Images2

May 26

We’re going to the Temple of Heaven this morning! I love parks!! It’ll be 88 degrees and sunny today! The air is clear.

There’s no tea at breakfast. I ask for some. Gosh, I shouldn’t have to ask for a pot of tea in the morning. Bananas, toast and yogurt are the only breakfast items offered. Thankfully we find the egg filled English muffins down the street.

I wanted to buy a Yikatong, 一卡通 or ICC card this morning for our metro rides. This card stores credit for multiple rides, gives discounts for bus fares, and is supposedly available in vending machines in every station. It isn’t. We ask, but this card isn’t available in our station. Every vending machine we used was attended by a metro employee who can make change, or help with the ticket machines. If one isn’t available, then someone is at a ticket window. There are security machines at each station also, and you must put your bags or purses through it. Grocery sacks were exempt. We buy two tickets and ride the metro to Tiantandongmen station, on line 5. This is the location of the East Gate of the Temple of Heaven, also, across the street, via the overpass, you can access the Pearl Market. Admission is 35rmb to the park and it’s sites. If you want to only go into the park and not see the sites the admission is less.

Morning is the best time to visit the Temple of Heaven. The park was full of people dancing, singing in groups, people were taking instrumental lessons, exercising on equipment, swinging colorful ribbons, practicing Tai Chi, snapping chains, playing with a racket with a ball on it, which seemed to stay attached with just their swift movements, women danced with shoulder length white gloves on, others dressed alike using weights in a dance routine. Groups played hacky sac and singers burst out in solos. A Chinese man was writing calligraphy with a huge brush and just water on the concrete walkways! I had a wonderful time watching them in all of their activities.

We enjoyed the beautiful Temples here and walked all the way to the Altar of Heaven and tried out the Echo Wall! Walking back to the Eastern gate wasn’t hard, since we cut back through the park. Still, the groups were enjoying more activities.

A note on metro tickets is appropriate now. We bought “extra” metro tickets at the vending machines here. We tried using them later in the day, only to find that the turnstiles wouldn’t accept our tickets. It turns out that you can only use subway tickets which you buy at the specific station you’re leaving from. They’re only good for one day also. We tried using another set of tickets we’d purchased, to save time, but the entry turnstile wouldn’t accept them. At one station an attendant let us in anyhow, but then we couldn’t exit. When we tried using the 3rd set we had bought, the attendant told us we couldn’t use them, we needed to buy a new set. Unless you have the ICC pass, you must buy each set of tickets, as you need them, in the station where you are located. We never experienced any lines, so this wasn’t a problem.

Our oldest daughter had one request of us while in China. She wanted a Pandora like bracelet. I didn’t know what these were called, but she provided me with a very good color photo. We went to the 3rd floor of the Pearl market, with photo in hand. This was quite helpful, since when the vendors bothered me to buy from them, I just showed them my photo. Almost everyone just shook their head no. They knew the term Pandora, but had nothing. Eventually I found a booth with colored glass beads and silver filler beads. They looked just like the beads in my photo! I realize these are glass beads, no real stones are added, but they were beautiful. I made an amazing bracelet here, choosing the beads of the colors she requested. I was thrilled! The cost was much less than those in the U.S. We found one other booth here with similar beads, but not the selection. Maybe I should have done a bit more shopping, but my husband hates shopping, so we left.

Liulichang art and antique shop area is mentioned in all the guide books. We took the metro to Heping Men, exited at C1 or C2 exit and walked south. Most of the metros have signs with locations at each exit posted. It’s smart to check this out, so you exit going the right direction. We were very disappointed in these art and antique shops. They are on both sides of the road, a 10 minute walk from the metro. Every shop seemed a duplicate of the previous. It’s a pretty area, but we had a hard time finding anywhere to stop for lunch here. A tiny local noodle shop was located in the alley, but we needed to return to the main road to find a real restaurant.

