The Beijing Tourism Administration maintains a 24-hour tourist information hot line at tel. 010/6513-0828. Staff actually speak some English, so it's unfortunate that they rarely have the answers to your questions, and simply refer you on to CITS. Hotel concierges and guest relations officers are at least close at hand, although they often have little knowledge of the city, will be reluctant to work to find the answers if they can convince you to do something else instead, and, when they do find the answer to a question, they do not note it down for the next time a guest asks. Beware of strong recommendations to visit dinner shows or other expensive entertainments, as they are often on a kickback.
You can also try the new BTA-managed Beijing Tourist Information Centers (Beijing Shi Luyou Zixun Fuwu Zhongxin) located in each district and all marked with the same aqua-blue signs. The most competent branch is in Chaoyang, on Gongti Bei Lu across from the City Hotel and next to KFC (tel. 010/6417-6627; fax 010/6417-6656; cylyxx@163.com; daily 9am-5pm). Free maps are available at the door, and staff can sometimes be wheedled into making phone calls. Ignore the extortionist travel service.
For the most current information on life in Beijing, particularly restaurants and nightlife, see the intermittently accurate listings in the free English-language expat-produced monthlies that's Beijing or Time Out (largely translated from a vastly superior Chinese language magazine), available in hotel lobbies and at bars in the major drinking districts. Online, City Weekend (www.cityweekend.com.cn) manages to update its website with fair regularity. The e-mail newsletter Xianzai Beijing (visite www.xianzai.com for more information) provides a list of each week's events, as well as special hotel, air ticket, and restaurant offers.
