Counterfeit money

Counterfeit money is common in Beijing, so expect heavy inspection of your paper money before it is accepted. Foreigners are often prime targets for fake bills – especially with 50- and 100-yuan notes. To check the money yourself, turn the bill Mao-side up and stroke the bottom right-hand corner. The design should feel raised. Next, hold it to the light: a ghostly Mao should be hovering on the left-hand side. Don’t be shy about handing suspicious money back. Vendors will usually hand you a different bill without a fuss.

TRAVELLERS CHEQUES

Travellers cheques issued by leading banks and issuing agencies like American Express and Visa can be cashed in Beijing at the Bank of China, exchange desks at the airport and up-scale hotels. If you’re doing any day trips, cash cheques beforehand, as banks on Beijing’s outskirts and in the countryside may not handle travellers cheques.

NEWSPAPERS & MAGAZINES

Beijing has a number of English-language listings magazines, which are a valuable source of information on what’s going on each month in terms of events. They also list the addresses in Chinese of many restaurants, bars and clubs, so you can show them to taxi drivers. The best of the bunch are The Beijinger (see) and Time Out Beijing (www.timeout.com.cn/en/beijing).

There are two state-run English-language newspapers: China Daily, a broadsheet, Global Times a tabloid. Both follow the government line and are not exciting reads.

ORGANISED TOURS

The China Culture Center (see) offers the best-quality English-language tours in Beijing, covering everything from architecture to the hutong. Check its website for the schedule. Otherwise, many hotels and hostels organise tours.

PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO

Film and digital photo equipment and accessories are available all over Beijing, often near major tourist sites. There are branches of Kodak Express everywhere; it sells film and memory cards, and you can burn CDs for Y20. Most hostels will burn CDs too.

TELEPHONE

International and domestic calls are easily made from your hotel room or public phones. Local calls from hotel rooms are mostly free (check first), but international calls are expensive and it’s better to use a phonecard (see). Local calls can be made from public phones (usually yellow or orange) at newspaper stands and hole-in-the-wall shops. You pay the owner when you finish.

To call a Beijing number from abroad, dial the international access code ( 00 in the UK, 011 in the USA), dial the country code for China ( 86) and then the area code for Beijing ( 010), dropping the first zero. Then dial the local number. For telephone calls within the same city, drop the area code. If calling internationally from Beijing or from China, drop the first zero of the area or city code after dialling the international access code ( 00) and receiving-country code. Then dial the number you wish to call.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14