Business contacts

Mobile phones Don’t bother renting. Purchase a pay-as-you-go SIM card from any of the numerous mobile phone shops found anywhere in Beijing. It will cost you [00a3]5-10, depending on how auspicious the number is—any phone number with an 8 in it (signifying good fortune) will be expensive, anything with a 4 (signifying bad luck) will be cheap.

Car hire Renting a car isn’t recommended. If you must, call Hertz (Tel: 6462 5730). Office rental and secretarial help Servcorp offers locations directly in the city centre at 1 East Chang An Avenue, Dong Cheng District, Beijing (Tel: 8520 0000).

Local press

That’s Beijing is an English-language publication with the definitive listings guide to Beijing. Issued monthly, the free publication can be found at most trendy bars and international hotels. A number of official publications try unsuccessfully to do the same thing. The China Daily is biased, like all official English-language daily newspapers. Unless you’re very familiar with picking economic and political fact from fiction, go exclusively for Western news coverage of China. For reliable China coverage, read The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian or the Financial Times on the web or watch CNN Asia or BBC Asia. Web sites may be censored from time to time.

Internet

In the aftermath of SARS and a tragic fire in an internet café, the Chinese government clamped down on public internet use. However, there are now many internet cafés popping up in the city centre and some of the trendier bars and cafés have wi-fi. The best idea is to check the local expat press as these cafés come and go so quickly. Alternatively, most of the larger hotels have business centres with broadband access.

Money

The official name of the Chinese currency is the Renminbi, which translates as ‘the people’s money’. The unit of currency is the yuan. The exchange rate is approximately [00a3]1 = 15 yuan.

Credit cards are really only used in hotels and high-end department stores, such as Guo Mao or Oriental Plaza, so make sure you have cash on you. Beijing still runs on ‘full employment’, so expect your money to be passed to several people before you get a receipt in a shop.

ATMs can be found on every main street in the city. Nearly all offer 24-hour service and will most likely accept Visa and Mastercard. The most dependable ATMs are those of Bank of China.

Bank opening times are 9am-4pm or 9am-5pm, depending on the bank, and most branches are open on weekends. When exchanging money you will need to have your passport with you and also the address of your hotel or wherever you’re staying. Banks accept all major travellers cheques and credit cards. Keep your receipts if you want to exchange RMB on leaving the country.

If you want no-nonsense banking, go to the Bank of China in the basement of China World Tower 2, Guo Mao, where they are efficient, have a relatively good level of English and are used to dealing with foreigners. There are now two HSBC branches in the city located in Cofco Plaza, 8 Jiangomen Dajie, and The West Wing offices opposite Starbucks in China World Tower 1. The service is mediocre and any transaction will involve lots of paperwork.

Tipping etiquette

Tipping simply doesn’t exist in China. Bellboys are never tipped, nor are taxi drivers, waitresses, etc. Even if you actually force money into their hands, your gesture will be met with a look of utter bewilderment. Some upscale restaurants and those in hotels may add a service charge, but if they do it will say so.

Visa/vaccinations

Visas are required to enter China and are quite easy to get through the local Chinese embassy at a cost of around [00a3]25. An invitation is usually not required. If you travel through Hong Kong, you can easily get your Chinese visa there.

Advice on vaccinations varies from country to country and from doctor to doctor. Have the usual tetanus shots and consider getting a vaccination against strains of hepatitis that you might contract through eating and drinking at very local places. If you eat in respectable places and drink bottled and canned liquids, you should be OK.

Public holidays

During these holidays the entire country migrates—you have been warned.
1st January — New Year’s Day (2 days)
Late January/early February — Chinese New Year or Spring Festival (decided by the lunar calendar)
1st May — May Day (3 days)
1st October — National Day

Weather and climate

Beijing is a very dry city. Located on the fringes of the expanding Gobi desert, the climate can be continental and harsh. The best time of year by far is late summer and autumn. There are clear blue skies, fresh westerly winds and lots of sunshine. The temperature drops significantly from October, but you might be lucky and experience Beijing’s blue sky through much of the winter as well. Winters in Beijing are cold and dry and last from November to March, with temperatures down to –10C. Spring is brief and occasional dust storms from the Gobi tend to paint the sky (and your clothes) a brownish red. From the end of April, temperatures rise to about 30C in summer.

Suggested reading

Mr China, by Tim Clissold, is an honest account of how business works in China.

Red Dust, by Ma Jian, a journey of discovery in post-Mao China.

Rivertown, by Peter Hessler, describes two years on the Yangtze.

Red China Blues, by Jan Wong, is a memoir of Mao and Deng’s China.

The Chinese, by Jasper Becker, is an up-to-date account of modern China.