HOTEL INFORMATION
All participants are staying in the Yan Xiang Hotel situated closely to the venues. The hotel is 20 minutes drive to center city, and 15 minutes to the Capital International Airport and International Exhibition Center. The hotel provides broadband internet access in the rooms. The hotel will require a deposit for your hotel key of 100 RMB (approx. 10 Euros)
Address: A2 jiangtai Rd. chaoyang District Beijing P.R.C. 100016
Tel:+86 10 51389988 Fax:+8610 51389197
E-mail:sales@yanxianghotel.com
FROM THE AIRPORT TO HOTEL
No pick-up service is foreseen at the airport, as taking a taxi from the official taxi stand where taxis are very efficiently allocated to customers. Please find here below and print the exact instructions and address and map to show to the taxi driver. The trip from the airport to the hotel should not cost more than 100 RMB (about 10 Euros). You can change money at the airport, and we will reimburse your taxi upon receipt. Instuctions for taxi driver
VENUES
10th October
The Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) located in Beijing is a leading institution for modern art education in China, the only art academy of higher learning directly under the Ministry of Education, and was founded in April 1950 by incorporating the National Beijing Art College and the Fine Arts Department of Huabei University. The Director of CAFA’s Executive Committee is Yang Li, the President of CAFA is Professor Pan Gonqkai, a Chinese painting artist and art historian. The Director of CAFA’s Academic Board is Professor Jin Shangyi, a well-known Chinese artist. Under the umbrella of CAFA, there are six schools and college: the School of Fine Art, School of Chinese Painting, School of Design, School of Architecture, School of Humanities, College of City Design as well as School of Continuing Education and the Affiliated High School of Fine Art.
Academic Lecture hall at the Central Academy of Fine Arts
Address: No.8 Hua Jia Di Nan St., Chao Yang District, Beijing, P. R. China, Zip: 100102
International office Tel: +86-10-6477-1018
Website: http://www.cafa.edu.cn/
The Cave café is located in the 798 Art District, Northeast of central Beijing, an open air industry area bursting with artists’ studios and galleries. For more information visit the 798 website
Address: E02－0－16, 798 Art District Beijing
Description: Open 10am-11pm
Buses to Cave Cafe：401，420，405，909，955，991，988
Tel: 8456-5520
BEIJING
Beijing is the capital of People’s Republic of China. It is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, having hosted the sear of government from Yuan Dynasty in 1264 to the present, with the exception of a period of time during early Ming (1368-1420) and during the period from 1928-1949.
Beijing Municipality covers 16,808 square kilometres with the population of 15.38 million in 2005. Over 95% of Beijing’s residents belong to the Han Chinese majority. Other major ethnic minorities include the Manchu (1.84%), Hui (1.74%) and Mongol (0.28%).
Chinese currency, Renminbi (RMB), is issued by the People’s Bank of China and is the sole legal currency in China. The basic currency unit is Yuan, known popularly as “kuai” in colloquial language.
One Yuan equals 10 jiao or 100 fens. Yuan, jiao and fen are issued both in bills and in coins. There are 8 paper notes in broad circulation: 100 Yuan, 50 Yuan, 20 Yuan, 10 Yuan, 5 Yuan, 2 Yuan, 1 Yuan and 0.5 Yuan (or 5 jiao). There are still a small amount of 0.1 Yuan (1 jiao) and 0.2 Yuan (2 jiao) notes in circulation, but you can rarely see them today. The largest RMB coin in circulation is 1Yuan. Coins of 0.5 Yuan (5 jiao) and 0.1 Yuan (1 jiao) are still in broad circulation. Rarely seen today are the coins of 1 fen and 5 fens.
Currency can be exchanged at Bank of China branches and money exchange counters at the Beijing International Airport and major hotels. The exchange rate between RMB and other major currencies are posted by the banks and the money exchange counters. You can also check the business section on such English newspapers as China Daily. But do not change money with any stranger on the street. It is illegal.
Note: Most banks close at 5PM, but there are 24 hour self service ATMs along the street. No currency exchange services are available on weekends or national holidays.
