Visiting China. Two critical questions.

[Yeem]

Hello my darlings! So I'm going to Beijing for two weeks.

I need to know two things:

1. Is the currency exchange at Beijing international airport a ripoff? Is it fast? I know there are several banks offering these services at the airport, apparently all with the same rates. I plan to change roughly 400 EUR to RMB. Will I get small bills (for taxis and whatnot) if I ask for it, or do they only provide large bills? If so, where can I get smaller bills? I'd like to do the exchange at the airport, as ordering RMB to my local bank is a hassle and is pretty expensive. I live in Finland. Is this a good or a bad Idea? Any other advice on exchanging currency?

2. This may be a silly question, but I was wondering about the requisite announcing of my residence during the stay to local law enforcement. I'm staying at a hostel, which I've already booked. Payed a 20€ down payment with my credit card and will pay the rest cash on check-in. Will the hostel inform the police for me, or will I have to go to the local station and do it myself? I guess I could ask this on arrival, but in case their English is as bad as my Mandarin, I may not get the information I need. So any insight on this would be a great help before I depart. (I don't remember the name of the hostel at this time, and I don't have the information here at the moment, but it's listed on hostelbookers.com, so it's not some extremely obscure/hidden hostel (yes, I know ). In fact it appeared quite popular.)

The reason for asking these questions is that my googling skills were not sufficient for these two doozies :hmm:

Any other tips or advice is also greatly appreciated. I've been reading up on traveling to China, so I feel like I've got a decent grasp of the basic stuff that every book and website offers. Share your secrets with me!

Feel free to recommend other forums where I might get a more informed response as well. I didn't feel like searching for a good dedicated traveling forum when ATOT is right at my fingertips!

Thanks for reading! Looking forward to reading your replies.

P.S. I'm on GMT+2 here, so I'm off to bed. Will check this thread tomorrow morning and hand out (virtual D cookies! :awe:

 

[HardcoreRobot]

generally when i travel overseas i dont carry that much cash. most places accept credit card, and some cards here in the states (capitol one, maybe others) dont charge a foreign transaction fee AND will give you the days best exchange rate. (plus you dont have to carry cash). cash IS good for cabs and stuff like that, so you definitely want some but I dont think you need to plan to pay for everything in cash. then, once you realize you arent taking out *that* much money, whatever % diff the airport might charge, it may just be worth the convenience.

for question 2, i dont really understand. some countries want your accomodations and exit information, others don't seem to care. it seems like you know your plan so if they ask you can answer truthfully. i wouldnt worry about them not knowing english, its a major airport in a major international destination - someone there will speak it and there should be signs/instructions.

all that being said, ive never been to china so take with grain of salt

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Currency exchange in my experience has been pretty standard all across China. The rates are fixed anyway, and it's been the same almost every bank, hotel, etc... Or almost the same at least...

Figure out how yo uwill defeat the Great Firewall. I know of some Proxy methods, and I used our university library's proxy or VPN to get through. Pretty interesting. Can't say I wasn't scared that the Gestapo would bust down my doors any minute and take me in....

BTW on the comment about not carrying cash, Beijing like every Asian country is all about cash. If you visit high end stores, yeah you'll pay with CC, but why bother with that? Since when was Asia about high end stores where you pay up the butt?

It's all about night markets, street markets, street vendors, and for that you need cash. I guess most of us are guys, but when I went through Asia with my friends, the girls carried tons of cash and used tons. As a guy I used far less and it was more food and drinks for me rather than clothes and all the other goods at markets.

I go back to Taiwan every year for 2 weeks at least to visit relatives, and I've never really used my credit card for the past 4-6 years. It's all cash.

 

[SandEagle]

those are NOT critical questions. you should be asking:

where's the best place to get some

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

You can go to a bank to exchange for RMB, or you can just bring less EUR and take RMB out of an ATM. When I was there I always just got my money from an ATM.

 

[ivan2]

1. All banks will have the same rate, I think the ones in airport is fine, afterward try to only change in real banks so you won't get fake dollars. About credit card, as far as I see only a handful of place accept them, like upscale shopping place, hotel, I won't bother with my credit cards, bring cash.

2. Never cared to report to the local police, never had a problem. Just fill out your residence in the form given out on the air place. I also think they use this address to catch you in case if someone has H1N1 on your flight.

When you enter, there will be a form that you have to keep and give it back to them on departure, might want to remember that.

 

[MaxFusion16]

currency exchange at the airport is fine, you'll get whatever bills you ask for.

since you are only visiting for 2 weeks, you don't need to register at the police station, you only do that if you are applying for a residence permit. You only need to fill out the hostel address on the entry form at customs.

enjoy beijing, visit shanghai if you get a chance.

 

[0roo0roo]

you only talk to the police if you want to tell them you are a journalist. if you do, they will send friends to keep you company.

 

[Kadarin]

More advice: Try not to get trapped in the Foxconn factory while you're there, and try to avoid schools where crazed people hack up the students and teachers with meat cleavers. Oh, and avoid the lead painted toys and street food made from cardboard.

 

[OulOat]

1) Use the ATMs for the best rates. Currency exchanges charge higher rates and fees; they are a business after all. ATMs rates are rather standard. Look on the back of your ATM card for a network that your bank belongs to; I think Cirrus and Star are popular. Once you have that, you can google for ATMs in your network at the airport and city. Taxis are rather cheap, my daily fares around Beijing totaled to less than 100 yuan, and that's using taxis for everything. Just make sure they use the meter; get out if they refuse to use the meter. No tips necessary.

2) The hostel will photocopy your and your companions passport and file them. This is true of anyone and any lodging in China. This is how the government keeps an eye on their citizens and visitors. You don't have to do anything else. If you don't want the government knowing exactly what you do and where you are, well, that depends on your "persuasion" skills.

 

[coloumb]

2) The hostel will photocopy your and your companions passport and file them. This is true of anyone and any lodging in China. This is how the government keeps an eye on their citizens and visitors. You don't have to do anything else. If you don't want the government knowing exactly what you do and where you are, well, that depends on your "persuasion" skills.

When I went on a business trip to Dalian for 3 weeks - nobody asked for my passport or ID upon checking into the hotel - just gave them my name and credit card information. The only time I had to show a passport was to get through customs after landing in Beijing.

Maybe they "require" copies of your passport if you look suspicious?

 

[Yeem]

Sorry for not replying sooner. Yesterday was chaos ^_^

Thanks for the replies! You've all helped a lot. Definitely going to be using ATMs and exchanging a small amount at the airport. The original (and crappy) plan was to exchange all the money here before leaving.

Also good to know that reporting to the police isn't gestapo-strict It had me thinking there for a while. Now I figure either the hostel will handle it or it's not that important. As long as I give them the address at customs.

Instead of (virtual D cookies :awe: I'll reward you with a pic I came across that is awesome (slightly graphic):

I'll upload any weird or interesting pics I happen to take in China to ATOT.

 

[tk149]

Bring your own toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Trust me on this.

My tour guides (I've been to China several times) advised us to steer clear of the police if at all possible.

 

[xCxStylex]

1 - If you ask me, any currency exchange at an airport (it's usually a travelex, www.travelex.com) is a ripoff.

However, since you live in Finland and have already checked that your local bank is expensive, it's probably the best bet. Here in the USA, usually there are several branches of my local bank that carry foreign currencies or can order if for you for lower than travelex's rates.

It's fast, you get whatever small bills you ask for, it's safe, legimitage, but the fees are hefty (at least to me). They probably speak multiple languages, in fact, try checking your local airport's foreign currency exchange, so there's a higher likely hood that they speak your local language. Then again, you and everyone else in the world seems to speak english, so I guess you may be alright.

Hello my darlings! So I'm going to Beijing for two weeks.

I need to know two things:

1. Is the currency exchange at Beijing international airport a ripoff? Is it fast? I know there are several banks offering these services at the airport, apparently all with the same rates. I plan to change roughly 400 EUR to RMB. Will I get small bills (for taxis and whatnot) if I ask for it, or do they only provide large bills? If so, where can I get smaller bills? I'd like to do the exchange at the airport, as ordering RMB to my local bank is a hassle and is pretty expensive. I live in Finland. Is this a good or a bad Idea? Any other advice on exchanging currency?

P.S. I'm on GMT+2 here, so I'm off to bed. Will check this thread tomorrow morning and hand out (virtual D cookies! :awe: