Visiting China Again
We had been visiting China many times over the years. The visits were mainly guided tours with Singapore agencies. In 2017 we did a 20-day DIY trip to Sichuan on our own, relying on local bus transportation and cab rides to get us around. We managed to complete the trip but felt exhausted by the “inefficient” local transportation (express train was not easily available in 2017). This June 2024, we were attempting a 26-day DIY cum guided trip to China again.
There were 4 parts to this 24-day trip.
- Part 1 – 4 days DIY trip in Beijing
- Part 2 – 8 days guided trip to Zhangye, Badain Jaran Desert and Xining
- Part 3 – 10 days guided trip to Tibet
- Part 4 – 4 days DIY trip to Xian.
Preparing for China visit in 2024
To prepare for our visit to China we downloaded many apps, so that we could move about in Beijing on our own without a guide. These apps were for various purposes
- Navigation – Baidu Map
- Payment – Alipay, Wechat
- Transportation – Baidu, Didi, Wechat, Rail12306
- Communication – Wechat
- Seach – Baidu
Downloading these apps were the easy part but practising to use them in Singapore was not easy at all, as many of the functions were not usable in Singapore, like ordering a cab. So we were not sure how smoothly would “things” go when we arrived in China
We also bought simcard data plan (from Singapore) that allowed facebook, gmail, whatsapp as we understood that sim card bought in China would restrict access to these applications.
Arriving at Beijing
Direct flight from Singapore to Beijing took 6 hours. Our flight started at 9am in the early morning which meant we had to wake up at 5am so as to arrive at Changi Airport Terminal by 6am to check in our bags, clear custom etc etc.
We disliked morning flight or late night flight. Whenever we could we preferred to wake up at “decent” hours to get to our flight and to sleep in comfortable big beds rather than on the flight seat in convoluted position.
Getting Yuan at the airport
Upon exiting the custom at the “Beijing Capital International Airport” and walking into the arrival hall we went in search of a BOC (Bank Of China) ATM. We read that we could withdraw “yuan” at the ATM with our travel cards (like Revolut) or even our Singapore Debit card. For a withdrawal amount below 2000 yuan there would be no fee charge. We withdrew a couple of 2000 yuans using different cards to avoid the paying the fee.
Though China was a cashless country, we brought yuan to pay for two guided tours (with a local China Tour Agency) which were Part 2 – Zhangye/Xining and Part 3 – Tibet. It was great that the agency allowed us to pay on arrival as we did not want to incurred the 3% fee charge (which total up to SGD$400) if we were to make the payment when we were in Singapore. Visitors to China were limited to 20000Yuan per person when entering the country. So we had to make up the “shortfall” amount by withdrawing from local ATM after touching down in China
Wow, it was easy to withdraw Yuan! The foreign exchange was done on the point of withdrawal and the rates was good.
Getting to our hotel
Once we were ready with our “Yuan” and our bags we were off to look for a cab. We following the “cab/taxis” icon signboard to a cab/taxis queue at the airport. We gave the driver the Chinese name of the hotel and he quickly found it on his car navigation map.
The cost of the cab ride was ¥107.5 for a 27km distance for about a 40 minute ride. Though it was ¥20 more than the price estimated by Baidu Map, the estimate still form a good guidance for us.
Where we stayed on the first three nights
We booked “base Beijing Wanfujing Serviced Apartment“, 佰舍公寓酒店(北京王府井隆福寺店), on booking.com. We had some difficulties locating the hotel though it was just practically directly infront of us. We expected an entire building to be the serviced apartment with the name of hotel displayed prominent. But our driver drove us to a complex with offices, cafes, shops and restaurants and told us we had arrived.
To pay for our ride we used Alipay. This was the first time we used Alipay to make a payment so we were a bit nervous going about doing it. The driver showed us this QR code, we opened our Alipay and picked the [-]Scan icon on the top bar and scan the driver QR code, then entered the amount of the fee and clicked pay.
At the steps of the complex we searched for “Beijing Wangfujing Service Apartment” or something Chinese words that sound like “Wangfujing” but just could not locate it. In the meantime our Baidu Map kept “insisting” that it was practically by our side! Finally we found it, it was called “base-佰舍”. Wow the name of the hotel on booking.com and the actual name was so different. The only similarity was the word “base”!
The reception was manned by two staff and checking in was a breeze. We were allocated an apartment on the upper level.
On the ground level of the apartment complex were recreation areas for guests. There was a pool table and a gym and a super large kitchen with ovens, cooking electrical stoves and coffee machines. Guests were “free” to make themselves cups of coffee and/or tea.
Relaxing dinner near our hotel
By the time we settled in, rest and relax it was already closed to 7pm. The weather was turning gloomy and was going to rain anytime. Luckily in the same building complex there were some nice restaurant so wearing our comfortable “flip flops” we went down to the lobby out of the door, turned the corner and went into a Hot Pot Restaurant, 君琴花(隆福寺越都荟店).
君琴花 RestaurantWe ordered a fish hot pot set. It was a big fish in a hot pot and it came with vegetable. The fish took 30 minutes to cook before we could eat. While the soup was bubbling hot we kept poking at the fish to check it was fully cook and finally after a “long” 30 minutes wait we joyfully “dig” in.
It was a very delicious meal we never ate so much fish at one seating. The entire meal cost ¥262 which was so much cheaper than a similar meal in a similar setting back home.
Our stay in Beijing
Our stay in “base Beijing Wanfujing Serviced Apartment” cost ¥1777 for three nights without meal. It was an lovely apartment with kitchenette, sitting area and a king bed. There was a washing machine in the apartment too.
The kitchen and the washing machine was not necessary for us. We absolutely loved the big space which was 47 square metre. Though there were cheaper accommodation in the vicinity we wanted something modern and near all important Beijing attractions we would visit the next few days.
This service apartment was open in 2023 so it was relatively new, about a year old. When we were searching for hotels in Beijing we were debating if we should go for a classical quaint hotel with years of historical values or something new. In the end we opted for “newness and comfort” and base Beijing Wanfujing Serviced Apartment was the right choice.
Other Accommodation Nearby