Flight
We chose Beijing as our first destination of our epic four month long Asia adventure primarily because adding an extra stop at Beijing did not cost much on the flight tickets. Besides, Beijing is the capital of China and is as good a starting point to get a taste of China as any other Chinese city. Our kids thought that this "taste of China" was hot, jet-lagged, and a struggle, but we thought that this would give them, homeschooled pretty much all their lives, an education into their ethnic culture and heritage, and they warmed up to it as we got along.
Our China experience began even before we landed in China. We took the Hainan Airline to Beijing (HU7976). It was our first time using the airline and we all loved it. I was forewarned that the Chinese passengers can be loud and rude. However, I found that they were not very different from other passengers from different countries. Overall, we enjoyed the flight. The flight attendants were attentive, and the passengers were polite and quiet. Other than the usual blankets and pillows for long flights, the flight also provided a comprehensive amenity kit (see below). Thanks to these, I slept very well on the flight. In fact, I slept so well on the plane that it only felt like a 2 hour flight.
High tech window shade
My son and I were fascinated by this advanced window shade. Instead of a mechanical sliding shade, this plane was equiped with an electronic shade. You can adjust the darkness of the shade by pressing a button. The crew can also adjust the shades in the entire plane if they need to.Flight amenity kit
I was flying economy and frankly wasn't expecting much. But this kit pleasantly surprised me and started my journey in a positive way. It had an eye mask, a pair of ear plugs, a toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, a pair of headphones, and even a pair of socks. The quality was average hotel quality but the consideration that Hainan Airline put into this kit is commendable.
Walking on the streets
As we walked on the streets of Beijing, we realized how different is Beijing from Canada. For one, China employs right hand traffic (RHT) while Canada is left hand traffic (LHT). That means when you and your kids cross the road, you need to watch at different direction. This brought us to the second difference between China and Canada. The traffic in China was chaotic. Vehicles mostly followed traffic signs but motorcyclists always tried to beat the traffic by mixing in with the pedestrians. As you cross the road (especially when you have kids travelling with you), always paid attention to the scooters around you. It appears that scooters follow the same rule as a bicycle. So, they can ride on a bike lane and cross a road like a pedestrian.
Navigation App
The streets of Beijing were wide and easy to follow. It is well known that Google and its related websites are not accessible in China. Since we know Chinese, our friends recommended us to use the 高德地图 (amap) [iOS] [Android] navigation app instead. The app was very well designed and easy to use (if you know Chinese). In some ways, it was even better than Google Maps in Canada.
If you don't read Chinese, however, you could also prepare your trip by downloading offline Google Maps before your trip. I had met travellers who were able to navigate with this approach.
Beijing Public Transit
The first thing you do in Beijing is to get the Yikatong card. You can purchase it from any Beijing subway station and some bus stations. There is a refundable CNY 20 on the card itself. For buses, which are already very cheap (CNY 2 - USD 0.28), you even get a 50% discount if you use the card to pay. Most buses require you to tap the card twice, once when you enter the bus (in the front) and the another time when you get off (through the back door). For long distance travel, there are extra charges based on distance. Usually each bus has one driver and one assistant, I find that the assistant is quite helpful and makes you feel safe for the entire trip.
Beijing subway is similarly very affordable. You do not get the 50% discount like the buses. However, the subway fare is based on distance and is usually around CNY 3 (USD 0.43). Most tourist attractions, except for the Great Wall, are accessible by the subway.
Navigating through the Beijing public transit is quite easy. If you use the 高德地图 app, there is no need to install a different app because like Google Maps, it is integrated with transit information. If, however, you don't have that, you can use the Metro Beijing Subway app [iOS] [Android] to help plan your trip.
Both buses and subway had stop announcement in both Mandarin and English. There was also a display of the current and next stop inside the vehicle. Like the buses, subway also had an assistant stationed inside the car, his/her job was to make sure that everyone behaved inside the car.
Subway Security
All across China, you need to go through an airport-like security check before you can take the subway train. Water bottles are required to be checked separately.
Delivery service
One of the reasons for the busy traffic is the proliferation of delivery service in China. I was told that wherever you are in China, you could order a melon from Xinjiang and have it delivered to your home in one day. Although not everyone is ordering melon from Xinjiang, many people are ordering take out instead of eating in a restaurant. People who ran these deliveries (especially food related) often faced tremendous pressure to meet the deadline. Some companies do not pay their drivers if they cannot meet the deadlines.
