Travel in China

Shopping in China
Woke up bright and early this morning (after getting in around 4:30 am) to head to the Silk Market, one of the biggest tourist attractions (althhough the locals certainly frequent it) in Beijing. The Silk Market is eight floors of clothing, shoes, toys, bags, suitcases, jewelry, home furnishings, Chinese souvenirs and SO much more.

There were three of us on the bargain hunt: Jeannie, Laura and myself. We had heard from some of our classmates who had already been that the Silk Market was crazy and the vendors would grab your arm and pull you to see their wares and there was a lot of yelling. The classmates came back haggard and frazzled, exhausted from the experience. Naturally, I was bracing myself for those crazy morning-after Christmas sales (like I experienced firsthand at the Paper Store) where people go NUTS for Hallmark ornaments or anything that is 50% off.

We figured arriving early, and on a weekday would be the best way to avoid the crowds and chaos. After stopping at the dining hall for the CUC version of an Egg McMuffin we headed to the subway. We are pretty good navigators now. Just a few stops away, we got out and looked up. There it was: SILK MARKET....8 glorious stories.

Walking in the doors I was expecting to be bombarded. Instead we were all pleasantly surprised! Sure, the vendors were trying to get our attention, but mostly it was "pretty lady, want a t-shirt?" or "beautiful lady, tie for your boyfriend." To which I replied, "bu boyfriend." bu=no.

The first item I got was a pair of Victoria Beckham for Rock & Republic jeans. The salesgirl wanted them for 1250 yuan (about $180). Almost every salesperson has a calculator, so we just punched in numbers back and forth. I offered 125 yuan (a good haggling tip I read in one of my tour books--offer 10% of what they are asking). She asked "Dollars?"
I said "No! Yuan!"
Her reply, "You crazy."
She asked for my best price, I stood firm at 125. At that point I started to walk away...and she said "okay, okay. special price. 125." (and in case you're concerned, I was able to try on the jeans before I purchased them).

And that was how it went for the next 2 1/2 hours! We haggled, we were pretty ruthless...they called us tough ladies. Plus, our professor Shujen taught us the word for too much=tai guay, so we said that a lot--which impressed AND infuriated (I think) the vendors.

Walking out of the Silk Market with our purchases, Jennie, Laura and I felt pretty good. I don't think I stopped smiling the whole subway ride back! There is something so satisfying (but also oddly unsettling?) about setting your own price and sticking to it...is this what it's like booking a hotel on Priceline?

Drivers from other parts of the country will no longer have to worry
about getting lost traveling in Beijing with the help of an itinerary map.

Beijing Times reports a mechanism aimed at easing traveling
inconveniences for outsiders of Beijing will start in March at all 16
checkpoints entering the city. As long as the drivers tell the police
their destination, the police will print out a free itinerary map that
leads the way from the checkpoint to their destination.

On the map, drivers can find driving routes, distance, urban traffic
network information, as well as the number and type of their automobiles.
An official with the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau, Jiang Jinhui,
says the itinerary on the map is the shortest and the most efficient.

The service is based on a route-seeking system that compiles routes
according to different automobile types and the traffic situation. The
official warns that drivers must tell the police their automobile type in
case some types of automobiles are banned in some areas because of
traffic control.

A recent survey shows that more than half of drivers from outside of
Beijing are not familiar with the routes in Beijing and eight out of ten
want the free itinerary guidance service.

Shanghai travel guide
Shanghai is the center of China's eastern coastline,one of China's economical and cultural centers and has a long history as a trading port and gateway for foreigners entering China. It is the gateway to the delta. It is a municipality under the direct jurisdiction of the Central Government and the largest economic and trade center in China.
Shanghai's gorgeous night scene is one of the main highlights that will linger in visitors' mind owing to its ornate feature after their Shanghai travel experience. As night descends the entire city is lit up by dizzily colorful lights joined occasionally by the bright moon hanging in the sky.

Shanghai, a vigorous and energetic international metro-polis,
welcomes people from all over the world to enjoy its special atmosphere. This modern metropolis with its rich heritage of ancient Chinese culture has much to see and do.

