About Beijing

History

     Beijing in Chinese means "capital in the north". Its establishment could be traced back to more than 3000 years ago. From 1272 to 1911, Beijing was the capital of Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. After the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, Beijing is the capital of new China.

Geography

     Beijing is located at 115º20´to 117º32´east longitude and 39º23´to 41º05´north altitude, the same altitude as Rome, Madrid and Philadelphia. Its neighbors are Hebei Province and Tianjin City. Its total land area is 16,808 squre kilometers, among which the mountain areas account for 52% and are distributed in its western, northern and northeastern parts, and the plain accounts for 38% and is distributed in its southern and southeastern parts.

Climate

     Beijing is located in the temperate zone affected by continental monsoon. The spring and autumn in Beijing are shorter and dry while the summer and winter are relatively longer. October is the ending of the autumn. The temperature of October is about 17ºC, sometimes the temperature goes down abruptly due to the cold air coming from western Siberia. So it is recommended that you should be properly clothed while going outdoors.

Etiquette and Custom

     The Chinese people like their traditions, respect the old people and care about the family hierarchy.

     The family name of the Chinese people is put before their given name, which is just opposite to the name of most of Westerners.

     The Chinese like nodding or bowing slightly for greeting while meeting, and shake hands in formal occasions and say "how do you do". The Chinese people are not used to hug with a person with whom they are not deeply familiar or the other sex.

     The Chinese people are hospitable. Entertaining the guests with a cigarette or wine is an indication of hospitality to the guests. The Chinese people feel comfortable if the guests refuse such entertainment politely since the Chinese people have the custom that a host does everything for the convenience of a guest.

     There is no tipping in China, but if you are satisfied with the service you received, you can tip to show your thanks.

Transportation in Beijing

    Subway
     Beijing has two lines of subway. The first line runs from the western suburb, Pingguoyuan station to the eastern suburb, Sihuidong station. The second line goes around the central area of Beijing, which is loop line. Fuxingmen and Jianguomen are the stations where the two lines intersect.

     The period of subway operation is from 5:30 am to 22:30 pm, with the time span between the two trains being 4 minutes. If you go to the central area of Beijing, the subway is a rapid and economical tool for transportation. All the subway stations have a symbol . The subway ticket costs 2 yuan RMB.

    Public transportation
    The network of public transportation covers the whole city proper. The fee charge is very low. However, the bus lines are complicated and the buses are very crowed. It is not recommended that you choose such transportation.

    Car Rental
     The driving licenses issued by other countries are not valid in China. Those with the driving licenses issued in China can be allowed to rent cars and should follow the traffic rules of China while driving here.

    The roof of all the taxi is capped with a symbol of "TAXI". The red light behind the glass window indicates that the taxi is ready for taking passenger. It is recommended that you call a taxi at the designated taxi station. The windows at both sides of the back seat of the taxi are glued with a price tag for the taxi.

    The minimum charge for the first kind of the taxi is 10 yuan RMB and 1.20 yuan RMB per kilometer will be added onto it after driving 4 kilometer. There is a lot of such kind of cars.

     The minimum charge for the second kind of taxi is also 10 yuan RMB and 1.60 yuan RMB per kilometer will be added onto it after driving3 kilometer.

    The minimum charge for the third kind of the taxi is 10 yuan RMB. 2 yuan RMB per kilometer will be added onto it after driving3kilometer.. These taxis are rare.

    If you take a taxi from 23:00-05:00, the meter will automatically add 20% more charges. In addition, the passengers are requested to pay the toll and parking fee if there is such a fe, and it may be difficult to call a taxi alongside the Chang'an Street.

     While taking a taxi, you have the right to require the driver to use the mile meter and ask for the receipt of the payment. If you have any complaint, you can do it at the taxi management department.

Dining

     The Chinese food is well known around the world. You will have the chances to buy some Chinese flavor food for enjoy the Chinese food we present to you as much as possible, besides tasting some of the food offered by the conference.

