Part of the Language section of A Better Guide to Běijīng

The Emperors once forbade their subjects to teach foreigners Chinese on pain of death. Never shy of considering their jurisdiction to be global, they also forbade…

Part of the Language section of A Better Guide to Běijīng

You may not want to learn Mandarin, and you certainly don’t need to learn the language in order to travel independently in China, but for those who’d like at least to have some idea how it works, here’s a rough…

Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng

This is an alphabetical directory of Běijīng’s metro stations that lists for each one every nearby sight or useful service mentioned in this book, bus links (b) to sights further afield, and other practical information for that station. See…

From the Language section of A Better Guide to Běijīng

Here’s a story in Mandarin that’s intended to illustrate a point:

Shī Shì Shí Shī Shǐ.

Essential information on travel to and around Běijīng from A Better Guide to Běijīng

Before You Leave Home
Entry Formalities, Visa Types, Visa Requirements, Visa Applications in Hong Kong, Visa Extensions, Customs
Travel to Běijīng, By Air, By Rail, By Road, By Sea
Arrival and Travel into…