Oriental Pearl TV Tower is the modern symbol of Shanghai City. Standing beside the bank of huangpu river with a height of 468 meters (1536 feet), it is the tallest TV tower in Asia and the third highest in the world. This unusual structure that dominates the skyline is a great attraction to tourists.

Another sight not be missed is the Bund. Situated on the east bank
of the Huangpu River, here, one can enjoy the bracing air and fine
sunshine as well as seeing something of the many activities along the river. The new finance and commercial houses cluster together along the south of the Bund while along the west there is a wealth of grand buildings in the European architectural styles of the nineteen-twenties, thirties and early forties. Marshal Chen Yi's statue looks down on the square where lively musicians gather to play and sing bringing pleasure to the many people who stop by to listen. At night bright lights add to the happy atmosphere as people stroll along the wide riverside promenade.

Nanjing Road is considered to be the "No. 1 commercial street in China". Here along its 5.5 kilometers (3.4 miles), you will find over 600 shops that on average are visited by some 1.7 million people each day. If you like shopping, do not miss it! And if you want to experience the historical and cultural atmosphere of the city, Shanghai Xin Tian Di is a wise choice. Composed of Shikumen and modern architectural style, now it has become a hot and fashionable pedestrian street in the center of the city.

Yuyuan Garden is the largest of Shanghai's ancient gardens with architectural styles of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The garden has six areas, each with its own style. The Grand Rockery, in the center of the Garden, is the most renowned sight here.

Shanghai Museum is a veritable treasure house of ancient Chinese art and houses 120,000 precious relics. Bronzes, pottery, paintings and calligraphies are distinctive features of the Museum's collection. Seen from above, the Museum resembles a large bronze mirror of the Han Dynasty (206BC -220). From the distance, it looks like a bronze Ding, an ancient cooking vessel that contains so many mementos of the 5,000-year-old history of Chinese civilization. Moreover, Shanghai government has listed the construction of museums in the cultural and tourism construction programs to record Shanghai's economic development as a reference for other cities. If you are interested in visiting museums, please click and see Museums in Shanghai.

Jade Buddha Temple is one of the most famous Buddhist temples
to be found in Shanghai. The White Jade Buddhas were brought
here from Burma in the nineteenth century. One is seated while the other is in the recumbent position of Sakyamuni symbolizing the Buddha's attainment of enlightenment or nirvana. The temple also has some impressive images of the Heavenly Kings. Although many people come to worship each day and burn incense at this very holy and active shrine, visitors are welcome.

Jin Mao Tower located in the center of Lujiazui Finance and Trade Districts in Pudong, is the third tallest building of the world and the tallest building in China. The ingenious combination of the elements of traditional Chinese culture with the newest architectural styles of the time, make the tower one of the best-designed buildings in China.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport, which bears about 60℅ of all Shanghai's airport’s traffic, is the only airport in the world to allow visitors to enter the control tower to witness the whole process of an airliner’s arrival and departure, which makes it a very welcomed travel destination for visitors.

The visitor to Shanghai having marveled at the city's modern
architecture and historical sites will be further rewarded when going to see neighboring water towns like Zhujiajiao and Qibao Ancient Town. Here is another world where ancient houses huddle by the rivers running through the towns that with their flagstone-paved roads and typical local flavors will be sure to slow your pace as you savor their traditions.

If you come to Shanghai with children, you'd better not miss Shanghai Wild Animal Zoo. It is the first national grade wild animal zoo in China and the home of over 200 kinds of animals from all over the world including rare animals and animals under the state special protection.

