Basics - The Rough Guide to Beijing - page 49

Prostitution , though illegal, has made a big comeback - witness all the new “hairdressers”,
saunas and massage parlours, almost every one a brothel. Single foreign men may find them-
selves approached inside certain hotels (not fancy ones, or Western chains), and it's common
practice for prostitutes to phone around hotel rooms at all hours of the night - unplug the
phone if you don't want to be woken up. Bear in mind that consequences may be unpleasant
if you are caught with a prostitute.
Beijing, and China as a whole, has become more tolerant of homosexuality in recent years;
it's been removed from the list of psychiatric diseases and is no longer illegal. Still, the scene
is fairly tame and low-key (see Gay Beijing ).
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TRAVELLING WITH CHILDREN
Foreigners with kids can be expected to receive lots of attention from curious locals -
and the occasional admonition that the little one should be wrapped up warmer.
Local kids generally don't use nappies , just pants with a slit at the back - and when baby
wants to go, mummy points him at the gutter. Nappies and baby milk are available from mod-
ern supermarkets such as Carrefour , though there are few public changing facilities. High-
end hotels have baby-minding services for around ￥ 150 an hour. Breast-feeding in public
is acceptable, though more so outside the train station than in celebrity restaurants.
Sights and activities that youngsters might enjoy are the zoo and aquarium , pedal boating
on Houhai , the acrobat shows, the Puppet Theatre and the Natural History Museum . If you're
tired of worrying about them in the traffic, try taking them to pedestrianized Liulichang Jie ,
the Olympic Green , the 798 Art District , or the parks - Ritan Park has a good playground
and Chaoyang Park has boating. Note that most Beijing attractions are free for children under
1.2m high.
Check beijing-kids.com for more suggestions and advice.
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TRAVEL ESSENTIALS
Costs
In terms of costs , Beijing is a city of extremes. You can, if you wish to live it up, spend as
much here as you would visiting any Western capital; on the other hand, it's also quite pos-
sible to live extremely cheaply - most locals survive on less than ￥ 2000 a month.
Generally, your biggest expense is likely to be accommodation . Food and transport , on
the other hand, are relatively cheap. The minimum you can live on comfortably is about £15/
€18/US$25/ ￥ 150 a day if you stay in a dormitory, get around by bus and eat in simple res-