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Jake Petersen :: Blog :: Tips & Useful Information

August 24, 2009

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Jake Petersen

Tips & Useful Information

Important and Useful Tips
  • Get a Subway/Bus Multi-pass (Called the Yikatong Card or ICC Card)
  • Carry around an Umbrella for rain or to keep cool from the sun
  • Carry your Tsinghua University Student ID – You can get discounts off of the tickets at some of the Tourist Sites (Such as the Forbidden City)
  • When we visited China all Bank of America account holders could get money using their ATM card at any China Construction Bank without paying any sort of fees. So if this policy is still in place it can save you a considerable amount of money.
  • Remember that all of the subway stations have a map that shows where some of the major bus stops are located nearby (Make sure to look at it before you scan your card to leave)
  • Inside all of the public buses there is a list of the stops posted on the wall that contain both the Chinese characters as well as the pinyin
  • If you have a smart phone it is a good idea to put the Chinese characters for some of the places you are going to visit on the phone. That way you can use them if you need help finding a place or figuring out what bus to take.
  • Remember there is a shuttle bus that travels around campus. It costs 2 RMB normally, but only 1 RMB if you show your Tsinghua University Student ID. The stops are located all around campus, just look for a purple sign. There is one near the foreign student dorms close to the gate there and you can take it all the way to the FIT Building. Just remember that if you get on going the wrong direction they will make you get off at the end and you’ll have to re-pay.
  • If you are picky about what you drink or if you want to save money buy a drink at 7-11 and bring it to the restaurant.
  • Try to buy a nicer bicycle if you can, but not too nice that it will get stolen
  • Make sure to get a good bicycle lock, possibly even two
  • Be prepared for mostly hot food, especially breakfast.
  • Napkins and paper towels are scare, so it’s a wise idea to bring little packages of tissues with you places (those little packages are sold everywhere in China)
  • There is a Laundry Service on Campus in Building 18. Keep in mind though that from our experience they seem to use little or no soap when they wash your clothes.
  • There is a lot of spicy food in China so be prepared. Sometimes things will be spicy and have hot peppers in them even though the picture from the menu didn’t show them.
  • Most places have a picture menu to order from. Otherwise take your chances or just go somewhere else. Even if there isn’t a description of the dish we usually had good luck just using the pictures if we had to.
  • There is a bus stop right behind the foreign student dorms, just go out the gate nearby and go left. There you can find Bus 731 which can take you to Wu Dao Kou. You can also take it to get to the movie theater we went to, the UME Cineplex.
  • There is a Super Wal-Mart located at the Zhichunlu subway station (one stop from Wu Dao Kou), just follow the signs. Once you find the right exit you walk to the left and then make a right and you have to go up a flight of stairs and into this walkway area, but there will be a big sign for Wal-Mart above the stairs.
  • Bring a card with you that has Tsinghua University in Chinese that way you can show it to the taxi driver. Also have one of the Tsinghua University students write down the characters for the name of the gate that is next to the foreign student dorms, that way the taxi driver will bring you to the right gate.
  • More taxi advice: Once you figure out how to get back to the dorms and you need to take a taxi (for instance it's late and the buses aren't running) you can just point the way if you are close. That way they won't refuse to take you there since if you tell them before you get in a lot of the time they won't drive you to the dorm since it is so close (but it might take 30 minutes walking) and they won't make much money
  • You can use Skype to call people back home and to save money you should signup for one of their monthly plans/subscriptions. You only have to pay $2.95 a month and can have unlimited calls to any cell phone or landline in the United States. That way you can easily call someone any time you want.

Things to Bring to China

  • Bring or find out where to buy an egg crate for the bed as it is really hard. Either that or buy a comforter and use it like a sleeping bag so that it makes the bed softer and so you can use it as a blanket at the same time.
  • Buy and bring with you one of those nice gushy gel seat covers for your bicycle. The seats are very uncomfortable and that will probably help out, but we didn’t think about that ahead of time.
  • If you like to eat cereal in the morning bring some cereal/protein bars with you. That way if you want something quite to eat you have it. If not you can always buy cereal there some of the stores (although be prepared to pay the American equivalent in RMB for them)
  • Bring Powered Gatorade (Gatorade is not easy to find in China and if you do find it will be in a small single serving bottle)
  • Bring hand sanitizer or sanitizing wipes. You can bring a small bottle to carry with you and then bring a big one to use in the dorm room or to refill the small one.
  • B ring one of the Tide to Go sticks as those can come in rather handy when you spill food/drink on your clothes
  • Bring Peanut Butter or buy it there (the C-Store on campus has some though)
  • Oatmeal (that way you can have something quick for breakfast that is easy to fix)
  • Bring Peanut Butter Crackers as they make a quick snack or can be breakfast if you have to get somewhere fast
  • Snacks as the snackfood in China is not what you are used to (The Chips Ahoy cookies taste rather weird). I brought two packages of Famous Amos Cookies and Cheez-Its, but I wish I had brought more.
Places to Visit in Beijing
  • The Beijing Zoo
  • The Beijing Aquarium (Inside the Zoo)
  • The Temple of Heaven
  • Summer Palace
  • Olympic Sites (During the Day and at Night) – The Bird’s Nest, Watercube, and the rest of the Olympic Green (You can get off at the last exit on the Olympic Subway line and walk to the Bird’s Nest where you can get back on the Subway)
  • The Beijing Planetarium
  • The Great Wall (The Mutianyu Section is where we went)
  • The Forbidden City & Jingshan Park
  • Tian'amen Square (Mao’s Tomb)
  • The Silk Market
  • Houhai
  • Tian Jin
  • Happy Valley Amusement Park
  • The Wangfujing Food Market (At Night)
  • The Beijing Acrobat Show at the Chaoyang Theater
Places to Visit in Xi’an
  • Bell & Drum Towers
  • Tang Dynasty Dinner & Show
  • Xi’an City Wall (Ride around the wall)
  • Terracotta Warrior Museum
  • De Fe Chang Dumpling Restaurant (Top Floor)

Places to Eat in the Wu Dao Ku Area

  • Grandma’s Kitchen (in the U-Center/Mall at Wu Dao Kou on the 5th Floor) – It has country western decorations and serves American food
  • Lush – An American bar
  • Pyro Pizza– Another American bar (same owners as Lush) that has good pizza and deals on their sandwiches on certain days
  • La Bamba – A Mexican restaurant that had good tacos
  • RBT (Green Rabbit Logo) – We referred to it as a Fusion Café and it has good sandwiches/drinks
  • Issin – A good Japanese/Sushi restaurant
  • Tafi – A fairly good Italian restaurant
  • Charlie Brown Café – They serve good milkshakes
  • New York Burgers – I can’t remember if this is the exact name but it is located near the 731 Bus stop in Wu Dao Ku (in the direction that takes you back to the dorm)
  • Unknown Chinese Restaurant – Has excellent Chinese food. It is located behind the 731 Bus stop in Wu Dao Ku if you were coming from the dorms. There is usually an expensive car (Jaguar or something) parked outside the restaurant.
  • Hot Pot – We tried two and they were both good, so just look around or ask the Tsinghua University students
  • Café Near FIT Building – It’s on the top floor on the side of the building (sort of circular shaped). You walk up a long staircase to get there and it had good sandwiches.

Useful Websites

Posted by Jake Petersen

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