I was very interested in visiting the Huguang Guild Hall where Peking Opera is performed. No shows were available while we were there, but we were still able to visit this beautiful theater on our own for the admission price of 10rmb. To locate it, continue walking south of the Liulichang shops area on the main street. The address is No.3, Hufangqiao Road and is closed on Monday’s I believe. After 10 minutes you’ll see a big symbol of the theater on the right side of the road. The bathrooms outside of the museum are nasty, don’t try them, but indoors they’re fine. A tiny museum is open, it’s interesting, but the best part is that the Guild Hall itself. It is open for touring. We were the only visitors inside and lingered. It’s beautiful. Outdoors there is a courtyard and a tea garden. Wifi was working also!

Taking a taxi, we drove to Tiananmen Square. Again, it was practically empty. The Mao Memorial Hall is only open Tuesday - Sunday mornings from 8 – 12:00 noon. Admission is free. I had information that said it was open in the afternoon, but that’s no longer true. Tiananmen Square is huge, hot and sobering. A guard posted at the center monument was giving a tourist a difficult time. I was interested seeing the viewing stands by the entrance into the Forbidden City which can be seen from the square.

The metro is located underneath the square, so we took it to the Silk Market 秀水街 metro line 1, Yonganli, which is east of Tiananmen Square. We entered the market from the basement level. This was a big mistake, because the women here were so, so aggressive. They were yelling at us, trying to get us to enter their shops. They physically tried to pull my husband into their stalls. This was a big mistake. He got very angry with them and yelled back at them. My husband never yells at anyone, never. I knew this was trouble. He hated the fact that they grabbed his arms. I don’t know if entering from street level is any better, but we’d never enter from the subway exit again. We looked briefly for some more Pandora beads, found another booth with them, and I made a 2nd bracelet. We met some students from Miami of Ohio University, nearby our home at the market! The beads at the Pearl Market were nicer I think. I bought some black pearl earrings, and then we left. There are a lot of shopping opportunities here, but my husband was in no mood to stay!

Dinner tonight was at the Beijing Dadong Roast Duck Restaurant(Dongsishitiao Branch) 大董烤鸭店 (东四十条). 1-2/F, Nanxincang International Plaza, 22A Dongsishitiao, Dongcheng District. Tele:8610-51690329 东四十条甲22号南新仓国际大厦1-2楼(东四十条桥西南)

We took a taxi. The taxi driver had a very, very difficult time finding this restaurant. It’s located in the old Qing Dynasty granary area. He made a few phone calls before finding the location. When we exited the taxi a woman complained that she had a difficult time finding a taxi for her return trip. We had a good view of the duck roasting ovens when entering the restaurant. This restaurant was an easy walk from the metro stop in this area, which is fine to use after dinner, but we were glad the taxi dropped us off. Finding the restaurant the first time would have been difficult for us.

We had Peking Duck, of course and a couple of vegetable plates including mushrooms, delicious! The skin was crispy and meat tender. A chef carves the duck near your table and presents it to you. A woman then showed us the proper way to assemble the duck and condiments, including a small dish of sugar, into the pancakes. Several extra dishes are brought to your table at no extra charge, including watermelon and fruit for dessert. DaDong Restaurant is a beautiful restaurant in a location full of other dining options. Dinner was 191rmb, including drinks, and was an excellent choice for us.

Images2

May 27

Finally, today we’ll go to the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu 慕田峪. We made this trip by public transportation. It was very easy, and we didn’t need a guide.

We left our hotel at 7 a.m. First we took the metro to the Dongzhimen metro station on line 2. The bus station was directly outside exit B of the metro station. It is in a building, and is called the Dongzhimen Long Distance bus station. There are large signs over metal barriers forming lines for each bus. Bus 916 makes the trip to Huairou. The people in line know where you want to go, just by looking at you! Some of them let us go onto the bus ahead of them. How nice. We paid the bus fare of 10rmb each when we were on the bus. The bus is large, nice and air conditioned. Peter, I believe, gave us the tip that bus 916kaui (快) or 916zhi (支) will make the trip most quickly. We didn’t really have a choice, that I noticed, but our bus was very direct, about an hour drive.

Before you arrive at the bus station in Huairou there is a large traffic circle. Just before this traffic circle many mini-buses are lined up on each side of the road. I had read that you can get off the bus here and negotiate a ride to the wall and back. I hadn’t decided yet if we’d do this or drive onto the bus station. There was a bus stop just before this traffic circle. Problem is, it’s before the traffic circle so I wasn’t even aware we had arrived. A man hopped onto our bus, looked at us directly and told us this was where we should get off the bus for the transfer to the Great Wall. I wouldn’t doubt if some other “helpful” Chinese citizen had notified him ahead of time that Western tourists were on the bus going to the wall. He didn’t get on the front of the bus and look for clients; he hopped on at the middle door, directly in front of where we were sitting and looked directly at us. It happened so fast. My husband believed him and started to get off. I looked at other passengers for advice but got none, no shake of the heads.

Well, I wasn’t going to stay on the bus with my husband getting off so I followed. There was no time to stand there and discuss the situation. Yes, the man spoke English and wanted to negotiate a deal to the wall and back. I had planned on taking a mini bus from the bus station and knew the price was 10rmb for a seat, or 25-30rmb for the whole bus, one way. He offered to take us round trip for a high price. I declined. I told him the price I’d pay. He moaned and moaned, very vocal, telling me the price in my book was wrong. It was actually pretty funny. I told him, no, it wasn’t a book, but a person who told me the correct price. We agreed on a one way price of 25rmb, I believe, for the ride just to the Wall. After a bit of the ride he started to negotiate a price again for both ways, waiting for us to finish walking the wall. I still said no. He continued trying to convince me. Finally I told him we’d pay 80rmb for a round trip including him waiting 4 hours at the wall for us. He agreed!! Success. At this point he told me that his “wife” would drive us. She was a good driver! It was pretty funny. He was the negotiator then he’d hand you off to a different driver, and I’m sure return to the circle to find more unsuspecting clients. In the end I’m glad we had a driver waiting for us since I didn’t see any taxi’s waiting for passengers at the wall.

Tickets for the wall were 120rmb each and this included taking the cable car up and the toboggan back. For some reason our driver wanted us to take the cable car both directions, but I disagreed, showing her the toboggan sign instead.

We used the western toilets which are up the hill, towards the cable car, then took the cable car up to the wall. Our tickets have a little CD inside them but I haven’t had time to check out what’s on it yet. I was surprised how few visitors were at the wall. I was able to take a lot of photos all morning with no other tourists in them. First we walked to the left, all the way up the very, very steep section. Once you’ve walked up the steep hill, you’re almost at the very end of the left section. Beyond that the wall is closed. We then walked back to our starting point, and continued onto the right side. This side isn’t as steep or hard to climb. A few stands were set up selling drinks for 10rmb. We brought our own drinks and snacks with us. Once we arrived at the toboggan site, we passed it and continued our walk to the right. The wall is so wonderful, following the hills up and down. It was a thrill. The day was quite hazy so our photos don’t look as clear as I wish, but they’re still fantastic. We spent 3 ½ hours on the wall, then took the toboggan down. It’s not a fast toboggan. In fact, you must push the stick forward to control the speed, and it was very hard for me to push forward. I went way to slow, down the hill, to the bottom. My husband had more strength so went quite a bit faster. He was worrying about where I was by the time I arrived.

T shirt vendors, among other things are for sale at the bottom of the wall. We decided to buy 2 Great Wall t shirts. The first vendor wanted a very high price for them. We couldn’t agree on a price so he let us walk. The 2nd vendor started out just as high. He asked for something like375rmb for 2 t shirts. We started to walk away. He quickly came down to 185 for 2 t shirts. This was still a joke, so we walked away. There were no other tourists buying anything here. He called us back. In the end we paid 20rmb each for 2 t shirts. For some reason it was easier to negotiate for 2 shirts, rather than for one. The sizes run small so get a larger size than you’d normally buy.