Credit cards are also gaining ground in China, with Visa, MasterCard, American Express (branches in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen), JCB and Diners Club the most common. Cards can be used in most mid to top-range hotels, Friendship and department stores, but cannot be used to finance your transportation costs. If cards aren’t an option then cash will never fail and exchanging currency is relatively easy. The maximum ATMs withdrawal is 3000 RMB per day.
Tipping people is not necessary and in general not done.
All four- and five-star hotels and some top-end restaurants add a tax or ’service charge’ of 10% or 15%, which extends to the room and food; all other consumer taxes are included in the price tag.
UNIT OF MEASURES
China uses the Metric System in most of trade and legal transactions.
LANGUAGE
China’s language is officially Mandarin, as spoken in Beijing. The Chinese call it Putonghua. In general, in Beijing not many people speak English, simple lexicon of English will be understandable, however, it will be better if you could have a list of the simple Chinese daily lexicons in your pocket.
GENERAL INFO ON CHINA
ATTIRE
The weather in autumn in Beijing can be very nice, between 15 and 20 degrees. In general it’s not likely to rain but better be prepared. There are no specific dress requirements.
ELECTRICITY
The voltage in China is 220 volt, 50Hz. And the plugs are different in appearance, please remember to bring the adapter for the following outlets.
FOOD AND WATER
Tap water in the China is NOT potable. Bottled water is recommended.
MEALS/RESTAURANTS
Eating can be a wonderful experience in China. You do it in group, you order a lot of dishes and you share with the others at the table! You’ll discover the diversity of the Chinese cuisine and travel through the different provinces of China discovering their distinctive flavour! All meals will be taken care of, but in case you come earlier or stay longer…below are some tips.
For the small appetite, you can go for Beijing Dumplings. These are steamed, fried or boiled flour skins stuffed with a wide assortment of meats and vegetables…Preparing you for winter is best with the North East China cuisine with thick sauces and stewed dishes in large portions. Or go for Hot Pot, a wonderful experience. Raw foods are brought to your table and cooked in a bubbling broth. For sociable people only!
If you like spicy food, try out the following cuisine: Guizhou and Guangxi province food & Sichuan or Hunan food. Beijing would not be Beijing if it did not offer all kinds of international cuisine. Good Korean, Japanese and the rich diversity of the European cuisine in all its forms and styles. Depending on where you eat in town and what you eat, your purse can be 30 rmb lighter to up to 300 rmb for a meal.
Schedule of meals (3 meals per day) at the Hotel in Beijing and meals outside the Hotel will be laid out during the first day of the Dialogue.
WHAT TO VISIT IN BEIJING
We will not have much time in our programme, but still if you stay longer or still have energy at night, you can explore the following places:
* Beijing, the shopping experience (Note: most of the shops open till 22.00)
Xidan (xi dan – 西单) and Wangfujing (wang fu jing bu xing jie – 王府井步行街): Western style shopping boulevards (both have metrostations with the same name) No bargaining here. If you’re there in the evening, look for the long line of stalls marked by distinctive red lanterns.
Buy Now （bai nao hui – 百脑汇）: on Chaoyangmen in the area of the hotel: huge electronics department store, be sure to at least half the price they ask!
Dirt Market (pan jia yuan – 潘家园): open air market with antiques and Cultural Revolution curiosa.
Pearl Market (hong qiao – 红桥): just across from the east gate of the Temple of Heaven, this market is true to its name with two entire floors of loose and pre-set pearls, plus lots of other little interesting finds such as shoes, bags, electronics, watches and antiques.
Wangfujing Night Market (wang fu jing ye shi – 王府井夜市) where you’ll find yummy Chinese food that’s the best meal you’ll eat standing up. Here anything that moves (including scorpions!) and some things that don’t (like aromatic tofu) will end up on a kebab stick, grilled to perfection.
* Beijing, the “tourist for a day” experience
Lama Temple (yong he gong – 雍和宫)
The metro will take you all the way to this magnificent temple complex in the northeast of the city centre. Be sure to get there on time: the temple closes at 5 pm. The earlier, the better: avoid the tourist buses!
