Despite a few people flaking at the last moment, a friend and I were able to make it to Beijing for the weekend. We took the extremely convenient fast train that connects the two city and can get from from Tianjin to Beijing in around half and hour at a cost of under $10 USD each way.
For the sake of adventure, we ended up opting to stay in a hostel instead of a hotel. After checking in, we headed to the nearby streets to look for food and we ended up eating jiaozi. First at a street cart and then at a street-side restaurant.
We happened to be in luck and were able to enjoy very clear air, despite the fact that it had been relatively smoggy recently.
For the sake of adventure, we ended up opting to stay in a hostel instead of a hotel. After checking in, we headed to the nearby streets to look for food and we ended up eating jiaozi. First at a street cart and then at a street-side restaurant.
We happened to be in luck and were able to enjoy very clear air, despite the fact that it had been relatively smoggy recently.
Following dinner, we headed back to the hostel to tuck in for the night. We made friends with (what we think was) two Chinese businessmen on their way to Korea. In the end they ended up offering us a ride to Tiannamen Square the next morning under the condition that we left with them at 5:45 am. Waking up that early afforded us the chance to see the square as the sun was rising, as well as the raising of the Chinese flag, which seemed to be a big deal for the locals.
Following that and after killing a couple hours because we were too early to enter the forbidden city, we entered the forbidden city .
After that, we walked through a park or two and saw the usual live music and old people dancing like their legs don't work just right. We later met up with a couple of Stefan's friends from Austria and had dinner with them. The next day, we went to the silk market and pearl market and were swarmed by salesmen hording us with "Hello!" trying to attract our attention to buy their things. I ended up buying a couple things but only after bringing the prices down considerably. After one salesman told me that he would sell me an ordinary t-shirt for the equivalent of $50 USD, I told him that "I'm not in the mood to play games" and walked away. He chased me down and I was able to level with him.
At the pearl market (which is a market mainly for electronic goods), I was looking to get my phone's power button fixed. I went around to several and they all offered around the same price 100元 or whatever it was. Finally, I found one counter that I was able to talk down to about 30元. Apparently none of the counters actually did the repairs themselves, they would take the phones to be repaired to the same guy and he would give them kickbacks for the referrals. I went with the saleswoman to the repairman and after telling him what needed to be done, they ended up on the subject of how much he was going to charge me. She told him the price that we agreed to and was none too pleased. He said something along the lines of: "30 元? That's too cheap! I can't make money if it's that cheap!" to which she said: "Don't worry about it, he can speak Chinese, it's ok". He begrudgingly agreed and didn't say a word to me for the rest of the transaction. This further supports the theory of "One China, Two Prices".
At the pearl market (which is a market mainly for electronic goods), I was looking to get my phone's power button fixed. I went around to several and they all offered around the same price 100元 or whatever it was. Finally, I found one counter that I was able to talk down to about 30元. Apparently none of the counters actually did the repairs themselves, they would take the phones to be repaired to the same guy and he would give them kickbacks for the referrals. I went with the saleswoman to the repairman and after telling him what needed to be done, they ended up on the subject of how much he was going to charge me. She told him the price that we agreed to and was none too pleased. He said something along the lines of: "30 元? That's too cheap! I can't make money if it's that cheap!" to which she said: "Don't worry about it, he can speak Chinese, it's ok". He begrudgingly agreed and didn't say a word to me for the rest of the transaction. This further supports the theory of "One China, Two Prices".