moondog

my experiences differ greatly from yours. sure, there are stories about people getting taken for rides -but that happens everywhere. as long as you carry a map, know where you are (beijing is VERY easy to navigate), and remain vaguely conscious, you should be fine. regarding car hires, for $100 you should be able to get a 10+ passener van to take you just about anywhere. expect to pay between $40 and $60 if you only need a modest-sized sedan (buick, citroen, audi, etc).

fallinasleep

Not sure exactly what moondog is recommending, but just where exactly does someone find an English speaking taxi driver in Beijing? Without trying to indict all the cabbies in Beiing, note that there are a lot of crooked ones that queque at the Western hotels in Beijing. Their best trick is to have the meter already running when they pull up to the front door. So, the first thing you should do when you get in the cab is to see that the meter is reset...

As for places to visit in Beijing, you could easily spend an entire week in the city. It is a big city, so it can get tiring trying to see everything in only a couple of days. For example, I only visited the Lama Temple, apparently one of the major tourist highlights, for the first time on my most recent trip, and I've probably spent more than 20 "tourist days" in Beijing over the past decade.

Also agree with the others that you should take at least one side trip away from Beijing. Of the usual suspects, I would rank Shanghai over Xian and Guilin. Inner Mongolia could be interesting, but you would need to go through a travel agency for that...

RichardInSF

I've figured out where we're going outside of Beijing. First to Xi'an (everybody gotta do it once, I guess!) and then Dunhuang. Dunhuang is in the Gobi desert and it will be hot, hot but Magao caves sound really interesting and different. Local travel agent did the internal flights -- I did the hotels. There seems to be a good hotel in Dunhuang and we bargained with the owning company, who is located in Hong Kong and likes the idea of being prepaid in USD outside of China!

Skipping Shanghai since I will be there on business in September, probably. And at the risk of being forced to eat sacred cow, the Three Gorges sounds rather ordinary and touristy, especially given the portion of river level raising that's already been done.

fallinasleep

You will like Dunhuang. The Buddhist grottoes are amazing. The colors have held up amazingly well over the years. Try to brush up on your knowledge of Buddhism before you go though; otherwise, the tour guide's explanations will quickly go over your head.

moondog

i didn't mean to suggest that they speak english, but language shouldn't be too much of a problem as long as you remain vigilent. here's the standard drill:

-have your address written in chinese (often a hotel business card)
-tell the driver you need a receipt (fapiao)
-know where you're going (by referencing your map)
-if they try to rip you off, give them what you think is fair and walk

perhaps the most important thing to remember is that there's no reason to fear beijing cabbies. there's an implicit understanding that they will get the third degree if they're caught trying to swindle a foreigner so they generally backed down when pushed.

fwiw these observations are based on cumulative knowledge gleaned from in upwards of 2,000 cab rides in china.

btw i also recommend dunhuang.

fallinasleep

moondog, I think your standard drill should start with checking that the meter has been reset otherwise, it is good advice.

In any event, given how cheap cabs are in China anyway, getting ripped off is usually a matter of a buck or two, nothing worth stressing about.

Also, note that there are different cab prices based on the size of the cab. So, the same ride on the return will not necessarily cost the same as the fare going. The prices are clearly marked by the passenger doors though.

Arthurrs

If you're looking for a really cool place to eat dinner in Beijing, check out the Green T. House! Quite the place and experience, very unassuming on the outside, eclectic would be an understatement, food and service is excellent, and presentation was very creative! You probably need to make reservations on busy nights. Not cheap either, though I was the guest of the party and didn't have to pay!

Oh, and you gotta check out the washroom there, even if only to wash your hands!

travelem

China destiantion guides:
http://english.ctrip.com/Destination...tionGuides.asp

I recommend Terracotta Warriors, Huaqing Pool and Mount Huashan in Xian,
Mogao Grottoes, Crescent Moon Spring, the Singing Sand Mountains in Dunhuang, and Heaven's Lake in Mount Tianshan in Urumqi.

Q Shoe Guy

Just wanted to post a reply about the infamous cabbies in Beijing. My cousin and I decided to go to the summer palace one day. We took the subway most of the way and decided against taking the bus (it was really hot) and took (or almost taken ) a taxi. Should have figured things out that the guy had no intention of taking us to where we wanted to go. We ended up in a traffic jam and about an hour and many Yuan later made it to the palace. My cousin (a large and imposing guy) was not one to be taken advantage of.......while he and the cabbie were fighting it out about the extortionist fare ..........I took down his name and drivers number(I can write Japanese so my Kanji weren't illegible). When we got back to the hotel I complained to the GM about our cab experience and handed her the particulars about the driver. She got in touch with Police who then tracked the cabbie down and brought him to our hotel. He was forced to apologise and then gave us our money. The police then took him away........So , that was our one cab experience, and yes I have also had bad experiences in many other countries too(including Japan). So beware and be sure to write down the cabbies name and licence number should you need it.

moondog

the summer palace can be hell to get to in the summer. in fact, one day, we just got out and walked the last 2 miles because the traffic was absolutely stagnant.

i like the summer palace though. in fact, i almost went swimming with the locals once until i witnessed an unsanitary act in the lake.

Q Shoe Guy

[QUOTE=moondog
i like the summer palace though. in fact, i almost went swimming with the locals once until i witnessed an unsanitary act in the lake.[/QUOTE]

I too liked the Summer Palace , Beijing(and environs), Xian, Shanghai, Guilin(Yangshou) and HK . Would love to go back when it's not quite so hot(it was a cool 42 in Beijing, at least there wasn't any humidity like here in Japan). China has changed so much.......

fallinasleep

Just exactly how much was this cab fare? Beijing has lots of traffic and getting stuck in it is not uncommon, even for tourists. I sincerely hope you didn't overreact over a few bucks... On the other hand, if the cab fare was more than a HUNDRED YUAN than you probably got ripped off. Even at a hundred kuai, we're only talking about 1,200 yen.

Q Shoe Guy

We got the cabbie down to 300 Yuan , the meter said something like 500 !!!! The meter did strange things , like the number switching on and off when the car lurched forward........I never quibble over small sums, ever. But in this case the cabbie deserved what he got! He was only trying to take advantage of us because he thought he could get away with the language barrier..........hopefully he learned his lesson.

Dianna

Were you able to use credit cards in China and Hong Kong? Our local travel agent said China did not recognize our US banks and that cash was the only thing accepted (not even travelers' checks). What was your experience?

RichardInSF

Welcome to FT, however, since I haven't been to Beijing (that was why I asked the question that started this thread), I don't know the detailed answers. But at a minimum, international chain hotels will take U.S. credit cards in China.

Also, I've found that it's generally unnecessary in FT to ask the same question in multiple threads -- usually people catch it if you post in once.