Trip to China

Jen32

Hello guys......i'm taking a trip to China in april and was looking for a little advice.

Is it possible to get an adaptor that will let me use western appliances over there and if so what do i ask for ?

Is the food ok ? (I'm in the sticks for the 1st week)

Are all the big tourist attractions reachable from Beijing (day trip) ?

Can i use my laser card over there ? (ATM's ?)

Thanks all
Jenny

killbillvol2

Is it possible to get an adaptor that will let me use western appliances over there and if so what do i ask for ?

Yes - you can pick one up at the airport. A standard multi-adaptor will do the job.

Is the food ok ? (I'm in the sticks for the 1st week)

The food's fantastic - nothing like the crap that passes for Chinese food here.

Are all the big tourist attractions reachable from Beijing (day trip) ?

No. You can get to the Great Wall and there are lots of sights in Beijing itself.

Can i use my laser card over there ? (ATM's ?)

Yes - ATMs are easy to find.

Jen32

Thank you very much for the advice.....greatly appreciated

caoty

Jen32 wrote: »

Hello guys......i'm taking a trip to China in april and was looking for a little advice.

Is it possible to get an adaptor that will let me use western appliances over there and if so what do i ask for ?

Is the food ok ? (I'm in the sticks for the 1st week)

Are all the big tourist attractions reachable from Beijing (day trip) ?

Can i use my laser card over there ? (ATM's ?)

Thanks all
Jenny

You Irish laser card may not work.

sarkozy

Laser won't work. Cirrus/Maestro and Mastercard will. I also assume Visa and American Express will work.

Beijing and China are enormous, very little of what the country has to offer is 'near Beijing'. Luckily, public transport in Bejing (and many major cities) extremely good and cheap; taxis are generally safe and are cheap. Beijing itself has so much to see. The Forbidden City alone demands at least a day.

The section of the Great Wall reachable from Beijing isn't the most spectacular bit, I'm told, as it's touristy and has been regenerated, but you get the idea and it's the only bit I saw.

Of course the food's amazing. In 'the sticks', it can still be very good. All you need to know is: make sure what you eat is cooked fresh in front of you. Nothing to worry about otherwise.

caoty

There are serveral sections of the great wall "near" Beijing. Badaling is the nearest and the most convenient transportation wise, but as the poster said below, very touristy and not recommended by "insiders". A few others are available and are not that far, e.g. Mutianyu and Jinshanling. Mutianyu is roughly one hour and a half of drive away from Beijing city, which is considered "near" Beijing.

sarkozy wrote: »

Laser won't work. Cirrus/Maestro and Mastercard will. I also assume Visa and American Express will work.

Beijing and China are enormous, very little of what the country has to offer is 'near Beijing'. Luckily, public transport in Bejing (and many major cities) extremely good and cheap; taxis are generally safe and are cheap. Beijing itself has so much to see. The Forbidden City alone demands at least a day.

The section of the Great Wall reachable from Beijing isn't the most spectacular bit, I'm told, as it's touristy and has been regenerated, but you get the idea and it's the only bit I saw.

Of course the food's amazing. In 'the sticks', it can still be very good. All you need to know is: make sure what you eat is cooked fresh in front of you. Nothing to worry about otherwise.

sarkozy

Yes, it was Mutianyu I went to. A nice enough place. You get the idea.

LostCorkGuy

lol feckin subway

killbillvol2

I went to the wall at Jian Kou. A longish trip from Beijing (about 3 hrs each way) but there were no other tourists.

caoty

Definitely better spot but not recommended for first-time visitors.

You can hike from Jiankou to Mitianyu.

killbillvol2 wrote: »

I went to the wall at Jian Kou. A longish trip from Beijing (about 3 hrs each way) but there were no other tourists.

Shhh

Just beware with relying on laser if you need alot of cash .. The banks put an 80e limit on daily withdrawals in china, otherwise I had no problem using ATMs all over last November.

I liked the food but still lost weight

sarkozy

That looks like a very spectacular section of the wall.

In Beijing, I ate at an amazing place (one of many) - a big restaurant - very popular, with tables on the pavement. It was our last meal with a friend. The Szechuan chicken was the best, most authentic I ever had. And that was in addition to the 10 other dishes we tried, including the local dumplings, which are really something.



To the OP and everyone else, don't eat 'Western style', order a load of dishes for the table (typically one or two meat dishes, a veg dish, a noodle dish, something else) and rice. And if you're still hungry, it's not a problem to order more. And if you're full, it's not a problem to bring the left-overs home.

I need to engineer some work-related trip to China now, I'm drooling.

killbillvol2

Shhh wrote: »

Just beware with relying on laser if you need alot of cash .. The banks put an 80e limit on daily withdrawals in china, otherwise I had no problem using ATMs all over last November.

I liked the food but still lost weight

Some banks may put a limit (AIB?). Mine didn't. Last year I used a Visa Debit without any issues but on a previous trip I'd used a Laser, again without any issues or limits.

Best to check with your own bank as they all seem to have different rules.

Shhh

killbillvol2 wrote: »

Some banks may put a limit (AIB?). Mine didn't. Last year I used a Visa Debit without any issues but on a previous trip I'd used a Laser, again without any issues or limits.

Best to check with your own bank as they all seem to have different rules.

It was BOI.. I rang to ask what the story was before I went.. I think she said it was a fairly new thing.

Jen32

Thanks again everyone....flying out next Sunday morning...can't wait

caoty

How lucky you are to be an "engineer".

sarkozy wrote: »

That looks like a very spectacular section of the wall.

In Beijing, I ate at an amazing place (one of many) - a big restaurant - very popular, with tables on the pavement. It was our last meal with a friend. The Szechuan chicken was the best, most authentic I ever had. And that was in addition to the 10 other dishes we tried, including the local dumplings, which are really something.



To the OP and everyone else, don't eat 'Western style', order a load of dishes for the table (typically one or two meat dishes, a veg dish, a noodle dish, something else) and rice. And if you're still hungry, it's not a problem to order more. And if you're full, it's not a problem to bring the left-overs home.

I need to engineer some work-related trip to China now, I'm drooling.

Shhh

Lucky you!!! Have a great time.. Embrace the differences.. There are too few left in the world!

cml387

One note,if you have a credit card inform your issuer first.They tend to automatically suspect Chinese based transactions and they stopped my card.
I had to phone them to reassure them.

Trampas

Loved china myself. would go back.

i remember was not many people speak english so if you can learn a few basic words will help

cml387

Trampas wrote: »

Loved china myself. would go back.

i remember was not many people speak english so if you can learn a few basic words will help

On the other hand,in my experience in Shenzhen young people would come up to you to practice their English,a lovely friendly lot who you couldn't but like.

Jacksquat

I was at the Mutianyu section recently. After 9.30 it gets crazy. We were lucky and privilaged enough to get there early by about 8.30 and were the first up on it and had it all to ourselves for a while and stayed ahead on our climb. It's simply stunning and the scale and steepness are indescribable.

If you go west beyond the restored area it towards Jiankou you can see the "real wall" as in broken and unrestored. It's not for the unfit though. I'll do a hike someday between two sections but not yet! If you go to Mutianyu, go at least to the highest point west of the unrestored section where not so many people continue. It will take another hour and using hands to climb but it's worth it. The view is incredible