Travel tips for China?

[motion]

Heading to Beijing and Shanghai in March. My first China trip

While in Beijing, planning on visiting the Wall, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.

I'll be spending most of my time in Shanghai, and really not sure what I'll be doing, besides tracking down non-meat food to eat LOL

I already have my Visa application sent off to the service... was very straightforward.

So, any pointers on what to see? I'm really just into people watching, history, cultural centers, churches, architecture, etc.

Can I get my AT&T iPhone 5S to work over there? If so, where can I buy a SIM card? Or, should I just take my Nexus 4 with me?

Where to change money? OK to withdraw out of ATMs and otherwise use my AMEX at restaurants, hotels, etc?

Are these cities friendly to a mostly non-meat eater?

I know I can probably find this stuff on Google if I poke around, but man, is it ever hard to wade through all the BS for good info. I know you guys can deliver reliably

[kiwiokie]

iPhone 5S should work fine as long as you have international roaming on your AT&T plan. If you have a credit card you can probably get around without using much cash. I usually just use an ATM to withdraw money when I arrive in a foreign country. In my limited experience (visited Shanghai for the first time a few weeks back) China is very non-meateater friendly. Do you like tofu?

[Shuie]

I got to spend a couple of weeks in Beijing ~2yrs ago for work. It is without a doubt the most amazing place I've ever been. We were really lucky because we had a great host who took us to some of the local places and always dealt with the cab drivers to get us from and to the hotel.

I was traveling with a vegetarian, but I cannot remember how to say 'no meat' when you order food. However you say it, it really just means that they scoop the meat out of whatever is ordered before they serve it. It was not a good trip for the vegetarian in our group.

It will be easy to find a guide to do the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square & Forbidden City. They will probably take you to a 'Jade Museum' as well. Don't buy any Jade.

Try to see if you can get someone to take you to the Ho Hai neighborhood so you can walk around. It's amazing. Check out the show at a duck restaurant. The business card I have from the one we went to says 'Beijing Shichahai Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant'. Just make sure you can get a cab out of there and back to the hotel.

Go to the Silk Market, and then go check out the sky screen at The Place. These places were close together and easy to get in and out of from what I remember. Lots of ex-pats and westerners so the language barrier wasn't as challenging for us.

The first thing I would do is get a stack of business cards from the hotel to give to cab drivers or the people driving the rickshaws so you can actually get back from wherever you go. The cab thing really scared the hell out of me. From I saw and heard from the ex-pats we were working with it is not easy for a westerner to get a cab anywhere in the city. Beijing is absolutely huge and the cab drivers we dealt with spoke no English. None. If you just tell these guys to take you to the 'Holiday Inn on 5th Ring Road' there is no telling where you are going to wind up.

My iPhone 4 w/AT&T worked fine there.

I changed money at the airport and my Amex worked almost everywhere I went.

[TimT]

While in Beijing, planning on visiting the Wall, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.

Tiananmen Square is directly across the street/plaza from Forbidden City... Many of the historic sites in Beijing are quite close...

There are many places to enter the Forbidden city, tour groups push you to where the huge picture of Mao is...(gate of heavenly peace) Tiananmen is opposite Mao

If you have some time in Beijing... there is a really good pizza place near the embassies...

Great Wall.... go to Muntianyu.... its a longer drive from Beijing than the Badaling section of the wall....Badaling is where most of the tours go....

I've been to a few parts of the wall...



Muntianyu... and I suck at taking pictures..

You can change money at any bank... you will need your passport, and papers.... of course depending where you are in China, finding an english speaker in the bank may be problematic

[TimT]

Birds nest is neat to see




I have never been to Shanghai, but in the last few years have spent a lot of time in China.... was married to a Chinese woman, and between the difficulties of our naturalization system and distance she told me it was not worth it...=divorce... oh well.

China is an amazing place....

[look 171]

Spend a day in the Beijing museum. Its worth a trip there.

[TimT]

Some vegetarian fare, found at a roadside restaurant about 2 hours northwest of Beijing.. near Miangfansheng Buddhist temple

Wifey picking out the carnivore portion...