Our driver was watching us and as soon as we finished the sale she was at our side, ready for the ride back to the bus station. She let us off, on the street, below the steep hill up to the station. We paid her with exact change so there’d be no problem with our agreed price. A bus 916 just pulled up right away on the street so we didn’t have to walk up the hill. It was even one that Peter had suggested using. For some reason the return trip was 12rmb instead of 10rmb per ticket. In an hour we were back at the Dongzhimen metro station.

indiancouple

Images2, your TR is bringing back memories of our recent trip. Specially the Xian and Beijing portions. Our experiences and observations were so similar to yours.

Did you not use the audio guide at Forbidden city ? It was pretty good, and had auto-sensors to detect where you were, and would start the commentary on its own at each spot.

Too bad you missed going into the Mao Memorial Hall; it was a fantastic experience for us.

Images2

Good morning Indiancouple,

No we didn't use the audio guide at the Forbidden city. We've used such guides in the past and find it much more enjoyable to wander on our own instead. In fact, I only saw one person using the guide. Of course most people were in tour groups. We overheard some of the guides and were so happy we didn't have to stay with a group.

Yes, it was too bad we missed the Mao Memorial Hall but as you know, everything doesn't work out as planned. We had so many rich experiences that missing a few things is OK. It's funny, we've already talked about maybe doing a 2nd trip sometime. Like Europe, it's impossible to see all of China in one trip!

Thanks for your trip report also. It's such a difficult task, but I read so many others while planning our trip, that I know some part of each one has value to someone. I just hope I can finish mine soon! We're bringing our adult daughter with us to Europe in 2 1/2 months, and I've hardly prepared at all!

Images2

Taking the short metro trip to Yonghegong we exited at exit C (turn left when coming out of the metro then left again at the corner) it’d be nice if China put up signs for tourists when you exit their subways, for Yonghe Gong, or the Lama Temple. This is actually a complex of progressively larger buildings and Buddha’s. The last Buddha is huge and is carved from one piece of white sandlewood. (See, I do read the guidebooks!)

The street side on the approach to Lama Temple is lined with shops selling incense. The temples inside are quite beautiful and in front of each building are beautiful incense burners. As I was looking this week at a China photo book someone created, they had a photo of one of these temples as their main page for the Forbidden City. Actually I think a couple of the temples here are more beautiful than the structures of the Forbidden City. I can see how they confused the picture.

We had dinner this evening at South Silk Road 茶马古道 Metro Dawanglu. : 3rd floor of the SOHO Tower, Building D, Soho New Town, 88 Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang District 建国路88号现代城会所3楼 Phone: 6615 5515

They specialize in Yunnan food and the waitresses dress in minority clothing from the area. The floor is glass. I was surprised how simple the dining room is. We decided to take the metro here. It was very far from our hotel, and Beijing traffic was horrible. We had no time to be stuck in a traffic jam. Once you exit the metro, Exit A, you’ve arrived at the SOHO Tower. The metro is in the lower level of ONE of the SOHO Buildings. Of course, we didn’t know this at the time since we didn’t look up. Across the road is a very upscale shopping center. We asked in one of the shops in this shopping center for directions. They pointed across the road to the huge SOHO tower. That gave us the first clue! Once we found the restaurant we felt a huge sense of accomplishment! The farthest building is Building D. When you enter this building you see a gym. Walk through the gym, past the swimming pool, to the elevators. On the 3rd floor you’ll find the small entrance to the restaurant. The walls are glass so there is a nice view of the streets below. The food was excellent. We ordered fish, a mushroom plate and a special rice dish. The bathrooms here were excellent also!! Always important to me in China.

