FINANCE - Living Abroad in Beijing - page 283

spend your money on). They're particularly popular for cinema tickets. Unfortunately, these
are uniformly all in Chinese, so you may need to draw on the help of your ā yí or Chinese
friend. Also, beware that there are thousands of these companies in China, and many have
been shut down for offering fake deals and/or rotten service. Some of the more reliable ones
include http://t.dianping.com/beijing , http://bj.meituan.com , and http://bj.nuomi.com .
Alternatively, keep your eye out for memberships and prepay options. If you're prepared
to commit to a membership fee or paying out a chunk of money in advance, you'll get signi-
ficant discounts. I prepay RMB1,000 at my hairdresser. This gives me a 20 percent discount
on all services, and I just top it up when it runs out. At Mega Box cinemas (at Sanlitun and
Zhongguancun), the annual RMB20 membership fee will get you 50 percent off tickets on
weekdays and 30 percent off on weekends and holidays. Even if you use it only once, you'll
already have saved.
Shopping
In previous years, people would come to China hoping to pick up cheap electronics or
clothes. It is true that there are many things that are cheaper, but it really depends what you
want and what kind of quality you're willing to accept. China is not a tax haven, and many
imported goods are heavily taxed—wine in particular. For instance, at the start of 2013, the
16GB iPad Mini started from $329 in the U.S., and from RMB2,498 (US$400) in China.
If something is unusually cheap then it's probably fake and likely to disintegrate after only
a couple of uses. Custom-made goods, on the other hand, can be much cheaper than you'd
ever be able to get at home. Furniture, curtains, tailored clothing, and printing, for example,
are highly negotiable, and well worth considering having made here rather than bringing
over. Getting them made can also be extremely fast, perhaps needing only a few days or a
week or two.
As far as diversity is concerned, this is something that is ever improving. Just five years
ago you might have been holding out for a trip home to stock up on your favorite brands,
but the need for this decreases every year. Ikea was once the one-stop shop for expat house-
holds, but now there are more options. Not only is there an increasing number of interna-
tional supermarkets and retailers, but Chinese tastes are also changing, so there are ever
more products that align with Western preferences.
If you can't get something in Beijing, global Internet shopping can be a lifesaver, and
many companies offer free international shipping. Avoid getting any international package