Organised Tours and Day Trips
by henry14
Consider joining organised outings to the major sights, particularly if you do not speak Chinese. We travelled independently, but joined a group for two separate day trips. One day took in the Forbidden City, The Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven. It was quite a hectic day, but we got more out of these places by having a guide telling us the history and little anecdotes. Although you only spend a couple of hours in each, once you have the background you can always go back alone and spend more time another day if you wish. Also, the tours we took included stopping off somewhere for lunch, which gave us chance to get to know our fellow travellers and make some interesting friends we wouldnt have otherwise met. On the trips we took our fellow travellers came from China, Indonesia, India, Thailand and Malaysia but the tour was conducted in English. We travelled about in a little mini-bus, which was clean and driven safely, which collected us from our hotel and dropped us back there at the end of the day. Tours can be booked from most hotel reception desks but we found a cheaper offer at the time through our hotel booking agent; www.sinohotels.com.
BUYING CHINA !
by LysDor
This is fun!
You can find these ceramic bowls and plates and other items everywhere but the most interesting is to buy them in the street... and don't forget to bargain a lot - actually it's a must - even if they are already awfully cheap!
When you start bargaining, where ever you are outside, there will always be 2-3 maybe more chinese persons stopping by. They won't interfer in the bargaining, they are just curious to check how you're doing and most important at what price will the item go!
When bargaining, you must be polite and always bargain with a smile. The Chinese are very 'face-conscious' and do not like aggressive behaviour. Hostility will only result in overcharging!!
That large plate is now on my coffee table :-) and boy it's NOT the only one I bought, lol !!
Packing List
by Yubert
It can be quite cold and windy at The Great Wall so bring along a windy breaker and/or warm jacket.
This picture was taken in May, 1986. The weather was warm in Beijing but when we arrived at The Great Wall, it was too cold so I bought this sweat shirt from one of the souvenir stands. It says 'I climbed The Great Wall'. It was also very windy, which explains the bad hair.
Dirt Cheap Customed-made Clothing
by dfactor about Yashow Clothing Market (Wendy on 2nd floor)
Hordes of "laowai" can't be wrong. This place is very popular with the foreign expats.
Especially busy after working hours and weekends. Try to avoid the weekend, with the increase in human traffic, bargaining is a bit difficult. Good quality customed suits/pants/shirts at dirt cheap price.
Turn-around time of 2-3 days. I was there on Tuesday afternoon, went back on Thursday to pick up my stuff. A fraction of what you would normally pay for for measured-to-wear clothing. Man's work shirt, including the fabric, should cost you around 100 RMB. Suits is about 900 RMB.
Cheap alcohol
by cdrum about Black Sun Bar, and Rainbow Bar
Two bars in the south part of the SanLiTun bar district, right next too each other. Limited seating, but the alcohol is cheap! If you frequent, the bartender tends to be a bit generous. Anything, just make sure you are wearing something!
Sign in with Facebook
Facing north on Qianmen Street
Speechless!
Bathroom with HUGE shower
Chinese wall
