Jitong Railway, Hotels and facilities along the line
You are looking at Hans Schaefer's web site.
Updated April 2007.
You are looking at Hans Schaefer's web site.
Updated April 2007.
(+ internet cafe, + other accommodation in Jingpeng) (-> mafia )
(+ internet cafe) ( -> mafia )
(+ internet cafe)
(+ internet cafe, + other advice about Lindong)
Jitong railways operate their own hotel at Reshui, Jitong Binguan. It is located on the north side of the road, about 100 meter up from the Telecom hotel. The railway symbol is easily visible, at night red lights. The hotel opened in 1999 and was renovated in 2004. It looks luxurious from the outside. Phone/fax: 0476-5101192. More numbers at the bottom of this section).
Service and plumbing are less than good in 2007.
Swimming pool: The hotel has its swimming pool open
(again),
but only in summer. It was closed for a year after the hotel director's
child drowned there.
It now only 1.5 meters deep. Nice warm water, good showers. Cost 15Y,
free for Jitong hotel guests, open from 16 to 22 h.
A room costs 300 Yuan (for up to three people). Beds are as usual, the
rooms are clean, the TV outlet can be used to charge your camera
batteries
(different plugs are available).
It was difficult to leave my luggage
until the afternoon on the day of departure, in April 2007.
No food shop any more, the restaurant is probably open in summer.
They have a karaoke bar on the top floor. The time I was there, most guests were management employees of Jitong railways. Not the typical "dangerous" atmosphere as in larger city bars.
Phone number: 0476 5101 244, 245, 246, 247, Fax 0476 5101192. Railway phone 3458
The hotel seems to be largely filled with Jitong railway staff on a "good performance" bonus visits or job meetings. Thus you have good possibilities to make friends with railway staff.
November 2001: In Reshui the Mei Le Hotel at the western end of town was found to be excellent value at ¥60 a double.
It is the one with the antenna mast on top of it. It is used by many foreigners and has good value for your money. Citations run from 60 to 120 Yuan per room. Comfort not as good as with the newest hotels. Phone # 522 7452.
Warning: The manager of this hotel tried to cheat first, and then rob, an australian railway friend in October 2004! (upon offering him a ride to Chifeng)
In 2003, a new pink hotel named Long Quan Hotel, phone 0476 5103188, standard room, 2 beds, price varying depending on who you ask: 120 to 200 Yuan per night. Most things work, but appliances already coming off. Good view to the hill from the rooms! They have an (erratically working) internet terminal in the lobby, 5 Yuan for an hour. It has a better standard than the Post hotel, but worse than the Jitong hotel.
On same side of road as the Jitong hotel, about 200 metres towards Jingpeng. You come to a shop with a red shop front sign with white Chinese writing also the words "Welcome Shop" (last shop in block) High Blue sign in white Chinese, turn right into a large open area behinds the shops. Straight ahead is a telegraph with sign on it and further on a row of seemingly empty shops. Beyond the left side of post a white sign over 2 wooden doors. All computers are new, and good equipment however you are charged by the time 20mins for3RMB. It seemed as if there was only one computer (out of six) that had a modem.
Another internet terminal is in the lobby of Long Quan Hotel.
Another terminal is in the lobby of the hotel opposite the Jitong
hotel.
The vast number of hotels in Reshui is because of the Chinese summer tourists. They come here because of the health bringin warm springs. Thus, if you come in summer, you may have trouble finding an empty room here. In winter, there are few or no Chinese guests, and Reshui was only visited by the many steam enthusiasts from all over the world.
When hiking around in the landscape during summer, beware of numerous snakes! (Local people tell you they are not poisonous, because you can eat them :-)
Good and safe taxi driver: 13848988306.
Keqi City : There are at least 4 hotels (but probably some further ones, too).
How to find it: Big green sign with four golden characters in it, on the west side of main road near the bus station. 100m east of the hotel, the road to the bus station leaves the main road. (2004)
the first (white) building in the village just beneath the station
There is an internet cafe near the Keqiketeng Binguan hotel, in an annex to the post office (Sept. 2001). Price 2 RMB /hour.
Florian Menius: The path to JingPeng station branches off the
Reshui-Keqi road some 2 km east of Keqi town, near the sugar factory. A
new paved road (in 2003) is a bit farther east. Motorbike taxi to
station
3 RMB, but most will charge you 6 RMB, car taxi 10 RMB, 5 RMB if you
share with many.
Florian Menius reports: All restaurants - even at Keqi - already
have
"foreigner prices", either + 5Y for each dish or doubling the price !
Be
very, very careful ! Ask for prices for each dish in advance and
control
the bill thoroughly !
