Beijing of course is now best known as the host for the 2008 summer games. That raised the profile of the city as a result of the huge coverage the Olympic games receives.

I was actually over in Beijing at the time of the Olympics and from that can give you a rough guide for spending a week in Beijing. I have also spent 18 months living in Beijing and have been there as a tourist on several occasions.

That time was most likely the most expensive time to be in Beijing so if you go now you could expect cheaper prices.

For a week in the city assuming you are eating out most of the time you would need around $500 US.

Meals can be cheap or expensive compared with US prices. If you eat like a local you can enjoy a fantastic Chinese meal for around $4 US. Eat at a western style restaurant and you could be looking at $50 for a meal.

If you want some KFC or McDonalds there are plenty in the city. You can expect to pay around $2 for a Big Mac and around $3 for a KFC meal.

To get around the city there is an excellent transport network. The subway costs 2 RMB for a trip with unlimited transfers except on the airport line which costs 25 RMB or around $3 USD. You would probably spend $2 a day on transport. You can even get out to the Great Wall for a couple of dollars.

Now the shopping in Beijing is an interesting experience. You can bargain at many shops and prices are low if you stay away from the name brands. I spent less than $50 for new jeans, a few shirts and a few other odds and ends.

While in Beijing you would want to visit some attractions such as the Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square and the Temple of Heaven. All up the cost would be around 100 RMB or $15 US.

For the week your food costs would be around $70. Transport $15 and shopping $150. Attractions $15. All up that makes it $250 US for a week in Beijing not including accommodation or a flight to Beijing.

Just recently my family had a vacation in Beijing. Lucky for us my daughter was 119cm at the time. As I mentioned this entitled her to free travel on the Beijing subway and bus network. We were also able to visit the Temple of Heaven with her gaining free entry. There are also other places you can visit that give free entry to short kids.

When we did travel on buses or the subway they were mostly crowded. One nice thing about the locals was that more often than not when we found ourselves on not being able to get a seat someone would offer my daughter their seat.

Inside the kids play area of the Science Museum in Beijing
If you are going to be visiting the home of the 2008 Olympics with your children two places my daughter enjoyed going to were the China Science and Technology Museum and Fundazzle. A science museum may not sound like much fun to a kid but if you ask my daughter it is. The museum has a building that is dedicated to the children where they can play and explore science. It is more aimed at entertainment rather than education.

Fundazzle was another great place to visit for our daughter. She actually went there for a birthday party. Fundazzle is a converted swimming pool. It has a large ball pit for jumping around and also a large climbing activity structure. The play areas are split up into one for they kids from 1-3 and another for the older kids.

The Science and Technology Museum is located at Bei San Huan Zhong Lu. It is actually within walking distance of the main Olympic stadium. Fundazzle is on the eastern corner of Workers Stadium.

To catch the train we went to the Beijing South railway station. It is located just off the south part of the second ring road. We got there by catching bus no. 800. We got off near Kaiyang Road. There is an overpass that took us across the ring canal next to the bus stop, then an underpass to go under the ring road. We headed west then turned south into Kaiyang Road. There is a pedestrian overpass that we went up and headed down towards the station. After getting off the overpass we found that there was a shuttle bus to take us to the West Entrance.

We walked into the colussus of a train station. I had been told that it is the biggest in Asia. I guess it is true, the station is huge. It looks more like an airport terminal. After entering the station we had to pass through a security check where they scanned our belongings.

Next up we found the self serve ticket vending machines. The machines have english or chinese language options. The fares offered were for first and second class. The first class train ticket from Beijing to Tianjin was 69rmb, while second class was 58rmb. We selected first class for the trip to Tianjin and second for the return leg. Our daughters ticket was 34.50rmb. She is six.

We had a 30 minute wait until the train was due to depart. There was plenty of seating so we sat back and waited. At 16.20 we got called to board our train for the 16.35 departure. We went down an escalator onto the platform and saw the sleek looking train. We walked all the way towards the back to board the first class section.

On entering the train you would have thought you were on an airplane. The seats were much the same as on a plane and the train attendants were dressed in a uniform much the same as an airhostess. A few minutes after boarding we were on our way.

The train gradually built up speed as it left Beijing headed for Tianjin. The journey was to take exactly 30 minutes. That is how it turned out. Inside the train there was a display that showed the speed of the train. This slowly increased as I watched the countryside whiz by. After around 10 minutes I saw the speed register at 331km. At one point a train passed up by and it was there one second gone the next.

Sitting on the train you would not know you were going so fast unless you look just straight down at the closest objects. I advise against this as you will probably end up suffering from motion sickness. The train is also nice and smooth. At that type of speed that is a good thing. There was a passenger across the aisle from me who had a jar of tea sitting on the window sill. This was hardly moving.

We arrived in Tianjian right on time. We got off went out and then back into the terminal. The Tianjin train station is also huge. We waited about 10 minutes and then we were back on the train for our return journey. This time it was in second class. The seating configuration had three seats on one side of the aisle and two on the other. There was less leg room however that is to be expected.

