Hey GinFizz, thx for checking....but yep we did make sure we had a double entry visa. I'm sure some people do get caught with that technicality.
Now the next goal is to find a good place for a drink on Saturday when we get into PEK. Staying at The Emperor.

I just sent you a fairly long PM; the most important point I made in it was to steer you clear of the Emperor on Saturday night:

-almost all of the action (food and drink) is in Sanlitun, Chaoyang Park, CBD
-shorter ride from the airport
-closer to Great Wall (you could go on Sunday)

As for Saturday night, I've heard the patio at Xiu will be open by then; the patio is pretty nice, though it might be hard to find a place to sit without booking a table.

Many people do hehe. I know someone who were backpacking around the world and planned to visit Hong Kong and China (with a visit to Hong Kong first). They applied for a visa back home and recieved that. But when they were checking in on a flight from HKG to PEK the checkin staff discovered that their visa for China expired just one day before the flight... Well not really caught in that technicality, but still they had to apply for a new visa in Hong Kong before they could continue.

I'm also guilty of committing a similar faux pas, though en route to India rather than China. My employer (a think tank at my university) organized all of my travel arrangements (plane tickets, hotels, vaccinations/meds, insurance, etc), so I operated under the assumption that if a visa were required, surely they would have gotten me one. Suffice it to say, this assumption ended up being incorrect. There was perfect storm of Chinese, Indian, and US holidays at the time, so getting a visa in HK was quite challenging. Fortunately, my mom went to bat for me on the US side somehow managed to make stuff happen relatively quickly.

Sorry for the tangent.

I was looking forward to your PM....but there's nothing in my inbox. Could you check your sent files and see if the msg went?
So you're saying NOT to stay at the Emperor? We've already made reservations and the first two of our gang are leaving for PEK tomorrow. Since I didn't get your PM, I don't know how bad it is.
I'll look up Xiu and map it out. Thx for the recommendations.

I'm not sure why, but the locals I know are useless when it comes to bargaining. Now, they ask me to go and I help them get a better deal (by a lot!).

A few thoughts:

-~7% annual GDP growth since 1978
-relatively low fixed costs compared to western countries (e.g. housing can be really inexpensive) --> huge increase in disposable income
-members of the 小黄帝 ("little emperor" stemming from the one child policy) generation are accustomed to being spoiled rotten and frown upon "cheapness"

I try to minimize my time in fake markets because the experience is old/boring for me, but whenever I end up in one (either to purchase a necessary item like a belt or to accompany an out of town guest), I always seize the opportunity to observe. In spite of my comments above, I still have a great deal of respect for Chinese women over 40 (who have presumably have memories of what it is like to be poor). And, Chinese people who left China x years ago also tend to be pretty good at the game. Finally, air crews (many of which operate businesses reselling Xiushui merchandise in their home countries) can be just as tenacious.

Meanwhile, pretty much everybody else seems to have no problem being taken for a ride; sure they might pay 25% of the asking price, but this is often still much greater than the night time minimum price.

I can give some update here. I am really enjoying my stay in Beijing. Tried the Beijing-Tianjin railway aswell. Was pretty fun to ride in 330 km/h.
As for the language problems I come pretty far with a ni hao and pointing around. At restaurants I really like that they have pictures, because the English text makes no sense at all. I actually found English knowledge here to be worse than Moscow to be brutally honest, I thought it would be better. Also a Mandarin phrasebook was a good investment especially in restaurants I could just point at beer and then I got beer.

looks like your trip running good so far, hope you enjoy the rest.

BTW the High School--University Exam just finished, so there will be more and more teens traveling around China, and hope they could help you (they should speak better English)

+1

William S, glad you're at least trying the language. It goes a long way. Train is a great experience, did you ride the sightseeing car?

Learning and learing hehe. I believe some basic phrases here and there goes a long way in any country. Sightseeing car? Nah, if the sightseeing car were one of the touts hanging around the train station then I have to pass on that one. I basically ignore touts. I did not do much in Tianjin. Just strolled around had a lunch and a beer and took the train back again. I know there is more to see. Bought a map though for 8 RMB.

Ha, my rule is paper map for 2 RMB. 4RMB for a nice map!

Well was not much i could haggle about. The price is clearly printed at the barcode. But i guess you can haggle about most things in China.. It was a good map though. Yesterday i ended up at an amusement park, because it was Monday an museums were closed. Was fun though. Soo cheap compared with western amusement parks

Haggling is all about what you're willing to pay. Yes everything is negotiable in China, don't believe printed prices. Those are just for foreigners.

But seriously, if you're happy with a price don't sweat it someone else can get it cheaper. If you're that way, you'll be mad all the time.

Haha. Well i dont bother haggling about 2 rmb water bottles all in all a pretty good stay. Soon i will head out for pek. I guess that is the place i will be mad when it comes to prices... Also the sellers hangibg around Tiananmen sell the most useless stuff ever haha. I do not need a crawling toy soldier...

Bah why did i book that 230 am flight back. Was pretty cheap. One thing is for sure. I will come back.