Notes from our most recent trip to Beijing and Shanghai:

Arrived in Beijing on Oct 16. After checking into the lovely Peninsula Palace Hotel on Wangfujing Rd., we decided to walk two blocks west to the pedestrian shopping area. Exceptionally crowded (as is most of China's main cities and tourist areas) and fairly pleasant, except for the numerous young individuals who kept trying to get us to come with them to see their "calligraphy" or art studio. Good department and specialty stores for silk, shoes/bags, food, etc...and several restaurant choices.

Oct 17 - Joined a full day tour to the Ming Tombs and the Badaling section of the Great Wall. After a short stop at the obligatory jade factory, we ate lunch at the typical "large group" restaurant. Since everyone at my table was Chinese and they spoke about as much English as I speak Mandarin, we all had a good laugh at my amateurish attempt to master chopsticks. They graciously offered me a fork, but I really wanted to get it right and (after they stopped watching me), I did OK. On to the Wall - All of Chinese opted to take the cable car while the Westerners chose to walk it. It is truly as windy and as steep as everyone says, but we had a great time taking pictures and just paced ourselves. Bought a picture book for Y20 (bargained down from Y80) and some postcards for Y5.

Oct 18 - Another day trip to the Summer Palace, Forbidden City, Tianenman Square - all very interesting. Took a quick boat ride from one side to the other and had our picture taken with some of the local children. Met some interesting people on the tour and we decided to all go out for Peking Duck that night. One of our group spoke Mandarin so we asked her to order a selection of dishes and everything was delicious! We definitely ordered way too much food (at least a dozen dishes arrived) and we were amazed that our total bill came to less than Y100 (US$12.50) per person!!

Oct 19 - Traveled the 90-minute flight from Beijing to Shanghai on Air China. They served a snack that included a hot sesame bun, sliced meat, pickled salad and fresh whole fruit plus beverages. Arrived in Shanghai and checked into the JC Mandarin Hotel. We liked the "spacious and well-appointed" room very much but were a bit intimidated by the brightly-lit, cavernous lobby. A quick walk in the area uncovered upscale shopping at Plaza 66, Westgate, Shanghai Centre and the nearby well-known Portman Ritz Carlton Hotel. Found a lovely little supermarket with a deli and bakery so we stocked up on some snacks for the rest of the week.

Oct 20 - Walked the famous Nanjing Road from our hotel all the way to the Bund & the Peace Hotel. It was incredibly crowded though worth the long walk. Finally found the Friendship Store which was a big disappointment - we were expecting something more like the Chinese Arts & Crafts stores that we loved so much in Hong Kong! The selection and prices were no better than the other shops and the staff appeared completely bored. Stopped by a stand to get a fruit-flavoured ice drink with gelatin balls for Y3 (US$.36). The taxi back cost only Y20 (US$2.50).

Oct 21 - Walked down to Huaihai Rd.(pronounced "why-high&quotwhich was recommended to us by a fellow traveler. Good selection of shops, especially the Parkson department store and Silk King chain of fabric stores. Had a quick bite to eat at the McDonald's where they were doing a promotion asking customers to say "I'M LOVING IT!" into a microphone for a coupon for free ice cream. Very funny! Took the subway out the the Grand Gateway mall which offers many specialty chain stores, particularly apparel, though not a single thing was in English and many did not speak it either, so it was bit of a challenge. Certainly more for locals than tourists.