This was mini rose blossoms, battered and fried...



This is a salad of peppers, think black peppercorns...when they are still fresh .... just picked...some chilis and vinegar....



This was the fish the wifey picked out...



The food is amazing..

[TimT]

This was some sort of corn dumpling.... stuffed with greens...

[TimT]

Don't mind the kitchen.....

[badcar]

March in Beijing can be a bit "cloudy" so be prepared to not see any blue skies. Shanghai is an great place. No issue on your food choices just steer clear of ice, glasses of water, etc. I always recommend bottled water at all times in all cities while traveling there.

Never had the chance to see the wall, but I enjoy the people watching.

[jcommin]

Don't drink the water - bottled only. Bring cash because not everyone accepts credit cards. Bring snacks, medicine, over the counter stuff because all of this is hard to get, I can tell you the food is wonderful - don't expect American food or quality. Clean safe for travelers and don't take the chance of driving. Taxi drivers don't speak English - be sure to get business cards for hotels/restaurants. I was in Shanghai - beautiful, clean city except the air. Safe - cameras everywhere. I would gladly go back again. enjoy your trip!

[Rick Lee]

Motion, will you be alone or with your wife? I ask because, if you're alone in Beijing, you will be a HUGE target for hookers and scammers. They are always women, usually around college age, and approach western men who are alone. They are rampant around the tourist areas - Tiananmen Sq., Forbidden City, Wanfujing shopping district, etc. They start off saying they want to practice their English and will eventually try to lead you to a teahouse. You would think that tea, in a place like China, is dirt cheap. But these places they take you will end up costing the equivalent of hundreds of dollars. A friend there told me about this and I didn't believe it, but then it happened to me on my next trip to Beijing. And these women are super smart. I would speak some Mandarin with them, hoping they'd get the picture that I wasn't a know-nothing tourist. Then they'd reply in just a little more Mandarin than I could handle and I'd have to revert back to English. Last time there I answered one of them in German and damn if she didn't come right back at me in German.

No joke - if you go alone, consider hiring a local woman to be your guide. She'll repel the hookers and scammers and steer you right. And you really need a local to help you order food. You don't want to end up in restaurants where they speak English or have picture menus. You will have the best food of your life and it will cost next to nothing. Eat from street vendors all you can.





Remember to always stop at one of those tiny kiosks each night for bottled water and green tea before heading back to your room. Get a foot massage every day. A local will take you to the best places and it will be less than $10 for 90 min. of heaven.



In Beijing they have the blind masseuses too, which is pretty cool. They wear pagers that call out the time every 15 min. I thought it was fake until I saw one of them bump into a door that opened as she was feeling her way toward it.

This is a friend in Chengdu who took us to a full body massage place where they really work you over.



In you're in Shanghai, consider seeing some of the surrounding towns - Wuxi, Xi Tang and even Nanjing, which is the size of NYC. The train from Shanghai goes 300 km/hr, so Nanjing is a very short ride.



The museum there on the Rape of Nanking and the City Wall are just jaw dropping.

[Cajundaddy]

We were there 5 years ago for 3 weeks with the American Aviators tour. Loved the people and the food, didn't care for the smog. We had a national guide and a city guide with us in every destination so there was always support and a translator nearby. We saw several of the Flying Tiger bases and museums and had the opportunity to see their national air museum outside of Bejing.

With our group vegetarian choices were always available and the food was good. I never picked out lunch from a street vendor though, and was advised that if we did, we should make sure everything is thoroughly cooked so to avoid raw fruit and vegetables.

We did not use our cel phones while there at all and communicated with home by daily email.

It was a great experience with a very rich history and culture, enjoy!

