Getting to know Beijing without spending the time
Updated: 2013-04-30 02:00
By Mark Graham (China Daily)
|
||||||||
Business offers solutions to requests from the routine to the zany
Like many Beijing newcomers, Sarah Keenlyside was intimidated by the size and scale of the capital city and frustrated by being unable to speak, read or write the language. The picky eater was also wary of the unfamiliar food.
But instead of griping, or getting on a plane home, the UK expat formulated a plan to build a business that focused on making life easier for new arrivals, whether they were residents, or tourists. That operation, Bespoke Beijing, began on a small scale: clients were issued with a guide book and a mobile phone that offered access day and night to an individual who knew the city and could speak English and Chinese.
It has since grown into a full-fledged events and travel company that organizes corporate shindigs usually with an offbeat twist and tailored itineraries for individual visitors who want to know the real Beijing.
Ironically, the once-fussy eater is now something of an expert on Chinese cuisine, able to speak with authority on the different regional styles and recommend the best places to dine.
Says Keenlyside: "We live in the city daily and focus only on Beijing, which means we are able to dedicate our time to trying new things out as and when they open, ensuring our clients are the first to know about new and better opportunities.
"We are creative and contemporary, always staying on top of what is new. We are always imaginative and the way we price it is much more transparent; we don't mark everything up, we always give our clients the honest price of the suppliers and then we charge for our time. I think people like that level of transparency."
A typical Bespoke Beijing itinerary might involve dinner in the courtyard of an ancient temple, a team-building treasure hunt designed to foster company camaraderie or a tailor-made chauffeured tour to a little-visited part of the Great Wall.
- 'Taken 2' grabs movie box office crown
- Rihanna's 'Diamonds' tops UK pop chart
- Fans get look at vintage Rolling Stones
- Celebrities attend Power of Women event
- Ang Lee breaks 'every rule' to make unlikely new Life of Pi film
- Rihanna almost thrown out of nightclub
- 'Dark Knight' wins weekend box office
- 'Total Recall' stars gather in Beverly Hills
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Reality TV: Battle heating up |
Rebuilding lives after quake |
Disaster: Self help and survival |
Life resumes in 'isolated island' |
Supplies pour into isolated villages |
American abroad |
Today's Top News
Alibaba pays $586 million for stake in Sina Weibo
Three buried after lab explosion
Willem-Alexander ready to be Dutch King
Can earthquakes be predicted?
City unites to say farewell
Beauties turn entrepreneurs
Small stores rely on new retail revolution
Flooding season nears in Ya'an
US Weekly
Talent quest |
Beyond Yao
|