Before or after visiting the temple, take a stroll along the road going south, along all the little shops selling Buddhist curiosa and incense that the many Chinese burn in the temple, or dive in one of the old hutongs (胡同- traditional Chinese alleys) east and south of the complex.
Back Lakes (hou hai – 后海)
Head out to the Houhai lakes for dinner and drinks the way the Chinese like it: with a lot of kitsch. Rickshaw drivers will chase you all the way, and the experience might be litteraly “eyeblinding” – houhai remains a nice place for a bite and a stroll, with some good restaurants around. Just walk a bit away from all the noise.
In the early evening, the local community plays Mah Johng next to the lake, and if you’re lucky you can join them for some outdoor ballroom dancing.
The drumtower （gu lou – 鼓楼） is just a ten minute walk away, and the Houhai/drumtower area is one of the best preserved hutong areas (courtyard houses and small alleys) in Beijing.
Forbidden City （gu gong – 故宫）
Tiananmen Square (tian an men guang chang – 天安门广场)
Be ready for mass tourism when you decide to visit the Forbidden City. Audio tours feature Roger Moore, and can be rented after the second gate to the complex (coming from the Tiananmen Square). Once you’ve made it through the hundreds of palaces, you arrive on the other side of the Forbidden City with the nice Jingshan Park in front of you. If you still have energy, you can climb up the hill for magnificent views over Beijing and of course, the Forbidden City.
Tiananmen Square is best to be reached by subway, as taxi’s are not allowed to stop anywhere close to the square. The square is particularly nice in the evenings, with Mao’s portrait and the entrance of the Forbidden City in bright lights. Watch out for those art students, they are pretty harmless but selling you something is definitely their aim.
* Beijing, the “have a stroll in a park” experience
Beijing has some amazing parks. One of the most beautiful places, with a fantastic temple right in the middle of it, is the Temple of Heaven（tian tan – 天坛）. If you go early enough (6 am!) you can catch the locals practicing Kung Fu and Tai Chi.
Ritan Park (ri tan gong yuan – 日坛公园) is a perfect getaway from the hectic city life. Take a book and relax in the Stone Boat café, at the west gate of the park. Another lovely spot both early morning and throughout the day is Jingshan Park (jing shan gong yuan – 景山公园) just across from the north gate of the Forbidden City. Hike up to the pagoda at the top of the man-made hill (created from the dirt dug out to form the moat around the Forbidden City) and get a wonderful panorama of the old city.
* Beijing, the “arts” experience
Red Gate Gallery 红门
Chong Wen district, Dongbian Watchtower
Tel: +86 10 6525 1005
798 Factory
Dashanzi Art District 2 jiuxianqiao lu 2
大山子艺术区 酒仙桥路2号
Website: http://www.798space.com/index_en.asp
INTERNET/TELEPHONES
There is internet available in the hotel, however in Beijing you can find many internet cafes and some wifi spots.
If your mobile roaming service is not working in China, don’t worry! It is easy to get a Sim card in Beijing, ranging from 20 to 50 yuans, widely available at the airport, cell phone stores. The two mobile service providers in China are China Mobile and China Unicom.
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Country code: |
86 |
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Area code of Beijing: |
010 |
MEDICAL CONCERNS
There are hospitals and drugstores near the Hotel. However, please BRING with you medicines that you regularly take.
Notes on health precautions while travel in China:
* Drink only boiled or bottled water or carbonated drinks in cans or bottles. Avoid tap water, fountain drinks and ice cubes.
* Don’t eat food purchased from street vendors.
* Don’t drink beverages with ice.
* Don’t handle animals (especially monkeys, cats, dogs), to avoid the risk of rabies.
* Don’t swim in fresh water (excluding well-chlorinated pools) in some parts of China to avoid infection with schistosomiasis.
* Wash hands often with soap or water (and/or instant antibacterial hand wash).
* Don’t eat or drink dairy products unless you know they have been pasteurized.
* Don’t share needles with anyone.
* Eat only thoroughly cooked food, or fruits and vegetables that you have peeled yourself.
* Never eat uncooked meat, raw eggs, or unpasteurized dairy products. Raw shellfish is dangerous for people who have liver disease or compromised immune systems.