I've accepted a job at an international school in Haidian, right at the edge of the 4th ring road. I was hoping you guys could offer some pointers and useful resources. Here's where my head is at:

1) Finding and setting up an apartment

School admin will do the legwork of finding a place and will pay 4000/monthly and I'm okay with chipping in an extra 1-2k/month. I have been poking around 58.com and Lianjia. Anywhere else I should be looking? I'm not too picky, just want something basic, clean, and reasonably new. Do you guys think ~6000 is a reasonable budget for a decent bachelor apartment? In the event that it's un- or under-furnished, how much should I expect to spend on the basics (bed, cooking stuff, linens, desk and chair, etc)?

2) What's the average monthly CoL for one person?

I cook 5-6 nights a week and don't have many expensive hobbies. All I'll really need is a good gym, phone/internet, the odd takeout. Is ~10k/month a good upper limit?

3) What's the electric motorcycle situation?

Having some kind of cheap self-transportation would be great. I've been looking at Niu and Ninebot electric mopeds. Do any of you have experience with anything like these? How safe do you feel the roads are, generally speaking?

Thanks and see you soon!

Is the Temple of Heaven stroller friendly? Planning to visit with a 1-year old. Or if any other sightseeing places which are stroller friendly ?

I saw some posts recommending uniqlo, bosideng, anta etc. they seem costly.

What would be some decent and affordable brands in China for clothing- men jackets, sweaters and everything women?

And where can we find them offline?

Also, I would like to get a small drone, not DJI. So, are there a y reliable electronic brands or is it just find something in the shopping malls?

Thank you.

I'm planning to visit Beijing and saw this hotel in one youtube video - Check out Enjoy Hotel in Beijing on our website or app! https://www.trip.com/w/GYN7vI5eBY1

But, I couldn't find any reviews on anywhere else except trip.com. So, wanted to check if anyone stayed at this and if it's worth especially in terms of reachability to tourist spots.

I'm low on budget, so, if you stayed at any other place and you liked it, please let me know. Thank you.

Headed to Beijing with my 10 year old for her Spring break and of course we're doing all the major tourist highlights but I wanted some ideas on other fun things to do. For instance in Japan we did a Samurai Experience where we saw a demonstration, learned the history then got to try the samurai swords out ourselves. We also did a traditional tea ceremony, went to a sumo wrestling match and learned how to make mochi.

Are there any traditional/cultural activities available in Beijing we can do? I actually studied abroad here 17 years ago but so much has changed and these were not the activities I was doing lol.

I saw a fire a couple of days ago near DongZhiMen station, and today I saw several near TaiYangGong station and in GuLou.

What is the reason behind these fires? I saw one man stir a stick in the ashed after the fire was done, and in another fire I saw a woman prepare some food.

And why do the authorities allow this? Especially now that air pullution is bad? I could even smell the smoke in the subway station.

Hi Folks, I was an Exchange Student in 2018/2019 and enjoyed going to lantern (workers stadium) quite a lot. Was curious to know what happened to the club & founder Weng Weng. I know they shot down & reopened, but seems that the new venue is now also closed.

Hey everyone! just finished a 6 days Beijing trip. This subreddit has helped me a lot with travel preparation and I would like to repay with some informations that might be useful and that I didn’t read here before (I follow this sub from only 6 months though).

1. Public transport - As everyone says the subway is really great. BUT:

Mind that some lines run in circles or square and can take up to 4 different directions marked as A,B,C,D. Based on where you need to go you’ll need to take a different staircase. This is fine if you have taken the subway before and/or have the subway map app installed under your eyes for orientation. It happened to me though to not have this app available and to be on my second ride, I had to ask help from locals;

The subway gets VERY crowded on some lines and peak times like 18.30. Crowded to the point where you have to wait 20 minutes on a queue before having the possibility to hop on a train. This happened to me on Hujalou, taking line 10 to get to Jintai Xizhao.

2. The Great Wall - went to Mutianyu, something was not working correctly this time (31/10) so no Alypay or WeChat payment was possible, there was a sign explaining it.

The options where either to pay cash or with a card;

3. Esim - Virtual esim’s like the one you can make with Airalo before landing here are useful but they are only data and you won’t have a chinese number.

