aboutbeijing
We will continue to update this page with info from our on-site Beijing staff. To find out more about their daily adventures, check out the Ludus Beijing Blog.
Alcohol
There are virtually no liquor laws in Beijing. Alcohol can be bought in any convenience
store, supermarket, restaurant, bar, hotel, or club, 7 days a week. You
can consume it anywhere you want (i.e. on the street). Closing times
for bars/clubs is typically around 3 a.m. Try Tsing Tao beer...it's our favorite and they're an Olympic sponsor.
Business Hours
Offices are generally open 9am to 6pm, but closed Saturday and Sunday. All
shops, sights, restaurants, and transport systems offer the same service
7 days a week. Shops are typically open at least 8am to 8pm. Bank opening
hours vary.
Car Rentals
Foreigners are not allowed to drive within city limits. In order to rent
a car, you would need a Chinese driver's license and a residence permit,
something no short-term visitor will be able to arrange. Driving
in Beijing is chaotic, to put it lightly. The best thing to do is take
a taxi and close your eyes.
Electricity
The electricity used in all parts of China is 220 volts, alternating current
(AC), 50 cycles. Most devices from North America, therefore, cannot be used
without a transformer. The most common outlet takes the North American two-flat-pin
plug (but not the three-pin version, or those with one pin broader than the
other). Nearly as common are outlets for the two-round-pin plugs common in
Europe. Outlets for the three-flat-pin (two pins at an angle) used in Australia,
for instance, are also frequently seen. Most hotel rooms have all three,
and indeed many outlets are designed to take all three plugs. Adapters are
available for only ¥8 to ¥17 ($1-$2) in department stores. Shaver
sockets are common in bathrooms of hotels from three stars upwards.
Embassies & Consulates
Beijing has two main embassy areas -- one surrounding Ritan Gongyuan and another
in San Li Tun (north of Gongti Bei Lu). A third district, future home of
the new U.S. Embassy (due to be open by the Olympic Games), has sprouted
up next to the Hilton Hotel outside the north section of the East Third Ring
Road. Be sure to check out where your local embassy is located before
you leave. Click here for a list of the embassies.
Etiquette & Customs
Appropriate attire: wear whatever you’re comfortable in. People,
August is going to be hot and steamy. Foreigners are stared at
regardless of what they wear, so you might as well be comfortable…no
matter how hard you try, you will not blend in while you’re in Beijing!
Business attire is similar to that of the West (if you want to dress up for
the Ludus Banquet dinner!).
Greetings and Gestures
The handshake is used as it is in the West, although there's a bit of a tendency
to hang on longer. Take business cards if you have them, as an exchange of
cards almost always follows: present your card with two hands, and then hold
the one you're given with two hands.
Avoiding offense
We chuckled the first time we read about this ‘tip’….do
not shame people in public. But the Chinese take it quite seriously. No
matter how mad you get, do your best to not lose your temper and shout at someone
in public. Even flatly contradicting someone in front of others (so he
loses face) is also best avoided if harmony is to be maintained. Furthermore,
it’s always best to always agree with your Ludus Tour Guide! Punctuality
also important in China. If meeting someone, do your best to be there
on time.
Eating and drinking
Do your best to practice the use of chopsticks before you go. Most Chinese
do not even OWN a fork in their house! Serve yourself from main dishes
using the spoon provided, then do your best to eat with chopsticks. Do not
leave them sticking up out of your bowl. Your cup of tea will constantly be
filled up; when you don’t want any more, leave it full. There's a great
deal of competitive drinking at banquets, which is done by the simultaneous
drinking of toasts in bai jiu (Chinese spirits), to cries of "Gan bei!" ("dry
cup" -- down in one). Dining tends to happen early, and at the end of
the meal everyone disappears quickly.
Internet Access
Internet cafes in Beijing are subject to various regulations (no one under
18, no smoking) and are restricted in number. The best bet for affordable
Internet access is any of the city's various youth hostels; the cost is usually
around $1 per hour, although this rate will undoubtedly increase for the
Olympics…that being said, so will the number of Internet cafes. There
are more and more bars/cafes in Beijing offering Wi-Fi as well (including
Starbucks). Another good bet is one of the many hotels in Central Beijing.
