BEIJING

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VISÃO GERAL ATRAÇÕESTRANSPORTE COMPRAS ONDE FICAR ONDE COMEROVERVIEW ATTRACTIONSTRANSPORTATION SHOPPINGWHERE TO STAY WHERE TO EAT

OVERVIEW

Beijing, the capital and second largest city in China after Shanghai, is situated at the northern tip of the roughly triangular North China Plain. Mountains to the north, northwest and west shield the city from the desert steppes. The great Wall of China, which stretches across the northern part of the Beijing Municipality, made use of this rugged topography to defend China against nomadic incursions from the steppes.

The city has been the country’s capital on and off for over 2000 years. Many rulers, including Mongol emperors Ming and Manchu, built palaces in Beijing. Today, China’s chief government leaders live and work in the city.

The urban area of Beijing consists of the central city, called the Old City, a series of suburbs and farmland beyond. Tian’anmen Square (The Gate of Heavenly Peace) is at the centre of Beijing, and, directly to the south of the Forbidden City, former residence of the emperors of China. To the west of Tian’anmen is Zhonqnanhai, residence of the leaders of the People’s Republic of China. Running through central Beijing from east to west is Chang’an Avenue, one of Beijing’s main thoroughfares.

The city’s climate is a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate, characterised by hot, humid summers due to the East Asian monsoons, and generally cold, windy, dry

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TRANSPORT

Beijing is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and motorways passing through the city. It is also the focal point of many international flights to China.

The Beijing Subway is the most convenient and affordable means of transportation in the city. It is generally fast, clean and economic. A flat fare with unlimited transfers applies to all lines, except the express link to the airport. The electronic commuter fare card, Yikatong, is accepted on all lines.

winters that reflect the influence of the vast Siberian anticyclones. Average daytime high temperatures in January, the coldest month of the year in Beijing, are at around 1° C (33° F), while average temperatures in July, the warmest month, are around 30° C (87° F).

Early autumn is probably is probably the most comfortable time of year to visit Beijing. During that period, temperatures are reasonable with a limited amount of rain. The post monsoon high pressure system keeps the skies clear, the days slightly warm and the nights crisp and cool. Spring can also be delightful.

Summer can be extremely hot and it is also the rainy season. Winter can be incredibly cold.

Besides bicycles, public buses are the cheapest way to get around Beijing. Beijing buses cover almost every part of the city. The service is run by Beijing municipal government and is safe and reliable.

A leisurely way of touring Beijing is in a classic pedal driven rickshaw, three wheeled bicycles often driven by old, retired men. There are fleets of them circling around the Tian’anmen Square area. It is very pleasant to take a ride around the square in the evening, but if you do, make sure you come to a price agreement first.

ATTRACTIONS

Beijing is famous for its beautiful palaces, temples, gardens, and huge stone walls and gates. Among the most important of the cities attractions are:

Tian’anmen Square, which means “Gate of the Heavenly City”, is located at the centre of Beijing. There you can visit Tian’anmen Tower, the Monument to the People’s Heroes, the Great Hall of the People,Mao Zedong Memorial Hall. Thousands of people visit the Square every day.

The Forbidden City is the largest and the best-preserved imperial palace complex in the world. It has 9,999 rooms in flourishing period with just a single room short of the number that ancient Chinese belief represents ‘Divine Perfection’, and is surrounded by a moat six meters deep and a ten-meter high wall. For

five centuries, this palace functioned as the administrative centre of the country.

The Great Wall of China is one of the ‘Eight Wonders of the World’. This immense wall was built to keep out invaders as well as to retain the inhabitants. It spans five provinces from Shanhaiguan Pass in the east toJiayuguan Pass in the west, looking like a gigantic dragon across deserts, grasslands and mountains. In the downtown area of Beijing, it is possible to climb Badaling Great Wall.

Imperial gardens: Besides the spectacular imperial palaces, Beijing also possesses the most luxurious royal gardens—the well-preserved Summer Palace with an area of 727 acres, the elegant Beihai Park and the destroyed Old Summer Palace.

WHERE TO STAY

Foreign visitors were once restricted to staying in high-priced official hotels. Tour groups tend to use these hotels, but do so at rates far below those published. In general, restrictions on where foreigners can stay have become less and less frequently enforced. Hostels and western-style travel hotels are almost universally open to foreign guests. The lowest-end Chinese accommodations are generally inaccessible to the foreign community. However, for those determined to get a bargain, you may be able to get a room if you speak Chinese.

Some ‘expensive’ hotels are in the city centre and on the eastern 3rd Ring Road, however

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by Western standards these hotels are relatively cheap. Listed prices can sometimes be negotiated.

In the outlying areas, especially out by the Great Wall, there are many country club type resorts.

DINING OUT

The best way to eat well and cheaply in Beijing is to enter one of the restaurants where the locals are eating and pick a few different dishes from the menu. The most famous street

for food in Beijing is probably Guijie. Anyone familiar with Western currency and prices will find Beijing a very inexpensive city for food, especially considering that tipping is not practiced in China.

Some of the cheapest and delicious meals can be had on the streets. Savoury pancakes are one of the most popular street snacks, eaten from morning till night with most carts operating during the morning commute and then opening again at night for the after-club crowds and night-owls. This delicious pancake is cooked with an egg on a griddle, a fried dough crisp is added, and the whole thing is drizzled in scallions and a savoury sauce. Hot sauce is optional.

Lamb kebabs and other kebabs are grilled on makeshift stands all around Beijing, from the late afternoon to late at night. Wangfujing has a “snack street” selling such mundane fare like lamb, chicken, and beef as well as multiple styles of noodle dishes, such as Sichuan style rice noodles, but the brave can also sample silkworm, scorpion, and various organs all skewered on a stick and grilled to order.

A winter specialty, candied haw berries are dipped in sugar and sold on a stick. You can also find variations with oranges, grapes, strawberries, and bananas, or dipped in crumbled peanuts as well as sugar. This sweet snack can also sometimes be found in the spring and the summer, but the haw berries are often from last season’s crop.

Beijing Roast Duck is a famous Beijing specialty served at many restaurants. Beijing duck is served with thin pancakes, plum sauce and slivers of scallions and cucumbers. You dip the duck in the sauce and roll it up in the pancake with a few slivers of scallions and/or cucumbers. The end result is a mouth-watering combination of the cool crunchiness of the cucumber, the sharpness of the scallions, and the rich flavours of the duck.

Beijing is also known for its lamb hotpot which originally came from the Manchu people and emphasizes lamb over other meats. Like variations of hotpot from elsewhere in China and Japan, lamb hotpot is a cook-it-yourself affair in a steaming pot in the centre of the table. Unlike Sichuan hotpot, lamb hotpot features a savoury, non-spicy broth. If that’s not exciting enough for you, you can also request a spicy broth (be aware that this is flaming red, filled with peppers). To play it safe and satisfy everyone, you can request a ying-yang pot divided down the middle, with spicy broth on one side and regular broth on the other. Raw ingredients are purchased by the plate. In addition to lamb, beef, and seafood, this also includes a wide variety of vegetables, mushrooms, noodles, and tofu, so it’s also perfectly possible to have vegetarian hotpot.

A dipping sauce, usually sesame, is served as well; you can add chillies, garlic, cilantro, etc, to customize your own sauce. While “raw” sounds dangerous, boiling the meat yourself is the best way to ensure that more risky meats like pork are fully cooked and free of germs.

Beijing provides an ideal opportunity to sample food from all over China. Some of Beijing’s best restaurants serve food from Sichuan, Hunan, Guangzhou, Tibet, Yunnan, Xinjiang, and many more.

SHOPPING

At Beijing’s many markets, haggling is essential. Especially when browsing at large, “touristy” shopping areas for common items, do not put it beneath your dignity to start bargaining at 15% of the vendor’s initial asking price. After spending some time haggling, never hesitate to threaten to walk away, as this is often the quickest way to see a vendor lower his or her prices to a reasonable level. Buying in bulk or in groups may also lower the price.

HOTEL SHOPS AND DEPARTMENT STORESOld style Chinese retailing is gradually being transformed by shops with a better design sense and more sophisticated souvenir items. Silk clothing, table settings and so on such, are worth a look, as are porcelain, specialty tea and other traditional items.

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CARPET STORESThe carpet business is strong in Beijing and you will find lots of stores selling silk carpets and other varieties. There are also a few places which sell authentic Tibetan carpets.

ANTIQUE FURNITUREThere is a number of companies that cater to tourists interested in buying antique Chinese furniture during their visit to Beijing.

WARNINGChina’s government passed a law in May 2007 banning the export of antiques from before 1911. Even antiques bought at proper auctions cannot be taken out of China. As violation of this law could lead to heavy fines and a possible jail term, it would be wise to heed it. However if you let a vendor know

you are aware of this law he/she may lower their prices since they know you know their “antiques” really aren’t Ming Dynasty originals.

CURRENCYThe Renminbi (literally “people’s currency”) is the legal tender in the People’s Republic of China. The official abbreviation is CNY, although it is also commonly abbreviated as RMB.

The units of Renminbi are yuan, jiao, and fen. One yuan is divided into 10 jiao. One jiao is divided into 10 fen, pennies in English.

The paper denominations are issued both in notes and coins. Chinese paper money usually comes in 1 fen (rare), 2 fen (rare), 5 fen (very rare), 1 jiao, 2 jiao, 5 jiao, 1 yuan, 2 yuan, 5 yuan, 10 yuan, 20 yuan, 50 yuan and 100 yuan.

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The denominations of coins are 1 yuan; 5, 2 and 1 jiao; and 5, 2 and 1 fen.

In spoken Chinese, yuan is often called as kuai and the jiao is known as themao. Fen-denomination RMB is rarely used, except at supermarkets.

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