I suggest to wait to be here and make one with a carrier, for example China mobile, because there are cases where a phone number is required and helpful. For example my hotel had washing machines, to use them you had to download an app called Penguin Life (that as many other chinese apps also lets you do 100 other things :D) which required an account made with a chinese phone number;

4. Gym’s situation - like many here I train hard in the gym. I found Beijing still behind on fitness culture, tried 2 of the gym’s I read about here (B - Active and another one) plus one that I found through Amap myself. All of them had somewhat ok equipment but much else was missing (weight bumpers all around, not many dumbbells, etc).

I don’t know, anyone can suggest which are the top tier gym’s (no matter the price) where fit people train in Beijing?

5. Water - Everything is purified here, coming from south Europe (Italy) it was a bit a new concept. In my home city I have a clean water source coming directly into my kitchen faucet that I can drink. The water I drank here had a different taste that I couldn’t get around initially. After trying some of them, the ones I feel closer to what I drank in Europe I would say is Wahaha. Also Ganten is not bad.

I hope this can help someone! Anyway, I loved the city and the culture and I am planning on coming back already for 15 days from the 17th of November. This time I would like to connect with locals and dive deeper into non touristic attraction while possibly making friends and building community. Any suggestion on how to do it? Where would I start? I am 27 and my ideal group age range would be 25 - 30 years old. Thanks everyone!

Hey all

Planning to be in Beijing for a week.

Was wondering how much I should budget for in terms of spending to enjoy myself (considering going out to eat and out each evening).

I've been told Beijing is cheaper compared to New York/London.

Was just wondering if there's a ballpark number?

Thanks

Hi guys, Im from europe and currently doing my Data science masters and plan on doing a semester abroad at tsinghua. For my application at my uni that has a cooperation with tsinghua i need to state about 4 courses (taught in English because my chinese is very minimal) I want to take there. However I don't know how to find the english taught courses offered at tsinghua by their Mathematics or computer science department. Can someone in here maybe help me and if someone's doing or has done a semester abroad at tsinghua I would maybe have some more questions I would love to ask.

Probably 1/4 of people, if that, used their fogs when I was driving from near Langfang to around Yizhuang, even if their car had them. The fog was so thick it was like 2 hours of driving through Silent Hill.

Driving here is always terrible but Jesus Christ this took the piss.

This is my outlet, I needed to vent..

Hi everyone! I’ve got one free night in Beijing with my wife (we’re both from the US but I lived in Shanghai for 5 years).

Looking for your best recommendations for dinner and a couple drinks!

Nothing fancy, just want something delicious and some cheap cold qingdao

Hi all

I'm mostly nervous about sorting out foreign cards on Alipay/WeChat (is it possible)?
I don't want to land at PEK and not be able to order a Didi haha.

What are the must have apps to get around Beijing?
Here for two weeks for the first time (tourist).

Additionally, can I buy an eSim in the airport? I'd ideally not want to replace my current SIM card in my current phone (as it currently has WeChat on it - although I haven't been able to get it to accept foreign cards to topup with). Would I be better bringing a spare phone and adding a SIM card (but if I do that I can't get WeChat verified realistically).

VPN? Etc.

I've just got a bunch of concerns and was hoping to answer them as much as possible

Thanks in advance for any help. :)

I was first worried about rainy days ruining holiday but smog here is even worse. Now I wish it rains here and clear the smog. I don't know how locals can bear living with this kind of pollution.

Hi all,

I'll have an 18h transit in PEK next summer, will land at 3 pm so I assume by the time I'm out of the airport it'll be 4 pm and 4.30-5 until I'm in the city?

Is there anything to do/see after 5 pm, and if yes what would you recommend?

I need to be back in the airport by 5 am, are there any trains back from the city to PEK all night?

Anyone have any gym recommendations (particularly for weightlifting) near 王府井 that have monthly rates? I’ll be doing an exchange program at Peking Union Medical College for 1 month. I’ll also likely be commuting so if there are any recs along the northbound 8 line, those could work also. Thanks!

Hi everyone!

