China Travel Forum

[James]

I am traveling to Beijing for a week to do some shopping. I am interested in purchasing 100% silk persian style rugs(i heard the russian market is a good place to go) , velvet drapes, and tailor made shirts. I would like to stay in a central area for less than 100$ night. Any helpful hints would be great. I am bringing a buddy of mine over and we also would like to go out and enjoy the nightlife too. We are both straight guys I'm 38 and he is 25.
How do we get around
how much cash do you need
do credit cards work
are there ATMs
how safe is it
are the merchants trustworthy
should I bargain
Thanks

[Tom Jian]

i can give you some suggestions.
Most foriegners go shopping at Silk Market, Pearl Market and Yashow. As far as i know, Yashow is the Market with best shopping envirement and there is a find tailor shop in the third floor . Several of my friends from Dutch had made suits there and they are quite satisfied with them. Pearl Market is also nice. The things there are very cheap but you MUST bargin a lot. You can get almost whatever you want in these markets. Silk market is a outdoor market. It's even more expensive but i don't know why.
The ATM is quite safe. Don't worry. With $100 you can almost live in the 5 star hotel here. If you can bargin you can get a singl room in a 3 star hotel within USD$40.
How much cash you need depends on what you buy. I find foriegners who first get here always buy much more than they expect: ) There are ATMs near every market so no need to worry.