When I walked from Grand Hotel to the Grand Hyatt which was on the same street, I entered a shopping mall that’s adjacent to Grand Hyatt. I couldn’t find the entrance to the hotel so I stopped to ask for direction.
I must have approached at least 6 mall goers and all of them couldn’t speak English. It is so very frustrating not to be able to communicate in simple English. It doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect but I think in this day and age, people from all parts of the world most especially those living in mega cities such as Beijing should arm themselves with a good amount of at least “survival English”.
I had to go thru x-rays and body check to enter the Grand Hyatt lobby. I think this is mainly due to the fact that a head of state is in residence here for a few days.