somebol

Any tips on where I can find them?

moondog

You pretty much need to know someone in Beijing who is really into that sort of thing. Or, maybe check Taobao before your trip; Taobao reviews are generally pretty reliable.

ETA: I caught one of my more stylish friends in Beijing on Skype this afternoon after making this post, and asked her if she knew where to buy grade A fakes these days, and she replied with a V-card. I can't vouch for her 100%, but since she is the type of person who really cares about image, I'm guessing that her standards are pretty solid. I won't post details here for obvious reasons, but I'll shoot you a PM with them (the name on the V-card is "Fake Bag Shop Soho"; while there are many Sohos in Beijing, I'm guessing she is referring to the SLT Soho because that's where she lives and works).

anacapamalibu

Top item for Chinese tourists to purchase in US...luxury hand bags.

Just had a group here 2 weeks ago, they bought thousands of dollars worth of Coach bags, which are actually made in China. But here you get the "real" ones at less than half the price in China.

A Chinese person would never buy a fake, no matter the grade. If discovered the loss of face would be devastating.

moondog

While I fully understand what you're saying and would agree that the prestige factor of "real" is growing by leaps and bounds, many rich Chinese people still have brains about them when it comes to matters like these.

Let's take my friend who sent me the info about the fake handbag store, for example. While she probably could throw down $20,000 on a genuine Birkin bag, she would prefer to spend $200 on a solid replica of the same and use the remaining $19,800 for other purposes.

moondog

Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to tap a Chinese girl for this stuff? (Requests of this nature frame both me and my friends as scam artists.)

While disappearing from threads is commonplace on FT, if I go to bat for you, you owe me an email within 24 hours!

somebol

Sorry, was away for the weekend no internet.
Thanks for all the help you have provided, really appreciate it.

JPDM

You mean that all these girls that I see in the subway or on the bus in Beijing with a LV bag has a real one? Doubt it.

anacapamalibu

Even if you buy at an LV store in China, not guaranteed it won't be a fake.

moondog

I was tempted to say the same thing because an lv store manager in Shanghai was caught selling fake product a few years ago.

anacapamalibu

Quite awhile ago, the Prada store at PVG T1 was closed also for selling fakes.

erin5416

Flying business ORD-PEK-BKK. Arriving on UA at 3:40, departing on THAI at 5:05. Is 1 hr 25 min sufficient time to transfer? We booked solely through UA, so I assume our bags will be checked through without incident since both are Star Alliance.

Thanks for any insight.

JPDM

Both flights are in the same terminal. Look for the transfer desk. You should be fine if your flight is on time.

MSPeconomist

YMMV but I'm not sure bags can be checked through for connections in China.

ab56

Hi all, not sure if this is t he right forum for this question.

We are flying out of YVR via PEK to SIN. our transit time is 3 hrs. (this is a reward ticket with Aeroplan)

I have 3 questions:
1. is 3 hours enough in PEK fopr transfer, do we go via the international connection line to clear customs and get back into the terminal for our on route flight on same airline Air China to Singapore?

2. If a flight is late and the onroute flight closes before we make it to the terminal for boarding will Air china , place us on the next flight?

If this is a full reward ticket, would Air China take care of the getting us on or is there a cost associated with getting on the next plane?

3. Can i take duty free from YVR and have it go through customs in PEK and onroute to SIN, if YVR packs it correctly for international carrry on?

Thanks for all feedback.
ab56

YuropFlyer

1) Yes, 3 hours is more than enough. Long haul flights are seldom delayed, and on one ticket, I wouldn't worry at all anyway, just book any connection that is offered. I've made PEK with 1.5 hours Intl-Intl, and had enough time for a quick bite at the lounge.

You'll get checked by immigration (but not immigrate) then head one level down to departure area, where there will be a security check. After that, you're air side. Efficient. Unless many planes arrived at the same time, waiting should be short, and even on the worst time experienced ever with it, it took less than 20 minutes for passport check and security check together.

2) If it's on one ticket, then yes, they'll most probably place you on the next flight. If in Y and without status, they might insist it should be the next Air China flight, if *A you'll probably manage to be put on any next *A flight at least.

It doesn't matter what kind of ticket it is (unless ID style) - award, flex, cheap cheap, they'll rebook you.

3) I wouldn't risk it with liquids to be honest. As wrote before, additional security in PEK will happen, and it might cause trouble. You will NOT go through customs, so if you mean anything non-liquid, you'll be fine.