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Beijing

Transport from airport to central business district
Taxis are available at the airport, but it is recommended to order airport transport when booking your hotel. Carry your hotel phone number with you in the event you are not met as planned.

Tipping
Tipping is officially frowned on but hotel staff used to foreign visitors now expect tips, as do some taxi drivers.

Banking hours
The Bank of China is open from 9:30 am to noon, closed for lunch and the traditional "rest period", then reopens from 2:00 pm to 5 pm Monday to Friday. Hotel branches are usually open longer.

Business Dress
Western business suits for men. Women should dress conservatively.

Recommended restaurants to entertain a client

• All the major hotels have good Chinese restaurants used to catering for business guests; highly recommended is the Great Wall Sheraton Hotel's "The Fan", Dong Huan Bei Lu. Reservations:Tel. 5005 5667 x2237
• Beijing's best known Beijing Duck restaurant is Quan Ju De Kao Ya Dian (several branches).
• The Brasserie, at the Shangri-La Hotel, 29 Zi Zhu Yuan Lu, Reservations: Tel. 841-2211 x2719

Good local bar where you won't get ripped off
Hotel bars are safe and clean, but for true local flavour order a bottle of local beer at a small roadside eatery

Good place for a drink with a spectacular view of the city
The western restaurant at the top of the Traders' Hotel, 1 Jianguomenwai Dajie (popular restaurant with the diplomatic corps and local expatriate crowd). Best local wine: Great Wall

Recommended restaurant for local food with good (or colorful) ambience
Fang Shan, Beihai Park. Ask your hotel concierge to book a table for you in advance. Traditional imperial food served in private rooms overlooking central Beijing's most famous lake. Reservations: Tel. 441-184

Recommended tourist(or historic)site to visit if you only have a morning or an afternoon

• The Forbidden City and neighbouring Tiananmen Square
• The Summer Palace in Beijing's outskirts
• The Great Wall at either the traditional tourist centre Badaling(1 hr. from Beijing) or the newer more remote (and less crowded viewing point), Mutianyu

Best place to buy local handicrafts

• Local products are available along Beijing's popular central shopping street, Wangfujing.
• Art (including original "peasant paintings"), art books, Chinese brushes and inkstones,together with authentic (and copied) antiques are easiest found in Beijing's restored shopping district famous since the 18th century: Liulichang.
• For antiques ranging from furniture to ceramics, try Hua Xia, Dongdan Nandajie, south of Chang'an Jie in central Beijing.