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Beijing Laitai Flower Trading Center opened up in April 1998. It cost 150 million yuan and its building area amounts to 55000 square meters.

Laitai Flower Trading Center is located at the east 3rd Ring Road business district of Beijing. It is fourteen kilometers from the north embassy area while the third and fourth embassy areas will be built close by on the east side.

The Flower Trading Center is conveniently located only half a kilometer from the airport expressway and sixteen kilometers from the Beijing International Airport itself.

Laitai Flower Trading Center is made up of Laitai flower market and Laitai Flower Street. This is the biggest flower distributing center of northern China.

Laitai Flower Market 莱太花卉商城

Laitai Flower Market is composed of the fake flower sale building and the fresh potted flower sale hall. The underground floor of the fake flower building has modern porcelain, lamps, carpets, straw and cane products, eating utensils, stone carvings and some small handicrafts.

HongFu （红福） is a special store from northeastern China. Many television programs have reported on this store. The products are made out of maize-leaves and are unique; therefore it is difficult to find another one like it. Fish are one of the mascots of China and express happiness and wealth.

You can buy beautiful fish made in solid wood here. “Carex meyeriana Kunth” is a kind of herbaceous plant which has been growing for many years. It is from one of the three extremely cold provinces in northeast China.

Many people from the countryside use this kind of plant to keep their feet warm. It has become so popular that these special plants are now sold abroad.

Beijing International SOS Clinic
Hours: Daily 24 hours
Address: Suite 105, Wing 1, Kunsha Building, No 16 Xinyuanli, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100027
( 北京市朝阳区新源里16号琨莎中心一座105室 100027 )
Phone: +86 (0)10 6462 9112; 6462 9100 (24 hours )
Web Address: http://www.internationalsos.com

International Medical Center (IMC)
Hours: Daily 24 hours
Address: S106, 1/F Lufthansa Center, 50 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Phone: +86 (0)10 6465 1561, 6465 1562, 6465 1563
Web Address: http://www.imcclinics.com

Beijing United Family Hospital and Clinics
Hours: Clinic Monday to Thursday 12:30pm to 7:30pm; Friday 10:30am to 5:30pm; Saturday 9:00am to 5:00pm. 24 hour emergency care
Phone: +86 (0)10 6433 3960, emergency 64332345
Web Address: http://www.unitedfamilyhospitals.com

Currency Exchange and General Money Tips
If you are planning a trip to Beijing (or anywhere in China) then you will undoubtedly need some cash since not nearly as many places accept credit cards in China as in Europe and North America. My tip for currency exchange is that you should wait until you are in Beijing to change your money.  I have always found a much better exchange rate in Beijing than in Canada or the US. For example, the best rate I could find to exchange Canadian dollars for RMB in Montreal was 6.2 to 1, while at the same time in Beijing it was 6.8 to 1.

My preferred bank for currency exchange in China is the Bank of China.  They are relatively quick with the paper work and there is almost always someone on staff who can speak English.  For current up-to-date exchange rates click here.

It is a good idea to have at least 200 RMB with you before you arrive in Beijing since taxis cannot exchange money. A taxi ride from the airport to the city can cost anywhere from 80-120 RMB depending on your destination in Beijing. I once asked a taxi driver about foreign  exchange.  He said the standard procedure for dealing with foreign currency is to take it as if it were RMB, so if your taxi fare ran up to 100RMB, and you gave the driver a 100 Dollar American bill, he wouldn’t give you any change. The reason for this policy is that they are not familiar with the currency, and therefore cannot be sure if it is real or not.  Always have at least 200 RMB with you before you arrive, so that you do not end up paying 800RMB for a 100RMB ride.

Also note that banks close at 5PM.  There are 24 hour self service ATMs and a few 24 hour banks, but these are few and far between. No currency exchange services are available on weekends or national holidays.

Chinese name: 大栅栏（dà zhà lán）
Lying to the northwest of Qianmen Dajie, Da Zha Lan is also a busy street in Xuanwu District. The street was named as Lang Fang Si Tiao in the past. It is 300 meters (328 yards) long but a bit narrow. Both sides of the street are crowded with stores which are busy with visitors coming and going everyday. As a flourishing old street, there are many special time honored shops passed down from older generations. Tongrentang Chinese Herbal Medicine Pharmacy, which was opened in 1669 is the most famous pharmacy for Chinese herbal medicine in the country. Ruifuxiang Silk and Leather Store which started in 1893 offers all kinds of beautiful high quality silk. Da Zha Lan is also under reconstruction and will be open to the public by the end of this year.

