Due to China’s explosive growth rate, there are a lot of rich people in Beijing too, and of course there are more high end massage parlors to accomodate them too. So don’t be surprised if the price goes up to several hundred dollars for an hour in more expensive places.

When in a Beijing massage parlor, the first question to face is whether to have a back or foot massage. A back massage is pretty standard, but with a foot massage, you’ll first get a foot bath in Chinese herbs hot water before you’ll get your actual massage. Most of the time, it will be a girl giving you massage, and if you want you can usually swap for a guy.

Got any questions or experiences to share? Go wild in the comments…

Usually when the clock strikes 10 PM tents are being raised at various streets and tables being prepared with different snack foods. These foods include calamari on stick (Squid), Pork/lamb meat on stick, Fishballs, cabbage in soy sauce, fried dumpling on stick and much more. These nightly food stands are usually open between 10 PM and 2 AM.

Each foodstuff comes with a price of either 1 or 2 kuai so its inexpensive. Beer to that (usually a local brand or Tsingtao) comes at a price of 4-5 kuai.

The places where the food is served are very simple with plastic chairs and plastic tables in the open air. Still, it has a nice atmosphere due to the fact that Chinese people hang around there, not only “tourists”.

You can also eat snack foods at the bars but its usually a lot more expensive. For example a portion of French Fries in MTC club would go for 20 kuai which is the equivalent of Ten lambsticks at a nightmarket stand.

McDonald’s in China is open 24/7 and offer food for the hungry after a bar night. The price is usually 20 kuai for a Big Mac set.

Personally I prefer the Nightmarket food.

PANIC! First, I check the peephole on my door. Indeed, the entire corridor is orange from flames. I open the door, the hallway is thick with light gray smoke. I turn to my right. WHAT, no fire?!? I turn to my left. WHAT is an old lady doing kneeling on the floor burning a big bunch of paper. She looks at me, I look at her. I close my door.

After 30 seconds I open the door to look at her, she looks at me. I close the door.

After another minute of confusion I understood that she was performing some kind of ritual, either because it was some kind of ghost holiday or that they’ve just moved into their new apartment.

As I put on my shoes and go down to tell the security guard, I’m thinking “Damn peasants, take your tacky traditions elsewhere!” After I told the security guard what was going on, he said “Damn Cantonese! They’re getting on my nerves.”

We went up, and by the time we’ve gotten there they had already cleaned up the fire. The security guard apologized to them, I looked like an idiot and went back inside my apartment.

And then I realized there was a lot of ash on the floor of my room.

The special thing is, when you first arrive, they first take you to wash your hair and massage your upper body for around half an hour. During the massage, they will place hot towels under your neck and on your forehead and even help you clean your inner ear. After the massage, they proceed as usual by cutting your hair, rinsing it, drying it and applying some gel.

This costs 25 CNY, which translates to less than $4 USD.

Here in Beijing, prostitution is rampant. You can find prostitutes at clubs, hairdressers, massage parlors and on the streets. The normal price range goes from 100 CNY to as much as 2,000. Prostitution is illegal in China, but it’s pretty hard for the police to bust them, because they’re all covered in some way. Hookers at clubs don’t openly announce their profession, and it’s impossible to see the difference of them and a regular club-going girl. At the hairdressers, how can the police know that they are prostitutes and not just hairdressers? Despite difficulties, the local police has had quite a few successful raids in the past.

The area in Beijing that I live in is called Fulicheng. Several times a week, we get these namecards (pictured above) of massage services with suggestive pictures of girls slipped in under the door while sleeping. Whether they really do massage or not, I’ve yet to find out. But from what I’ve heard, these girls generally do very poor massages. I guess the rest should be left to the imagination.

When you’re tired of all the Western-style bars and clubs over at Sanlitun, Houhai and Workers Stadium – you should definitely try this out. This is what many Beijingers do and is a cool experience for the casual traveler.

• Make sure you’re with good company.
• Scourge the streets until you find the closest Muslim (Xinjiang) joint, and get a table outdoors.
• Start ordering Yanjing (Beijing) brand beers and some shish kebab (yang rou chuan / lamb on a stick), some pickled peanuts and green beans to go along with it.
• If you don’t know how to order, point at the plate of your neighbors and order what they’ve ordered.
• Let the games begin. Usually 6 bottles is enough for a person.
• Be merry.

The beers go for around 4 CNY ($0.6 USD) per 600 ml bottle and the kebabs 0.5 CNY ($0.1 USD) each. All together it shouldn’t cost more than 35 CNY ($5 USD) per person. Not only is this a very good deal, but also something unique to remember. I liked the food and the beers, and would do this again anytime.

These guys know how to earn money and close when all their customers leave, so don’t worry about the time.

This article struck a chord with me. The lifestyle of the young Chinese elite is one really feasible and respectable and has certainly motivated me to work harder towards my goals. Author Simon Elegant was also spot-on regarding the political standpoints of young Chinese. Contrary to some popular western journalism that blatantly bashes the Chinese government when it comes to politics, this article explores the current situation in a genuine and personal setting. This is definitely an article worth reading.

See excerpt:

Because of China’s one-child policy, instituted in 1978, this is the first generation in the world’s history in which a majority are single children, a group whose solipsistic tendencies have been further encouraged by a growing obsession with consumerism, the Internet and video games. At the same time, today’s young Chinese are better educated and more worldly than their predecessors.

[Via China Law Blog]

4 is romanized (pinyin) as si, which shares the same romanization as the word death. 13 is unlucky, just like in the west.

Chinese people are very careful about numbers. In this apartment building, there are supposed to be 30 floors. However, the floors 4, 13, 14 and 24 are skipped, leaving only 26 floors. Another example is with phone numbers, people avoid the number 4 in them and try to get as many 8 as possible. 8 is romanized as ba, which rhymes with fa, meaning richen in Chinese.

The apartment is slightly larger than 90m^2 and considered high-end, located in Fulicheng. The rent is 4500 CNY / month, approximately $600 USD with furniture included. It’s pretty expensive by Beijing standards, you could get a similar place for much cheaper.

I share the apartment, which has two bedrooms and a living room with a friend, so it only works out to be 2250 CNY (300 USD) per month. Even for this amount I got get a similar apartment for myself in Beijing. Anyway, let’s see some photos.

Just entered.

Entered and turned 90 degrees to the left.

Bathroom to the left, kitchen to the right.

My room.