Ten Things Every Female Traveler Must Know About Beijing

Prime and Nina

1. You need to process your visa at least a month before your flight

 

Everyone needs a tourist visa to enter China and it will take at least four working days for embassy officials to process your visa application. Apart from filled up application form, photo ID, your passport and processing fee, you might also need to submit other documents to get visa approval. These include a copy of your return ticket, proof of income (such as income tax returns), and police clearance. Please go to this website:  http://www.chinese-embassy.info   - to get a complete list of documents to prepare when applying for tourist visa from your home country.

 

2. Beijing is generally safe for solo women travelers

 

And this is thanks mostly to numerous police and security officers that patrol the city, limiting the incidence of serious and violent crimes. But you shouldn't take this for granted a petty crimes do occur. So it's always best to use your common sense when traveling to Beijing (or anywhere for that matter] –avoid dodgy places, don’t travel alone at night, keep your passport and money in a safe place, and never ever join or even watch political demonstrations 

 

 

3. The best time to travel to Beijing is on autumn. 

 

That’s between September to early October, as the weather is cooler and dry – ideal for trekking the Great Wall and to roam around the city.  Another option is to go there on spring – from late March to mid- May - when the weather is neither too hot nor too cold and the winds blow away the smog. 

 

There are some exemptions though. Avoid going there on the first week of May, when they’re celebrating Labor Day or on the first week of October when they’re celebrating National Day. These are peak tourist seasons and it will do well to avoid the crowd.

 

4. The best way to travel around Beijing is through the subway.

 

Avoid the traffic ham and the looooong wait for a cab by just getting on the city’s extensive underground railway system. Most of Beijing’s famous tourist sites are accessible through the subway so you can do all your sightseeing without having to rent a car.  Be sure to get a free subway map from your hotel so you can plan your itinerary or you can print this out:  http://www.beijingchina.net.cn/transportation/subway.html  - as it contains both the map and the time table for the subway. 

 

You can pay a flat fare of 2 yuan – about 30 U.S.  cents - for a single trip.  But if you’re staying in Beijing for several days, better get the integrated circuit card (ICC card) that costs 20 yuan  which you can use for multiple rides. The ICC card also accepted on many city buses in Beijing. You can 

 

5. Book an airport  transfer -it's worth it, trust me.

 

Because it’s too difficult to get a cab in Beijing – and this is moreso when you’re in the airport where you have to “fight” with numerous and not-so nice travelers who won’t hesitate to “steal” the can that you flagged down. Cab drivers also can’t speak English so unless you’re good in Mandarin, you might as well contact your hotel in advance and ask for a transfer. One way airport transfer costs between thirty to fifty dollars – pay it and avoid the hassle.

 

  

6. Bring a phrasebook anywhere.

 

Most Chinese can’t speak English and even if you have some knowledge of the Chinese language, this may not be enough to get on with your daily life. Get a phrasebook that contains both  the Romanized  pinyin and Chinese characters [known as Hanzi] so you can just point the written phrase to the vendor or waiter taking your order. I did just that when I was buying my SIM card – that plus my limited grasp of Mandarin and a few hand gestures to seal the deal.     

 

One of my colleagues advised that I talked to younger Beijingers (twentysomethings] as they are usually educated and learned English in school. This, however is a hit and miss affair.

 

7. There are several types of accommodation in Beijing.

 

And there’s something to fit your budget and lifestyle - luxury hotels, backpackers hostels even homestays for those who are keen to deepen their knowledge of Mandarin. But I find it a bit expensive though compared to Bangkok, Hanoi or Kuala Lumpur – so yes, Beijing can be pricier than Southeast Asia ( except for Singapore]. 

 

 My lil sis and I decided to book a room at Beijing Sanlitun Hostel  - it’s clean, safe, inexpensive, located near several restaurants/bars and just a few blocks away from a subway station. There’s also a café serving both local and Western cuisine at the ground floor, a billiard hall, internet station and a laundry service.  The hostel also offers guided tours and airport transfer. You can book a room via http://www.itisbeijing.com/china/Index.Asp . A single private room with ensuite bathroom, aircon and tv costs 200 yuan/night or about 30 U.S. dollars.

 

 

8 . Want to get acupuncture? Let me recommend my doctor.

 

Australian-Chinese Alex Tan is the Oriental Medicine doctor behind Straight Bamboo (http://straightbamboo.com]  located. He has a degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and has been studying and practicing TCM since 2002. He has also been practicing Qi Gong for more than a decade.
I talked about my TCM experience in one of my blog posts, so if you’re interested to learn more about the Chinese way to health and wellness (or just curious about I-ching then  book a session with Alex through his mobile:  +86 150 1151 0363l or send an email at http://straightbamboo.com/contact/

 

9. Warm tea is the best beverage you can drink in Beijing. Here’s why.

 

Beijing is generally a dry city so you will often experience dry and scratchy throat. While drinking water may solve the problem,  it’s actually drinking warm tea that will best lubricate my parched throat. But not just any tea – most restaurants in Beijing offer service tea and they’re made from brewed tea leaves  bot those godawful tea bags.  If you have the time, better go on a tour of Maliandao Tea Market and acquaint yourself with different kinds of teas and savor some of the world’s best freshly-made  cups of tea.

 

10. Want to know more about Chinese culture? Then visit The Hutong. 

 

This is Beijing’s culture exchange center where expats, travelers and locals to meet and connect. The center offers several cooking classes, tea market tours, Qi Gong sessions and lectures on everything and anything you want to know about China. You can contact The Hutong through their website: http://thehutong.com/.