FurryTiles

Hi everyone!

Have finalised our exciting RTW trip, but unfortunately had to drop Vietnam from the agenda as it was impossible to get onward flights out of HCMC. Disappointing, but on the plus side, we have added days to our Beijing visit to six nights so we’ll have time to enjoy some of the wonders and recuperate between forays

We arrive mid-August – hopefully the weather will be slightly cooler by then – and hope to be able to stay in a hutong courtyard hotel – I’ve seen SiHe, Lu Song Yuan and Bamboo Garden mentioned on the threads here, and am hoping someone has stayed recently for an update or give us another recommendation. Have been reading all the Fodorite China trip reports and there is such a wealth of information to chopstick from, thanks to all.

We realise that construction activity for the Olympics will be in full force – but don’t want to miss this opportunity of finally seeing Beijing.

Our son beat us to it several years ago, he studied Mandarin and part of the course included a two months intensive language course in Beijing. What I would love to do is for my DH and me to stand in front of it and take umpteen pictures – if we can find it.....

.... it’s the Beijing Huiwen Language and Cultural School, near Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) and the Longtan parks.

... so for you Beijing experts, can you give walking directions from the Tiantan??

(We’re also visiting Stockholm, Boston and Big Island, Hawaii so I’ll be scouring the Europe and US boards as well. )

Many thanks,
Jackie

rhkkmk

jackie--i live in boston and would be glad to be of any assistance you want....e mail me at my travel e mail:

[email protected]

bob

Shanghainese

Jackie: Ask your son to write down the school's name in chinese and take a cab from Tiandan, it's cheap, no more than a few dollars.

FurryTiles

Thanks so much for your offer, Boston Bob Lucky for us, we love walking/strolling to absorb the atmosphere, and from the Boston threads on the US board detailing the difficulties/horrors of exploring by car, looks like our walking preference gets a five rating!

Shanghainese, our son is in Stockholm (we're in Sydney) and we'd like to &quot;surprise&quot; him with photos of the oldies outside <i>his</i> Language school doing a 'we made it!' victory dance,

I've tried to find the school on Multimap.com, but the only address I have is in fact in Chinese, which he wrote out on labels for our snailmail.
If I post a scan of it on the web, could someone translate it, please?

Have added the Tianxiang courtyard hotel to our browsing list, (after reading the thread here about concerns re non-smoking rooms in China - loved the responses &quot;they remove the ashtrays&quot; or &quot;spray airfreshener&quot;.)

We'd prefer to experience Chinese-style accommodation rather than Western hotel chains, and do most of our exploring on foot.

Many thanks,
Jackie

FurryTiles

Re the Huiwen school ... there's quite a bit of info on the net now since Google 'conquered' China, but none that give its address or a map of its location. But it's Language and Culture studies for International Students has gone from strength to strength since our son studied there, which is great!

I've posted the rather tattered address label written in Chinese on this link
http://tinyurl.com/36uynd
so if anyone can translate, would be much appreciated.

Knee how,
Jackie

Shanghainese

Jackie: Ni Hao! (I love your version - knee how)

The address is 6 Pei Shin Avenue, Chongwen District, Beijing

Bring the address with you to show the cab driver, it is in very clear chinese print, not handwritten.

The handwrittne characters is your son's chinese name Tsai De, Tsai is a chinese surname which probably rhymn's with his last name, and De means virtue. The chinese are experts in converting non-chinese names into chinese characters, you can have chops made with your chinese name on it. They are cool gifts too for friends, usually less than $10 unless you ask for an expensive stone.

FurryTiles

Ni hao, Shanghainese!

Thanks so much for the translation of the address - and our son's Chinese name. Mmmm, Virtue - nice one, Chad I have already put a copy in our daily-expanding trip folder. And yesterday, got the 'paper' tickets in our letterbox, which makes it all more real and exciting, even tho' it's still four months away.

I've been checking Chinese courtyard hotels, and somehow their prices seem almost double that of the Western chain hotels. August is high season, I realize, but the indication on most travel forums/trip advisor is that courtyards are a 'bargain' value-wise.

Maybe I'm looking at the wrong weblinks, or is this an illustration of the two-price system (one for locals, one for foreigners)?

Back to more 'hunting'

Jackie

Shanghainese

Ah ha, your son's name is Chad so Tsai stands for Cha and De for d. Chinese names are usually 2-3 characters, sometimes 4; The first 1, sometimes 2 are last names.