Travel in China for the Olympics
Many travelers and families find that staying in an apartment while visiting Beijing can save them money during the period of 2008 Olympics. Not only can an apartment often accommodate more guests than a hotel room, staying in an apartment can mean saving money by preparing some meals in the apartment. For a little bit longer visits, staying in an apartment can give you the sense of living in China instead of just visiting. If you're interested in short-term a Beijing rentals for visit 2008 Olympics, the agency Easy Accommodation Beijing and its website (http://travel.chinaassistor.com/) are the best way to find a short-term rental.
Easy Accommodation Beijing, the core service is to provide short term apartment and villa accommodation lease with a comprehensive and high quality recommendation. And the company has a well established reputation in China as a reputable and professional short term accommodation agency.
All of their apartments are carefully selected to be in the best areas in Beijing, over 80% of the apartments around the Olympic venues and another 20% near the historic tourism destination, monuments and many places of interest for tourist visit. Additionally, Easy Accommodation Beijing is acting as the sole short-term leasing agency of five top-ranking apartment communities which are quite close to the Olympic venues. An each community may accept 100-200 guests.
The apartments of Easy Accommodation Beijing make a great alternative to hotels, offering lower cost, more space, extra comfort, expectation apartment recommendation and airport pickup etc. Sharing an apartment with friends or family would make your vacation more economical and comfortable during Beijing 2008 Olympics.
Therefore, should be the best accommodation solutions agency for you in China Olympics.From: Accommodation Beijing Net http://travel.chinaassistor.com/

1. The weather. No, it isn’t perfect, but when Kunming is nice- and it often is nice as much as we say it isn’t- it is really, really nice. White puffy clouds, perfect temperature, bright blue skies, and a light breeze are not infrequent conditions here, which does wonders for your mood. Plus, while pollution has gotten noticeably worse as the city expands, it still cannot hold a candle to the bad air in Beijing, Shanghai, etc.

2. The intimacy. While being a major city and a provincial capital, Kunming still feels very small. I have never paid more than 30 RMB for any intra-city taxi journey, including airport runs. It’s very easy to explore the whole city by bicycle, and visits to places on the outskirts don’t require a lot of time or money. I love how running into friends just happens and doesn’t require intricate planning.

3. The low cost of living. Rent is cheap. Restaurants are even cheaper. A beer in a bar doesn’t stretch your wallet. One can live very comfortably in Kunming on 3,000 RMB per month, and that includes rent. For people on limited budgets who want to live in China, Kunming can afford that.

4. The arts/bohemian/international scene. Despite its distance from the coastal cities and Beijing, Kunming has a thriving arts scene and several good galleries located in the city. It also has held events such as the Kunming International Film Festival and an outdoor music festival. There are lots of foreign restaurants (both foreign and Chinese owned) and excellent cafes where on nice days people sit outside and chat.

5. The surrounding countryside. Within easy biking distance there are reservoirs, mountain passes, forests, lakes, and plenty of open space to explore. Yunnan’s physical beauty is well-known in China (and elsewhere), but one doesn’t have to venture far outside the capital to enjoy it. While there are a million suburban towns here, the sprawl doesn’t seem as suffocating as it does in the coastal provinces.

Kunming isn’t perfect, and people often move on to bigger and better things. For non-native English speakers, it can be difficult finding work of any kind. The intimacy also can cut both ways, and sometimes it seems that everyone knows each other’s secrets.

But for a lot of us here, we wouldn’t dream of living anywhere else in this great land of China.

More info of Kunming:http://city.chinaassistor.com/kunming

which reviews Steve MacKinnon’s new book, Wuhan, 1938: War, Refugees, and the Making of Modern China (University of California Press, 2008). Steve is a friend, but I think anyone would find this book not only a good read but also quite informative on a neglected turning point in modern China. It’s also a good introduction to the work in military history which has quietly transformed our understandings of China before 1949.

Steve makes the point that in this period the United Front worked and that the staggering losses were part of a heroic and in some ways quite successful military strategy. Chiang Kai-shek presided over an energetic coalition and had widespread support. The move upriver to Chongqing was heroic in much the same way as the Long March. It’s a page turning story, though quite horrifying in the descriptions of refugee life and battlefield realities. There’s also a section of photographs which do not merely illustrate but actually develop the themes of the text.

Asia Media, by the way, is run out of the UCLA Asia Institute, and is one of the useful sites for keeping up with breaking news in Asia. Every day they post links to dozens of stories in newspapers around Asia, but also the occasional commentary or review such as mine.

View Chongqing scenery online:http://city.chinaassistor.com/chongqing

I’ve been in Harbin about 24 hours now, and here are some quick first impressions and thoughts.

