Hi 24 got lost in translation. Sounds like a very busy day...

there is a recession worldwide...they no longer are open 24 hours.. duh

looks like a fun day..

Despite your peculiar culinary proclivities early on, I am getting a big picture about this adventure...sounds very interesting. It might move up on my Asia list. Andy thanks for providing solid entertainment (with Bob´s harmony lines) while I´m in the Delta lounge awaiting our flight home from Barcelona.

We really like beijing. Some of you may remember the thread about side trips from Shanghai. The gist of which was that many of you virtually demanded that we visit Beijing while we were in China. I'm glad to say that you were absolutely right. The city is lots of fun with many fascinating sites and really good food. The traffic and bad air are just a bonus. We're really glad we came.

On the no helmet issue, they ride scooters without helmets, but helmets on motorcycles. I did notice that the bicycles and the scooters move at a very sedate pace unlike the US.

Yes, we do remember those delicate deliberations on the itinerary. So very glad that your visit to Beijing was so successful! And now you are getting out just in time, before the madness of the holiday celebration. Happy onward travels.

I am actually really enjoying this report.....there I said it. The writing style is getting better and better......more entertaining and descriptive with a great sense of humor.

Then I remember that an attorney is writing this and I am brought back to reality ;)

Aloha!

peter remember attorneys do nothin about prep, content, ect, they are just talking heads

Yankees just clinched the Eastern Division Title by sweeping the RS - enjoyed watching one of the victories at the Cathedral-in-the-Bronx yesterday. Hearing "Go Johnny, Go" (Johnny B. Goode) over the Stadium's pristine sound system when Damon singled in 2 runs was worth the trip. You would probably get better Chinese food in China than at the Stadium though. Now the REAL season begins - I assume you plan to return to the USA for that.

Oh, and in spite of anything Bob says, I have been enjoying and paying close attention to your report in spite of the gaffes and temporary food lapses.

Dinner at South Beauty, a short walk from our hotel towards the subway. It was really good. We had the best Kung Pao Chicken I’ve ever had. It put the poor imitations I’ve had in the US to shame. It was delicious. Also had a green beans with pork and preserved vegetables that was great. Spare ribs that were very good. Sesame dumplings that were good and a sandwich-style dumpling that was interesting. It would have made a great lunch, but they were only good while the other things were unbelievable. Waddled back to the ranch.

Up early, sore from exercise, so I took a day off. Breakfast was a baguette and some pastries. Took a cab to just south of Tienanmen Square and began our walk, There were ten items on our list and we only got to two of them, but it was still a very full day. Beijing is full of delights. We started on a newly renovated pedestrian walk on Qianmen Dajie. These were all high end stores. I noticed that while the walkway was full of Chinese, hardly anyone was entering any of the stores. There’s a tram that runs from end to end, but we walked the entire lenghth.. Doubled back on a parallel street, Liangshdian Dajie, to Dashalan Jie. This was much more interesting a commercial street lined with stores and lots of people going in and out. We bought another calligraphy brush. Went into Neiliansheng Shoes where Beth ogled and ogled. This had Beijing cloth shoes and was recommended in a guide book. Beth bought several pairs and I walked the rest of the day carrying the boxes that were tied together. Continued down Dashalan and I bought a cheap stamp that was carved to order. As we went down, we saw some hostels and a lot of young westerners after it changed to Tiesshuxle Jie. This is where we saw the laundry by the kilo.

Walked north on Nanxinhua Jie. There were many stores selling musical instruments. I engaged one of the shopkeepers is a pleasant conversation. Up to Liulichang Jie, another really interesting commercial street. There were lots of art supplies and other calligraphy stuff. Very nice for a stroll. We went into a very nice art gallery on the right with some beautiful that were way out of our price range. Doubled back, crossed Nanxinhua Jie and continued west on Liulichang. This part was tree-lined and also pleasant. Turned left at Nanjiu Xiang and saw many more local shops. There were several games of Chinese chess with the sudden slapping of pieces. Right on Xicaochang Jie and walked to Xuanwumenwai Dajie. We did pass a WalMart super center and managed

We were starving and I applied the rule of crowded restaurants and we went to Gao Li Gao #7 on the right. This place had tables with grills in the center. We had chicken (delicious), pork (so so) and sweet potatoes (good). It was a test of our manual dexterity that we barely passed. It was a very nice lunch.

Having completed item two of our ten, we were exhausted and we took a cab back to the Westin.

Cigar, Montecristo #1, and a sauna and a rest. Another brutal day in Beijing!

