Beijing 101 - Intro to Ordered Chaos

---

Flying into Beijing Capitol International sounds like a daunting experience for a first timer in an Asian country. Suprisingly, it was really no different from any other airport, other than the larger number of security guards and checkpoints. We arrived on a Tuesday morning, probably a really good time to experience smaller crowds, and basically followed the crowd through the long chain of moving sidewalks to the international security and customs lines. All signs were in Mandarin and English, so there was really little confusion until we got to the Airport Express train. Before we get there, I stopped at an ATM to withdraw my bank card's daily allowance of Chinese Yuan, which I had precalculated based on the current conversion rates. It was kind of weird typing in 2,000 at an ATM, but this is really just under $400. One note - I couldn't get my AMEX card to work at this and some other ATMs in Beijing, even those that had the AMEX logo.

The Airport Express is reviewed as the fastest and most reliable way to get into Beijing city in order to avoid the really bad rush hour traffic. A ticket is 25 Yuan per person (children under 1.2 meters are free), which comes to about 3 USD at current conversion rates. Buying was simple - just hand a 100 Yuan bill and hold up 2 fingers to the ticket counter, then follow the signs to the train. The train made a stop at the other terminal before heading straight to Dongzhimen station, where we could transfer to Line 2, the ring loop line.

At Dongzhimen station, I purchased and stocked up a Yikatong card for each of us. The Yikatong card, which is Beijing's prepaid transit card, allows for quick payment on all metro services, usually at a discount. There is a refundable 20 Yuan deposit and you must load additional funds onto the card. Returning the card at the end of your visit will get your refund back. For a multi-day stay, I would highly recommend the card for someone who is planning to use the metro services - it is so much easier than fighting an additional line for tickets during rush hour.

By this time, it was late morning, so the rush hour subway crowd was long gone (more on this in another post). Again, all signs were labeled in English, and there were always directional markers for any kind of transfer available at each station, so it was easy to find the platform. Most platforms that we've used are between the tracks, meaning that the same platform serves both directions of travel. On board, there is a lighted sign above each door that shows the current location and next stop, and a marque notes the next stop in Mandarin then English along with a recorded voice. Overall, the best labeled subway cars we've used in quite some time. A few stops on the loop line later, and we were dropped off at Guloudajie station. From here, it would be just a couple of blocks to our hotel.

Stepping above ground, the first thing we learned was that our understanding of traffic rules doesn't apply. There aren't really rules per-say, but more of unlisted guidelines, some of which I'll note here:


• The bigger object has the right of way. Walking with children, we were basically at the bottom, lower than small animals.
• Many streets have additional bike lanes that are frequented by electric scooters, electric bikes, tuk-tuks, motorized trikes, large men with trailers, or whatever else doesn't feel like riding on cobblestones. These are generally not safe for walking with children, but sometimes are the only option outside of the traffic lane.
• A 'protected' crosswalk basically means that you have a better chance of making it across, so still look every way. Don't forget about the bike lanes, where drivers typically disregard the traffic rules and signals altogether (kind of like in Austin).
• Honking is a courtesy for your benefit - it is a warning that you are about to be road kill.
• The number of lanes does not limit the number of vehicles that can pass in any of the 5 directions.


Our hotel was located in a Hutong area, which is basically an old community-style living area that is famous in China, mostly because so many have been cleared out for the Beijing Olympics and other commercial projects. Most travel books suggest a walk through a Hutong since they will probably be extinct some time. The hotel is probably a part of this gentrification process, since there was obviously no need for a full service hotel in such a location. However, the reviews were really good, and it sounded like a really unique opportunity to see life up close (one of our goals when traveling).

Now, we had an address for the hotel, and it was only a couple of blocks away from the subway station. However, the downside of being in a Hutong is that...well...you are looking for something in a Hutong. The map that I had showed an alley (all roads in a Hutong are alleys) that, in real life, was blocked off with construction barriers. So, we tried to walk the perimeter of the barrier and finally stumbled onto an adjacent alley. We continued to meander down the alley until we found another one listed on our reservation, constantly wondering what we had got ourselves into, or if we had missed it, and finally came to a small sign, a beacon of light -- "Old Beijing Square".

It is actually pretty normal for us to have a hard time finding our hotel on the first try. What made this place unique was that it apparently existed near a temporal wormhole that caused us to also get lost on the second try...and third.

---

Photos

Majestic
Entrance to our hotel.

Courtyard in our hotel
Our room in the background.

Our room
The 'Guqin (zither) room'