There is a metro right in front of Beijing Railway station, which was insanely crowded and guarded by security. Also, why on earth does it only accept cash for single ticket purchase? Who in China still carries cash?! Back in the early days when I went to a large supermarket and paid in cash, the cashier had to tear the plastic off new wads of notes and coins just to give me my change. Alipay and Wechat Pay have become more ubiquitous than cash, and here I am in Beijing, rationing whatever cash leftovers I still have for the metro.
Anyway for those interested in the answer, it is because the metro in Beijing is the oldest in China. Time for an upgrade. And don’t be alarmed like I was if you see many armed policemen patrolling the platforms, and even inside the trains. I was intimidated despite having done nothing wrong. In times like these, Shanghai felt like a utopia.
Last week I mentioned that the hostel I stayed in was by far the best one. This week’s was by far the shadiest. What goes up must come down, aye. If you are in town, don’t stay at 北京芒果青年旅社, near Dongsi (东四) metro station. Despite a 4.9/5 star rating and nice photos, the hostel was located inside a private apartment building, had zero signage, and no instructions telling me that I had to call them when I arrived so that someone would come down and tap me into the elevator used by residents. In fact, the “hostel” was one unit in the apartment block, and the bedrooms were converted into gendered hostel rooms. And for some reason they could still accept foreigners when the legit hotel in Suzhou couldn’t? Maybe some things are not meant to be understood.
Slide into my comments section...