I haven't heard courtyard hotels are bargains, there is strong interest from foreigners pushing up the prices. Locals prefer to stay in shiny new highrise western chains since many grew up in the hutong courtyards before they were modernized. I remember living in a courtyard not far from Tiananmen that had no running water (used well water), no toilet (used night pots), no heating/cooling, and the kitchen stove used powdered coal cakes.

FurryTiles

Mmmmm, Shanghainese - I was getting rather fond of Virtue, lol.

Further hunting gave excellent results.

We have reserved a deluxe room at the Spring Garden Hotel (Courtyard) through the www.travelinchinaguide.com website, individual air-conditioning (which could be important if mid-August is hotter than predicted) and private ensuite bathroom.
The Spring Garden has just eight rooms decorated in various Qing dynasty styles, around a central courtyard garden, and was only opened in October last year, so quite new. Hence, no reviews yet on TripAdvisor.
It’s in the Nanwei (North 6th Lane Xisi) hutong, in the Xicheng district, and according to my Beijing map, just under 2kms walk to the Forbidden City and Jingshan Park, and 800 metres to the closest Metro station. Double rooms are 720 yuan per night including breakfast, so for our six night stay a total of 4,320 (includes 15% service charge, but NOT government tax which is about 40 yuan extra per night) which for us is AU$670 for six nights, so excellent value. (and a world away from memories of your hutong home, Shanghainese, with so few amenities - glad we don't need a night pot

Reservations are confirmed through a credit-card deposit of one night’s stay (information to be forwarded by Fax, not email), but payment is required in full in yuan when checking in, major credit cards accepted. After checking out, the security deposit is refunded to the credit card used by the booking agent (in this case, travelinchinaguide.com).

It looks gorgeous; with a cherry on top, good enough to eat! Here’s the link to the Spring Garden http://tinyurl.com/2ch2nk


Have also found the Huiwen Language school in the Chongwen district on our map, and looks like a great excursion to include it in a visit to the Temple of Heaven and Longtan park – might even attempt it using the metro from Fucheng Men to Chongwen Men station and walking from there.

So exciting!

Jackie

FurryTiles

Just thought I’d add this info from my dear ‘Virtue,’ an email response to our news that we wanted to stay in a hutong courtyard hotel ...

“Really liked the hutong hotels. They are disappearing quite fast with all the construction going on. The school had a few nearby and they were really interesting -- communal toilets with no dividers between the 'holes'! So if it was busy you'd see a row of locals doing their business and often whilst reading the paper.”

So not too far removed from ‘night pots’

Jackie

Shanghainese

Jackie: That's why I have strong thighs/legs from squatting over the holes at school all those years!

Spring Garden's location is excellent (remember taxis are dirt cheap) and the decor is lovely. Make sure you check the bed size, the chinese style beds are not wide. Can't wait to hear your experience!

FurryTiles

So there you go, every cloud does have a silver lining - strong legs/thighs are enviable and many spend $$$ in gyms to achieve such. And hay, you got the same results for ahem 'free'!

Realise taxis are cheap - but also very aware of the chaotic traffic - which is even more so with all the construction, according to a recent SBS News update on Olympic preparations. So it could actually be quicker to walk, plus getting the enjoyment of a leisurely look at all you pass by.

The Metro, we figure, will be an 'exciting' experience in itself, not quite the equivalent of white water rafting, but we're quite prepared to inadvertently end up in the opposite direction - and just add that to the 'adventure'.

Now off to check the bed size ... DH (6') and I (5'7&quot are 'maturely-rounded' and might not fit in a 'courtyard' double - might be better to request twin beds instead.

Thanks for the tip,
Jackie

FurryTiles

Just an update on our accommodation in Beijing, the Spring Garden Courtyard hotel. http://tinyurl.com/2ch2nk

We booked in April, and see in TripAdvisor that the hotel now has its very first review (on May 1) ... and it’s all good ...

“... had a wonderful time ... since it is outside of the standard tourist district, we felt like we got to experience real life in Beijing. The photos on the hotel's website provide a fair representation of the hotel.

The staff is wonderful and speaks adequate English. They were extremely helpful with making sight-seeing arrangements. ..
The rooms are located on a single level around 2 separate courtyards and were clean and nicely furnished with antique reproductions. They are also extraordinarily quiet. The beds contain traditional Chinese mattresses and might be considered hard by some. The bathrooms were new and modern and came with the standard amenities (toothbrush, comb, etc.). During our stay, one of the showers began to leak and it was fixed immediately upon request. There were televisions and air-conditioners in each room.

