Weather could be very warm in both Beijing and Faifeng (around 30). To bring T-shirts and sandals might be a good idea. Also cool cotton garments are recommended.
Taxis are patrolling the streets or waiting at the airport, railway stations,
hotels, and tourist destinations 24 hours a day. A taxi ride costs 10 yuan
for the first 3 or 4 km and 1.20-2.00 yuan for each additional km. A taximeter
is fitted to each taxi to automatically computer and indicate the fare due.Important
informations about taxi can be found here.
There are two subway lines in Beijing, which cross each other at Fuxingmen
Terminal where passengers can transit from one line to the other without going
out of the station. Each terminal along the lines is a major mass transit
center in the city of Beijing. Operation hours: 5:00-22:30.
A tour will be organized on July the 31 to the great wall and Ming tombs. Besides this the following places are of particular interest:
For those who want to shop for souvenirs to take home, they can look around, apart from large department stores and shopping malls, in some of the open markets such as the Xiushui Street and Panjiayuan Antique Market. Unlike large department stores where the prices are fixed, these places are where you can and you must bargain.
There are a good variety of local snacks and refreshments in Beijing. These
include almond junket, milk curd, tiny corn buns, eight-treasure porridge
with lotus seeds, pea flour cakes, Fuling (Poria coccus) cakes, cakes baked
in a clay oven and stuffed with minced meat, fermented soy bean milk, sautéed
pork liver, Sausages, odd-odor bean curd, sugarcoated haws, sliced steamed
cakes, sesame seed-speckled cakes, and sweet sour plum juice. The best snacks
are found at night fairs, where traditional lanterns add a folkloric aura
to scene.
Peking Duck is representative of all exotic food Beijing has to offer. There
are so many Peking duck restaurants in the city nowadays, but the Quanjude
Peking Duck Restaurant, which has been around for the last 130 years and is
running branches at Qianmen, Hepingmen and Wangfujing, is definitely the best.
Imperial dishes, made exquisitely with choice materials, are yet another salient
feature of the Beijing school of cooking. In bygone days these dishes were
prepared in the kitchen of the imperial palace for the exclusive delight of
the emperor. Today, the Fangshan Restaurant in the Beihai Park, the Tingliguan
Restaurant in the summer Palace, and the Dashanyuan Restaurant near the Palace
Museum, have made these once secret dishes available to the public.
Kaorouyuan and Kaorouji restaurants on Xuanwumennei Street are known for their
grilled meat.
Credit cards and cheques are accepted in most hotels and restaurants, but
you have to pay an additional 10-15% service Charge.
Beijing Tushu Dasha (largest bookstore in Beijing) two kilometers west of Tian An Men on Chang An Dajie. It is on the north side near the Beijing Telecommunications Building
Beijing Sanlian (social sciences, literature) just north of Wang Fujing at Meishuguan Donglu #22. Open evenings until 9 PM. An Internet cafe on the second floor.
Feng Ru Song [Wind Entering the Willows] just east of the south gate of Beijing University in the Haidian District. A block to the southeast is Book City [Shucheng] which has thirty-odd bookstores. About a kilometer northeast of Beijing University in a small side street is the Wansheng Shudian [Ten Thousand Saints].
Ke Yuan Book City 15 Fu Xing Road, Hai Dian District West
of the CCTV and the Military Museum (Gong Zhu Fen Station, 9am-6pm daily).
This is a great spot for book lovers and those into the high-tech equipment.
Taking up the whole basement of a massive building, this market is a gathering
of Chinese publishing companies and bookshops, all in individual stalls. One
can find books on almost any topic from computer science to medicine or fortune
telling. Most books are in Chinese.
At the outskirts of the book market are counters selling computers, software,
compact discs, cassettes, printers, scanners, and all the latest high-tech
gadgets available.
Bai Cao Yuan Teahouse
22a Gaoliangqiaoxie Street, Haidian District
Canglangting Teahouse
5 Zhichun Rd., Haidian District
HongLu Teahouse
38 Haidian Rd., Haidian District
Jiamu Teahouse
5 Xipenglan Rd., Haidian District
Laoshe Teahouse
3 Xida Street Qianmen, Xunwu District
Minglu Teahouse
35-10 Zhixin Rd.,Haidian District
Mingxiangtai Teahouse
8a Xinwaida Street, Xicheng District
Simingzhai Teahouse
19-1 Haidian Rd.
Tianming Teahouse
3 Fangxingyuanerqu,Fangzhuangxiaoqu
Zhang Yi Yuan Tea Leaf Shop
Beijing's best known purveyor of tealeaves
22 Da Zha Lan Alley, Qian Men Avenue
Xuan Wu District
nearest train: Qian Men Station.
open hours: 8am-8pm daily
This tea shop, which dates back to the final years of the Qing Dynasty, is
located on one of Beijing's most historical and interesting shopping streets,
Da Zha Lan Alley. It deals in over 200 types of tea, with prices ranging between
tens and hundreds of renminbi for a few grams. They have green tea, black
tea, chrysanthemum tea, herbal tea, and Oolong tea. You will find a tea for
every occasion and a few more types to spare. It is worth visiting just for
the sights and smells.
Tong Ren Tang Traditional Chinese Medicine Shop
Beijing's oldest pharmacy
neighborhood: Qian Men
24 DaZhaLan Alley, QianMen Wai
Chong Wen District
nearest train: Qian Men Station
open hours: 8am-7.30pm daily.
Located on the bustling historical Da Zha Lan Alley, this three-storey building
with a Qing facade is home to the oldest and most famous pharmacy in China.
The shop has a distinctive musty aroma of herbal remedies, and behind each
counter lurks a bewildering display of dried snakes and seahorses, contorted
ginseng roots, deer antlers, peculiar mushrooms and fungi, plus the medicinal
spirits selection, including bear gall and tiger bone wines.
