COmmunications

Telephone codes

Country code: +86

Beijing code: 010. Chinese area codes begin with a zero, which is dropped when calling China from overseas. When making local calls in Beijing you can drop the 010 altogether.

Outgoing international code: 00 + country code

Directory inquiries: 114. If you start speaking English, you will be transferred to an operator who speaks English.

To get a phone number for a bar or restaurant using your mobile phone, just type the name of the establishment into a text message (in either English or Chinese) and send it to 85880. This service, called “Guanxi” or “contacts”, will send you a reply within seconds, with the telephone number and address, as well as an option to view the address in Chinese, which is useful for showing to a taxi driver.

Public telephones

Almost every Chinese person you are likely to come across now has a mobile phone, so public phone booths have become an endangered species. If you need one try a hotel lobby or look for one of the small newspaper stands or kiosks that have pay phones. Chinese public phones take pre-paid phone cards, available from convenience stores and street vendors. Local calls are incredibly cheap. International calls cost around 10 yuan per minute.

Mobile phones

China has two mobile phone companies: China Mobile and China Unicom. China Mobile is larger and has wider coverage in China, but China Unicom has marginally lower rates. China Mobile has the GSM system, which supports GSM phones only, while China Unicom uses both GSM and CDMA systems.

Your home roaming service will probably operate here, but the cost can be quite high. To save money, buy an inexpensive, renewable SIM card—they are even available to buy at the airport before you reach customs—and put it into your own mobile phone. Pre-paid cards can be bought at mobile phone shops and department stores. Tell the seller the first three figures of your Chinese phone number and they will give you the correct recharge card. Many hotel business centres will rent you a handset, but it's also possible to purchase a used phone for about $25 from mobile phone shops—the savings in charges make this worth considering.