Dates
Proposed: (11+)12+13 November 2011
- Friday: arrival day, FUDpub
- Saturday: Unconference with possible themed track in another room
- Sunday: Half-day hackfests, half-day unconference track (to present hackfest work, etc).
Location
About Beijing
Beijing (北京) is the capital and cultural heart of China. It houses many universities and high profile IT companies of which Red Hat China is one.
Beijing is the second largest city in the People's Republic of China and has a very distinct and easy layout. The city is based around a ring structure which starts with the Forbidden City (or Palace Museum) being the center.
The city allows you to easily move around using public transport, of which the Subway is probably the best way.
University
At the moment two options are being considered for hosting this event.
Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications
BUPT is a national university specializing in the field of cable communications, wireless communications, computer, and electronic engineering. It is located in Haidian district is easily reachable by public transport (Line 10). This option is considered due to the good relationship with the Red Hat Engineering office in Beijing. Discussions about renting classrooms or other co-operation is being discussed.
Renmin University
Renmin University is one of China's top universities and provides an excellent location for hosting this event due to public transport (Line 10). It lies in Haidian District, Beijing's Silicon Valley. Rent of classroom is possible; discount option available. Booking needs to be done 2 months in advance. This option is currently considered as a secondary/alternative location.
Reference Links
- http://wikitravel.org/en/Beijing
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_10,_Beijing_Subway
Major Local Airports
Beijing Capital International Airport (Airport Code: PEK) is the major airport servicing Northern China and Beijing.
Transit to/from airport
The airport is easily accessible by public transport, e.g. subway and shuttle bus. Taxi takes about 40-50 mins from airport to the center of the city.
Local Mass Transit
The venue is easily reachable with public transport; several buses go to Renmin University and it is walking distance from Suzhoujie station along Subway Line 10. Also, the Beijing office of Red Hat is easily reachable using line 10.
Local Restaurants
Many styles of food is on offering. Almost in every street you can find a cheap restaurant which offers all kinds of Chinese food. Using Line 10 you can travel to Tuanjiehu and visit Sanlitun (三里屯). This area is famous as an international bar street and offers a lot of different styles of Western food. Another option which is about 15 minutes away is Wudaokao (五道口), this is also a famous area mostly known among students. There are too many options available to specify here ;-)
Hotel
A lot of different hotel options are available and are currently under discussion.
One option is Wen Jin Hotel, a 4-star hotel, 20 minutes' taxi from FUDCon location BUPT, 20 minutes' walk from the Red Hat China Engineering office, 10 minutes' walk from the famous Wudaokou bar street. Food selection is quite abundant in nearby distance from typical Beijing Roast Duck to Korean barbecue.
Estimated Hotel Costs
Wen Jin Hotel:USD 125/night, with breakfast, internet, bathtub & shower. Located at High floor.
Transit to/from FUDCon
Easy access to the venue is possible by public transport.
Room Capacities and Configuration
Internet Capabilities
Alternate Venues for Meeting (not in a hotel)
Availability
The Engineering office at Raycom near Tsinghua University has shown interest to offer their training center for activities. This options is currently under discussion.
This locations is within walking distance from a stop along subway Line 10 and about 10-15 minutes away from the venue by taxi.
Networking
Food and Catering
Transportation to Event
Price indication for flight tickets. For international and domestic flights you can fly directly to Beijing (PEK; Beijing Capital Airport). For domestic flights it is also possible to use Tianjin (Tianjin Binhai airport) and take the high speed train to Beijing (this takes about 30-40mins).
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Capital_International_Airport
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianjin_Binhai_International_Airport
Costs from NA and LATAM
- New York (JFK): from $1100
- Boston (BOS): from $1100
- Washington: from $1100
- Los Angeles (LAX): from $850
- ...
Costs from Europe and Africa
- Frankfurt (FRA): from $800
- Munich (MUC): from $750
- Berlin: from $750
- Amsterdam: from $750
Costs from Asia and Australia
- Tokyo: from $500
- Hong Kong: from $300
- Singapore: from $450
- Delhi: from $550
- Pune: from $980 (2 stops: Delhi, HK)
- Sydney: from $950
- Brisbane: from $1800
Organizers/Event owners
- Gerard Braad
- Yong Yuan
- Grace Liu from Red Hat Beijing Engineering
Pros and Cons of Proposed Location
Pro
- Opportunity to grow Open Source and Fedora presence in Asia
- Possible co-operation with various user groups in Beijing and China, e.g. China Unix, Beijing LUG, etc.
- Mozilla China has shown interest to participate in a themed track; e.g. web technologies.
- The city provides a lot of possibilities to explore; cultural, architectural, etc.
- Excellent mass/public transport options.
- Most major airline companies offer direct flights to the airport and traffic costs and time to reach the hotel are minimal (within 1 hour).
- The Red Hat Beijing Engineering office is quite a large one with different size of meeting rooms from 2-person capacity to 40-person capacity, and training area for 50 persons, making it most possible for a very ideal alternative location.
- A group of volunteers from Red Hat Beijing Engineering will be supportive.
Con
- Lack of English proficiency for certain locations/services. Needed information and help will be provided as much as possible by the event organizers. Solutions have already been discussed, like downloaded flyers and instructions in China which can be handed to taxi drivers or desk personnel.