up one of the numerous free magazines from a hotel or bar.
Hou Hai Cafe & Bar(后海酒吧 in Chinese)
Add:20 South Houhai, Xicheng District
Houhai is Beijing's newly developed traditional area. It is full of small bars and pubs with character. With the bright of the lights over the lake Houhai has the impressive and unreal image. Many of cafes and restaurants are privately owned and have their own unique feature and unique service. Houhai is a very bright in the contrast to the shabby Sanlitun Bar district. There are many bars and restaurants of different styles that line on the shores of the lake. The area is a good place for people wandering and having a stroll. There are also many trendy restaurants, bars and boutiques have come along the shores of the old Imperial Lake, located north of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.
Wudaokou Bar Area (五道口酒吧 in Chinese):
Add: in the lane opposite the west gate of Beijing University, Haidian District
Wudaokou is a living area in the Haidian District of North West Beijing. It is near a great number of universities and research institutes, which include Peking University, Beijing Language and Culture University, and Tsinghua University. There is a large student population. Wudaokou is famous for its popularity as a student living area, especially the international students. It has great number of bars and nightclubs which, in most cases provide low prices than the more central bar areas.
Beijing Travel Tips:
1. Bring little packages of kleenex to use in the toilets (although Beijing was better for having tp than most cities)
2. Carry a card with your hotel's name and address in Chinese.
3. Be prepared to bargain for items when shopping 20-30% of what the shop keepers price is.
4. Make sure you tell the taxi drivers to put the meter on and that you want a receip.
5. Be careful with your personal items, there are huge crowds of people everywhere.
6. A local guide can be very helpful in touring sites, making arrangements and acting as a middle-man translator.
7. The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is spectacular, and suposedly less touristy.
8. Snacks from home are a good thing.
9. Bring bug spray.
10. Bring an open mind, things are different and not necessarily as sanitary as in the Western world.
11. Never accept rides from taxis that don't have a working meter. Just get out and find another one.
12. Don't go hiking far alone on remote sections of the Great Wall.
13. Advice on taking taxi:
Taking a taxi is quite easy in Beijing. Bust there are some illegal taxi in Beijing! You can use the following methods to choose the real taxi:
1) The taxi plaque number starts with the number B
2) The taxi should be equippped with the light on the top and meter measuring.
3) Please take a taxi on the road instead of a taxi waiting somewhere.The empty taxi must show a red light in the front window.My experience tells me that here are two areas where you will encounter the illegal ( black ) taxi:
A.The taxi waiting at the North Gate of Forbidden City.Actually the legal cabs are not permitted to wait in fornt of the gate.if you want to take a taxi when you finish your visit to Forbidden City, we suggest you walk about 200 meters and find a taxi going on the road
B.Please take a serious look at the taxi waiting at the Summer Palace. We still suggest you use a moving taxi.Don't use a the taxi which has no B or with funny colour ( normal colour: yellow and Red ).
14. Fake art students:
In some areas, you may meet some so-called art students who are approaching to you and talking with you mainly at the aim of practicing English with you. In fact, later, they want to sell some artifacts by taking you to an exhibition hall! Especially be careful of these areas:
A.Wangfujing street
B.Tiananmen square,
C.Starbuck coffee inside the Forbidden City.
15.Some bad shops:
Some shops nearthe Great Wall, especially Badaling section of the Wall. Be careful of the bad shops.
16.Panjiayuan flea market
If you are inerested in visiting Panjiayuan flea market which are open only on weekends,please do bargin. You know some of the stuff are not real antique.
17. Just name some places worth to visit in Beijing:
A)Visit the Temple of Heaven in the earlier morning. You will find people, especially olders do morning exercise in the park.
B)The Summer Palace,
C.)See the panda in Beijng zoo.
D.)Visit the Drum Tower. From the tower you could have a good view of the middle axis in Beijing
E.)As for the Great Wall,we suggest Simatai or Mutianyu section, it is a bit wild section.
F.)Ming Tombs : Dingling or Chang Ling.
G.)Houhai bar area where you find lots of bars and a few restaurants near lotus market.
H.)Visit Wangfujing night food street.Just have a close look and don't eat too much.
Beijing: Toilets
Of course,this is a sensitive subject. There are two kinds of restrooms: sitting and squatting, but most are the latter. Please keep in mind that there is seldom toilet paper in the most toilets, so bring your paper always on hand, and even take some anti-bacterial wipes. Hotels here have very good toilets. Some in the tourist sites are all right. But you will find some toilets are terrible! Sometimes the smell is beyond belief. Usually our tour guide advise us to use toilet before going to some remote area like great wall.But things are changing to the better now at least in Beijing.
Beijing Emergencies:
When you are traveling in Beijing or other parts of China and find yourself in emergency, the urgent telephone number is 110 for police, 119 for fire and 120 for ambulance. But while you are in Hong Kong or Macau, please use the number of 999 for emergency services. Foreign Tourists are every often the victims or the targets for thieves, so visitors should keep passports and money from pickpockets. It is also a good idea to keep from wearing impressive jewelry or disclose money in public.