Language
Be warned that English is rare in Beijing. Mandarin the local language
in Beijing. Nicer hotels may (or may not) have some English speaking
staff. You’ll find that hand gestures and simple suggestions (such
as a head-nod) are not really recognized as much as you’d like. Have
some patience and when you can, have what you need (i.e. your destination for
a taxi) written in Chinese.
Mail
Want to send some stuff back home? Sending mail from China is usually
very reliable (and somewhat cheap), although sending it to private addresses
within China isn’t. Use post offices rather than dropping it off
at post boxes. Some larger hotels have postal services on-site. Make sure not
to send any contraband back home (yes, it’s illegal to important 100
DVDs back to the States!).
Money, Money, Money
Larger branches of the Bank of China typically exchange cash and traveler's
checks on weekdays only. Outside the airport, Bank of China ATMs accepting
international cards 24 hours a day are widespread. There are also six ATMs
at the airport and thousands more spread throughout the city.
Most nicer restaurants and hotels will accept credit cards, but this is slow going. Furthermore, your bank may not accept charges made in China.
Ludus Tip: use your ATM or debit card. You’ll get a better rate than exchanging cash or traveler’s checks. Be sure to call your bank before your trip to alert them that you’ll be traveling and using your card while in China. If you’re new to using an ATM card, make sure you test it out while at home (and get your 4 digit PIN).
Newspapers & Magazines
The best selection of English-language books in Beijing can be found at the
clearly marked Foreign Languages Bookstore (Waiwen Shudian; 9am-8:30pm) at
Wangfujing Dajie 235, opposite the Xin (Sun) Dong An Plaza.
Sino-foreign joint-venture hotels in the bigger cities have a selection of foreign newspapers and magazines available, but these are not otherwise on sale. The government distributes a propaganda sheet called China Daily, usually free at hotels. There are a number of entertaining Beijing magazines in English which have good entertainment listings, as well as restaurant reviews.
Pharmacies
Bring supplies of your favorite over-the-counter medicines with you because
supplies of well-known Western brands are unreliable and sometimes fake.
The real thing can be found in the lobbies of international five-star hotels.
Better still, branches of Watson's (on the first floor of Full Link Plaza
at Chaoyang Men Wai Dajie 19, and in the basement of the Oriental Plaza at
the bottom of Wangfujing Dajie 1) stock most common remedies and toiletries,
mostly in the British versions.
Public Restrooms
Street-level public toilets in China are common. In fact, many Chinese
residents use these bathrooms as their primary bathroom. Entrance fees
no longer exist, but someone may still try to charge you a nominal fee for toilet
paper. In most cases, you’re simply squatting over a trough. Better to
duck into a Starbucks or KFC!
Time Zone
The whole of China is on Beijing time -- 7 hours ahead of GMT (London), 12
hours ahead of New York, 13 hours ahead of Chicago, and 15 hours ahead of
Los Angeles. Confusing enough? Also note that daylight saving time
doesn’t exist in China.
Tipping
In mainland China, as in many other countries, there is no tipping, despite
what any guide book may tell you. Tips to your Ludus guide, however,
are always welcome (but never expected). In fact, until recently, tipping
was forbidden. Foreigners are overcharged at every turn, and it baffles Chinese
that they hand out free money in addition. If a bellhop or other hotel employee
hints that a tip would be welcome, he or she is likely to be fired. Waitresses
may run out of restaurants after you to give you change, and all but the
most corrupt of taxi drivers will insist on returning it, too. Hotel employees
and taxi drivers are already far better paid than the average Chinese, and
to be a tour guide is already a license to print money.
Water
Tap water in mainland China is not drinkable, and should not even be used for
brushing your teeth. Use bottled water, widely available on every street and very cheap. Many hotels will give you a complimentary bottle every day.