There is a Wal-Mart at this metro stop also. After dinner we walked back into the metro and exited at Exit D. Walking about 5 minutes down the road we found the Wal-Mart! An escalator brings you down to the store. A huge picture of Sam Walton welcomes the shoppers! The store was crowded even at this late hour. I was shocked to find live turtles for sale in the meat department. We had a lot of fun walking through the store taking photos of all the P&G products. The prices seemed too high for Chinese consumers. We waited in a long line to buy our supplies, enjoying our trip to a Chinese Wal-Mart!

zverybestfamily

Great report! Thanks again for putting so much time and effort inot it.
Did you get the Japanese Encephalitis vaccine before going to China? I took my boys this week to the Travel & Immunization Center at the near by hospital (suggested by our pediatrcian) this week and the only thing they suggested was Typhod. I am not really sure that the doctor that we met with for $150. actually new what she was talking about. We live in NY but we have a cousin in California who said we need malaria pills, typhoid and japanese encephalitis. We are going almost all the same places as you diid, just wondering what you did to prepare for your trip.
Thanks
Lauren

Images2

Hi Lauren,

My doctor told me I needed a Hepatitis A shot. He also didn't have a dose and told me to go to a pharmacy and pick one up and bring it to him.(They said this wasn't possible). He suggested I go to a special medical service here in Cincinnati for travelers to see what they suggested. The initial cost of that visit was over $100 + the $65 cost of the Hepatitis A shot, x 2 since it’s a 2 dose shot given 6 months apart. Insurance didn’t cover this independent office so I chose not to go to it.

I was so unhappy with my doctors response that I changed doctors to one which my other family members use. He told me only the Hepatitis A shot was needed. I also got a prescription for Tamiflu and filled it for $25. In addition he gave us Ciprofloxacin, the antibiotic in case the food or water made us sick. This new doctor is excellent and I trusted his recommendations. All of our other immunizations are up to date of course.

Sorry I can't be more helpful.

In Xi'an they've started to excavate more areas in Pit 1. How exciting for you to be able to see this!

If you have any more questions, I'll try to help! You're family will love their visit!

Images2

May 28

Today is the date of the Duanwu Jie festival or the Dragon Boat Festival. There was no evidence of this that we saw, except it was a holiday in China. We thought it would be a good day to visit the Summer Palace. Taking metro line 10 to Bagou (This is new!) we took Exit B. Directly in front of the subway station is the public bus stop. Both bus #374 and bus #74 will take you to the Summer Palace. The bus is 1rmb. If you ask the driver where to get off the bus, he or another passenger will let you know. The bus continues on, the Summer Palace isn’t seen from the bus. We took bus #74 and it was 3 stops to the Summer Palace at Yheyuanxinjiagongmen bus stop. After getting off the bus, walk left to the traffic circle, (short walk) cross the street to the left and there is the ticket office!

Once inside there was music, singing, and people swirling the large, colorful ribbons. One of them pulled me aside and wanted to teach me how to swirl their large ribbon. It was quite easy! We have some video to prove that even I can do this! Walking to the left the path leads to small pavilions, a beautiful steeply arched bridge and more pagodas. Along the causeway that crosses Kunming lake there is a small boat that will return you to the area by the large arching bridge. Here it started to rain, so the stones became very slick, making it tricky walking back down the bridge. From the entrance there are larger dragon boats which take passengers to the right, back across Kunming Lake to the area of Longevity Hill. This whole area is huge. We spent hours at the Summer Palace and were surprised that it never became very crowded.

When leaving the Summer Palace by the same entrance we entered, finding the public bus back to Bagou station was a bit trickier. You must walk straight out of the exit, don’t turn left or right down the street looking for the bus. Instead, cross the main street where there is a bus parking lot on the left side. Walk past the bus parking lot. At the end of the lot turn slightly left, where you’ll find the bus stop for bus #374 and #74. We never saw the metro station on our ride back so missed it, and had to get off the bus and take another bus back in the reverse direction. Be sure to ask the driver where to get off the bus for Bagou station!

We went to the Noodle Loft’s northern location for lunch.
Noodle Loft 面酷 3 Heping Xijie, Yonghegong 和平西街3号 phone: 5130-9655

Hepingxiqiao subway stop, Exit E. I think we turned right out of the exit, walked down 2 streets and turned right. A short way down this street on the right side was the Noodle Loft. It was fairly close to the metro. cityweekend.com.cn for Beijing has maps to the restaurants we went to. It’s a great help.

