CHIPSI

The Beijing Metro is incredibly convenient and cheap. You get the Metro light rail around the corner from the hotel and it takes you to the ring subway system at Xizhimen Station. From there you get on the subway and can go to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen or virtually anywhere downtown. (3 yuan) The subways are usually crowded but people are relatively civilized and not pushy. Taxis operate on both time and distance. So if your taxi is stuck in traffic the meter will continue to run. Getting a taxi starts at 10 yuan ($1.25). Almost anywhere you might want to go in the city is 150 yuan or less. The buses are an adventure. The Summer Palace is west of Tsinghua University, just past Peking University.

Beijing International Airport is northeast of the city and the campus is northwest. When you arrive, you need to exchange some money immediately, and you can do that after you pass through immigration and pick up your bags, but before you go through customs. Bring some US cash. ($100 = approximately RMB 775 yuan) There are also ATMs in the terminal after you pass through customs which are generally reliable. DO NOT ACCEPT OFFERS OF HELP OR A RIDE FROM ANYONE IN THE TERMINAL. Just tell them you are not interested. Proceed to the outside of the lower level to the taxi queue at the right side of the second lane. You line up for a taxi and the attendant will put you in the taxi and give you a card with the taxi number on it. It's good to keep that as a record. All taxis have meters and the driver will start the meter. In addition to the fare, you will have to pay 10 yuan for the Airport Expressway toll which will be added to your bill. The entire taxi bill should be 100 yuan or less.There is no tipping expected in China either in restaurants or taxis. (If you add a tip to a credit card receipt in a restaurant, it goes to the management.)

The walk to campus takes 10–20 minutes. Out of the hotel driveway go to the left (south) to the main intersection. Then right (west) under the Metro station and through two red lights and then right (north) two blocks to the campus. As you face the Main Gate, the law school is the third building on the left. There is a guard at the gate but you don't need to show anything. Just walk through. It's virtually impossible to get lost in Beijing because unlike many large cities, the streets are virtually all on a NSEW grid. If you take a taxi, the fare to the school gate is 10 yuan or thereabouts.