From DEBRA@oln.comlink.apc.orgMon Aug 28 10:48:00 1995 Date: Sat, 26 Aug 1995 09:51:00 +0100 From: Debra Guzman Reply to: beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org To: beijing95-l@netcom.com, beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org Subject: Earth Times Guide to Beijing [The following text is in the "ISO-8859-1" character set] [Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set] [Some characters may be displayed incorrectly] ## author : theearthtime@igc.apc.org ## date : 26.08.95 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Earth Times Guide to Beijing By Jack Freeman Earth Times News Service Getting around: After registering, Conference delegates and participants in the NGO Forum may buy a special public transport card for US$10. The cards are good for shuttle-bus rides between hotels and the airport, between hotels and meeting places, and to sightseeing attractions as well. They cards may also be used for unlimited travel on public buses and trolleys. Money matters: Chinese currency is called "renminbi," abbreviated at RMB, and the basic currency unit is the yuan (pronounced "yen") At current exchange rates the yuan is worth about 12 cents (US). International credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard and American Express are widely accepted at Beijing's hotels and restaurants. Personal checks and international money orders are not advisable. Local time: Beijing time is eight hours ahead of GMT and 12 hours ahead of Daylight Saving Time in New York. Weather: The average high temperature in Beijing in September is 25.5 degrees Celsius (77.9 degrees Fahrenheit), the average low 1.2 degrees Celsius (53.8 degrees Fahrenheit). Autumn is usually a dry period. Shopping: Beijing has three main shopping areas: Wangfujing, near the Beijing Hotel (site of the Beijing Arts and Crafts Store at 200 Wangfujing); Qianmen and Dazhalan, south of Tiananmen Square filled with variety of markets and street vendors; and Liulichang, known for its antique stores and art galleries. Tipping: Although gratuities are officially prohibited, some taxi drivers, waiters, bellhops and other people providing service to travelers are often willing to accept tips. Eating and drinking: Beijing is home to many excellent restaurants serving food from China's regional cuisines: Sichuan, Shanxi, Shandong, Qinghai, Canton and Shanghai. Beijing cuisine is known chiefly for Peking duck, featured at several specialty restaurants, and shuanyanguo, or Mongolian hotpot, which is a cold-weather specialty. While rice is the staple food of most of China, steamed bread, dumplings and noodles are more typical of Beijing cuisine. Restaurants feature a wide variety of locally produced soft drinks and at least one local beer, Tsingdao. The favorite Chinese hard liquor, Maotai, is distilled from sorghum and is usually described as "fiery."