Since it was a long time past the lunch hour the chefs were cleaning the noodle station so we weren’t able to watch them make the noodles. Still, we were able to enjoy a delicious lunch here.

I wanted to visit a hutong area, beside the tiny one we were staying in while in Beijing. Nanluoguxiang - Nanluogu xiang Hutong - 南锣鼓巷 is the large hutong in the area around the Drum and Bell Towers. This area is a long walk from any metro station, but we chose to go to Gulou station and walk south. This is a large area full of rickshaws carrying tourists through its alleys. I didn’t find the hutong’s very interesting, but unfortunately we never had time to follow one of Peter’s walks, so it’s not a fair judgment, I’m sure. The Bell Tower is closed at this time. We did go up the very steep staircase inside the Drum Tower where we enjoyed the wonderful views of the surrounding area. Once we came down from the tower the rickshaw drivers were aggressively trying to sell us a ride through the hutong. We didn’t have a lot of time since we needed to visit the Olympic area before the stadium closed. They wanted 190rmb for an hour ride plus and extra 20rmb to see the inside of a courtyard house. We declined. Finally we agreed on 40rmb for a 40 minute ride. It was boring, a waste of time in my opinion. It’s better to walk through the hutong’s yourself, which we did.

Tonight we had tickets for a family show inside the Water Cube! I ordered them on line before we left for China and they were delivered to our hotel. Before this show we wanted to go inside the Bird’s Nest. Admission is 50rmb, the stadium closes at 6 p.m. We bought our tickets at 5:00 and hurried inside. It’s wonderful!! I was so excited to be here after watching the beautiful opening ceremony on TV last summer. The whole Olympic Green area is outstanding. There is total access to the field of this stadium. We walked the whole area, took many photos and just soaked up the atmosphere. There is a large, well priced, gift shop in the area of the seating also. We bought a lot of gifts here. At 6 p.m. we exited and noticed that the Water Cube was already allowing people inside who held tickets for the show. We snacked on some picnic food I brought, since we’d miss dinner, enjoying watching families flying kites and gathering for music etc. on this large plaza. An hour before the show began we went inside the Water Cube. This is much more attractive on the outside in the evening when it’s all lit up. We were allowed full access to all the areas in the water cube with our 80rmb show tickets, and toured it before the show began. There are more gift shops inside, but they’re expensive and not as good as those in the stadium.

The show turned out suited for little children, although there were many adults without kids here, like us. There were a lot of empty seats, so people moved around to whichever area they wanted to sit. The guards didn’t care. We stayed for some of the show, but left very early. Spending some time here, in the stands, and touring the facilities was wonderful. When we went outdoors, it was dark. The Bird’s Nest was lit in orange and red light. It was beautiful! Many people were on the square, just enjoying the huge open space. The tall Olympic Tower changed colors repeatedly. It’s a wonderful area.

It took us 3 metro lines and 1 hour to return to our hotel from Olympic Green.

PeterN_H

> We live in NY but we have a cousin in California who said we need malaria pills, typhoid and japanese encephalitis.

Hearsay's always a problem in this area (including hearsay on a site like this) and the standard advice is to go to a professional. Second-guessing a professional leaves you with potentially a lot of worries, and there's really little point to it. You shouldn't be listening to your cousin unless your cousin is a tropical medicine specialist.

But have a look at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/china.aspx for the official US government advice. A little way down the page you'll find the standard list for China, with descriptions as to what sort of travel requires which vaccinations or prophylaxis from the list: routine jabs need to be up to date. You're advised to get Hep A and Hep B if you don't have it (this is a routine childhood jab in some countries). Malarial coverage is only needed for extended rural travel in certain areas (and somewhere on the site you should find a malarial map to help with this), as is Japanese encephalitis. Typhoid (which you may already have) is recommended when travelling anywhere with low hygiene as your biggest risks (other than from the driving and the polluted atmosphere) are actually from food and water (typhoid, one of the heps, assorted intestinal discomforts). And your most important medical advice (especially with children) is to keep fingers out of the mouth at all costs, wash hands frequently, and only to eat freshly cooked hot food. Ciprofluoxicin is indeed an excellent back-up in case of stomach problems.

