TT clubs in Beijing?

Does anyone know of some good places to play in Beijing for an American intermediate level player?  Also, are there classes, coaches available? I read somewhere that you could even take classes at a school like Beijing Shichahai Sports School. Is this true?  That would be amazing.  Any tips, suggestions, recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.  

Edited by capablanca8 - 03/19/2013 at 9:01pm

tt4me wrote: The air pollution is very bad.  I would look for some place where the air is better.

capablanca8 wrote: tt4me wrote: The air pollution is very bad.  I would look for some place where the air is better. Well, I will be there anyway, so I figure I should play TT. : )  And that would be indoors at least.

To add to this, anyone know the best store in Beijing that has best selection of products?

Where you r staying?  In zhongguancun, near tsinghua university, you can go to a place near zhonguancun hospital inside science academy sinica, a nice place cost $5/hr to play, $20/hour for coaching.

Edited by PP Dui - 03/21/2013 at 11:38pm

I am going to have my wife look up again the name of the TT club in Beijing that I played at several times.  Judy Long, former Canadian olympian, coaches there.  Give me a day or two to find the name of it.  This place had some pretty high level players -- several around 2500-- much more so than other places I found in Beijing.  Having said that, there are places to play all over the place in Beijing.  You will players at a a lot of levels with every kind of strange style you can think of.

As for place to shop, it depends on where you are staying.  If you are going to be in the very center of Beijing, close to major tourist areas, there is a very large sports store on Wangfujing Road.  It is directly across the street from the Wangfujing Cathedral (which is the largest Christian church in China and a tourist attraction of sorts, and most importantly, very easy to spot since it is the last thing you would expect to find in China).  This is a large pedestrian street, mostly shut off to traffic.   There is interesting street food there, some very high end hotels, tons of other shops, and it is generally considered one of the must-see areas of Beijing.  Everybody knows where it is, it is in the geographic center of the city.  It is close (walking distance) to the  Forbidden City, not far from Tianenman Square, and the Temple of Heaven, very easy to find, and close to other things you simply have to see if you go to Beijing.   As a side note, the pollution is terrible in Beijing  and the place is crowded with bad traffic, but it is also an incredibly interesting place with lots to see.  I personally find it infinitely more interesting than Shanghai, having been to both cities quite a few times.  Shanghai has cleaner air because its on the coast, but that's about its only advantage as far as I can see.  Anyway, almost the entire basement of this massive Beijing sporting goods store is devoted to TT and the selection is huge.

Last time I was at the Wangfujing store, they had everything you could imagine from every maker, and not fakes.  This is important.   Their prices are not cheap, but lower than you would pay outside of China at least for Chinese stuff -- DHS etc.  Same price as everyplace else for Butterfly.   If you are looking for better prices, see the places Antiq mentions above.  I went to one of those shops.  Much harder to find, stores are smaller and generally only carried one or two brands. 

The people who work at the big Wangfujing store are very knowledgeable, and they can help you find a place to play also.  One very good looking woman there at the time (l there I tried not to notice too closely) could speak English.  Oddly enough, you need to go upstairs (fourth or fifth floor?) to find TT clothing -- shoes, shirts, shorts, warmups.  Last time I was there was 2008 but I doubt the general arrangement will have changed much, and this is one of the largest sports stores in Beijing.  By the way, I found two TT clubs just walking along Wangfujing Rd.  One is in the basement of a hotel (8 tables or so) and one is just in a building tucked off the street.  I should say my wife found them.  Being Chinese, she could read the street sign where it says "ping pong club".  Most of the players at those particular clubs were in the 1800-2100 level.  So, the main advantage of the place I am mentioning is it is easy to find, and convenient to other things worth doing in Beijing.  

Here is a link with a map to this street.

http://www.beijingimpression.cn/beijing-shopping/wangfujing-street.shtml

There are many TT shops in Beijing (I went to one of the ones mentioned by Antiq above, it was quite a search to find the place), but I have noticed that some smaller shops in China in general sell obviously fake Buttefly and Stiga stuff, so be careful in that regard.  General sports stores also sell a lot of table tennis stuff (for example shoes) but I didn't spend all that much time looking after I had been to the Wangfujing store, since I spent a ton of money there -- I remember buying a Photino there, this not too long after that blade was first introduced.

One other thing about how things work there.  They take US credit cards.  Once you find what you want to buy, the clerk will give you a little piece of paper.  You then take that paper to a check out station (only one per floor) give them your credit card (or cash) and the piece of paper.  They then stamp that piece of paper in about three places with official looking red ink stamps, you take that paper back to the clerk who helped you, and then they give you your merchandise in a bag and you can go.

Smaller shops, cash only.  In general, get used to paying cash in China.  Also, only a few of the ATM machines will accept foreign cards.


Edited by Baal - 03/22/2013 at 7:40am

Baal wrote:  If you are going to be in the very center of Beijing, close to major tourist areas, there is a very large sports store on Wangfujing Road.  It is directly across the street from the Wangfujing Cathedral (which is the largest Christian church in China and a tourist attraction of sorts, and most importantly, very easy to spot since it is the last thing you would expect to find in China).  This is a large pedestrian street, mostly shut off to traffic.   ...... Last time I was at the Wangfujing store, they had everything you could imagine from every maker, and not fakes.  This is important.   Their prices are not cheap, but lower than you would pay outside of China at least for Chinese stuff -- DHS etc.  Same price as everyplace else for Butterfly.   If you are looking for better prices, see the places Antiq mentions above.  I went to one of those shops.  Much harder to find, stores are smaller and generally only carried one or two brands.  ...

Baal wrote: I am going to have my wife look up again the name of the TT club in Beijing that I played at several times.  Judy Long, former Canadian olympian, coaches there.  Give me a day or two to find the name of it.  This place had some pretty high level players -- several around 2500-- much more so than other places I found in Beijing.  Having said that, there are places to play all over the place in Beijing.  You will players at a a lot of levels with every kind of strange style you can think of.

Baal wrote: capablanca8 wrote: Baal wrote: I am going to have my wife look up again the name of the TT club in Beijing that I played at several times.  Judy Long, former Canadian olympian, coaches there.  Give me a day or two to find the name of it.  This place had some pretty high level players -- several around 2500-- much more so than other places I found in Beijing.  Having said that, there are places to play all over the place in Beijing.  You will players at a a lot of levels with every kind of strange style you can think of. Thank you, Baal!  If you could find out the name of the TT club where Judy Long coaches, that would be terrific.  And if I could email or call them ahead of time, that would be even better.  I'm holding off on making lodging arrangements until after I figure this part out! : )    Thanks again.  What else are you planning to do?  What do you want to see?  Just table tennis?  How much can you spend?  Is this mainly business or pleasure?

capablanca8 wrote: PP Dui wrote: Where you r staying?  In zhongguancun, near tsinghua university, you can go to a place near zhonguancun hospital inside science academy sinica, a nice place cost $5/hr to play, $20/hour for coaching. For pingpang store go to across street of national library, 1000 feet west of subway station on north side of the street. Thank you, PP Dui.  I've not selected a hotel yet, as I want to figure out where I could play first.  Then I will choose my hotel! : )  Is Zhongguancun a nice area to stay in?  Do you know if I can contact someone at the club before my trip?  Also (last question), are those rates US dollars, which perhaps seem a little high for China?    Thanks again!

Edited by PP Dui - 03/23/2013 at 11:04pm

I am from Beijing originally.  I like to play at TianQiao Table Tennis club.  Really good quality of play especially in the evening.  Tournament every weekend.  Plenty of 2000+ players and some are 2400+.  

Make u easier

http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=31627&title=tt-beyond-frontier

Find go Beijing

Thanks Jason.  Sadly, neither my wife or I can remember the name of the place I played last time in Beijing, south and a little further west of Tian Qiao.  Also had a bunch of 2400 players.  Was in a basement.

I found the Tianqiao club this morning. Location is a little tricky. First, find the big TianQiao Theater on Beiwei Rd. Across Beiwei St. there's a cross street with a green sign saying TIANQIAOSHICHANG XIEJIE. Walk up that street and look to your left. One of the first buildings you'll see on the left has a faded white-and-blue sign saying ICBC. Just left of and below the sign is a nondescript doorway. Go in there and up stairs to the 2nd floor.

It's a nice big room with maybe 20 tables. Cost is 30 RMB per hour if you just walk in. I'm sure the regulars pay a lot less.

Today was a rainy weekday morning, there were maybe 10 players, all seemed to be retirees. Level of play was in the 1300-1600 USATT range, though a couple of the guys could've been a lot better but were holding back because of playing with friends. Evenings could be much tougher. Everyone was very friendly and I was quickly invited to play. Zero English spoken though.