美團 (Meituan)
One of the most popular food delivery apps in China is called 美團 (Meituan) [iOS] [Android]. Almost all restaurants have some support for it. Unfortunately, there is no English version for this app.
Staying
Like many travellers, our experience interacting with the local people began with our hostel. In our case, it was the Simple Family Beijing. The hostel was located inside a commercial building and the closest subway station was 东四十条 (Dongsi Shitiao station). The building itself was quite old and the elevators were located in a rather dim ground floor. Putting these negativity aside, however, the hostel itself was actually very decent and clean. We stayed in the family suite, which is more than enough for the five of us. The private bathroom was rudimentary but clean enough for us. A very nice thing about this hostel was that you can always find at least one of the host family members in the common areas, like the kitchen and the TV/laptop room. The host family were very generous and treated everyone like their family members. I could not count how many times did the host family shared food and stories with us and the kids.
Besides meeting the host family, we also encountered many interesting people who came to Beijing for many different reasons. We had met a film financier and an exchange student. They both came to Beijing to study the language, hoping this new skill can advance their career. There were also families visiting from different countries. We also met a professional athlete who competed in a sport I had never heard of. In general, if you keep an open mind and engage in conversation with the people you meet, you will enrich your trip tremendously.
A little supply corner inside the hostel
The hostel had a small corner in the kitchen where you could get very cheap (sometimes free) food or drinks. For example, the cereals and tea were free. Beer would cost you about CNY 10 (i.e. USD 1.42 as of 2019). With the same price, you could also get a nice cup of espresso. One thing I missed the most while travelling in China was the lack of good coffee shops.
People
Beijing had a mix of people from all over China and around the world. Besides the host family and the travellers within the hostels, we had also met some locals who were willing to share their stories with us.
One day after I ran on the streets of Beijing, I stopped by a 24 hour breakfast restaurant to get some local tofu. A young guy in the restaurant took notice of me and invited me to sit with him and chat. He seemed friendly, so I let down my guard and talked to him. He told me about his own story. At 25 now, he left his home town in Henan province (河南) two months ago to come to Beijing to look for opportunities. He worked as a staff in a beef patty fast food chain near the Workers’ Stadium. To make more money, in his spare time, he also ran deliveries (see above about delivery service). At the end of our conversation, he even offered to buy me a deep fried donut. I couldn’t say no. He wouldn’t let me say no. After that, he asked me about my itinerary and suggested a few places. I could tell that he really wanted to help me get the most out of my time in Beijing. I knew he barely had enough time and money for himself but he still treated me (a stranger) with food and his company. His generosity overwhelmed me and I felt a bit ashamed that I was alarmed and cautious during part of our conversation.
Besides this unique experience, every time we took the subway, someone would let my youngest son have a seat. The people in Beijing were very polite and courteous.
Ongoing adjustment
As a country that is rapidly developing, there are a lot of adjustments for the locals. Understandably, the government is actively trying to educate them. For example, signs were everywhere that talked about proper travel etiquette (Chinese tourists had a history of misbehavior outside of the country, just look at this). You could also see assistant on a bus or in the subway trying to stop people from doing any disruptive behavior (e.g. if someone was playing a movie on their smartphone with speakers on).
To truly raise the quality of its people and move forward, however, the society must have a set of core values that guide its people. The government realize this and displayed those values prominently on the street. These values include: Strength, Democracy, Be Civilized, Harmony, Freedom, Equality, Justice, Law, Patriotism, Work Ethics, Trustworthy, and Kindness. However, it would take some time before the general citizens would embrace these values and follow through no matter where they go.
Sanitary Condition
When I mentioned travelling to China, many people were concerned about its sanitary condition. Honestly, it was not too bad. For environmental reason, we stayed away from bottled water as much as possible. We had no problem drinking boiled water or filtered water from the hostel.
Most restaurants in Beijing had reasonable toilet. In China, the hand washing basins were often installed outside of the toilet and were shared by all genders. There were public toilets in most subway stations and on major streets. Their conditions vary but were generally usable. The public toilets in China are universally squat style. Luckily, toilets in your hotel or hostel are likely westernized with seats. Given the general availability of squat toilets, I would recommend travellers to get used to it. They're actually pretty good-clean, simple, and healthy-I'd be delighted if Canada made the switch.
A more prevalent public health issue was spitting. All over China, many people spit without regard. We had learned to listen for the sound of spitting as we walked and made sure we were as far away as possible.