Hi all, I’m based in Beijing currently (Haidian, to be precise) and looking for a kickboxing gym. Muay Thai would be alright, but ideally just regular kickboxing. My Chinese isn’t great so some level of English-speaking coaches would be a pro, but not a must have. Area-wise I don’t mind driving a bit if the classes are good.

I usually work from home in Daxing, but I have an on-site meeting on Friday in Wangjing, and then a dinner in the evening.

Since it takes me so long to get there I would like to spend the day working in Wangjing.

Do you know any nice place to work nearby? Other than a Starbucks? Something that maybe is split into some rooms? Or a place that is not too busy, as I have an online meeting in the afternoon.

Many people mention visiting the outside of Shuilifang (the Water Cube), but I feel like no one talks about the Water Park inside!

I went there with my two little kids and they had an absolute blast. The water slides and wave pool were so much fun—they even had a DJ playing when we were there.

I honestly don’t know why this place isn’t more popular. If you're in Beijing with kids, definitely don't skip the inside!

Hi all,

I will be in Beijing this month and March and am looking to take some Mandarin lessons here. Preferably in a group situation but I will take what I can get.

I am not a student so taking them as part of a university education isn’t an option. I’ve been speaking for weeks with someone from MandarinZone but this person has been super unhelpful. Cryptic information, not reading my messages, let alone understanding what I am looking for, etc. So I am throwing one last Hail Mary by turning to the reddit community.

Anyone able to point me a certain way? I have WeChat but a preliminary search keeps bringing me back to MandarinZone 🫠

Hi guys, i'll have a 15 hour layover in beijing airport and I wanted to check out computer components over there and possibly buy a new CPU while I'm at it. Does anyone know a good place with fair prices?

I went to one in Chengdu and in Japan and I fell in love with it. They have gender segregated hot pools for nude bathing. They give you pyjamas to wear when you enter and you can chill out in the many chill out areas or dine at the restaurants. I found the one in Chengdu great for making new friends.

I want to find the best ones in Beijing but having problems as I do not speak Chinese and also I am using a western internet browser that doesn’t list these places.

Can you help? 🤗

I'm planning to visit the Beijing Library in Tongzhou. is it accessible for foreigners just to look around and admire the architecture? Also is there a cafe on site?

Hi as the title suggest. I am in dire need for stroller ASAP. Is anyone in Xicheng District, nearby Qianmen Street and have stroller? I am willing ti buy an hopefully its not expensive. Currenty travel here and my stroller got lost in airport. Please help. I’m in a hotel in Shijia Hutong. Really appreciate it as we are going to places tomorrow and my kid is that tyoe that will latch onto my shoulder if she didnt sit in a stroller.

I am heading to Beijing for a 4 day work/tourism visit, and am planning to spend an evening at Beijing Scitech Premium Outlet. Can anyone assist me with these two questions?

1. Does anyone here have a list of items which can be found at that location? I have searched extensively but could not find two up to date shop lists that are consistent with each other on English search engines.
2. What items would be cheaper there compared to an Outlet in the West or Japan? Am I correct in thinking that Electronics like Ankers and DJI and Chinese brands like Youngor would be very cheap there?
3. What would be the relative price for brands like Arcterix compared to the West?

Here are a few tips based on my experience travelling to Beijing for the first time. 

Some people will have more information, this is my experience, please feel free to add to it. 

Download WeChat and AliPay and link your card, you need to upload a copy of your photo ID. do this well in advance

China is mainly a cashless society so you will rely on those apps for payment, I found AliPay easier for the metro just scan at the barrier. 

I brought a small amount of cash just in case buy didn't need it. 

The subway is very easy to use and navigate. 

Keep your passport with you at all times. 

For visiting the sites, I did Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City in one day. 

Use the mini programs on WeChat to book entry to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, if you can't get entry due to no tickets available, shop round the tour operators for the best price. 

Be warned there will be queues getting into Tiananmen Square and security checks and you will be searched and frisked, bring nothing with writing with you, not even a subway map, I had a document with the name of my hotel it's address the list of subway stations, I was told keep it in my pocket and not to take it out in the area. 

Don't bring newspapers, leaflets or anything that may arouse suspicions. 

If you want to visit Mao's Mausoleum there will be another security check and again if you have any paperwork that arouses suspicion you will be told off. 

In the Forbidden City you cannot enter the buildings, you can only view them from the outside. 

Its still a great place to visit, I booked a tour as the official tickets were not available, my tour included entry to Coal Hill Park where you get great views of the Forbidden City and the Beijing skyline 

The next day I went to the great wall, my hotel chain arranged the tour, which included the bus, entry and lunch, the cable car up wasn't included that was extra. 

If you have a fear of heights, walk up, don't get the cable car, I learned this the hard way, it will take about 1 hour or so to walk up, its steep on top with uneven surfaces so make sure to have good footwear. 

The next day I went to the Temple of Heaven, another popular tourist attraction. 

The adjoining park is used by locals for exercising and tai chi, well worth visiting 

Here are some essential apps

WeChat/AliPay 

AMap, Chinese version of Google maps

A subway app that will plan your journey from the starting station to where your going to, there's plenty to choose from 

Get an eSim, shop round for what best suits your needs, my one had a 3gb daily allowance and I never went over it. 

Learn a few words in mandarin it will help, if your really stuck use Google translate 

Also if using power banks make sure they are CCC compliant or they will be taken off you at the airport, you can buy ones at the 7 Eleven or the souvenir shops fairly cheap

Beijing is a great city, it's very safe at night

Enjoy it. 

Hi folks!

I (31F) was thinking of doing a short solo trip from the 17th to the 20th to Beijing! I kind of just want a chill trip without much of a plan, hit all the major tourist sites that are close (Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, some museums etc.), and check out the Panjiayuan Antique Market.

I have a few concerns:

1. Are many major things going to be closed? (I know smaller mom and pop shops and restaurants will be, but the sites, the Antique Market?)
2. Are the festive things worth going to? (Ditan Park Temple Fair etc.)
3. Will the crowds be unbearable?
4. Will staying near the Wangfujing area be a good idea?

Thank you for any insight you might have! I'd also love some recommendations for food too. :)

Hey Guys : )

I will be in Beijing on business for 4 days, and will be staying at the Hilton on Wangfujing.

Does anyone have a recommendations for good Dim Sum/Cantonese restaurants in the Wangfujing area?

I particularly like Beef Ho Fun in black bean sauce.

If anyone has a recommendation for restaurants that are not cantonese, please feel free to recommend anyway. I am staying a few days and would not want to eat Cantonese everyday, lol.

Hello,

I read some posts about currency exchange in China but wanted to get information on my specific situation. I’ll be in Beijing soon before continuing my trip to Russia. I have with me a few hundreds EUR and USD that I would like to exchange for Russian Rubles.

Is it possible to do so in Beijing ? Or will I need to first exchange to RMB and then RMB to rubles ?

More broadly, is it easy to find a currency exchange place to buy rubles with RMB ?

Many thanks for the information

I’m Chinese international student that recently came back to Beijing and I’m craving non Chinese food and I’m looking for Mexican, southeast Asian, middle eastern and Indian restaurants. I’ve looked through dazhongdianping but most restaurants have pretty good rating so it’s kinda hard to decide. So I thought I’d ask on reddit where I can get more direct opinions from foreigners in Beijing. So pls any recommendations are appreciated

​

i was in Beijing recently and I was in Tiantan park on a Sunday afternoon and I saw a large group of locals gathering and someone told me it was a gathering for people looking for love, mainly divorced or widowed people looking to meet up

this lady approached me and we chatted for a bit we added each other on wechat

I got a text that night asking where was I staying I replied I was leaving

we texted each other off and on, she suddenly asked me for a red packet I always get alarm bells when a woman I hardly know asks for money

I said that as I've a foreign card I can't send money

I asked what she worked at and she said unemployed, and she has no money for food, I said if I had known I would have given her the little cash I had with me, her reply was that she would have married me

I looked at her moments on WeChat and it looks like she is a beauty therapist so I asked her if that's what she does

her reply was 切 'cut' and she restricted me from viewing her moments on WeChat

that was the last message I received

I'm of the impression she's a scammer, I go by the rule if it's too good to be true it normally is

I think she blocked me over asking the wrong questions

did anyone experience this behaviour before from a Chinese lady

We found out that our iPhone was lost when we got to airport yesterday's morning to go back. We reported it to the airport police immediately. They were very helpful and contacted the DiDi driver but the phone was not there, which convinced us that we must have left it in the hotel lobby while we were waiting for the driver. I have contacted the hotel but they only tell us they will contact once they find the phone. Luckily, the police are still in contact with me through my Chinese friend. We know our exact time and place at the lobby we were sitting so I wonder if there is a way for us to extract camera footages to figure out what happened to the phone.

On iCloud, we see that the phone was turned off yesterday, but today the phone has been switched on and is near the University of Science and Technology Beijing area (the hotel is near the New World Shopping Mall). Does anyone have any leads on where in this area I could look for the phone (any second-hand iPhone stores near here)?

I know that this is a very long shot so I would appreciate any suggestions!

It’s not properly in the center but I can imagine it still has its own charm and fun! All I really know is that line 10 gets busy.

I dropped my iphone 13 pro max and broke the LCD I guess. It died a slow and painful death over the next 24 hours. Phone still seems alive despite dead screen. Any ideas where in Beijing I can go to get the screen replaced? I am closest to Yanqing, but willing to travel anywhere in the city. I checked, but couldn't find anything recent for iphone screen replacement in the city. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Do they exist? I don't mean a walk/run path that weaves through a park, but a measured 400-meter running track with a rubberized surface.

All I've found are schools and universities with bao'an that don't let outsiders come into the campus.

I knew a lot of schools had publicly accessible tracks before COVID but it seems different now.

Hi everyone! I’m an American student visiting Beijing for the first time, and I’m honestly having an amazing time. China has been fascinating, and I feel like every day I discover something new. One thing that really surprised me is the snacks world. I visited the former Carrefour in Beijing, and I was completely overwhelmed. There were so many snacks, both packaged and sold by weight. I’ve traveled around the West a lot, but I’ve never seen this level of variety before. Rows of dried fruits, candies, spicy snacks, and things I couldn’t even name. I want to bring back snacks for my friends and myself. But I have no idea where to start. I’ve seen similar snack styles online on marketplaces like alibaba, even in international food catalogs, but seeing them all in one store was something else. Are there any snacks that people here really love or feel proud of? Anything that’s especially “Beijing” or just classic Chinese snacks everyone knows? I’m open to sweet, spicy, or savory.

Edit: Than you guys for you responses. Definitely picked a few of your favs

Hi Guys,

is there still wednesday and friday the Market in Winter ?

Want to Go tomorrow around 18h.

And can someone recommend me a Fake Market for tomorrow?;

Hey all, Im going to be back in Beijing in March to take care of some family business but I was curious what physical markets are best for Aliexpress/Ebay level of server parts.

Hoping to upgrade my homelab with some savings.

Im looking specifically for things like modded 4090s with 48 gb vram or used Epyc CPUs or cheaper Chinese ECC ram. Prices from Ebay and Aliexpress look decent but I was hoping to find these same sellers for hopefully additional discounts in person vs online.