Subway/Metro/Underground
Whatever you call it, those delightful trains that run under the ground can be very useful to get across the city and are ridiculously cheap. You are likely to use them to get from the airport train to your accommodation, so they are possibly one of the first things you'll see and use. Here are some useful things to know before you travel.
- First of all, whilst navigating a new underground layout can be tricky, Beijing has all its transport signs in English as well as Chinese characters. But I would advise you to have on hand the Chinese characters of where you are going, just in case you need to ask for directions.
- Secondly, you will be expected to adhere to the security checks at every station. They have an x-ray machine and any bag - bigger than a small handbag - must go through the machine.
- You are not permitted to carry lighters on the Metro or in any museums or tourist sites, so if you are a smoker, consider this. At every tourist site there is a box full of discarded lighters.
- Tickets for the Metro are 2CNY (roughly 20p) a journey, no matter if it is 1 stop or from one end of the line to the other. You can get a one way ticket from the machines, which have a handy English button with help and translations. Or you can buy what is essentially like an Oyster card in London, where you can top up as and when needed and you just touch in and touch out. These are a little more complicated to buy purely because you can't buy them from the machine. But they are likely to be mentioned in your guide book along with the Chinese characters. Just go to a manned ticket booth and point at the relevant characters in the book and they will sort you out a card. For more information on the Beijing Smart Card and prices and how to use it,visit: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/beijing/transportation/smart-card.htm You can even get a refund of your deposit when you leave.
- Now finally, you must have your wits about you. If you think London, New York, Japan etc are tough going, try Beijing. There are so many people all competing for that extra inch of space and there are no courtesies to one another. And I would actually watch out for the elderly, they have more feist that the younger ones. Being forcefully shoved out of the way by a tiny old lady is rather eye opening. They don't wait for people to get off the train first, so there's already a crazy fight for leaving the train, never mind getting on. Now being a nice polite girl, brought up to respect elders and let people out first and to not push and shove, you can imagine my need to adjust. And once you do adjust I can guarantee you'll be shoving along with the best of them.
- They will try and step in front of you, as they see you are a tourist and think you probably won't argue otherwise. But stand your ground where you can and wag a finger, say no and you'll get by. It's definitely somewhere to bring your razor sharp elbows and a little bit of assertion.
- Oh, and one last thing, when changing lines, you can often be in for a long walk, along with a hundred other people, so be patient and follow the crowds. You definitely won't get lost on the way but you might get tripped.
Anyone not of Chinese or Asian descent must expect to be glared at and I mean open mouthed, catching flies sort of staring. It can be a bit creepy and unsettling at first but especially if you travel out of tourist season, where there are less and less westerners, you will be subject to the look over, several times a minute. And lo and behold you have blonde hair, or ginger hair, you will probably be repeatedly stopped for photographs.
Sometimes it can make you feel a bit paranoid, like maybe there's something on my face or my hair's gone crazy or something, but it's highly likely the thing they are staring at is your face. Not something on it. Just the fact that you look different. Some of them seem scared and might look a couple of times and then run off. Others will likely wave a greeting or flash a smile and a Ni hao.
There were days when it annoyed me and days when it didn't but when you live in a city that is renowned for its autonomy and practically has a law against making eye contact, it can take a little bit of getting used to. After all they are just curious about you, as you are curious about them and their country, which is presumably why you're there in the first place.
Pedestrian Crossings/Roads/Signals/Death
As a pedestrian in Beijing you really do have to take charge of your life because no one else is going to look out for it, not even the little green man. The green man does not mean cross the road, it means, ideally you could cross but actually you will need to dodge three buses, seventeen bicycles and a taxi in order to take three steps.
You may think I'm exaggerating but no. I grew up following the green cross code, I teach that to the kids I've worked with as well as having to educate my Italian partner the rules of safe road crossing etiquette. But this really was a shambles. Even the locals who obviously knew the system - what system - were verging on near death experiences with every crossing.
Basically you wait for that green man and then you have to watch every single direction - sometimes there are four or five different roads converging - and take a few steps, then stop for a bicycle or two, then keep going as much as you can, hope that car doesn't plough you down and then make it to the other side on some sort of danger high.
I'm not trying to be negative or put anyone off, but this is how it is and it took me a few days to get used to it, but eventually I found it hilarious. I mean, how are there not more accidents? We saw some pretty close calls but not even a collision or anything. So it may be a messed up system but as long as you don't expect it to be a perfect system you should eventually make it to the other side in one piece.
Bikes
According to Katie Melua there are five million bicycles in Beijing and to be fair, I don't doubt it, in fact I think there's probably more. But what Melua failed to inform us is that the vast majority of them are electric, soundless and gunning to knock you down. Honestly Melua, give us all the information next time.
They come on the pavements too, despite the crazy network of cycle paths alongside the roads and get right up close behind you before beeping. You really do need eyes everywhere. In your temples would be good, in the back of your head and some sort of movement sensors would be useful too.
They are a rather feisty lot though and when it comes to taking on cars and buses, they just go for it. Everyone beeps at each other because they want the right of way. The streets of Beijing are noisy and bombarded with bells and horns. There are no restrictions on horn use. You beep for everything and anything. There is a sort of 'every person for themself' rule, which in a country of a billion people, you can sort of understand but it does seem to create traffic and people chaos.
Often Pedestrians have to share the cycle paths so just watch out and listen for the relevant beep.
Toilets
Now this is a very important one, especially for the ladies. The vast majority of toilets, even in super touristy areas are squatty toilets. It's not fun or pretty but you will have to use them.
