Name: Shaoli Ghosh
Age: 23 years old
Hometown: New Yorker!
Beijing is great for shopping! So bargaining is a must. There is this great place near the Yashow Mall called Nali Mall. Not crowded and amazing deals on great clothing and bags etc… I would go back to Bejing just for this mall. There is this great restaurant next to Nali called Alameda. It’s Brazilian and supposedly one of the best restaurants in Beijing. It was excellent!
My friend and I went to the bus area that takes you to the Great Wall, but there were none running, so we made a deal with a cabbie. From what I remember, it wasn’t a bad deal and he knew which part of the great wall was less crowded etc… so it was really convenient and easy.
Also, Chinese contemporary art is blowing up right now! so I recommend checking out this concentrated area of art galleries called 798 art zone.
And, cabs can be your friend in China, but the traffic can be monstrous!!
My Story in Beijing:
When I visited Beijing, I heard these stories about young Chinese people chatting up tourists (particularly Chinese girls going up to guys) and asking them out for tea. The tourist goes and ends up having to pay $200 or some other ridiculous figure for Jasmine tea. It can be a tourist trap so be careful! When I was at Tiananmen Square with a friend who luckily spoke Chinese, we were approached by some Chinese students. They were learning English and were really excited to speak to native English speakers. They invited us to tea. I was completely hesitant because of the stories, but ultimately they were just really curious about Western culture. I still can’t believe how friendly they were! But as I discovered, all the Beijingers I came across were all very kind.