Originally Posted by
nk15
Take a taxi from the airport, they are very cheap and safe, 130cny ($20), but from the official ranks, NOT from solicitors. Have the address of the hotel written in Chinese on a paper or on your phone.
This is excellent advice. What I did was to go to the Chinese version of the hotel page:
http://www.marriott.com.cn/hotels/tr...gfujing-hotel/
I took a screenshot on my smartphone, showed it to the taxi driver at the airport, and I was at the hotel in 30 minutes. No problem.
Originally Posted by
nk15
Western tourists downtown are less than 1% of the crowd, and you will stand out for sure. Women will be chasing you around wanting to "practice their English" (run...) and will be approached by various characters offering you rides, wanting to sell their art, offering to be your tour guide, tea ceremonies, etc...Pretty much anyone approaching you have a scam to run, lol (they have to make a living). It is a great experience though, you will love it, and hopefully not too cold.
Also excellent advice. I (very clearly a western tourist) walked around the area around the hotel for about 90 minutes today and must have been approached by at least 10 people on the street claiming they wanted to know where I was from, etc. I ignored all of them. One woman asked me why I was so unfriendly, but I just kept walking.