Breakfast was included in the price of our room and was served either downstairs in a breakfast area or in the courtyard ... either &quot;American&quot; or &quot;Chinese&quot; and included as much as you wanted. ...
The location is very central, near many shops and restaurants. A Bank of China with a cash machine is located within a 1/2 block from the hotel (on Xi Shi Street). It is an easy walk to BeiHai Park with its market, restaurants and natural beauty. The # 22 bus runs down Xi Shi Street, through the Xi Dan shopping area and then to Tiananmen Square. Another bus stops about a block away goes to the zoo/aquarium. It is also about a 15 minute walk to the subway (or an easy transfer from the bus to the subway at Xi Dan). Taxis are also easily hailed on Xi Shi street.

The 7 year old who was traveling with us wants you to know that the Spring Garden was the best hotel that she stayed at during her entire 2 week trip to China. The adults on the trip concur.”
http://tinyurl.com/3ceool


How wonderful to have our choice so roundly applauded by a hotel guest ! We were knee-howing in celebration.
And to add a bit more flavour – have re-read an excellent historical novel on Marco Polo (not the tourist –v- traveller, but hay a new term to haggle over – “The Journeyer” by Gary Jennings (1984) with much of the setting in China (Kithai) in the mid-13th century – a great ‘deep background’ resource for our August trip.

Jackie

P.S Bob rhkkmk - we've found equally great accommodation in Boston, a studio apartment Marlborough Street - so thrilled.

FurryTiles

Ni hao and thanks to all Fodorites who helped so much with our planning of this leg of our trip!

Thought I'd update this thread with our review of The Spring Garden Courtyard Hotel, Nanwei hutong, at 11 Xise Bei 6 Tiao.

It was an absolute jewel and we delighted in our marvellous ‘find’ many times every day!

We were in Room #1 (or 8001, as the Spring Garden has just eight rooms, all with the prefix 800) with its own undercover porch outside our door, facing the tranquil small courtyard with its gentle small waterfall over rocks, our possie made more private by a gorgeous fruiting pommegranate tree. There are four rooms on this front courtyard, and four in a rear courtyard (which is not as charming as the front). Rooms #1 and #2 are the top pick.

Our room was spotless, with bright Chinese decorations and a huge emperor-sized double bed. When we first tested it, it felt very firm to well, hard; but proved surprisingly comfortable, we slept like babes and began to wonder if our bed at home was actually too soft!

The staff were so friendly, accommodating and so generous with their time with any requests, lovely young girls who’s English is improving every day – and on the third day, and young man who was equally friendly and helpful.

As an indication of the level of service – early one morning, we asked reception to call us a taxi. As the response by telephone was deemed too slow, one of the girls changed from her red cheongsam into street clothes, raced to the nearest cross-road, hailed a cab, directed him to the hotel, then puffing ... announced its arrival.

We spent lots of relaxing hours on our courtyard patio – such tranquil bliss, so peaceful – and in the evening, with our sundowners, softly piped Chinese music to accompany the soft glow of the red lanterns . Magic!

We seemed to be the longest-staying guests, most only stayed one or two nights – and greetings were exchanged regularly with all staff, including the cleaners who didn’t speak English, with a cheery “knee how” (ni hao) with smiling responses, and then a big zi zi when they’d serviced the room – that we felt like family. Even got a farewell present – a silk box cover with two tassels and a disc that wished health, happiness and wealth I used the two removable tassels to decorate both my handbag and my coat, and I think good karma followed us throughout the rest of the trip with these good luck pendants swinging, as the rest of our rtw trip was not only without mishaps or disappointments, but an amazing, unforgettable journey.

We did have a small hiccough with the plumbing drainage (as does a large slice of Beijing) – not with the shower, but with the toilet – but this was fixed immediately using the universally-known ‘black plunger’.

Breakfast was included – the western version consisting of ham, egg and toast, and the Chinese version a brown barley soup and steamed dumplings (yum), juice and coffee (loved the kiwi (Chinese gooseberry) juice). But there was no variation of the brekkie theme, and by the sixth day DH was hangin’ out for some good old cornflakes!

We loved our Nanwei hutong, and strolled its length many times, becoming familiar with the residents who nodded and smiled in recognition – especially the dog walkers with their itty bitty Pekingese – so that we felt a small part of their community.

A true gem, stuff that fond memories are made of.

Jackie

Shanghainese

Thanks for the update, sounds like a great courtyard hotel.