Livin large in Beijing

[Don Corleone]

Hi guys,

I've got another business trip to China in a few weeks. I've never had much time to kill in Beijing, but it looks like I'm going to be there for at least several days, with at least one full daytime available for sightseeing.

So, my question is, what are some things to do? My hotel is at the southern end of Dong Cheng (about 3 blocks from the Forbidden City).

So, what kind of fun sights should I check out? Where's the best jewelry shopping? Can I make it to the Great Wall and still see some of the city in 1 day? Any restaurants that are 'must try'? And where is good night life (blues clubs, stuff like that)?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

[Beirut]

Hookers! "Me love you tremedously long time. Ten dolah not too beaucoup."

Also, there are places you can go and rent machine guns and assault rifles to play with. if you have the cash, they'll even let you fire RPGs and tank rounds. Not cheap, but legal. Just for the tourists.

[Don Corleone]

Okay, Mama Corleone is a better shot than I am, so the hookers are OUT! Besides, you don't have to look for them, just go to any Western themed bar or restaurant, like the Hard Rock Cafe. They come swarming like a plague of locusts.

Now, the machine gun, RPG rounds sound like a hell of a lot of fun. Any more info on this?

[Procrustes]

I spent a month working there last spring - great city, had a great time. The great wall is a bit of a ride, but if you do it in the morning you will still have the afternoon/evening to hit the city. Also outside the city are some old Ming tombs that are fun to see. Take a walk through the Forbidden City - you can't see it all in a day, but it's fun. On the front side of the Forbidden City is Tianamen Square. Across from the square is a large hutong w/ all sorts of shopping/restaurants/etc - well worth a stroll through. On the other side is a large park that is a blast on the weekends - the locals gather and sing/play instruments/walk around with their families. Just walking around the great square is fun - lots of people will come and chat you up. I went to see Mao's tomb there, too (aka the “Peasant Under Glass” - they keep him in a crystal coffin they raise for viewing.) It’s only open in the morning, and the lines are long but they keep them moving. Be respectful…. On one side of the square is The Great Hall of the People (parliament), on the other is the National Art Museum, which is not very well kept.

You could spend months in Beijing and still not run out of things to do. I didn't look for any western entertainment, but if you can try to find a theater where they do traditional Chinese acrobatics - absolutely amazing. I went to the national military museum - what a trip! The exhibit on the Korean war was quite interesting - definitely not the same story you hear stateside. There are a couple of temples in the city that are quite amazing. The Summer Palace is stunning.

More than anything I hope you get a chance to chat up some locals. I loved the people I met while I was there – very friendly and open. The food was fantastic everywhere I went except in the western hotels. Prices are way cheap, but you have to negotiate everything. Decide what you want to spend – bargin as much as you want. Don’t get frustrated – it’s just the way everything sells there (except in government stores and resturants.)

Hope it’s all still there – there is tons of building going on in preparation for the Olympics – I think they are going to tear down a large part of that Hutong to make the roads wider and things cleaner – will be a shame. Have a blast!

[Don Corleone]

Thanks man. Wow, sounds like I've got a lot to look forward to. It's a shame I'll only be there for 3 days and nights, 2 days of which I have to work. I've been to Beijing before (passing through) and the hotel I'm staying at is on the corner of Tianamen square, so it sounds like I'll be right near where you're describing.

How is the Pearl Market? Worth going? I promised my father I'd get some really nice jewelry for my mom (from him) but I don't want to spend all day doing it. I'd prefer to just go to the best spot first. I went to the Pearl Market last time, and it was nice, but if there's something better....

How do you meet locals? If you go to the opera or gymnastics, you don't really talk, and at dinner, you're at your own table. What passes for bars over there? (Something I didn't get a chance to do last time). I would LOVE hanging around with locals, it's something I try to do every trip I go on.

Also, if you can remember some of your favorite restaurants, I'd love to hear about them!

Thanks!

[Somebody Else]

For pearls, go to a place called Hong Chow (at least, that's how to pronounce it) - go right up to the top floor (the escalators only go up to the 2nd highest floor - you'll need to find the stairs) out of the stairs, turn left and go straight forward - there's a big shop there (bigger than most others) which is awesome, plus, last time I went there, it gave me a 100% discount. But even so, it's really cheap for what you get - even if you aren't a frequent customer.

