Basics - The Rough Guide to Beijing - page 58

Smoky internetcafés full of kids playing Counterstrike and MMUDs are legion, and looked
on with some disquiet - Beijing's vice mayor has called them the new opium dens, and in-
ternet addiction clinics have opened to deal with young adults whose online use has become
excessive. At these “vice dens”, you'll be asked to show your passport before being allowed
near a computer. They're on every backstreet, but are particularly prevalent close to colleges.
There's never an English sign; look out for the characters “ 网吧 ” (wǎngbā). They're gener-
ally ￥ 5 or so per hour.
All but the smallest hotels have business centres where you can get online, generally for
about ￥ 30 an hour. Better value are the hostels, where getting online is usually free.
THE GREAT FIREWALL OF CHINA
Tireless as ever in controlling what its citizens learn and know about, the Chinese govern-
ment has built a sophisticated firewall - nicknamed the new Great Wall of China - that
blocks access to undesirable websites. The way this is administered shifts according to the
mood of the powers that be - restrictions were loosened, for example, while Beijing was
campaigning for the 2008 Olympics (the government was anxious to be seen not to be op-
pressing its subjects). They've long slammed the gate firmly back down again.
In general, you can be pretty sure you won't be able to access stories deemed controversial
from sites such as BBC or CNN, anything about Tibetan freedom or democracy, and Face-
book , YouTube and Twitter are all blocked. The firewall isn't impenetrable, it's simply
meant to make getting information deemed controversial enough of a hassle that most
Chinese people won't bother. You can get around it simply by subscribing to a virtual
private network , or VPN, such as WiTopia, Hotspot Shield or UltraSurf (just about every
foreign business in China does this), all of which cost a few pounds a month and offer a
free limited-period trial.
Laundry
You might have a tough time finding a self-service laundry; it's said that Chinese housewives
wouldn't trust a stranger with the family's clothes. Hotels all offer a laundry service.
Left luggage
There are left-luggage offices at all three of Beijing's main train stations, and there are also
several at the airport; all are well signed. Those at the train stations are open daily 5am to
midnight, and cost from ￥ 15/day; the office at the airport is open 24hr, and costs from ￥ 20/
day.