-Everything here is extremely cheap, even for China. Last night I stayed in a small hotel for 20 RMB (about $3 USD). I had a tidy single room, with TV and fan, plus a clean bathroom with 24 hour hot water, shower, and a western toilet. I was totally stoked by this find…until I got an 18 RMB half-hour massage and realized I could have just slept at the massage place and saved my 20 RMB I paid for the hotel room.

-People here are big–taller, stronger, and wider than your average Chinese. No doubt an influence of all the Mongol and Manchu blood mixed in with the Han here. No wonder Dongbei guys have the impression of being 很男人 (manly men).

-Most of the foreigners here are Russian.

-This is the first city I have ever been to which has a public park named after Joseph Stalin. (Disclaimer: I have never been to the former Soviet Union.)

-I saw a group of people in Stalin Park gathered around a tree watching a man trying to catch a squirrel. As the man lumbered through the tree branches, people below were throwing sticks and rocks up in the squirrel’s direction. My first instinct was to intervene on behalf of the squirrel, but then I remembered from my Midwest upbringing that it is virtually impossible for a human (or most other animals for that matter) to catch a squirrel with their bare hands…especially in a tree. My deceased family dog Abbey, who was faster and more agile than any human save for maybe Liu Xiang, tried valiantly for 15 years and never even came close. I watched for about 20 minutes, until the squirrel eventually made it back to the ground, and whisked off, leaving the frustrated mob behind.

-Near Stalin Park I encountered a Uighur man selling round, sugar-topped, bread snacks for 1 RMB. It was hands down the tastiest pastry I have ever eaten in China.

-Harbin is famous for its European turn of the century architecture. I can’t speak for what’s already been demolished, but what still stands is remarkably well-preserved. Zhong Yang Da Jie, the main pedestrian street in old Harbin, is still paved with cobblestone and has maintained a distinct European feel, even though most of the Russian residents are long gone.

-I spent half of my day today exploring Harbin’s Jewish history. There are two synagugues still standing, the “Old Synagogue,” built around the turn of the century, and the “New Synagogue,” built about fifteen years later. The New Synagogue has been restored and converted into a museum of Harbin’s Jewish history. The exhibits include hundreds of photos and paintings with detailed inscriptions about their historical significance. They also have a mock Torah scroll which records the demographic history of Harbin’s Jewish community in Chinese. Interestingly, other than the Torah scroll, the only other item which does not contain English translations is an extensive exhibit on “Jewish Einstein.” As for the Old Synagogue, it’s now a mini-shopping center of sorts, with a coffee house, pizza shop, and a boutique selling Nepalese and Indian jewelry. The exterior still very much looks like a synagogue

by the way, if anybody knows an Internet bar in Harbin with Photoshop, I am willing to pay top dollar!

Wuhan is situated in the middle of Hubei Province of China, East Longitude 113°41′-115°05′, North Latitude 29°58′-31°22′.the east of Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and Hanshui River. The Yangtze River and Hanshui River divide Wuhan into three parts: Hankou, Hanyang and Wuchang, which are generally known as Wuhan's Three Towns.

Wuhan belongs to subtropical humid monsoon climate. There are sufficient rainfall and sunshine as well as four distinct seasons. Climate here is pleasant generally. In recent thirty years, the average annual rainfall is 1269mm, mainly from June to August; annual temperature is 15.8℃-17.5℃, annual frost free period lasts 211 to 272 days and annual sunlight duration is 1810 to 2100 hours.

Wuhan occupies a land of 8494.41km2, most of which is plain and decorated with hills and a great number of lakes and pools. Wuhan's climate is a subtropical monsoon one with abundant rainfall and distinctive four seasons. It has a population of 7,811,900 by the end of 2003.

Wuhan possesses strong economic and regional advantages. It connects the east with the west, channels the north to the south, and links rivers with seas by means of its developed water, land and air traffic. From Wuhan you may reach some foreign countries such as Japan and ROK. Some of China's metropolises such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Xi'an are all within a circle around the center of Wuhan with the radius of 1000km. Wuhan is the important strategic supporting point of Central China.

