Going to Beijing for 1 month

[Koosh]

Hello all.
I have plans to be in Beijing from May 25th to June 24th.
Is anyone familiar with this city? I am looking for a few things.

-A beginners Chinese language school
-Place to play Go where people might speak English (Or Japanese...)
-Some recommended places to sight-see

I'm always up to meeting new people from established networks abroad! Let me know if anyone lives in Beijing or will be in the area during that time.

[cdybeijing]

I live in Beijing. There is an English speaking go club that meets every Tuesday night from 7:30 - 11:30. There is also a famous club full of strong Chinese players that is open every day of the week, but most busy on Saturdays and Sundays.

Chinese schools are a dime a dozen, and if you have never studied before, it won't matter a great deal which one you choose.

Contact me privately a little bit closer to your arrival and I'll do my best to guide you a bit once you've arrived.

[Koosh]

Thanks very much! You're just the person I was looking for.
I'll be sure to contact you as indicated.

Anyone else?

[cdybeijing]

Do you know yet where in the city you'll be staying?

[kivi]

Last summer I visited Beijing for a few days. You already know where to be on Tuesday evenings Great source of insider knowledge, nice people as well.
The weiqi saloon cdy mentioned is also nice place, I checked once on a weekday. You can find both places address on senseis library.

Google maps of China has wrong gps coordinates - there is a some hundred meters offset.

Taxis are very cheap. Metro is easy to use unless you have heavy luggage (stairs). Airport to city taxi charges ca 100 RMB, though there will be a taxi-queue-handler asking your destination and give a quote around 5 times of that.

I learned the numbers, "how much" and "too expensive" before going, and had fun haggling for things that I didn't really want to buy. They refer to chinese money not as yuan or renminbi, but kuai. Somewhat disappointingly, I saw many people playing xiangqi on the street/parks but never weiqi.

I reckon I am a bit random and should be sleeping already.

[cdybeijing]

Last summer I visited Beijing for a few days. You already know where to be on Tuesday evenings Great source of insider knowledge, nice people as well.
The weiqi saloon cdy mentioned is also nice place, I checked once on a weekday. You can find both places address on senseis library.

Google maps of China has wrong gps coordinates - there is a some hundred meters offset.

Taxis are very cheap. Metro is easy to use unless you have heavy luggage (stairs). Airport to city taxi charges ca 100 RMB, though there will be a taxi-queue-handler asking your destination and give a quote around 5 times of that.

I learned the numbers, "how much" and "too expensive" before going, and had fun haggling for things that I didn't really want to buy. They refer to chinese money not as yuan or renminbi, but kuai. Somewhat disappointingly, I saw many people playing xiangqi on the street/parks but never weiqi.

I reckon I am a bit random and should be sleeping already.

Weiqi in the street is rare; you won't find it unless you go to it. Ritan Park always has several boards going complete with live commenting kibitzers to shepherd your opponent through the game.

[Koosh]

I'm don't yet know which city I am staying at. I'll let you know when I do.

Thanks for the tip about Google Maps. I should probably avoid using that, then.
I heard from a friend to pay in small denominations - apparently it's a common practice to give fake money as change to people who don't seem like they would know what to look for. People like me

Riten Park sounds interesting. I imagine that I'll need to be a bit more tactful if I want to join in the shepherding. Screaming hao!bu hao! won't make me many friends.

I'll have someone picking me up and bringing me around on weekends, so I don't anticipate getting too lost.
Still, exploring any city is a major task without a little inside information. Thanks for the tips.
If anyone can think of any other suggestions, please let me know.

[HermanHiddema]

I visited the Tiandi Jian go club in Beijing last december, and wrote a report about it here:
http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/viewto ... =10&t=2633

Definitely worth at least one visit, but going regularly depends on your budget.

[Koosh]

I visited the Tiandi Jian go club in Beijing last december, and wrote a report about it here:
http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/viewto ... =10&t=2633

It sounds like you had a good experience over there.
I'll definitely stop by the Tiandi Jian Go Club and have a look. Thanks for pointing me in the direction of your introductory post here!