Basics - The Rough Guide to Beijing - page 51

Theft
While there is no need for obsessive paranoia - Beijing is still safer than most Western cities
- you do need to take care. Tourists are an obvious target for petty thieves . Passports and
money should be kept in a concealed money belt; a bum bag offers much less protection and
is easy for skilled pickpockets to get into. It's a good idea to keep a few large-value notes
separate from the rest of your cash, together with copies of all your important documents. Be
wary on buses, the favoured haunt of pickpockets, and trains, particularly in hard-seat class
and on overnight journeys. Take a chain and padlock to secure your luggage in the rack.
Hotelrooms are on the whole secure, dormitories much less so - in the latter case it's often
fellow travellers who are the problem. Most hotels should have a safe, but it's not unusual for
things to go missing from these.
On the street , flashy jewellery and watches will attract the wrong kind of attention, and try
to be discreet when taking out your cash. Not looking obviously wealthy also helps if you
want to avoid being ripped off by street traders and taxi drivers, as does telling them you are
a student - the Chinese have a great respect for education, and more sympathy for foreign
students than for tourists.
The police
If you do have anything stolen, you'll need to get the police, known as the Public Security
Bureau or PSB, to write up a loss report in order to claim on your insurance. Their main
office is at 2 Andingmen Dong Dajie, 300m east of Yonghegong Lama Temple subway stop
(Mon-Fri 8am-4.30pm; 010 84015292, www.bjgaj.gov.cn/eng ), though police boxes
across town are open around the clock.
The police are recognizable by their dark blue uniforms and caps, though there are a lot
more around than you might at first think, as plenty are undercover. They have much wider
powers than most Western police forces, including establishing the guilt of criminals - trials
are often used only for deciding the sentence of the accused, though China is beginning to
have the makings of an independent judiciary. Laws are harsh, with execution - a bullet in
the back of the head - the penalty for a wide range of serious crimes, from corruption to rape,
though if the culprit is deemed to show proper remorse, the result can be a more lenient sen-
tence.
While individual police often go out of their way to help foreigners, the institution of the
PSB is, on the whole, tiresomely officious.
Electricity
The electrical supply is 220V. Plugs come in four types: three-pronged with angled pins,
three-pronged with round pins, two flat pins and two narrow round pins. Adaptor plugs are
available from hardware and electronic stores; try the Buy Now Mall .