Peking duck
By INTIANJIN | 8/5/2004 5:42:20 AM
Peking Duck (Beijing Duck) is Beijing's most famous food. I was told there are only restraunts which serve it. One is located just outside of Da Zha Lan street and costs 68RMB for a small plate. You'll notice it because inside the entrance are pictures of presidents and other famous people who have eaten there.
The Peking Duck isn't amazing or anything but it does taste good.
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Hotels around Tiananmen Square
By INTIANJIN | 8/5/2004 5:45:31 AM
Two Beijing hostels I found online ended being hotels. The price is generally 180RMB/night and up for rooms.
Around Tiananmen Square there are lots of hotels. They start as low as 110RMB and go up. On Da Zha Lan Street and adjoining streets are lots of hotels. The one I stayed in was HengYe Hotel (180RMB/night for 3rd floor. I got 180RMB for 2nd floor by haggling) and I'll stay there again if I go back to Beijing. The phone number is 010-63179178 or 010-63179132. Its location is great because its on Da Zha Lan Street. Tiananmen Square is walking distance and the hotel is surrounded by markets and in an old style area.
When you are getting a hotel ensure you check the locks on the door. If you can credit card the lock then don't stay there. Also check the windows. I was advised by a Tianjin man to not stay in the same hotel two nights in a row. I stayed in HengYe Hotel for 7 nights and it was very secure and clean. They had many employees working each night and had someone on each floor at a desk.
Choose hotels where the locks require a key card. If the hotel only has 1 person working then its not going to be secure.
Many smaller hotels aren't star rated but will accept you. China has a law that states foreigners can't stay in less than 3 star hotels. I believe the law will be abolished. It is for foreigner's protection though.
And it doesn't matter where you stay; its always good to lock your valuables in your bag when you leave them in your room.
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Real Pickpocketting
By INTIANJIN | 8/5/2004 5:23:55 AM
Pickpocketting is active in Beijing. On our first night a child tried to picketpocket my girlfriend's pocket and take her mobile phone. Luckily it was wedged tightly enough in her pocket. The child stood back with his older partner and giggled about being seen.
Its not too easy to spot pickpockets because they're going to be behind you trying to reach into your pocket. Keep your eyes open when entering a new street or when you're surrounded by many people. Baggy pant pockets, open shopping bags, and accessible zippers/pockets on bags are easy to target.
Put locks on your backpack zippers. You'll notice many people in Beijing holding their purses infront of them and having their backpacks on their fronts. They are doing it for a reason.
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Taxi/Rickshaw Prices
By INTIANJIN | 8/5/2004 5:11:13 AM
In Beijing taxis and rickshaws try to get alot higher prices from foreigners. Generally you have to go thru 4-5 different ones to get a decent price.
If you take a taxi or rickshaw from outside the train station or airport you're going to get soaked. They know you need them and if you don't take their ride someone else will. Phone your hotel or ask someone which bus to take to get you to or closer to your destination. You'll find taxis and richshaws aren't so nuts when you aren't close to a super populated place so walking a couple blocks away could make your life easier.
The reason you try to use a set price rather than the meter is because taxi are known for taking long scenic routes to up the toll. Rickshaws you don't have to worry about because they don't feel like peddling around half the country to rip you off.
The fees for Rickshaw I paid were 5,6, or 8RMB. I used them daily. They asked 30RMB on average and as high as 50RMB.
The subway is 3RMB and the bus is 1 RMB.
Taxi meters start off at 10RMB in Beijing and go up 1.6RMB per kilometer and 1.6RMB per minute while stuck in traffic. From 23:00-05:00 the cost is more and after 15KM the cost per km goes up. Beijing traffic can be real bad during the day so if you don't set a price you can end up paying alot.
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Some Beijing prices
By INTIANJIN | 8/5/2004 4:57:59 AM
Here are some market prices based on my purchases in Beijing:
Jeans go from 60-120RMB
Shirts go from 15RMB for plain small ones to 70RMB for ornamented beautiful ones.
Chopsticks go from 0.2RMB for wooden ones to 10RMB for fake jade ones.
Those fake marble and jade rock balls you see everywhere go for 2RMB-5RMB.
A pair of dress socks (like playboy ones) are 4RMB.
The large sized chinese painting copy for 30RMB (you'll see stupid high prices in some places)
Watch (doesn't matter which) for 15RMB.
Old style big round glasses for 30RMB.
Traditional handmade shoes for 50RMB.
Bottle water 2RMB.
Bottle pop 3RMB.
Rickshaw averages 5-12RMB.
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Xiu Shui Jie shopping market Beijing
By INTIANJIN | 8/5/2004 4:54:38 AM
The Xie Shui Jie market is a mainly clothing market which preys on new foreigners. The peddlers are very bad. Many grab you physically and pull you towards their booths. In my 30 minutes here I was grabbed and pulled 9 times. I hit two of their hands with my pop bottle to tell them no. This market targets newbies who don't know China shopping yet.
My girlfriend's mother bought a Gucci purse in Beijing. The peddler asked 800RMB initally and she got it for 30RMB.
When we first entered I asked the price on a small chess set. The man showed 350 on his calculator. My girlfriend said to him that he is cheating westerners to which he replied "I'm cheating them not you."
They've cheated ignorant buyers so much that they've developed a blood thirst for money.
I saw the same chinese shirt as I was wearing (30RMB) and asked how much. The man pulled out his calculator and said 300RMB! I said way to expensive and he started asking in a trance like state, What you low price, what you low price.'.
Most foreigners don't bargain too low because of inexperience or because they think they'll insult the peddler.
One western girl I was talking to had a peddler trying like crazy to sell her a Gap t-shirt. She kept saying she really didn't have the money. The peddler was chanting 'what you low price!!'and pushing the calculator on her (showing 220RMB). The western girl didn't even ask to buy the shirt, she only looked at it.
An English woman was looking at a thin sweater. The peddler showed her the fake price tag of $49.95 and said 'In USA it cost this, I give you deal.' then she did some calculator work and came out to 240RMB. My girlfriend told the lady 'Its only worth 30RMB.'. My girlfriend and the peddler ended up in a shouting match.
If you aren't surprised by how cheap the items in the market you are buying are then you're being cheated. Remember everything is fake. Its not real Nike, Gap, Adidas, Gucci, Versace, or Rolex.
If you end up at the cheat market on a tour of Beijing bring a calculator. The prices are on average 600-1200% higher than the actual price.
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Da Zha Lan Street is where its at
By INTIANJIN | 8/5/2004 3:50:46 AM
Da Zha Lan Street is near Tiananment Square and it's side streets are packed with markets. There are hotels everywhere in the area so you can stay right on the street. The prices are great and you can find everything you could hope for. Its older style China and the area is around 500-600 years old. If you like shopping its the place to go. The shops start closing down around 23:00 or so so you are given lots of time to browse. The peddlers usually ask around 200%-400% rather than the 600-1200% at the more famous markets. I've described it in more detail in my Bejing Travel Report.
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Electricity (for Europeans)
By TARZAN | 6/16/2004 5:36:33 AM
When you go to China you do not have to bring a converter for electricity. Most sockets are the same as the European (two holes) and the voltage is 230 volts. So save some money on not buying a converter.
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