Wheels down in Beijing! After a 12-hour trans Pacific flight, United flight 889 touched down in snowy Beijing on November 12 at 3:44 p.m. And thus begins my 10-day venture in China. Part sightseeing and plenty of onsite inspection of the market for iPhone in the land of 1.3 billion citizens, 700+ million of whom own mobile handsets.
Beijing International Airport is impressive. There are several gargantuan domes that rival the Olympic “Bird’s Nest” stadium and Beijing Olympics-themed banners were flying proudly in the rafters. Customs went smoothly. The uniformed agents wear their impressive uniforms well. They quickly processed hundreds of travelers through the checkpoints. Efficiency with large crowds is important in China and they get lots of practice at batch processing. The DMV could learn a thing or two from the Chinese.
My taxi ride from the airport was entertaining. Don’t do what I did. A lovely young lady saw me leaving the baggage claim area and she beamed a smile, batted her eyes and asked …“you need taxi?” The snow was blowing outside and I feared getting caught in a long cold line at the taxi stand. So we did a quick negotiation on price (too much) and I took the offer.
She escorted me to the garage where her father was waiting with the “taxi.” A 1970s era Nissan smogmobile. Father and daughter were both smiling widely as they beckoned me to the Beijing chariot and I got in for the ride. I brought a map printout of my hotel location and had a friend write out the address and phone number in Mandarin. Good thing too. My hotel, the Courtyard 7, was located amongst the backstreets near The Forbidden City. My unofficial taxi driver would never have found it without a mobile call to the hotel manager. It was an adventure driving (dodging) through the narrow and dark side streets to the hotel. There were 50 bicyclists and 100 pedestrians for every auto and many of these cobblestone streets were barely wide enough for the smogmobile, yet my brazen driver sped through far too quickly for the safety of those peddling and on foot. Just before we arrived the daughter handed me a laminated sheet and giggled. Her father then asked if I was in need of any additional tour information or services. These “extras” were outlined on the sheet. “You need a special Chinese massage? Beijing women are most beautiful and tender … I make call for you?” I was simply exhausted from the long day’s travel and I politely turned down the “relaxation therapy” offer.
Courtyard 7 - Nanluoguxiang, Beijing
My taxi soon pulled to the side near a particularly narrow alleyway. There were two hotel workers waiting for me at the entrance. They grabbed my bags and marched me down the dark path. It was at this moment that my little voice said “self … what have you gotten yourself into?” But the hotel workers were cheerful and well-dressed and pointed down the alley “only bit further.” I soon realized that a petite young girl was carrying my heavy bag. I’m 6′ 4″ 220 lbs and fully capable of hoisting my own bag … so I attempted to take it off her shoulder. No! She would have none of that. I was an honored (paying) guest and she was determined to carry my bag. I relented as I could see the hotel sign just a few yards away.
Once I entered the hotel my mood changed from apprehension to delight. The hotel was just as pictured and advertised on the web – “the best Sihuyuan Hotel in Nanluoguxiang, Beijing.” Sihuyuan means courtyard in Mandarin. The buildings are more than 400 years old and it’s quite evident that most of the wood and stonework date back to the 1600s. The staff were very gracious and accommodating and the room was quite comfortable.
At the check in desk the clerk noted that Winser (my Chinese tour guide) had called the hotel to make sure I arrived safely. I returned Winser’s message via an iPhone e-mail and suggested that we meet the next morning at 10 a.m.
I was now thoroughly bushed and after plugging-in and recharging my Macbook and iPhone it was “lights out” time for Danny (7:00 p.m. Beijing time).
Moments later I was off to nana land (deep REM sleep), but my slumber would pass by all too quickly. I was jolted to semi-consciousness by a loud ringing phone. I stumbled my jet-lagged body out of bed, fumbled for the light switch and finally managed to pick up the phone. It was the front desk. My guide “Mr. Zhao” was waiting for me in the lobby. “You’ve got to be kidding? I said to myself … That was the quickest 15+ hours of sleep I can remember.” I was too groggy to think rationally. I only knew that my guide/host was waiting and it was time to start my day. I dressed quickly and exited into a darkened courtyard and made my way through the maze of ancient wood-carved structures and stone pathways to the lobby. It seemed too dark to be 10 in the morning (a.m.) and even in my diminished state I began to doubt that I was on the same page with my guide. But there he was in the lobby with a hearty greeting – “Welcome to Beijing Mr. Dan!” I gave a smile back and still not sure asked … “Is it 10 in the morning?” … “No, no!” Winser responded … “It’s 10 p.m. at night.” Ah, that explains why 15 hours of sleep felt like 3 hours of sleep … It was 3 hours of sleep. We both laughed and I insisted the communication miss was an error on my part.
It was really great to meet Winser Zhao. An executive in his travel business had written an article on the iPhone launch in China. He was kind enough to quote a passage or two from iPhonAsia and linked to my site. I had not yet settled on a travel agent for my China trek, but now it was an easy choice. Any travel agency that writes with enthusiasm over iPhone in China is going to get my business. I wrote back a quick note and soon my travel was all planned out.
Winser was excited to share the news of his brand new purchase … yep he bought an iPhone. We spent the next 40 minutes or so talking iPhone in China. He was curious to know if he paid the right price for his iPhone and asked how much my 32GB iPhone 3GS cost. When I told him $299 I could see his jaw drop. The asking price for a grey-market (WiFi enabled) 8GB 2G iPhone begins near $250 (Winser paid less). I smiled and explained that he wouldn’t feel too bad when he learned how much my monthly plan was with AT&T. He could not conceive of anyone paying in the neighborhood of US $100 per month for phone/data service. I nodded … “indeed outrageous” (big smile) … “And that’s why AT&T can afford to subsidize the price so that I can buy the iPhone for less than US $300.” Ah … all was well again in Winser’s eyes. He felt much better about the price he paid for his new iPhone. He is on a prepaid plan with China Mobile and let me assure you, he pays less than me per month for service (less than US $15).
Winser and I then bid each other good night and it was back to bed for Bonzo … this time for a legit good night’s sleep 
.
Stay tuned for more …. later today (November 13) I will attend the TEDxBeijing Conference – I was graciously invited to attend TED by sponsors Frank Yu and Cindy Jiang with China’s Mobienode TV.
iPhonAsia Travelogue series (Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong):
- iPhonAsia Travelogue Part 1: Wheels down in Beijing
- iPhonAsia Travelogue Part 2: Getting Oriented in Beijing
- iPhonAsia Travelogue Part 3: Into the heart of darkness – shopping the Beijing iPhone blackmarket
- iPhonAsia Travelogue Part 4: No stop signs in Beijing – The Shanzhai ji counterfeit culture
- iPhonAsia Travelogue Part 5: Secret rooms with hidden Shanzhai treasures (Shanghai)
- iPhonAsia Travelogue Part 6: Warming up in Hong Kong
- iPhonAsia Travelogue Part 7: The Hong Kong iPhone market