- Always carry a toilet roll or pack of tissues with you because most of the squatty toilets have one loo roll dispenser before you go in and they are almost always empty.
- If they have a disabled toilet then that will likely be a standard western toilet, but you might have to queue for it.
- In the hutongs there are toilets every hundred metres or so due to most of the housing in the hutongs, not having their own bathroom facilities. So you are never very far from a public toilet.
- The squatting process will become mildly less harrowing as the holiday progresses.
Taxis
Taxis in China are your friends. They are super cheap, although make sure for short journeys within a city, you get a metered cab otherwise they could rip you off. And for longer journeys arrange a price first and remember you can haggle this until you are both happy.
In order to make life easier for yourself, have the Chinese characters available to show to the taxi driver. They will not speak or read English so showing them words without the characters is pointless. Google works beautifully over there and can give you loads of information as well as the Chinese characters for everything. And make sure you get the right guide book with Chinese characters in there too.
Depending on where you are staying, your hotel may be able to call a taxi for your journey or at least write the characters down for you to help the taxi driver.
Taxi journeys in Beijing start at around 18CNY (£1.80) so they are definitely worth it if you a far from a Metro stop or exhausted from walking.
Hostels
We stayed in a hostel in Beijing, albeit a very nice hostel with private rooms and a lovely little bar/communal area. But having booked a double room we were slightly annoyed to find out that they didn't have any double rooms as some guests had decided to stay longer. Hmmmmm. After an extremely long trip here, that was slightly annoying us and they only told us after we'd paid for the room so we couldn't even ask for a discount.
Just watch out because that happened to us again later in the holiday in another hostel we stayed in. Obviously if you're in a hotel you shouldn't have the same problem. But we did make them come and push the beds together and hoover down the side.
When staying in a hostel or hotel you will be asked for a cash deposit per person on arrival, which is usually 100CNY each. They may let you put it on card but they prefer a cash deposit, which is returned on departure, as long as you don't wreck the place.
Attractions/Tourist Sites
There are strict bag searches and bag scans at most tourist sites, museums and attractions. Your belongings will be x-rayed a lot. Certain places don't allow you to take your bags in and you have to pay for bag drops. These usually have a time limit on them but don't fret, English translations are given outside the ticket booths and entrances and there is usually at least one member of staff that knows some English.
When carrying liquids, you may be asked to drink them to prove it is just water or tea and not something harmful or hazardous.
There are some days when museums or sites are closed. This is often a Monday, but doesn't apply to every attraction. Check out the opening times for each place you want to visit and plan accordingly to avoid disappointment.
Shopping/Markets/Bartering/Hassle
Okay, now I am very much of the, 'leave me alone I don't want to be hassled when shopping' attitude, so I knew China would rattle me a little. Mostly they will try and entice you once and if you say no and move away you are fine. However, sometimes you will end up with someone following you, offering you bags or watches or shoes. You just have to be firm and do a little ignoring. But I have to say, in Beijing it wasn't too bad at all.
Now in terms of haggling and bartering, I am no good at it but travelling with someone who is, will be helpful. Take a small notepad with you or have a smart phone or calculator, so you can show each other quantities and decide upon the best price. Sometimes the stuff was so cheap it just felt wrong to barter.
In some of the tea shops you will sometimes be followed around the shop, trailed by a shop assistant who wants to explain things to you and basically make a sale. But when you look around, they do it to the Chinese people too, so it's not just a tourist thing, it's actually how they make a sale.
Food and Restaurants
Finally on the survival guide today is food. Of course it's one of the things you will need every day and in China you want to sample the best stuff but not spend a fortune. This is easily done!
Now what we found in China was that often restaurants can look pretty shoddy from outside but that inside the food is incredible and cheap and so freakin' good. So don't be put off by an ugly looking window front or a run down shack, they probably have the best food, it's just no frills.
I often chose places that had photographs up of the food because I figured even if the menu was just characters, which some are, then at least we could point to something. This worked pretty well.
When you are seated, they hand you a menu and then they stay by the table whilst you order. At first we thought it was weird but it happens everywhere, even in bars to order drinks. So don't be put off, again it's just their custom.
Some places expect you to pay before you eat, some afterwards, but basically if they shove a piece of paper under your nose with a number on it, they want you to pay.
Beer is cheap over there and usually comes in massive bottles, good to share. Desserts aren't really big over there and their sweet things aren't particularly sweet. Most of their milk products are actually soy and you won't find a lot of dairy and very little cheese. But in Beijing they do have a fabulous soy yoghurt that they sell in insulated containers in shops, shacks and by the side of the road. It's yummy and a Beijing delicacy. Highly recommended.
Almost finished......
I know I said finally, with the food, but I just remembered the spitting. They spit a lot. They hawk it up and spit it out and the sound is disgusting and the act is disgusting but it is something that is pretty much expected over there. So you just have to try and not show your disgust every time it happens, otherwise you'll walk around with a grossed out look the whole time. I actually found older people doing it a lot more than younger people.
Now I hope I haven't put anyone off, I mean yes there are a lot of customs and cultural differences but that is why you explore the world, to see things from other perspectives and to see how other people live and work. Beijing is a fantastic city and I will show you just how fantastic through the itinerary blogs, coming up shortly. These were just things that I though were useful to know before you travel because unless you speak the language a little extra help can go a long way.
I'll be back next time with Day 1 of our Beijing trip, with pictures and links and useful apps to guide you to the best places in Beijing and to get the most out of your time there.
Until then.......
The Sarky Traveller
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