Over the last 20 years I've spent on average several months a year in China, including very remote and backward rural areas, and if its any encouragement I haven't had to take a Cipro pill since the late 1990s, and my supply has long gone past its date.

Stick to what the professionals say, and don't worry. You do need to plan well in advance as the hepatitis jabs in particular require two visits six months to a year apart, and if you don't live in a country where your taxes pay for all this it can get pretty expensive. The good news is that both the hep shots are now valid for life once the course it complete.

Peter N-H

Images2

May 29

Our last full day in China, although we’ll make good use of tomorrow morning! We’ve had a very full 3+ weeks in China with so many wonderful memories.

Today we wanted to relax and keep things simple. Since we have loved the parks so much, enjoying the way the Chinese people love to use their outdoor spaces, we decided to visit a few more. Taking the metro to Yonganli (this is where the Silk Market is, which opens at 9:30 a.m.) we walked along the very pretty road, north, past many embassies. Ritan Park日坛公园, or Temple of the Sun Park, is located here. It was 9:30 a.m. and the park was already filled with people dancing and practicing their tai chi. We sat down to watch.


Minutes later a man walked over to us and squatted down, as only they can do so well, and started asking us questions in English! He wanted to share the story of his father who joined the military after the Cultural Revolution. He became a captain in the army. I didn’t really know how to respond to all of this. We’ve been very careful not to engage in political conversation while in China, or anywhere else in the world for that matter. It gains you nothing! He was 44 years old and quite proud of his father. He then offered to show us around the park. We followed him to the large circular area which once served as an altar the Sun God. After listening to his explanations we said our goodbyes. There is a spot in the park which posted newspaper articles. We stopped to look and an article picturing Nancy Pelosi was posted since she was visiting China the last few days. A woman saw this article, then turned to me and said “YOU”. I laughed, no, it wasn’t me, but it was a story about our countries leaders.


After stopping to watch more park activities, and walking by the nice lake, we took a taxi to Jingshan Park (admission charged) which sits high above the Forbidden City. I think a taxi is the best way to approach this park. I loved this park; it’s one of the prettiest in Beijing! Again, it was filled with residents as today was also a holiday in China. Following a walkway which leads to a couple of pagodas, we found the viewpoint which looks down onto the Forbidden City. This is a great location for photos, as you can see the FC plus the drum and bell towers and the neighboring lakes. The weather was in the 70’s, sunny and clear. A beautiful Beijing spring day. From here we walked north, through the hutong which runs just east of Beihai Park. Once we arrived at the southern shore of Qianhai Lake I remembered a restaurant in this area which ekscrunchy recommended.

Han Cang 客家酒Shichahai East Bank, Houhai 什刹海东沿 6404-2259


This is the first restaurant on the right side if you’re facing Qianhai Lake. It has blue and white striped awnings out front. Only these 2 symbols of the Chinese are pictured over its doorway. 客家 plus one other. The match wasn’t exact, but once I showed them the name on my paper, they acknowledged this was the right restaurant. We ordered the fish cooked in foil and a couple of other dishes. This fish was the best meal of our trip!! Thanks ekscrunchy! As we ate lunch the restaurant filled with families. It’s very popular!


After lunch we walked all the way around the lake. On the opposite side, across from Han Cang is a Starbucks, if you need a coffee break! I had hoped to visit the Mansion of Prince Gong but we bypassed this for a visit to Beihai Park. There are two admission prices to this park. One for just the park and another, higher price for viewing the structures. We only paid the entry fee for the park. We wanted to see the 9 Dragon Screen which is made of glazed tiles. This is located here in this park, not in the Forbidden City as some guides note. It’s located in the open park, good signage, so there is no need to pay the higher park entrance fee if you don’t want to see the structures. It is very nice. We were tired out by now, and didn’t really like this park very much. After seeing the screen, we returned to our hotel by taxi. Most taxi rides averaged $2.50 around the town.


