• If you are looking for a really good American breakfast, you should go to Chef Too near the west gate of Chaoyang Park on a Saturday or Sunday morning

• Beijing’s subway system is extensive and inexpensive. It will take you to the vast majority of places you’d want to go. The fare is Y2 no matter where you’re traveling. If you need to travel somewhere the subway does not go, there is also an extensive bus system, but you might have a hard time figuring it out if you don’t read Chinese.

• If you are a fan of rock music, you MUST go to D-22, a small music venue at 242 Chengfu Lu (south side of the street) near Peking University. The western media likes to refer to it as “Beijing’s CBGB,” and they have shows every night except Mondays. Some of the biggest names in Chinese rock have played there, including P.K. 14 and Carsick Cars, and their posters are displayed around edge of the second floor balcony. Make sure to visit the bathrooms, which are decorated in entertaining graffiti.

• If you are staying at Tsinghua you will need a bike! The campus is huge, and bikes are the best way to get around. There is a good place to rent a bike at the east gate near the Wudoukou subway stop. The shop is built into the wall on the west side of the gate. Follow the path through the sea of bicycles to get inside.The people are very nice, helpful, and honest. They don’t, however, speak English so make sure you have a Chinese speaker with you. The rate in summer 2010 was 60 kuai/month.

• 1 kuai = 1 yuan = 10 jiao (although people don’t say jiao, the say number of kuai followed by a number which is understood to be jiao.

* Don’t try everything that looks good on the street! If you have a weak stomach, you might have a bad reaction to it or get food poisoning. Also, just because a restaurant claims it is 24 hours does not mean there will be food at all hours. Many American chain restaurants such as McDonald’s are out of food by midnight.

Created on 25 Sep 2010, Last modified on 26 Sep 2010