Before you go to China and Beijing
What does it take?
Summer (June-September)
Beijing Summer is hot and humid. Temperatures generally exceed 30 ° C. The Chinese used to put air conditioning in buildings, shops and in taxis. So plan a sweater and an umbrella or raincoat.
Winter (December-March)
The winter is particularly cold and dry. Temperatures range between -15 and 5 ° C. Allow coats, pullovers, and warm underwear. Not to mention the hat, gloves and scarf.
Spring (April-May) and autumn (October-November)
These two seasons are very short even though they remain the best times of year to visit Beijing. Temperatures remain mild. The rains are rare. A sweater or jacket will suffice. However, beware of sand storms during the month of April!
What to put in his bag?
> A tourist guide: Geo Guide, Small Fûté, Lonely Planet, Guide Mondéos, Backpacker's Guide ... These guides will give good recommendations, ideas, advice and useful information for your stay. All these references include a map of the city with its main attractions and a metro map.
> A pocket manual of Chinese to the Olympics approach, Beijing Municipality is in the countryside of English training. Taxi drivers as police follow all basic language courses. Despite these measures, the level of English means the Pekingese is still very limited, if any. Outside of your manual, you should learn some basics of essential Chinese figures, polite etc.. However, hotels and upscale restaurants provide all services in general or documentation in English.
> A first aid kit: if Beijing has many pharmacies and hospitals, it is not always easy to find commodities, especially when you speak the language.
Currency:
The currency in China is the Renminbi (RMB). In China, the biggest cut is 100 RMB (or yuan), the smallest of a fen. Tickets are distributed in China: 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 yuan, 5, 2, 1 jiao (or mao). The coins are 1 yuan, 5 jiaos, 1jiaos, 5 fen, 2 fen and 1 fen.
1 yuan = 10 = 100 fen jiaos
Tickets are much more used than coins.
10 RMB = 1 Euro (indicative rate).
The exchange rate is determined by the Bureau of foreign exchange administration.
It is still impossible to raise cash RMB outside China, so you need to change your Euros and travelers checks on site.
You can also change money at airports, hotels and banks. Distributors now accept all international credit cards.
Cash is the payment method most convenient, most shops and restaurants do not accept foreign bank cards. The hotels accept checks JCB, Visa, Master, Diners Club and American Express.
Life in China is very affordable. Even in a city like Shanghai is the most expensive in the country, you do very good savings compared to an equivalent life in France.
