Gift shops in five- and four-star hotels sell English language newspapers published overseas, such as International Herald Tribune, Financial Times and South China Morning Post. China Daily, the only national English newspaper in China, is available as complimentary copies in most hotels.
Also available at the front desks of most star-rated hotels as well as many popular restaurants and bars are free English magazines of abundant listing information.
International channels of news and entertainment, such as CNN, BBC, Star TV, ESPN and National Geography, are available through satellite TV reception at major hotels in Beijing. China Central TV Station offers English programs on its English Channel. By 2008, there will be about 200 channels through international TV signal transmission by eight submarine cables and five satellites.
Guide books and travel maps in English language can be found in gift shops in major hotels and foreign language bookstores in Beijing.
