Memoirs of Beijing

For the October National Holidays, my sister and I decided to visit Japan.  As we will be arriving from two different places (Beijing & San Francisco), we had to individually do the pre-Japan items namely visa, tickets, hotel and JR pass.

On my previous trip to Japan, my friend and I didn’t factor in the cost benefits of getting a JR pass.  All we know at that time, is that it was very expensive.  On my upcoming trip, my sister already planned the whole itinerary thus knowing how much we would need to shell out in case we don’t go for the JR pass.

What is a JR Pass?

The Japan Rail pass is a rail pass sold to overseas visitors and Japanese nationals qualified to live in a foreign country by the Japan Rail Group.   The pass offers unlimited travel on JR group’s extensive train networks, local JR bus companies and JR Miyajima ferries.

The price for each pass differs between time period (7-day, 14-day, 21-day), variety (green/first-class, ordinary) and user (adult or child). 

Prices are quoted in Japanese Yen and the actual cost in local currency is calculated at the time the Exchange Order is issued.  The Exchange Order must be purchased prior to your arrival in Japan and will be converted to the Japan Rail Pass on specified counters at the airport or city centers.

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Planning to travel to Shanghai next month?  Why not try the Beijing-Shanghai high speed railway train that everyone’s been waiting for.  No need to wait a long time at the airport gates nor travel to and from the airport.  The exact date of operation has yet to be announced but news reports are saying that it would either be by the end of June or early July.

The Beijing to Shanghai high speed railway train will be running in two different speeds on this 1,318 kilometer track. 

• Speed: 300 kph.  

• No. of trains daily:  63 pairs of trains
• Travel time:  4 hours and 48 minutes
• Ticket costs:  RMB 555 for coach class,  RMB 935 for business class and RMB 1,750 for first class

• No. of trains daily:  27 pairs of trains
• Travel time:  approximately 8 hours
• Ticket costs:  RMB 410 for coach class and RMB 650 for first class

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For this quarter, I will be reviewing another Accor member hotel, Novotel. Marketed as a mid-range hotel, standard room price ranges from RMB 500 to RMB 900 depending on the season. In Beijing, Novotel has several locations such as Chong Wen Men, Sanyuanqiao and Wangfujing. Of the three locations, the cheapest is Novotel Beijing Xin Qiao located in Chong Wen Men.

Location

Novotel Beijing Peace (和平酒店) is located at #3 Jinyu Hutong, Wangfujing. Nearest subway stop is line 5, Dengshikou station. The hotel can also be access from Line 1, Dongdan station but it’s still a fair walk. If you’re taking a cab, just tell them the name in Chinese or tell them to bring you to Wangfujing.

Wangfujing is the pedestrian street of Beijing and the hotel is a 2 minute walk from the inner end of the street near Lotte Mall. Food places abound in the area and if you’re a car aficionado, a walk towards Jin Bao Street will bring you to the Ferrari, Matserati, Aston Martin, Lambourghini and Rolls Royce show rooms. High end shops are also in the area with Louis Vitton at the Peninsula Hotel and Gucci at Jinbao Place.

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After spending almost five years in Beijing, I have never envisioned myself learning how to ski. I remembered winning some ski tickets 2 years back but was busy when the day arrived. Last Sunday, I was already planning to go to church and attend our team activity in the afternoon but was encouraged to attend by friends from the Philippines who were in town to celebrate RS’ birthday party at Nanshan.

Getting There

The Nanshan Ski Village is located near Miyun County, 62 km from Wanghe Bridge, north of Beijing. They have 21 trails for skiing and snowboarding. You have three options of getting there by car:

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Every month, I usually receive an email from Pantry Magic on their latest promotion and events.  I signed up to their newsletter when I bought baking items for my aspiring baker sister, Karen. 

Pantry Magic

The store is located at Unit 108D of Nali Patio along Sanlitun North Road.  They sell imported and quality products for your baking and cooking needs.  They also provide knife sharpening services for RMB 20 and carries cookbook and baking books for amateur and professional individuals.  The price is a little bit on the high side so I would suggest you only purchase something from them if you’ve already exhausted all avenues.