This evening we returned to Oriental Mall for dinner and to just stroll in a nice, clean air conditioned area!



May 30

Our flight from Beijing to Newark wasn’t scheduled to leave until 3:45 p.m. so we began our day with a trip to Panjiayuan Market 潘家园市场 or some call it the “Dirt Market”. We took a taxi, since it’s quite a walk from the metro. I loved it here, and I’m not a big shopper! Almost everything we’d seen in the tourist areas of China was available to buy here. The bargaining wasn’t too hard. Either I was better at this by now, or they gave in much more easily. We limited our time to 2 hours here since we didn’t want to rush our trip to the airport. I could have spent a lot more time here, it’s huge, but I think my husband was thankful for the limited visit!


Deciding to take a taxi back to the airport was a good choice. Our luggage had grown and I wasn’t willing to face those stairs at the metro again. The ride was 120rmb which included the toll. Continental Airlines departs from terminal 2, not the new terminal 3. We arrived early so the check in desks hadn’t opened yet for our flight. We found the elevator and brought our luggage upstairs, where a decent restaurant was located so we could relax over lunch. Once we checked in and went to our gate, we discovered the few shops here had no drinks, or snacks we cared for available to purchase. It was such a bad selection of shops. We had to buy water from a vending machine. A sign repeatedly scrolled a message to “Watch your Stuff”. Unfortunately our flight was delayed 1 ½ hours since the incoming flight was late. Once it arrived they turned that plane around so fast. I was surprised that was possible on such a long flight. The individual movie screens wouldn’t work for the first hour of the flight, but eventually they rebooted them and all was well. We arrived in Newark almost on time, making up the delay on route. The airline food is so bad. It’s not as easy to find good food to bring with you from China for the flight, but if you can, bring something extra. We weren’t allowed to bring any drinks on the international flight that we purchased while in the terminal in Beijing. That vending machine water was taken from me as we boarded the plane.


I hope this very, very long report is of some help to those of you yet to travel to China. Our trip was amazing, and I’m sure yours will also be quite a wonderful adventure!


Thanks to everyone on Fodor’s that posted responses to my questions as I planned this trip. I can’t thank you enough for all the help you provided us.

thursdaysd

Thanks for a great TR! So glad you had a good time, and congratulations on doing it independently.

Images2

Thursdaysd,

Since I just got my head out of this trip report I see that you just wrote a recent TR on France!! Our September trip begins with a week in a gite in Alsace. Now I get to relax on the sofa tonight and read your report!!! Can't wait!

Thanks in advance!

sdtravels

Thanks so much for this report. I am planning on going to China in March/April 2010 and will be doing much of what you did. I will be referring to it for my planning.

thursdaysd

"a week in a gite in Alsace" - ooh, lucky you! Wine. Foie gras. Strasbourg cathedral. Neat medieval buildings. I could go on...

Images2

One last tip! Make a photo book of your trip when you return home. We just received a 12" x 12" hardcover photobook I designed on Shutterfly of our trip. It's 63 pages of wonderful memories and the photos are beautifully printed!

zverybestfamily

I am so impressed that you have your book already! Thanks again for all your wonderful advise!

BeachGirl247

bookmarking

lincasanova

I will read the last paragraphs or installments later.. this is fascinating. Good job, and what an intresting trip!

avedashiva

Thanks for a fantastic report - it has a wealth of info.

My husband and I are going to Shanghai for two weeks and besides doing one day trips from there - we wanted to visit another city - since you have been to both - would you recommend doing the rice terraces or visiting Chengdu?
We are having a tough time deciding.

Thanks!

Images2

Thanks lin for slogging through the whole report! It was a fascinating trip.

The rice terraces are so beautiful, but it's time consuming to travel there. You only need a day for this area so it might not be worthy of your time.

Chengdu, has many more options for your time and interests. If you want to spend a few days in one area, Chengdu would be my choice.

Have a wonderful trip!