    In your hotel, you will enjoy various kinds of the Chinese food with unique flavor prepared by well-known chefs in elegant environment. The service in these restaurants is excellent but the price is relatively higher, with the proper service charge.

    It is usually relatively cheaper to dine in common restaurants. The business hours of these restaurants are usually from 10:00 am to 14:00 pm for lunch and 16:00 pm to 21:00 pm for dinner. A few restaurants offer 24hours service. Many restaurants have well-decorated private rooms but there maybe minimum expenditure requirement if you choose such room.

     Beijing has some well-known local food such as roast duck, mutton hot pot and royal delicacy. You could choose some best-known restaurants to enjoy these local foods, such as Quanjude Roast Duck restaurant, Donglaishun Restaurant, Pro-royal Restraurant. Due to the location in the central part of the city, these restaurants usually have many customers. So it is recommended that you book in advance.

     There is a famous Buddhism vegetable dish restaurant called "Gong De Lin". The chefs here use natural vegetable resources to cook simulative meat, fish, duck and other nice dishes.

    Beijing roast duck is the best known local food which uses the duck raised in a special way and the particular fuel wood while roasting. The most popular saying among the tourists and visitors in Beijing goes like this: "You are not real man if you do not go to the Great Wall and it is a pity if you do not eat roast duck as equally important as visiting the Great Wall. In these restaurants, the chef will show you his or her technique of how to make the roast duck, it is hard to say but easy to do and you can observe your Chinese neighbors quietly. Donglaishun restaurant is for Muslim friends can enjoy roast duck without scruples.

Shopping

     The works of fine arts with particular Oriental characteristics will attract you. These artistic works enjoy a long history, such as jade works, enamel and silk embroidery. Beijing has some local folk artistic works, such as clay figurine. Beijing opera facial makeup, kite and paper cut. The price of these local art works is not high. If you want to buy these art works, the best place you should go is Liulichang. It is a street with the Chinese cultural uniqueness located in the central part of Beijing. It is also the best-known traditional market for art works, with a history of more than five hundred years. Besides, the Silk Street is the place where foreigners usually purchase Chinese costumes; and Panjiayuan is the famous numismatics market. All the above places have been clearly indicated on the map of Beijing.

     Beijing has more than 100 shopping centers. One of them is North Star Shopping Center located near BICC. In addition Wangfujing, Qianmen, Dashilan and Xidan are three well-known commercial districts in Beijing. In particular, Wangfujing Street has Oriental Plaza that is one of the biggest commercial complexes in Asia after renovation of the building with a history of 100 years. In Wangfujing, you can easily approach Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant and Donglaishun Restaurant.

Entertainment

     The Assembly suggests the guests' watching "Jingju"--the special Chinese art genre. People usually translate "Jingju" into "Beijing Opera", but actually "Jingju" and operas performed in Beijing are not identical.

     Jingju is a special Chinese art genre, with a history of 200 years. It is called "the quintessence of China". Jingju has four forms of performance: "Chang, Nian, Zuo, Da". "Chang" resembles singing in opera, but it has a particular tone-pattern; "Nian" resembles reading in drama, but the pronunciations of some words are different from modern Chinese words; "Zuo" and "Da" resembles dancing, which uses movements to express feelings and plots. This can help the foreign guests to understand the content of the performance. During a Jingju performance, actors wear costumes manifest enough to show their identity. The patterns of costumes are strictly regulated, and wrongly dressing is absolutely forbidden; while performing, the actor's face is colored with various patterns, suggesting loyalty, duplicity, pulchritude, ugliness, wit or stupidity, etc, of that role.

     If you want to see a Jingju performance and you are not familiar with it, you'd better have an interpreter who knows something about Jingju to go with you.

     Beijing has several theatres that remain the style of ancient buildings that are special for Jingju performance. The theater and the performance serve as a foil to each other, making each other brighter and more colorful. Great Chang'an Theatre, Hu-guang Club and Laoshe Tea House are three of the most famous ones.