Bad example : We had a small intermediate snack at a JingPeng
restaurant : 1 plate "Guobaorou" (I had asked for the price in advance:
15Y), 4
pots of noodles and 4 beers. Final price according the restaurant owner
: 70Y !!!! Suddenly, the Guobaorou should cost 20Y, each pot of noodles
8Y (2-3 Y are normal !) and 5Y per beer (2-3 Y are correct) !! We
didn't pay 70Y, of course, calculated a price of 35Y (what wonder !
exactly half of the restaurant owner's"foreigner price"), paid
40Y and left the restaurant though the owner still wanted 50Y after
some arguing
! Very unsympathetic experiences ...
(From Florian Menius, Oct. 2001): In contrast to Reshui there are
lots of suitably timed public buses which can be used for linesiding.
In the morning, the first buses from JingPeng bus station towards
Reshui depart at 06:40 (to Tianshan), 06:50 (to Pingzhuang) and 07:20
(to Chifeng) followed by further ones about every 30-45 min. The last
bus to Chifeng leaves at 14:20, travel time to Chifeng 6 hours, fare
30Y. Official fares : Jingpeng-Shangdian 4Y, Jingpeng - Reshui Y5.
In the evening, appropriate buses work in the other direction. Try
stopping lorries, too if you do not want to wait for a bus. There are
also lots of minibuses driving along this road.
However, after sundown there is a lot less traffic. Be careful to try to return at sundown!
This hotel is in the railway town 300 m to the right (west) of the
station on the north side of the road leading to the depot. Last
building before tha water tower. Both 60,
100, 150 and 200 Yuan for a double room have been reported. In Oct 2004
there was not much hot water and sometimes no cold water either. (But
as much
hot water in a bottle as you want :-). It is near the station and
the depot, so you don't need to go into town. Odd numbered rooms face
the railway, from the second floor good view. In Nov. 2001 I shared my
room
with a mouse. On the street, opposite the hotel, is a market, thus you
get fruit and other necessities there.
The saying goes that THIS HOTEL HAS BEEN FIXED UP IN WINTER 2006-7.
The large building in front of the station, to the left, houses a
bathhouse, too. (its main income comes from sexual services, however).
near the station is both cheap and comfortable. A good two bed room with its own (a bit grotty) bathroom, with working hot and cold water and warm water for tea is 80 RMB per day. They give you the key, and the outer door is not locked, so need need to worry about going out or comining in at night. It is located just outside Daban station: first road to the left, 80 meters, then first (dirt) road to the right, 50 meters, last of two white buildings.
MAP (by Louis Cerny)
Bus No.1 which terminates in front of the JiTong Tielu Binguan goes
to Daban city. Fare is 1Y.
Minibuses cost 2 yuan if you share a ride, 10 yuan if not.
One is opposite Bao Xian Binguan, 50m from bus station, 2RMB/h. Slow.
(Most of this is from Florian Menius, October 2001)
Lindong station is some 4 km away from the city. A shuttle bus to
and
from the two daylight passenger trains operate but no connection for
the nighttime ones. Yamenmiao can be reached by bus along the road to
Tianshan/Chabuga. The railway line is crossed next to river bridge
at Yamenmiao. In the evening, there is a bus back to Lindong at around
17:30.
Lindong is one of these cities where you have to stay at the
official
binguan. Though we found a very good and advantageously located
lüdian
(next to the road to Tianshan and the station) for 10Y/Pers with shower
included, we were not allowed to stay there. Initially, we got the
room. But the manager of the lüdian appeared and told us that the
"Lindong
Binguan" would be better for us... We angrily took our luggage and
wanted to go to another lüdian. But this manager had phoned the
Binguan
in the meantime and we were already awaited by an official from the
Binguan, who escorted us to the much more disadvantageously located
binguan. Double
was 120Y there,... We moved to a lüdian next to the railway
station for another night.
Duncan Cotterill reports: Lindong Binguan is a pleasant, modern
establishment
near the town center. The staff were friendly and helpful and the
restaurant
provided good food. Beware of rooms on the ground floor though. The
windows have feeble catches, many of which are broken, allowing anyone
to
break into your room easily. Report from Dec 2001: Lindong Hotel - good
hot water, cold rooms and food in house was poor but it is the only
institution
officially licensed to take visitors.
There are 2 lüdians just opposite Lindong railway station.
Look for the small shops. They have rooms for 10 Yuan per night.
Staying
there was no problem as there are
a) no officials / police / public security officers around the station
and
b) you necessarily have to stay at one of these lüdians if you
want to take one of the night passengers (and we wanted this).
No shower. 2 shops and 3 restaurants are
available there, too. So theoretically you do not have to go to the
town at all !
3 internet cafes can be found at Lindong. From the bus station walk
northwards
(towards the binguan) to the crossing with the column in the middle.
Turn
left here (westwards) and walk some 200m. On the left hand side you
will find all 3 internet cafes next to each other
(Problem is that Lindong City with its hotels is 4km away from the railway line = taxi neccessary. Lindong Station has got 3 luedians but no bathhouse and quite bad restaurants ...).
