welcome to the 'jing
witness the strength of hutong knowledge

Probably nobody's told you this yet, but Beijing is one big-ass confusing city. It a city that's always ready to throw you a curve-ball, hit you for a loop, rain on your parade. But on the flip-side, it's also the freakiest, get drunk at dinner, dance 'til dawn, then go watch the flag raise city I've ever lived in.

Beijing is fun, enormous, crazy, frustrating, cheap, dirty, awesome, underground, over the top, expensive and amazing. Beijing can even be small, though only after you've slept with enough ex-pats.

So without any further ado, let me welcome you to what will hopefully be an ongoing project, a collation of on the ground, first-hand facts and figures about how to get shit done in the 'Jing, from real people on the street.

wudaokou

If you're studying at Peking University, Tsinghua or BLCU, (and chances are you are) you'll be spending a lot of time in Wudaokou, or as the cool kids say, the Wu.

school (coming soon)

Here's some basic info on the Big 3 campuses in Wudaokou plus a few of the other big foreign language colleges on the west side of the city. You'll probably learn this stuff soon enough, but here's a heads up.

food

Fish gotta swim, you gotta eat. Though Beijing's not exactly magical in the culinary department, there are plenty of hidden gems if you know where to look.

shopping

Ah. You've come to the land of the Fake Fendi. Now, young Padawan, it is time for you to learn how to use the Jedi Mind Trick to get that rabidly xenophobic stall-owner to drop the price on those obviously fake Calvin Kleins. How do you know they're fake? Because they've spelt Calvin with a G.

party (coming soon)

Man, if your feet are made for dancing and your liver's made for drinking, I hope you packed your party pants, 'cause Beijing is not going to disappoint. From the Chivas and Green Tea drinking superclubs to the fake booze hole-in-the-walls, bars, clubs, hip-hop to techno, R'n'B to Drum'n'Bass, and a large sprinklling of underground Chinese indie rock, Beijing has ways of making you miss class.

services (coming soon)

A random collection of fixers, helpers, suppliers and services, all proudly bearing the Lush Seal of Above Average-ness!