Bus Route: 2, 20, 48, 59, 120, 729, 744, 803, 819, 826 (get off at Dazhalan Stop)

Bars, restaurants and shops line the streets of the Sanlitun (also often referred to as the Sanlitun Entertainment Area, Sanlitun Embassy Area and, tellingly, the Sanlitun Bar Street). Long a favorite among expats, travelers and budget tourists, Sanlitun restaurants and bars stay open late, and a number of shops cater to international tastes. It’s not the cheapest Beijing neighborhood for a night out or a shopping spree, but there’s a little bit of everything on offer within the area on either side of the north-south Sanlitun Lu. The Liangma River and Liangmahe Lu form the northern boundary of the Sanlitun Embassy Area, which is home to some of the swankier eateries. Running south for about 1.5 km (1 miles), the bars cluster around Sanlitun Lu between east-west streets Dongzhimenwai Dajie and Gongrentiyuchang Beilu, with a lower-key set of bars and pubs on Sanlitun Nanlu, running parallel to Sanlitun Lu to the west, just east of Worker’s Stadium.

During the day, the shopping is excellent, with a range of choices from tiny alleyway bargain spots to upscale boutiques to the massive five-story Yashou Clothing Market (on Gongrentiyuchang Beilu between Sanlitun and Xin Donglu to the west), home to not only clothes but also bolts of silk and other fabrics, shoes and bags, watches, jade, pearls and almost anything else you’d expect to be able to haggle over in Beijing. Check out alleyways and side streets, where you’ll often find the best deals and most surprising finds. Most vendors and restaurant staff speak enough English to do basic business. Bargain vigorously and be wary of fakes.

How to get there:
No metro stops convenient as of now. Cabs and local bus routes. The intersections of Sanlitun Lu and Dongzhimenwai Dajie or Sanlitun and Nongzhanguan Lu will put you in a good spot to go from on foot. Some of the best bars are further south on Sanlitun Nan Lu, just east of Worker’s Stadium.

Beijing has a prosperous economy for hundreds of years. There are many stores, which are highly reputed, still in existence till today and are well liked by the locals as well as foreign visitors. These stores can be found in Dazhalan, Wangfujing, Liulichang and some other traditional commercial areas in Beijing.

Below are some of the time honored stores worth checking out.

Rui Fu Xiang Silk & Cotton Shop
Chinese name: 瑞蚨祥（ruì fú xiáng）
Rui Fu Xiang is a silk store opened by a businessman from Shandong Province in 1893. The store was established in Dazhalan for over one hundred year and is now listed as Beijing Cultural Relic Protection Unit. It deals with high quality silk and leather of different sorts. The store also caters to tailor made clothes.
Opening Hours: 09:00 – 21:00
Location: No.5, Dazhalan Jie, Qianmenwai, Xuanwu District
Bus Route: 104, 803, 10, 1, 4 (get off at Wangfujing Stop)

Bu Ying Zhai
Chinese name: 步瀛斋（bù yíng zhāi）
Opened in 1858, it is a well known store dealing with all kinds of shoes, ranging from exquisite silk shoes with embroidered designs to imported leather shoes.
Opening Hours: 08:00 – 18:00
Location: No.8, Dazhalan Jie, Xuanwu District
Bus Route: 120, 59, 744 (get off at Dazhalan Stop)

Nei Lian Sheng
Chinese name: 内联升（nèi lián shēng）
It is also a time honored store engaging in shoes. Cloth shoes are the most popular ones of the store. The shoes here are well liked by some famous person like Chairman Mao.
Opening Hours: 09:00 – 20:00
Location: No.34, Dazhalan Jie, Xuanwu District

Qian Xiang Yi
Chinese name: 谦祥益（qiān xiáng yì）
Used name as Beijing Silk Store, the shop enjoys a history over 150 years. It is the largest one serving a great number of silks. There are also many kinds of special silks from minority groups.
Opening Hours: 08:00 – 18:00
Location: No.5, Qianmen Zhubaoshi, Xuanwu District
Bus Route: 17 (get off at Qianmen Stop)Bus Route: 44, 744, 48, 803, 729, 66, 726, 22 (get off at Qianmen Stop)

Sheng Xi Fu
Chinese name: 盛锡福（shèng xī fú）
Opened in 1911, the store is welcomed by locals with exquisite handmade caps. The caps here have gain high reputation with high quality and elegant style.
Opening Hours: 08:15 – 21:00
Location: No.196, Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng District
Bus Route: 106, 110 (get off at Dengshikou Stop)

Zheng Ming Zhai
Chinese name: 正明斋（zhèng míng zhāi）
Opened in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the store serves the local desserts for hundreds of years.
Location: No.1, Lucao Yuan, Sanlihe Nan Lu, Haidian District

Gui Xiang Cun
Chinese name: 桂香村（guì xiāng cūn）
It is a food store opened on Mid-autumn festival of 1916. Now, it serves nearly 170 kinds of snacks with special local flavor.
Location: No.177, Xidan Bei Dajie, Xicheng District

Yuan Chang Hou Tea House
Chinese name: 元长厚茶庄（yuán cháng hòu chá zhuāng）
It is a time honored tea house with a history over 90 years. The tea house offers you the genuine tea of China.
Location: No.98, Xidan Bei Dajie, Xicheng District