Tips

Whether you are traveling alone, with a partner, or as a group, you might find these tips useful in your trip to Beijing because these are true accounts of real people who have recently gone to Beijing. For tips on hotels, attractions and nightlife, check our dedicated pages.

The first thing that might make you feel that you are a tourist is when you see all the hairs of black and yours is blond, red, green or any other dyed-color. This is because all Chinese people bear the trait of a real Asian whose eyes and hair are black if not dark brown. That should not make you feel any differently though because they are also friendly and are used to tourists coming in.

As the bicycle capital of the world, expect some riding and beating the red lights on one of these. While you're there, leave your car and try renting one in going out in one of your day trips.

Ordering for a food is a painful and long process for most tourists especially when it's their first time to try a local and original Chinese restaurant (not the Chinese resto in your countries). So when going out for one of these restos in Beijing, the following tips might be of help:

• 1) A budget meal should be between 30 RMB - 90 RMB for two people for budget restaurants. For not so classy restos, 90 RMB - 190 RMB should be the price range, for high-end restos, be ready for the highest possible.
• 2) In ordering, do not be surprised if the menu is given to you in all-Chinese characters with a pronunciation guide below it. A few restos have a little description of the meal in English, but in most areas, they don't have this. One tip is when you see a picture and if you feel like you want to try it, simply show the picture to the waiter. But if there is no picture, some of the most recommended meals are Beijing specialty Beijing Kao Ya (Beijing roasted duck or Peking duck), Lazi Ji Ding (hot spicy diced chicken with gravy), Hao You Niu Liu (strips of beef in oyster sauce with vegies in some restos), Shui Zhu Yu (Fish boiled in a very spicy oil and topped with red chillis), You Mai Cai (vegies) and Mifan (plain rice).

In Beijing, pavements are not only for pedestrians. You might see cars coming your way for a shortcut or on its way to a park. It's not an unusual sight in Beijing, so just be careful and don't text and walk.

Enjoy your trip!