A view of the city of Shanghai from the 492-meter-tall Shanghai World Financial Center under construction on August 26, 2008. Observation decks on 100th and 97th floors of the 101-storey tower, overlooking the city, are set to be finished and open to the public at the end of this month, providing visitors a spectacular view of downtown Shanghai and the winding Huangpu River.

The skyline of Shanghai's lujiazui financial area is seen in this picture taken on August 26, 2008. Observation decks on 100th and 97th floors of the 101-storey tower, overlooking the city, are set to be finished and open to the public at the end of this month, providing visitors a spectacular view of downtown Shanghai and the winding Huangpu River.

Undated file photo of a view of the Shanghai World Financial Center (C) at night in Shanghai. Observation decks on 100th and 97th floors of the 101-storey tower, overlooking the city, are set to be finished and open to the public at the end of this month, providing visitors a spectacular view of downtown Shanghai and the winding Huangpu River.

From inside the 91,000-seat Bird’s Nest stadium, fireworks dazzled and the thunder of 2,008 performers drumming on traditional fou percussion instruments rolled throughout the stadium. High-tech special effects gave even the kitschiest subject matter a startling edge. An ode to China’s invention of movable type—ho hum, you might say— morphed into a vast sea of undulating cubic shapes, simulating a giant computer keyboard—and took my breath away.

When five-time Olympic medal winner Li Ning prepared to ignite the Olympic flame, invisible wires swooped him skyward for a gravity-defying space-walk around the stadium’s rooftop opening. When gymnast Li, who launched a successful sports clothing and accessories empire after snagging three gold medals in Los Angeles, finally lit a gigantic torch perched on the rim of the Bird’s Nest, the crowd went wild.

This was China’s soft-power version of “shock and .” Or at least, that metaphor ran through my mind as the pyrotechnics reminded me of watching the U.S. “shock and awe” bombing of Baghdad in 2003 from my Palestine Hotel room balcony. Just as Washington’s adventure in Iraq today symbolizes the beginning of the decline of U.S. influence around the world—despite its military might—so will China’s hosting of these Olympics be seen as a sign that it has arrived as a global power, despite its tarnished human rights record. Nowhere will this tilting balance of power be more pointedly symbolized than in the Olympic medal count, where China may have a
better than even chance of snagging the highest number of gold medals, displacing the U.S.

Flanked by leaders of the United States and Russia—among 80-some other foreign dignitaries—Chinese president Hu Jintao stiffly declared the 2008 Games had begun. Inside he had reason to feel triumphant: one theme hammered (or, more accurately, drummed) into the audience again and again was “harmony,” a codeword for Hu’s Confucius-influenced call for a “harmonious society.” Yet Hu could also be excused for feeling jittery and overwhelmed by today’s tsunami of national pride. China has always felt more comfortable in the role of an underdog, as a feisty champion of the developing world, than as abig world power.

That’s because global clout brings with it global responsibilities. As a rainbow coalition of anti-China activists has shown in a series of protests this year, Hu and his comrades have dwindling excuses for standing to one side when genocide is unfolding in Darfur (Khartoum looks to Beijing for aid and moral support) or the Burmese junta (ditto with Rangoon) ratchets up its repression or, indeed, the Chinese regime tightens the screws on its own population.

Shortly after tonight’s opening ceremonies began, Russian tanks were reported to be rolling into Georgia—a stark reminder to Hu (and Putin for that matter) that even a sacred event such as the Olympics cannot prevent harsh political realities from intruding. Most pundits analyzed tonight’s festivities as a celebration of Chinese might. I saw a somewhat more complex message. True, the sight of goose-stepping soldiers carrying the Olympic flag (shades of Berlin
1936) or the sheer precision of thousands of performers moving intricately as one (a la Pyongyang’s Mass Games) made it easy to focus on China’s autocratic demeanor.

But if you read the cultural icons carefully, they also weave a tapestry of loss and redemption. The unique thing about China’s current aspirations to greatness is that it’s been down that road before. While Beijing’s economic achievements over the past three decades have been mind-boggling, similar accomplishments took place at least twice before in its long history—a history that dominated tonight’s performance, starting with the arcane fou bronze drums dating back to the Xia Dynasty (ca 2070 BC).