Does anyone know at a bar/cafe in Beijing (ideally Sanlitun) where I could watch the League of Legends Finals this Saturday? Ideally a place where they stream in English. Any advice?

I arrive in Beijing tomorrow and have got my itinerary sorted, however I’m looking for any local recommendations for things to do other than touristic things? I will be there for Friday night so any nice bars/places to eat/things to do would be great as well.

Also I’m on the hunt for the following if anyone can please help and suggest stores!

1. A suitcase to put in the hold, cheap but sturdy enough to last me for a month of travel
2. Hair serum / hair oil
3. I would like to buy some nice flats for the evening or some boots!
4. Clothes! Baggy jeans / tops / jumpsuits

Thank you so much :)

Hi guys I am pretty desperate for some help, my phone screen started going crazy with lights twitching everywere. I need to fix it as quickly as possible, but there are no google stores in the country and I am afraid normal shops won't have the right screen for a Pixel 7 pro being uncommon in China. Any advices? If you have any store recommandations it would be amazing!

25M. In Beijing for 4 days (Haidian area) if anyone is looking to meet up for Halloween or have some drinks. Heading to the Forbidden City on Saturday and the Great Wall on Sunday if anyone wants to join me!

I haven't been in Beijing since 2019. I finally came back, and to my shock, alle the clubs around the workers' stadium are gone. It's now one big building excavation. https://ibb.co/FY3LP4s

There is suddenly a subway station here as well now.

I'm very sad. I've been to Vicks, Mix and Latté many times. Especially Mix. That club had a special place in my heart. I've been there so many times. I've meet so many great people there. So many good memories.

Anyway, nothing I can do about it. Can somebody recommend a club similar to Mix to me? A big club with a dance floor and positive vibes where they play hiphop, afrobeats & dancehall?

I amcomingto Beijing in January for a few days. Imy first time in China) I am looking to see if there is a museum or Gallery that has the art work of Lou Li Rong. She now lives in AnAntwerp but I know she did some public art work for the Olympics. If some one could point me in the rright direction I would be grateful, also if you know of similar style work or could recommend a Gallery/ museum with this style of works Thanks

Anyone know where I can buy hypoallergenic/sensitive skin products (such as soap, moisturizer, shower gel, sunscreen etc)? I was in Australia before moving here and would buy QV, Bioderma, Cerave, PURE, Goatsoap and so on). So far, I’ve looked on pindoudou, taobao and even just shops and I literally haven’t found anything. Super frustrating

Is there any store that sells japanese matcha powder in beijing? Thanks!

Hey all

Before getting intimate with anything/anyone, I’d like to get an STD checkup.

Is there a hospital/on campus doctor where I can do a full STD/blood check up? (Or nearby/And if so, how much?)

Thanks.

I'm staying in central Beijing for 4 days and I'm looking for good shopping malls. Specifically, department stores that have Zara, Adidas, Converse, Nike and stuff would be cool, and since I've never been to Beijing before I don't know any malls have those stores. Also, any idea where I can find Sonny Angels? Please help a girl out :D

Hi I know the great wall has many sections to visit. Where would be the best place to go during the end of February/ early March? Is it better to do a guided day tour or DIY by taxi? Would getting a taxi be safe for a solo female traveller? For reference, I'll be staying around the xicheng district or chao yang area near the forbidden city.

Hey guys, quite a last min post. I am travelling to China for 2 weeks next week with my partner (both of us late 20s, can speak Mandarin but can’t read well). We have been to China before many years ago and are skipping the Great Wall. We are doing Beijing-Xian-Shanghai and would love some help tidying the Beijing portion of the itinerary up.

D1: Beijing. land 7am

• ? summer palace

-? Olympic stadium and 789 art zone

• chill / shop at night

D2: Beijing

• lama temple
• walk down wudaoying
• shichahai park
• bell drum towers
• nanluoguxiang/ beiluoguxiang
• Ditan park

D3: Beijing

• tiananmen square
• forbidden city
• jingshan park
• temple of heaven

We are then heading to xian, then Shanghai for a few days each before returning to Beijing for another 2 days for which we will consider going to universal studios.

Please critique or give input if you think this itinerary would work or too busy. Would love food recs if you have any specific ones

Thank you all!