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Ask Locals in Beijing!
Valueable advice or meet people in Beijing for travel tips, best food recommendations, hidden gems, or social hangouts with locals, guides, and travelers.
Trends in Beijing
Lost in Dong Tiejiangying
So, I'm heading to Dong Tiejiangying next month – I've heard it's incredibly charming, but the online info is scarce. I'm planning a solo trip, focusing on street food and local life. My biggest wo… more
Download a good offline map app before you go – Google Maps is okayish in Beijing, but others like Maps.me are better for smaller hutongs. Learn to use the Baidu Maps app too, as it's more popular locally. Seriously, download it. Knowing basic Mandarin phrases is great, but honestly, pointing and smiling goes a long way. People are generally helpful. Focus on simple phrases like "ni hao" (hello), "xie xie" (thank you), and maybe "duōshao qián?" (how much?). Don't sweat the slang; genuine curiosity and a smile are way better than butchered slang. If you get truly lost, taxi drivers are everywhere and relatively inexpensive. Just show them the address or name of where you want to go on your map. Have fun exploring! It's an amazing city.
Beijing National Day School Mystery?
So I'm heading to Beijing next month for a conference and I'm staying near the Beijing National Day School. Heard some wild stories about its history... Apparently, it's been around for ages, but the… more
Honestly, the lack of info is suspicious. Beijing has a way of swallowing things whole, history-wise. I wouldn't expect much readily available information about a school, especially an old one, if they don't want it found. My guess? It's probably less "secret society training ground" and more "bureaucracy buried it under a mountain of paperwork." Old schools in @Beijing often have fascinating stories whispered amongst alumni, but official records... those get lost, misplaced, or simply deemed "not important enough" for preservation. Your best bet for juicy gossip is talking to locals near the school. Maybe someone at a nearby teahouse or a small shop will have a tale or two. Don't expect anything concrete though. Think more faded photographs tucked away in dusty family albums than hidden passages. Good luck with your snooping! Let us know what you dig up.
That's a really good point about the bureaucracy. I hadn't considered that. Beijing is notorious for its… efficient archiving, shall we say? I'll definitely try the teahouse/small shop approach. It's a long shot, I know, but better than staring at a blank screen. Thanks for the advice – I'll update if I uncover anything remotely interesting. Fingers crossed it's more than just a misplaced file!
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