Communications

Communications

International calls can be made directly from hotel rooms with IDD lines. Some large post offices also provide this service. Otherwise, look for roadside kiosks with an IDD sign. An inexpensive way to make long distance calls is by using an IP (Internet Tel) card, which cost about 4.8 yuan per minute, less than half the rate of an IDD call. IP cards can be obtained at hotels, Internet cafes and news-stands and are available in both English and Chinese: IC cards can be used to make local calls from public telephones. You may also use Internet based services such as Skype and MSN Messenger internationally and the QQ service inside China.

Internet and E-mail

Internet cafes are plentiful in Central Beijing and cost 3–15 yuan (23 US cents–US$2) for a relatively high-speed connection. They are generally open all night. Many bars and cafes offer free Wi-Fi services. Internet access and other high-tech services are increasingly available in hotels’ business centres, but prices can be high.

Cell Phones

If you are going to be staying in Beijing for even a short time, it may prove economical to purchase a pre-paid Chinese SIM for your cell phone. There are two mobile operators in China, China Mobile and China Unicom. Both offer a range of pre-paid packages starting at around 50 yuan for the SIM, depending on the distinctiveness of the Tel number (Chinese people are generally superstitious about numbers, so some telephone numbers are more desirable than others). It costs to receive calls so you will be required to purchase a minimum 50-yuan top-up card initially. Calls to Beijing landlines or cells are charged at a fixed rate of between 0.25 yuan and 0.6 yuan. To receive calls costs between 0.1 yuan and 0.4 yuan and text messages are fixed at 0.1 yuan.

China Mobile offers an English-language operator assistance line on 10086 while China Unicom’s service is at 10010. To avoid high costs on long-distance calling, add 17951 before the desired number. Both operators offer GSM, while China Unicom also offers CDMA.