Once again the journey took 30 minutes. We arrived back in Beijing and made our way out of the station. At the time there were temporary buses running from the station to a nearby bus interchange.

The train was very impressive as was the new Beijing South train station. I would suggest taking first class both ways if you are going to catch the train.

Overall I recommend just going on the train for the experience.

Now that I am back at home base I will be busy writing about my adventures and adding pics and guides over the upcoming weeks about Beijing. Check back and see what you think.

Thanks to a proxy service I came across I can at least post articles. It is really slow so I don’t know how much I will get to do. It is at least good to get this post on so readers know why it is a bit quite around here recently.

Since I have been in Beijing I have been taking lots of photos and filming sights and other interesting things. I have been to some Olympic venues, enjoyed great food and have visited some interesting attractions.

Yesterday my family and I went to a dumpling restraurant not far from the Olympic stadium. They handmake the dumplings as you order. They were yummy. I will create a video with details when that is up and running. I brought the wrong video cable with me.

Today I am taking it easy at home as my feet have been hammered with all the walking I have done recently. All going well I will get some more articles posted over the coming weeks.

The rail journey will be reduced by one hour to a easy 30 minute ride. The trains will zip along the tracks at a top speed of 350 kmph (220 mph). The trains interior are said to be more like aircraft cabins than trains.

The Tianjin – Beijing rail link is a huge leap forward in terms of ramping up the speed according to Railway Ministry spokesman Wang Yongping as he spoke to reporters in the huge new Beijing South railway station. Wang said it is the largest train station in Asia.

I will be sure to check it out when I am in Beijing in August 2008.

The fare for the new train is yet to be announced.

If you have gone on a package tour this will most likely have been taken care of for you. You just need to find the tour guide and follow them onto the tour bus and then to the hotel. For the rest of the tourists it means using public transport. Following the recent opening of the Airport line subway here are the transport options available to the Beijing tourist.

For 25RMB or around USD3.70 you can take the subway from Beijing Capital Airport to Sanyuanqiao or Dongzhimen stations. The Sanyuanqiao station allows transfers to line 10. At the airport end of the line there are stops at Terminal 2 and 3.

The first train departs from Terminal 3 at 6:21.
The last train departs from Terminal 3 at 22:51.
The first train departs from Terminal 2 at 6:35.
The last train departs from Terminal 2 at 23:10.

Trains going to the airport from

The first train departs from Dongzhimen Station at 6:00.
The last train departs from Dongzhimen Station at 22:30.

Map of the Beijing Subway system including

If you are not catching a train from the airport you could use a taxi. The cost for a taxi is 2.0 yuan per kilometer. It is around 28km from the airport to the center of the city. Once you travel 15km the rate per kilometer attracts an additional 50%. You would expect the taxi fare to be around 75 to 80 RMB depending on your destination.

When catching a taxi it is best to line up at the official taxi rank. Try to avoid the hawkers who go to the terminal and try to attract your business.

The third transport option from Beijing Capital Airport to the city is the shuttle bus. The fare is 16 yuan and buses leave every 15 minutes on some lines or every 30 minutes on others.

Go here for more information regarding routes and service times.

The subway line running from Beijing Capital Airport is 28km long with 4 stations stretching from Dongzhimen to the airport. The maximum running speed of the train is 110km/h. Despite being more than ten times the normal subway fare the ride from the airport is still reasonably priced at 25 yuan. With the exchange rate of 1 USD = 6.82848 CNY as at 21 July that equals USD3.66

Subway Line 10 (Phase I) and the Olympic Extension have also opened. The three new lines have a combined rail distance of 58km. This now brings the total track length in the Beijing subway system to 200km of tracks with 8 rail lines.

As an important subway line connecting the north and the east of Beijing, the Phase I Project of Subway Line 10 extends 25km long with 22 stops, and includes six interchange stations with connections to the No. 13 line, the Olympic extension, No.5 line, the Airport Express Line, No.1 line, and No. 4 line. As such, Subway Line 10 can reach Beijing’s new development area Zhongguancun, the Beijing Olympic Center, the Asia Games Village and the CBD zone, as well as other key functional areas.

The Phase I Project of Subway Line 10 is important as it connects the north and the east of Beijing. Line 10 runs for 25km and includes 22 stops. The line is also an interchange for several lines and connects to no. 13 line, no. 5 line, the Olympic extension, the Airport Express Line, no 4 line and no. 1 line. Line 10 is an important line that has coverage of the new development area Zhongguancun, the Olympic Center and the CBD.

The new Olympic Extension line is 4.5km long in total with 4 stops. The starting stop, Beitucheng Station, is connected to the Olympic Green and the Olympic Central Zone. From 20 July only Olympic ticket holders for that day and and holders of registered certificates for the Beijing Olympics Games will be able to use the extension line.

The normal subway lines cost 2 yuan which with the exchange rate of 1 USD = 6.83386 as at 21 July is 29 US cents.