Hey everybody,

More useful China information:

One of the books states that if you are traveling independently, you should check local practice about buying tickets through CITS ( China International Travel Service) to avoid a possible foreigners surcharge


Exchange rate:

One American dollar is currently worth 7.51 Chinese Yuan

Bus Schedule/ Train
By TrainQingdao Railway Station is located at No. 2, Tai'an Road, near the Zhan Bridge (Zhanqiao).
Every day, there are thirty or so pairs of trains operating between Qingdao and other cities such as Beijing (about nine hours), Shanghai (about 19 hours), Guangzhou (about 28 hours), Wuchang, Nanchang, Xuzhou, Zhengzhou, Xian, Lanzhou, Xining, Chengdu, Taiyuan, Dandong, and also cities inside Shandong Province such as Jinan (four to six hours), Heze, Yantai (three and a half hours), Zibo (three to four hours), and Weihai. Except for trains to Zibo, Yantai and Weihai, trains stopover at Jinan.

The travelchinaguide site has searchable train schedules. T26 (departs 10:44 AM) and T196 (departs 8:36 PM) travel Qingdao to Beijing, take 9 hours and cost 326 RMB for soft sleeper and 215 RMB for hard sleeper.