Alternatively look for roadside kiosks with the IDD and DDD sign. Not only is it easier to get through but calls are half the daytime price. Most of the big hotels have telex and fax facilities to help business people. Alternatively, central telegraphy and post offices offer telex and fax services. Sending telegrams abroad is relatively expensive.
Express telegrams are double the price.
There is usually a telegram counter at the hotel. Otherwise, go to the central telegraphy or post office. An informative English monthly is Beijing This Month, distributed free at the beginning of every month at most star-rated hotels, the Capital International Airport and major universities. Most large hotels sell foreign-language newspapers and journals, including the International Herald Tribune, the Times, Asian Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek, Far Eastern Economic Review, and many more. The overseas edition of the Party newspaper People's Daily is usually available in the hotels.