Just outside the station, there a lots of cheap lüdians.
Trouble is: No organized toilet facilities. When asking they will just
point you
to somewhere outside.
I used Heng Li Fandian, phone number 0479 4358598, probably the best
of the small hotels. It had three rooms to let. The wife runs the shop,
the man works at the station. The room was warm, had a working TV, but
water only in a bottle. They know the bus times to Xilinhaote and
Zhangjiakou.
There is the Tiedao Binguan (Railway hotel), in the first house on
the left side of the road after the level crossing on the street to the
depot. Newly renovated rooms come at 40, suites at 80, cheaper rooms at
20. Warm water from electric heated tanks all
time. TV worked. Just outside of the depot. Go out of the street door,
turn right, round the outside wall, and walk along the tracks into the
depot. (Left
of the house on the picture below.
Meals served at fixed times in a house nearby (for the staff, but you
may join in, for 5 to 10 Y). Depot can be entered going along the rails
from there, or through the main gate, just 100 m down the road.
Railwayphone number 38-2798. Public phone number 6526820. No trouble to
stay there.
Accommodation
A lüdian is just next to Chabuga station. Tianshan is not a
restricted town. There are many police or military officers
present, a strange atmosphere in town. A reason could be a prison. In
October 2002, some prisoners were marched through town with white signs
on their chest displaying what they had done and their penalty (death).
Staying in Tianshan in the hotel at the main intersection (called the Arlukeerqin Binguan) -highly recomended, low rates, cheery staff, and the cheapest rooms are on the top floor which has a view of the line up on the mountain (by Louis Cerny, Nov 2002). Phone 0476-7212379. Rooms not quite up to the pretentious entrance and stairway but otherwise OK. Rooms with shower are Y45 per person with up to 3 beds per room. Restaurant on ground floor is cheap but you get what you pay for!
Hot water good but only on from 2000 to 2300 and 0630 to 0730 sharp!
I am sorry I do not know much more, as I normally stay in the depot sleeping quarter, which is not open to the general public.
Accommodation
The Zhongye Hotel (entry is through an archway into a courtyard) on
Keerqin Street (0475 2297359) is very clean, 120Y for two, 100Y for
one, breakfast is included. Remember to put the toilet paper in a dry
place before you have your shower!
I also stood in the hotel next to the station, to the right when you come out, a large building. Nice view to the rails. But that was in 1998, I do not even remember the name. Very good hotel.
Another hotel at the station is Tong Tie Da Sha, 120 RMB for a double room. Problem: Rats.
Tonglia station ticket sales office is in the second floor. For tieckts of the day use counter number 7. Jitong has a lttle office in the first floor, however, to the left of the X-ray machine.
General: The price for a taxi for a day at the Jingpeng pass is 200 RMB. This seems to be quite established, as every driver will cite this price.
Mr. Li from Linxi. He has been in this business for more than four years and has a quite well kept Hiace minibus, European comfort, heating and airconditioning is working. Probably the best driver around the area. His home phone is 0476-5321362. He may be a bit difficult to get, as he is often hired for foreign groups. He has now mobile number 13604765320. Still doing excellent service in Oct 2002.
A Reshui based taxi is number D 32292. The driver is young but more safe than othersd. He drove me from Reshui to Daban for 130 RMB during an evening, and his driving style was definitely not as "exciting" as with other Chinese drivers. Phone number is 0476 5101211 (at home at Reshui. He owns the typical Suzuki minibus (Mianbao che). Another good driver is at 0476-5101278 and mobile 13171373297.
Taxi prices (minibuses going between Linxi and Jingpeng)
Reshui-Linxi 5, Reshui-Sandi 2, Sandi-Shangdian 3, over the top at
Shangdian 1, Shangdian Simingyi 3 Yuan.
From Linxi to Chifeng there are some white Toyota minibuses, running at 40 Yuan. Comfortable ride, and very fast. 3 hours. Road is being repaired to new standard, partly finished.
Yuzhoudi driver Mr. Ge Geng. Small Tianjin passenger car. Takes reasonable prices, service minded. Phone 1351476 5776.
An excellent service Xilinhot driver: telephone number (0479) 8216011.Reshui taxi registration number D 25173. White minibus. He will try to cheat you by citing one price before driving and charging you a different price afterwards. If you use him at all, have small money available.
Taxis in Jingpeng generally try to charge you double the price for the locals. A trip from town to the river below the station should cost no more than 3 RMB when using a motorbike taxi.
The information has been relocated to this link, file mafia.html.
A bank in Lindong changes dollars (cash). No traveler's checques accepted. Otherwise a bank in Chifeng changes money (I do not know which one, probably in the center of town). In Daban, no bank changes foreign currency. It is best you change enough cash in Beijing before going to Inner Mongolia.
Number of visitors since April 5, 2002:
