Resources for Visitors

I am working on a list of web resources and tips for those planning to visit me in China. I will definitely be updating this list, but here's a good start. Those of you already into the planning stages for a visit that's coming up soon (Alan, Michelle, David - anyone else?), please let me know if you come across anything really useful. This is all about empowering you, the visitor - the more you know about what you want to do and what to expect, the more satisfying your trip will be!

• Chinese Embassy in DC - Don't forget that visa!

• eBeijing International – English-language web site (also has Chinese-language site) hosted by the Mayor of Beijing. Some tourist information, lots of practical information.

• Beijing Olympic e-Map – English-language map from the Chinese the Olympics Committee. Not fully functional yet, but eventually you will be able to show locations of bookstores, Olympic venues, restaurants, etc. Meanwhile, you can zoom in on an English-language map of Beijing.

• Chinese Culture Club – Runs frequent English-language cultural activities and walks. Good for scheduling an activity while you’re here, or just for getting ideas.

• Beijing Hikers Club – Started by foreigners, great weekend activities outside the city if you’re going to be here for a while. All Great Wall hikes involve fairly strenuous trips to places you’d never see with a tourist guide or group.

• Ctrip – English language site for planning domestic travel within China. Good for getting ideas (click the China map or go to the English-language discussion forum), also good for checking prices of domestic flights and hotels. Please let me do the actual booking on this site, though.

• Travel China Guide – English-language tour planner. Although this company sells tours, their site is useful for getting ideas about where to go in China, even if you don’t purchase their tours. I’ve never actually used them for purchasing travel, so I have no idea how good they might be.

• Chaoyang International – This one is, I admit, a bit less useful, but it is the home page of my region of Beijing, Chaoyang District. Chaoyang is developing quickly, and the web site is a good representation of the city and district’s efforts to be welcoming and prepared for foreigners in advance of the Olympics.