Natural Environment

Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It covers 16808 km². Mountainous areas occupy 10418 km², accounting for 62% of the city's landmass. The rest, 6391 km², or 38% of the total, are flatland. The municipality governs 16 urban districts and 2 rural counties. Beijing belongs to the warm temperate zone with a semi-humid climate. It has four distinctive seasons, with short springs and autumns while summers and winters are long. January is the coldest month and July is the hottest month.

History

Beijing is Peking Man's home, one of the earliest human species that existed some 500,000 years ago. Historic records and archeological findings prove that as a city, Beijing dates to more than 3,000 years ago. It was the capital of five dynasties - the Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. And since October 1, 1949, Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of China.

Population and Ethnic Groups

At the end of 2003, Beijing had a registered population of 12 millions, in addition to a transient population of about 3 million. People of all China's 56 ethnic groups are found in Beijing. The vast majority of the population belongs to the Han ethnic group.

Tourism

Beijing is endowed with abundant tourist resources. More than 200 tourist spots are open to visitors from all over the world. There are 506 tourist hotels, including 407 star-rated hotels, which together have 84000 guest rooms. Some 456 travel agencies are operating in Beijing. These employ more than 5000 tourist guides, who are able to speak 21 languages.

Foreign Relations

Beijing has exchanges of friendship with 124 capitals or big cities in 72 countries. Beijing and 27 cities in 24 countries are cemented in a twin-city relationship. Beijing plays host to 150 embassies, representative offices of 18 international and regional organizations, and bureaus of 190 foreign news organizations. All told, more than 8000 foreign companies have set up representative offices in the Chinese capital.

Travel by Air

The Beijing Capital Airport is China's top air hub, with 98 international, 21 regional and 757 domestic air routes linking the capital with 54 cities in 39 countries. More than 40 foreign airlines have set up booking offices in Beijing. See details in the Beijing Directory section.

Capital Airport

The Capital Airport, for both international and domestic flights, is located 27 kilometers (17 miles) north of the city center. The taxi fare is approximately 150 CNY from town. Shuttle buses run every 30 minutes from 05:30 to 22:00 between the China Aviation Building and the airport. Shuttle buses run each hour from both the China Art Gallery and Zhong Guan Cun to the airport. The bus fare is 20 CNY.

To and from Airport

If it is your first time to Beijing, the best bet is to have your hotel send a shuttle bus to come and get you. The other option is to take a taxi. There is usually a bit of a long queue, but it moves fairly quickly. These drivers are reliable and will charge according to the meter. Remember to have a Chinese version of the address you are going to.

Taxis

The most convenient way to get around Beijing is by taxi. There are tens of thousands of them running around the city at all times of the day. Price : 2.00 CNY/km.

Public Transportation

Although often crowded, the subway is often the fastest way to get around the center city area. There is the circle line that runs underneath the Second Ring Road, and the straight line which extends from Sihuidong out to Pingguoyuan. Subway tickets are 3 CNY, and to make a full circle on the circle line takes about 40 minutes, and from Sihuidong to Pingguoyuan takes about 50 minutes.
If you are in Beijing for an extended period of time, you may want to consider buying a bike. Biking around Beijing is a fun way to get to know the city. Besides bicycles, public buses are the cheapest way to get around Beijing. The public bus System in Beijing is very good, in that you can get almost anywhere by bus. But the downside is that they are really, really crowded and uncomfortable.

Travel by train

The city has five railway stations, with lines running to almost all provincial capitals, and to all China's major cities. There are four kinds' of seats available - soft berths, hard berths, soft seats and hard seats. If you are headed for any destination which has a travel time of over 6 hours, you should definitely try to get a soft seat car. Any trips over 12 hours and a hard or soft sleeper is a must. Soft sleepers are more comfortable, but offer a more isolated (some would say private) train experience. Beijing's West Railway Station is Asia's largest rail terminal and is very modern and well-equipped. For any information call 2585 (Chinese language only).

Visas

If you are coming to China for travel, you should obtain a tourist visa from the Chinese Embassy or Consulate in your home country. It is more convenient for tourists booked through Chinese travel agencies to get group visas for their visit to China. Tourist visas are usually good for one month, but can be extended for an extra month at the Foreigners Section of the Public Security Bureau. Three-month and even six-month visas are also available, but must be requested. Some travel agencies, but particularly in Hong Kong, can expedite visa approval.
Other types of visas include :
F (Business) : valid for multiple entries within a six-month period. Usually requires a letter of invitation.
D (Resident) : usually for foreigners not working in China, often family of expats working in China.
G (transit) : issued to individuals in transit to other countries with overnight layovers in China.
X (student) : issued only with letter of invitation from an accredited Chinese institution.
Z (work) : issued to foreigners who work In Beijing.
Foreigners Section of the Public Security Bureau
Address : 2, Andingmen Dajie
Visa inquiries : 8401-5292

Tours and travel agencies

There are counters in almost ail major hotels which handle city and suburban tours for tourists. You can book city tours through CYTS chain stores throughout town. Personalized services are also available for individual guest or groups. Tel : 800-810-0138. Website : www.CYTSonline.com. These tours often covers Beijings best places to visit, including Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Lama Temple, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall, a meal of Peking Duck, a night at the Peking Opera and other such attractions. CYTS also does tours for the modem aspects of Beijing, such as tours to Hancunhe Village. Dragon Tours is a similar service by CITS (China International Travel Service) and Panda Tours is of CTS (China Travel Service).

Beijing Tourists Hotline

The Beijing Tourism Administration runs a 24-hour hotline that can be reached at 6513-0828. This hotline operates in English, Chinese and Japanese and it not simply a recording. If you have any troubles or treated badly during your trip in Beijing, and want to file a complaint or suggestion, you will get a warm body on the other end.

Tipping

Tipping is discouraged by authorities and is not required in China - even at upscale restaurants and hotels. It's also not expected that you tip taxi drivers. However, if you have received exceptional service, you may consider offering something extra.

Travelers' Checks

These are easily cashed in Beijing. Hotels are an obvious first choice. Most hotels, however, have a policy of only handling the travelers' checks of their guests, so if you find yourself away from your own hotel, major banks are your Zunächst option. The CITIS Bank and the Bank of China along Jianguomenwai Dajie can assist in this.

Credit cards and ATMs

Major credit cards such as Master Card, Visa, JCB, Diners and American Express can be used to purchase goods in large department stores. They can be used to pay for hotel rooms, shopping centers and for meals in some of the fancier restaurant.
ATMs are all around town and will allow you to withdraw renminbi from your established Chinese account. Foreign accounts may only be accessed from foreign ATMs.

International calls

International calls can be made directly from hotel rooms with IDD phones. Just dial the international prefix 00, plus country code, area code and number. Some large post offices also provide this service. Otherwise, look for roadside kiosks with the IDD sign. Four-star and five-star hotels charge a variable service charge from 10 to 20%.
The cheapest way to make a long-distance phone call is by using an IP (internet phone) card. With an IP card you can make international calls for RMB 4.8 per minute, less than half the rate of an IDD call. These can be picked up at most hotels, internet cafés and newstands. Instructions are both in English and Chinese.

Postal services

Postal services are usually provided at hotel desks. Large hotels have mail boxes and sell stamps for letters, post cards and parcels. Post offices, with eye-catching green emblems, are usually found on main streets, at railway stations, the airport and major scenic spots. They are open seven days a week from 9:00 to 17:00.

International Post and Telecommunications Office

Besides regular postal services, this office handles remittances, money orders, telegraphic money transfers, international and domestic telephone and telegraph services. In the same building there is a Customs Office for those who need customs clearance for postal items.
Address : Yabao Lu, 300 meters northeast of Jianguomen Overpass on the Second Ring Road
Tel : 6512-8132
Open : 08:00-18:30

Receiving Packages

Receiving parcels in China is not a problem. Packages will not be delivered directly to you. Rather, you will be issued a claim form and will need to travel to the International Post & Telecommunications Office at Yabao Lu.

E-mail

For those simply interested in checking an e-mail account or briefly surfing the Internet, all major hotels have Internet connections available in their business centers. And Internet cafés are especially common on the streets of the student district in Haidian. The Feiyu Internet Café, located just west of the small south gate of Beijing University, is open 24 hours a day and the cafe has more than 100 computers and printing and copying services for public use. The Internet company Sparkice has also opened a number of Internet cafés around Beijing.

Publications

An informative English monthly is Beijing This Month, distributed free at the beginning of every month at most star-rated hotels, the Capital International Airport and major universities. Business Beijing, the sister magazine of Beijing This Month, is also published around the 15th of each month. Hotel shops also stock a wide variety of newspapers, magazines and books from Hong Kong, Japan, Europe and the United States.

Climate and clothing

Beijing's climate is defined as "continental monsoon". The four seasons are distinctly recognizable. The temperature in spring is nice too, but it is very dry and winds whip sand around the city. Summer can be very hot, and Winter is equally freezing cold, assisted by winds blowing down directly from Siberia. Bring nice clothes for going out at night, but for touring during the day wear casual clothes and comfortable sturdy shoes. In autumn, jeans and a sweater are usually enough.

Communicating

There are hundreds of different dialects in China, and many of them are like totally different languages, though they are all lumped together into the category "Chinese". The official language of China is Mandarin Chinese, actually a northern dialect, and this is what the people of Beijing speak. Most hotel staff can speak English, so this is not a big problem. If you are going to take a taxi, get someone to write down the address of your destination in Chinese. Street signs have characters as well as pinyin (Chinese Romanization), so if you have a map, it is easier to figure out where you are.