Hotel seems to be my passion this year as this will be the fourth hotel that I will be reviewing.  I was able to experience this hotel as this seems to be my boyfriend’s company’s choice of hotel. 

Location & Background

Kunlun Hotel opened its doors in 1989 and underwent some renovation to its rooms and lobby in 2005.  The hotel is located along East Third Ring Road and just outside Liangmaqiao station of subway line 10.  In the vicinity of the hotel, you have Westin Hotel, Kempinski Hotel and the Lufthansa embassy area.  China gave them a 5 star hotel rating but for me, I think it will pass as 4 stars.

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It’s that time of the year where locals and expats alike who earn more than RMB 120,000 a year are asked to file for their income tax return.  Income includes salary, bonuses, freelance gigs and property sale.  This is the first time I’ve filled the form and it was a little bit daunting especially for a foreigner who can’t read Chinese.

Taxation in China is quite different from other countries.  My sister who’s working in the US always talk about getting tax refunds.  In the Philippines, you’re taxed according to your civil status, whether you have dependents and your work status.  I haven’t heard of any refunds but they usually have deductions when the annual income tax deadline looms.

In China, expats are being taxed for income of more than RMB 4,800 a month.  After the first RMB 4,800, you have to look at your tax bracket on how much they will charge you.  In any case, whether you have kids or not, whether you work the whole year or not, you would still be taxed for any income more than RMB 4,800 (expats) and RMB 1,800 (locals).  No refunds whatsoever so tough luck!

After filling up the form on their website, http://gs.tax861.gov.cn/index.htm, you will get a “Thank you for filing your tax” screen.  In any case, I still prefer it here as I pay less taxes than in the Philippines and life is a bit better here in Beijing.

So don’t wait till the last minute, tax filing deadline is on MARCH 31, 2010.

It’s been quite some time since I’ve posted tips in living in Beijing.  One of the most important thing in living in China is navigating the city without looking dumb.  If you’ve been to Hong Kong, you’d probably notice their infamous Octopus card. 

In Beijing, the Octopus card counterpart is called the Yi Ka Tong.  This card can be bought at the nearest subway station.  Not all ticket booth in the station have this card.  They might direct you to a different ticket booth to purchase this.

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It’s Spring again and Cherry Blossom Festival will soon kick off in Japan. These trees will be in full bloom starting mid-March to mid-May in different locations. Usually once the flowers first bloom, you have between 5 to 12 days to enjoy them before it’s gone.

One of our plans this year is to witness this event and to start it off, we need to apply for a visa to visit Japan. The Japanese Embassy’s visa section in Beijing is located at the 2^nd floor of Silver Tower at East Third Ring North Road. However, starting 1 March 2010, visa application can only be coursed through accredited travel agencies.

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Woohoo!!  I didn’t notice that it was snowing not until I was about to head off to church.  It seems like winter is early this year.  It’s kinda strange as when I asked my friends about two years ago of what they remembered as the earliest snowfall in their lifetime and they both said it was November 6. 

Well.. yesterday snowfall apparently is one of the earliest in record.  Last time it snowed this early was eighty seven years ago.  Also, it wasn’t light snow but medium snowfall with big flakes and four inches of snow.  It was so pretty that my friend and I can’t resist taking photos.

The bad side of early snowfall is freezing temperatures and no heating.  In China, all buildings north of the Yangtze river turn on their heating by the 15th of November which officially starts the winter season.  However, as it suddenly snowed yesterday, everyone is wearing two to three sets of clothing inside their home.  It’s such a pain going around and searching for a place where it’s warm.  I might have to resort in buying an electrical heater just to keep myself warm.

I hope they open the heaters soon.  The snow outside is slowly melting and the cleaning ladies are already sweeping them out of the sidewalk.  If you didn’t see some rooftops with snow, you wouldn’t know that it snowed recently.

I hope we’ll have more snowfalls this season or else if they follow the trend we have for the past couple of years, we would only have two to three more left.