During the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), China’s trading routes stretched along the Silk Road to Constantinople, and the Middle Kingdom was a famous source of silks, Buddhist teachings and innovations in printing and cartography. In the Ming Dynasty, China’s legendary eunuch admiral Zheng Ho (1371 -1433 AD) navigated his treasure fleets as far away as West Asia and Zanzibar, returning with tribute from vassal states and exotic finds such as giraffes. But those golden eras ended after economic setbacks and internal decline.

Tonight’s show strummed many of those themes. The wire-suspended dancers who flitted across the sky high above the audience, a la Peter Pan, were apsaras (like angels) whose likenesses are painted in many Tang-era Buddhist grottoes such as those at Dunhuang, along the ancient Silk Road. And Zheng Ho warranted a whole dance performance dedicated to his seven fleets, which carried 27,000 people in all to distant lands.

Yet many of the Chinese inventions extolled (however imaginatively) tonight—from gunpowder to paper to movable printing type—were innovations that ultimately stalled in China, only to be advanced in leaps and bounds by other nations. And while the entire evening was an homage to the 2500-year-old Analects of Confucius—an ancient Chinese thinker who “comes first among the top 10 historical celebrities in the world,” as the official Opening Ceremony Media Guide puts it—nothing was said of China’s Great Helmsman Mao Zedong.

It was Mao who jettisoned Confucian ethics and unleashed the incredibly destructive 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution which gutted China’s educational system, lobotomized the intelligentsia, and rendered the economy a basket case.

So, yes, this was a celebration to China’s illustrious heritage—and of its promising future. But tonight’s razzle-dazzle painted the portrait of an idealized Chinese past, of a gauzily perfect
what-should-have-been instead of the rather more tawdry what-really-was. And it isn’t only the ancient, imperial past that has been treated to this collective amnesia. At the finale of the evening, as sports-and-business icon Li Ning trotted like an astronaut, parallel to the ground, around the rim of the Bird’s Nest, images of China’s Olympics torch relay were projected against the flat panels of the rim. Predictably enough, the stops in Paris and London showed nothing of the rambunctious anti-China protests that had erupted in those and other cities to underscore China’s poor human rights record, particularly in Tibet.

Not everyone believes Beijing deserves another chance to be a great power; China’s hosting of the Olympics has been hotly debated and fraught with controversy ever since Beijing won its bid seven years ago. When China’s critics launched protests against its policies in Tibet—after violent riots which erupted in Lhasa March 14—emotional Chinese both at home and abroad rallied to their government’s defense, calling for a boycott of French goods (because of the anti-China protests in Paris) and stridently criticizing Western media for allegedly biased reporting. Some Western journalists based in Beijing received death threats.

But in a year of many surprises, the story line shifted yet again after yet another unexpected development. The devastating May earthquake in Sichuan province grabbed domestic attention and triggered an unexpected outpouring of domestic philanthropy and volunteerism that took even the government by surprise. In a flash, it seemed, strident anti-Western voices quieted down, and so did much of the Western criticism of China, at least for a time, as the international community scrambled to send rescue personnel and relief supplies to the stricken area.

China’s post-Mao economic boom, which lifted hundreds of millions of residents out of poverty, has given the country another shot at the sort of international influence it had enjoyed in the Tang and Ming dynasties. And the international sympathy triggered by Sichuan’s quake, which killed 70,000 people, also paradoxically gave Beijing a second chance to get the Olympics right after the PR disasters of the European torch relay.

The quake’s significance was acknowledged by some Olympic pageantry. When the 183-person Chinese Olympics team entered the stadium to thunderous applause tonight, flag-bearer and basketball celebrity Yao Ming walked alongside a 9-year-old Sichuan quake survivor. President
of the Beijing Games Organizing Committee, Liu Qi, said that after the quake the international community’s “heart-warming support has heightened the morale of the Chinese nation in the reconstruction of quake-stricken areas and boosted our confidence and determination in staging successful Games.” For the next two weeks, China’s every move will be scrutinized as never before—will the crackdown on dissidents continue? Will the contest for gold get ugly? And Beijing will be bending over backwards not to flub this hard-fought chance to be great once again.