Oct 22 - Decided to check out the Pudong area. Even though we took a copy of the subway map, we quickly realized that the automatic ticket dispensers list the stops only in Chinese characters so we tried to buy tickets from the booth agent. Although she didn't understand our mangled Chinese, others in line were nice enough to help us out by correctly pronouncing the stop we wanted (cost: Y3). Once on the train, there are signs posted with all of the stops in both Chinese and English - plus they clearly announce the next stop in both languages! Now why couldn't they put those signs in the stations too? Got off at Dongfang and walked to the Nextage and Times Square malls. Nextage is a 10-story department store that has absolutely anything you'd want! The first floor includes automobiles that range from Y125,000 (US$15,625) up to Y1,300,000 (US$162,500) for a Mercedes. The 9th floor is a terrific food court and the 10th floor includes a theatre and computer games arcade. In all, I highly recommend shopping there as the quality and selection were top-notch and the prices were fair. Hint: The red signs with a number such as 5, 7 or 8 on them indicate the percentage off. For example, "8" means "20% off" and "5" means "50% off". Next door, the Times Square mall is a multi-level shopping center very much like what we have in the US. However, this one was virtually empty as we saw neither locals nor tourists! The shops looked fairly nice though rather upscale for us. Stopped into the nearby Purple Mountain Hotel which looked very nice though probably more for local businesspeople than tourists. Took a cross-town taxi back to the JC Mandarin which cost only Y26 (US$3.25) - unbelievable! The taxis are very clean with white cotton seat covers and some drivers still wear white gloves. Trip time was only 15 minutes, even through heavy traffic and the tunnel.

Oct 23 - Our last day in Shanghai. We decided to visit the Yuyuan Garden and Shanghai Old Street area. Probably the best place for traditional Chinese gift items such as tea sets, embroideries, chops (seals) and other local specialties. Hint: Bring your own shopping bags with cloth handles to make it easier to carry everything, especially if you intend to hand-carry it on the plane! Yu Garden was very relaxing and well worth the Y30 entrance fee. Don't miss the nine-curve wood bridge and the tea house. It would be so easy to spend several days in this area! Taxi from hotel to Yuyuan Garden was Y22 (US$2.75).

Hi Lia, thanks for the great info. By any chance, do you recall where you had the Beijing duck?

Thanks.

Hello, Lia!

Thanks so much for posting your travels! Really enjoyed reading about your trip and laughed very hard over your adventures with chopsticks!

Am downloading and saving for a possible trip next year!

easytraveler

Hi Lia! So excited I found your article tonite, I printed it out & will be reading it tomorrow on the plane to China!!! I too, am going to Bejing, Xian & Shanghai with Gate 1. I know I'll have as much fun as you did. Thank You for the info.
Later
B.

CM2003: I'll locate the business card of the restaurant we went to. There is also another restaurant that is famous for Peking Duck but much more expensive. Will post contact information for both restaurants tomorrow. (Next time, I need to try the "hairy crab" in Shanghai - if anyone has a restaurant recommendation for that local delicacy, I'd appreciate it.)

14Barbara: If you get a chance, stop in the Tony Roma's restaurant near the Portman Ritz Carlton hotel. They have a "newsstand" where you can take complimentary magazines about what to see and do in Shanghai, plus it made for good reading on the flight home. Unfortunately, we found this place on our last night in town! Oh, well...now we know where to get lots of free information about local events next time.

Right now is the season for hairy crab. They're sold all over, but for a specific recommendation, try Lu Bo Lang. There's one near Yu Yuan and one in Pudong, there might be other branches too. Female crabs usually cost more than the male ones as the roe is considered the delicacy.

You're right, some of the older metro stations are not as well marked in pinyin. The newer ones, especially on the Pudong side, are better marked. You can also add to your metro ticket before exiting in case you didn't buy enough to cover your trip.

BTW I have copies of That's Shanghai, Scene Shanghai, Shanghai Talk, and Metrozine (all from October 2003). They have lots of entertainment and restaurant listings. If anyone would like to have them, email me at [email protected]

The restaurant we went to was Xianmanlou Restaurant at Zhongjie Xinyuanxili Chao Yang across from the YuYang Hotel. Phone: 64674391/64606711

Two other choices:
Tuanjiehu Peking Roast Duck Restaurant at 3 Tianjiehu Beikou, Dongsanhuan. Phone: 10-6507 2892

Zhengyangmen Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant at east side of Tiananmen Square, 14 Qianmen Xidajie. Phone: 10-6301 8833