Laundry By The Kilo In Beijing
 

Helo all,

Can anyone recommend a laundry that charges by the kilo rather than the piece near the Peninsula hotel? We'd like to drop off in the Am and pick up later in the PM. Also, is this another type of service that requires negotiations for the price?

Any/all help is most appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris

Chris, funny you mention this. I am in Beijing now and an internet friend who lives here suggested to go to Fornet (?) and sure enough there is one near my hotel, but when I got there I found they still charge by the piece, not by the kilo. Although their prices are better than the hotel, paying $80 US for 10 pairs of socks and 10 pairs of underwear is a LOT. I've now been told that there is no such thing as a laundry that charges by the kilo, maybe someone can confirm that.

As I type this my hotel room is littered with wet socks and underwear -- I decided I had no choice but to do them myself. The are still wet after about 20 yours though, even with the air running.

ChrisNJ: There are lots of places tucked away in the hutong, which certainly used to include one or two in the hutong just north and east of the Peninsula. But there's been much redevelopment there. Look for the characters 洗衣 as you walk around. Note that these places can be fairly primitive. The one I used to use near Guangqu Men, they hung the clothes up to dry and sat underneath them playing cards and smoking. Generally no negotiation on price is necessary, however.

Peter N-H

PeterN_H ..... I can just envision that scene. How annoying to get your laundry returned clean but not fresh smelling.

With 55 trips to China in over 25 years laundry has been a problem with cost. I have solved that by wearing clothes that dry quickly which you can get at Travel Stores or REI etc. etc. You wash them by hand, then roll them up in a towel to squeeze out the excess water....leave for about 2 hours and then hang them up in the bathroom to dry. Usually dry the next morning. They have socks and underwear made from the same materials. Saves a lot of money.

This thread was revived by someone wishing to promote their own enterprise, the original query being nearly four years old.

But there are still backstreet laundries which charge by the kilo and where cost is not an issue. There are also plenty of branches of the rather smarter Fornet laundries, and various imitators.

Just in case you've only been to China 54 times, and so your laundry dries differently, here's a list of Fornets. Show it to your concierge or hotel receptionists to find the nearest:

http://www.fornet.com.cn/page/Default.asp?pageID=80

And here's a list in English of some Fornet and other locations from one of the Beijing expat magazines (accuracy unknown):

http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijin...vices/laundry/

Problem with Fornet (and I use them weekly) is that they have a 3-day turnaround. Ok for an expat like me, no great for most tourists. I'd look for places in hutongs.