Bars - I'm afraid I only really know the ones the expats go to - but whilst out here, try to find a copy of that'sbeijing - a rather good magazine that lists just about anything worth doing in the city - all the bars, restaurants, events, theatres etc. etc. they have a website too.

The Wall you can do in a half day - I'd extend it to seeing the Ming Tombs and Spirit Way as well though, as Procrustes suggested. That'll likely take up most of the day, leaving late afternoon onwards free - do get up early if you can to make the most of it. Not sure how best to get out there though, your hotel might be able to provide a car for the day (with driver of course, no westerner drives in 'jing) or there should be a shuttlebus or something.

I do still live here, so any more specific questions, just ask.

[Beirut]

Now, the machine gun, RPG rounds sound like a hell of a lot of fun. Any more info on this?

I read about it in Soldier of Fortune a few years back. It was outside of Beijing, run by the army and was open to tourists. Sorry, don't remember any more than that.

[Cha]

I'm unhappy that I missed those when I joined a Korean group tour in China. The tour guide wasted a lot of time taking us to shops that I had no interest in. I'm sure they work together.

[Don Corleone]

I do still live here, so any more specific questions, just ask.

Alrighty then, tell you what... you show me where these expat bars you name are on my free Saturday afternoon, and I'll make sure a few pints come your way. You game?

Thanks for the advice. The Hung Qiao, that's the Pearl Market. I've been there, that's where I got my wife's jade necklace. Gee, maybe I aint' quite so clueless. By the way, last time I was in Beijing, the political clime was a little tight, but not overly so. How are the people, and where's a good place to go for pub chat with native Chinese?

[DemonArchangel]

The Art Museum isn't THAT bad, and it has some truly interesting contents that are worth seeing.

And visit the Great Wall, it's about an hour away.

[Don Corleone]

Well, I only have 1 day for daytime activities. I think I'd shoot myself if I didn't see the wall, but my family will shoot me if I don't bring presents home. So, I'm thinking I'll get up, hit the Great Wall, then do my shopping in the afternoon. If anybody has a lunch place they can recommend, or any good night spots, that should leave me all set.

[King Edward]

There is a great Jaltza Resturant on the corner of wan fu jing (Big shopping street a few blocks down from the forbidden city) and the street that the night market is on. The night market is also a must to wonder down, esp if you want to try all sorts of wierd and wonderful food, (Cow testicles, silk worms, litte whole birds, all on kebab sticks are a couple of examples). The Xinjang Lamb kebabes are excellent, and the squid is good too.

Wan fu jing is quite commercialised, but in the small allys that lead off it you will find more 'local' style shops and resturants.

I went to the great wall at Simitai (Sp) but it was a whole day trip. I went there because the wall in in a much more natural state than the tourist traps the sctions nearer to Beijing have become.

You'll have a great time Don, i know i did!

[Somebody Else]

As I said - don't know all that much about interacting with the locals. As for politics, to be honest - like anywhere else, I've never had it really affect me.

Where to go on a Saturday night... depends on your tastes really - but the San Li Tun area's rather active, all week... Also, check to see if there are any theme nights on - they're always good for a laugh - the Alfa 80s nights are generally pretty good from about 11pm til 4 - earlier, and no-one's there earlier anyway. Also in that area are some meat-market nightclubs aimed at younger crowds (Vics, Mix), and some more decent establishments (Tree, Kai, Bar Blu...)

For a quieter drink, go to Ho Hai - there are some good bars there - eg. No Names.

Of course, tastes may differ...

For lunch, if you go to the Wall, you may be pressed for time, especially if you visit the Tombs - may have to eat whilst there...

[Procrustes]

I found that the two English words most everyone knew were "hello" and "bye-bye". Just walking around with my American collegue people would constantly say "hello" as you went by - if you smiled and said "hello" back they would often come up and start talking to you. Othertimes they would laugh and wave. Everyone wanted to try out their English. I was told over and over how much they liked Americans and were curious about us. I was there in the spring - just before the tourists start arriving so it may be a little different now - at that time there were a lot of Chinese tourists and students from all over the country visiting Beijing. (When my wife came to visit everyone wanted to take her picture. She has long brown hair and I have a full beard - those seemed to be especially fascinating.)

There is a huge Peking Duck resturant that is quite famous, but I never made it there. Mostly I would just go into some kinda dive looking place and fumble around the menu - everything was always delicious. The only times it was frustrating was when I went to places that would pull out some very abbreviated menu that they used for tourists - often you could avoid those places, though - or just look perplexed and point at someone elses dinner. I met some students that took me through the back alleys of some hutong to resturants - quite an experience! Went by a couple of places with butchered canines out front - made me think of that old song "How much is that doggie in the window?"

I did go to a government store that had some lovely jade, pearl and gold jewelry, but didn't buy any. I did buy a nice jade carved bowl, though. And I bought a lot of silk. Very nice stuff - dresses, scarves, robes - was really a hit with all my female relatives. There were several silk markets just past Tianamen Square.

I was lucky enough to be staying and working on the north side of the city - a very non-tourist spot where you got to interact with regular folks. My sponsor was a Canadian who had been living and working in China for almost 20 years - spoke fluent Mandarin. He and my work collegue were the only two westerners I saw until I went downtown. After my work was over my wife came to visit for another 10 days - we spent some more time in Beijing and also a few days in Xian (to see the terracotta soldiers) and Nanjing (an absolutely lovely city, and no western tourists.)

[Procrustes]

The Art Museum isn't THAT bad, and it has some truly interesting contents that are worth seeing.

And visit the Great Wall, it's about an hour away.

Sorry - I didn't mean to sound that harsh. It is a good museum and had some stunning pieces. Some parts of it were shut for renovation when I was there, so I didn't get to see it all. I think one of the tragedies of China has been that many wonderful pieces of art and archeology were taken out of the country during all the years that it was under control of the colonial powers. And to compound it more many more things were destroyed by fanatics during the cultural revolution. China is trying to recover from all that now, and has made great progress.

[ah_dut]

I found that the two English words most everyone knew were "hello" and "bye-bye". Just walking around with my American collegue people would constantly say "hello" as you went by - if you smiled and said "hello" back they would often come up and start talking to you. Othertimes they would laugh and wave. Everyone wanted to try out their English. I was told over and over how much they liked Americans and were curious about us. I was there in the spring - just before the tourists start arriving so it may be a little different now - at that time there were a lot of Chinese tourists and students from all over the country visiting Beijing. (When my wife came to visit everyone wanted to take her picture. She has long brown hair and I have a full beard - those seemed to be especially fascinating.)

There is a huge Peking Duck resturant that is quite famous, but I never made it there. Mostly I would just go into some kinda dive looking place and fumble around the menu - everything was always delicious. The only times it was frustrating was when I went to places that would pull out some very abbreviated menu that they used for tourists - often you could avoid those places, though - or just look perplexed and point at someone elses dinner. I met some students that took me through the back alleys of some hutong to resturants - quite an experience! Went by a couple of places with butchered canines out front - made me think of that old song "How much is that doggie in the window?"

I did go to a government store that had some lovely jade, pearl and gold jewelry, but didn't buy any. I did buy a nice jade carved bowl, though. And I bought a lot of silk. Very nice stuff - dresses, scarves, robes - was really a hit with all my female relatives. There were several silk markets just past Tianamen Square.

I was lucky enough to be staying and working on the north side of the city - a very non-tourist spot where you got to interact with regular folks. My sponsor was a Canadian who had been living and working in China for almost 20 years - spoke fluent Mandarin. He and my work collegue were the only two westerners I saw until I went downtown. After my work was over my wife came to visit for another 10 days - we spent some more time in Beijing and also a few days in Xian (to see the terracotta soldiers) and Nanjing (an absolutely lovely city, and no western tourists.)

One thing...The Peking Duck restaurant is totally overrated and really expensive. There's exactly the same thing in Shanghai as well and that's really expensive as well...

Another thing of note, learn mandarin local english is quite bad, despite a lot of effort being put in ( a bit like english francais non?)

And the stuff there is really quite cheap...well it was a few years ago. I go to Shanghai and Hong Kong a lot more...I don't speak Shanghainese though...My mandarin is ok, enough to get along with and it REALLY helps

[Don Corleone]

I know a couple of phrases to be polite, but I'm trying to work on it.

Hun gow shin jian dow ni (I forget the actual pinyon spelling)=Very nice to meet you

Xie xie = thank you

Dui bu chi = Excuse me (first thing I learn in any language)

Ni hao = How's it goin

Piju!!! = Beer!!!