[pc100porsche]

I went to Beijing and Shanghai in 2005 -- I stayed 5 star within a 3 min walk to Forbidden City,Tiananmen Square etc and to me Beijing was a ****ty place.
The old people spit in the street -- whilst you may notice the infants wear jumpsuits with a slit in them (its culturally acceptable for them to take a crap next to you, anywhere in public) -------------if you take notice of the Barber Shops you will notice that there are "extra" female workers ... they don't cut hair, if you get my drift. I got to Beijing a few days before my gf and I was consistently harassed by pimps/hookers (8 approaches w/in 3 blocks of the hotel).
The Great Wall was interesting ........ we hired a car and driver to go there and a Tomb, very reasonable approx. USD$100 for driver and good car for the day... that was all OK.

Shanghai is better ... some good restaurants and night clubs (try Bar Rouge on the Bund) ... I stayed at the Sofitel in Nankang Rd (good hotel) .....but got a little sick of being accosted each and every time you exit the hotel with continual offers of "Rolex, DVD, & Looky Look Girl" ....

Please see below .. myself and my new Red Army Buddies ...

[pc100porsche]

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Motion, will you be alone or with your wife? I ask because, if you're alone in Beijing, you will be a HUGE target for hookers and scammers. They are always women, usually around college age, and approach western men who are alone. They are rampant around the tourist areas - Tiananmen Sq., Forbidden City, Wanfujing shopping district, etc. They start off saying they want to practice their English and will eventually try to lead you to a teahouse. You would think that tea, in a place like China, is dirt cheap. But these places they take you will end up costing the equivalent of hundreds of dollars. A friend there told me about this and I didn't believe it, but then it happened to me on my next trip to Beijing. And these women are super smart. I would speak some Mandarin with them, hoping they'd get the picture that I wasn't a know-nothing tourist. Then they'd reply in just a little more Mandarin than I could handle and I'd have to revert back to English. Last time there I answered one of them in German and damn if she didn't come right back at me in German.

No joke - if you go alone, consider hiring a local woman to be your guide. She'll repel the hookers and scammers and steer you right. And you really need a local to help you order food. You don't want to end up in restaurants where they speak English or have picture menus. You will have the best food of your life and it will cost next to nothing. Eat from street vendors all you can.





Remember to always stop at one of those tiny kiosks each night for bottled water and green tea before heading back to your room. Get a foot massage every day. A local will take you to the best places and it will be less than $10 for 90 min. of heaven.



In Beijing they have the blind masseuses too, which is pretty cool. They wear pagers that call out the time every 15 min. I thought it was fake until I saw one of them bump into a door that opened as she was feeling her way toward it.

This is a friend in Chengdu who took us to a full body massage place where they really work you over.



In you're in Shanghai, consider seeing some of the surrounding towns - Wuxi, Xi Tang and even Nanjing, which is the size of NYC. The train from Shanghai goes 300 km/hr, so Nanjing is a very short ride.



The museum there on the Rape of Nanking and the City Wall are just jaw dropping.

Rick,

Got any more pic of the Rape of Nanking museum or other info? That would be one of my must do list next time I am in the area.

[imcarthur]

We went to Beijing/Xi'an/Handan in February the year before the Olympics for the Room Monkey's wedding. It was cold & full-on heating season which you can smell as soon as you exit your plane at Beijing airport. Coal furnaces in buildings give the air a nice industrial smell & the haze will spoil all of your landscape photos.

See the untouched picture below of the entrance to the Forbidden City from a distance. That haze is pollution.



Make sure you dive into the hutongs of Beijing for shopping & atmosphere. Walk south from Tianamen Sq & you will find an easily accessible one that won't require a guide.



Ian

[TimT]

One neat thing to do that has not been mentioned, check out a nearby park early in the morning. Groups of people are out practicing Tai Chi, and other martial arts, its fascinating to watch.

This pic is the courtyard of the apartment I rented in Chaoyang, Beijing.



Also in the evening n man parks the have dancing, all styles, and people off the street join in..

Menus can be a constant source of chuckles..














This is the Badaling section of the Great Wall (closest to Beijing)on a nasty rainy day..



This is the Muntianyu section of the wall (a day trip fromBeijing) on a beautiful sunny day....note the lack of crowds...

[1990C4S]

PM me if you want a good tour guide for The Great Wall from Beijing.

I was there a few weeks ago. It will be cold...

[1990C4S]