Dinner at South Beauty. Completely different dishes. Two great dishes. Beef with noodles and grilled green chili peppers. Both were superb. The wontons were good, but the minced chicken with vegetables was not good. We each had a bite and kept to the dishes we really liked. Staggered back to the Westin.

BTW, we're leaving Beijing today and I'm not sure what the internet situation will be at the Grand Meridien in Shanghai. Therefore, the posts may lessen in frequncy or disappear until October 3.

The weather in Beijing has been very temperate. A little rain one day, but the rest have been dry, if cloudy. Beth has looked at the forecast for Shanghai and it looks like rain almost every day.

I am amazed at the amount of walking you are doing, didn't know pandas are so fit!

Have a safe flight to Shanghai and make sure you go the right airport in Beijing!

Not sure which I'm enjoying reading more, the report or the commentary :)
Wish there were some pix, great report so far

you could go to an internet cafe and pay to go on line....

btw, the laundry by the kilo, they do not use soap..

Beijing wasn't high on my list. It moves up thanks to this. Mmmmm, lots of tasty face-stuffing. Now I know why pandas are so roly-poly.

I'm really glad the Pandas finally decided to include Beijing. How can you go to China and not visit the Great Wall, it's like going to India and not visiting the Taj Mahal.

you don't know the panda.....how can you go to shanghai and on the first day eat italian food?????????

Clark -- See Gpanda's first 9/24 post -- they did make it to the Wall.

Gpanda, so glad you liked the duck at Da Dong. My mouth is watering just thinking of it. I'm enjoying your report. Hope the rest of your trip goes well. Many thanks! trav

At a Starbucks around the corner from the meridien. To get online, a barista had to use his phone number and a password. Really loving Shanghai.

Used Logan Airport in Boston as a base for a number of years, I note that Beijing and both Shanghai airports are much more pleasant. At Logan, they make you feel like they’re doing you a favor to administer your flight. The security and gate process is akin to herding cattle for slaughter. Here, it feels like you’re taking a trip.

Deplaning at Hongqiao, we got our luggage and got in the taxi line. There must have been over a hundred people in this line. It moved smoothly without a hitch. If this happened at Logan, there would e a riot. We had gotten the concierge at the Westin to write the name and address of the Grand Meridien in Chinese characters, so I just gave it to the driver and off we went. Sort of. The traffic was bad. If we had hit this type of traffic on our previous Shanghai airport journeys, we never would have made the flight from Hongqiao. We crawled along and arrived at the Meridien.

This is one of those tricky hotels where the lobby is on the 11th floor. To get to your room, you go from the ground to the lobby and then another elevator from the lobby to your floor. They claimed we got an upgrade, but I suspect it was merely a higher floor. The room is beautiful. Very light colored wood with black insets. The view looks out over People’s Park.

After unpacking, we went for an early dinner. We used a fodors post (We cut and paste and the posters name was not there) to go to Taiking Food Company. This is three doors down from Shanghai No. 1 Dept. Store. It is a number of stalls selling candies, pastries, dried meet etc. We went up to the second floor to get some dumplings. We had chicken soup dumplings with very light dough and some crab dumplings that were slightly larger and pan-fried. Both were very good. We also had spare ribs and noodles in broth. This was decent. We noticed that many of the customers got a much larger dumpling, about the size of my hand. It looked like it had very light dough and was handled deftly by the other patrons. I’m sure we would have made a mess of it. As it was, I got a number of dumpling dots on my shirt eating the small dumplings we got.

Off to the Shanghai Circus world. We had booked tickets through the Rui Jin Hotel, when we were previously here. It’s easy to get to from the Meridien. Walk to the subway and six stops along Line 1. It’s easy to buy tickets, the machines have an English option. It was about 6:30 p.m. and the subway was jammed. People’s Park is a transfer station and there were lines of people flowing in every direction. We got in line behind the door for the train we wanted. We could not get on the first train. When the second came, we were close to the opening and I got on easily. The door sounded and Beth managed to slip on as the last passenger allowed on the train. It was close.

Of course, there was a trick. After three stations, everyone detrained and the car went dark. Even I figured out that that train was going nowhere and we got off. We waited for the next train and got back on track. Just a little special Shanghia trick for the panda..

The acrobat show was super. There were many different portions, some more acrobatic than the others. One of my favorites was one guy who juggled a single heavy porcelain jar, balancing it on his head and flipping it up in the air from the back of his neck. There was another great act where a number of guys were diving through hoops. The whole show is great and a must see.

Easy subway back to the Meridien. Of course, we were unable to figure out the complex lighting system and had to read in bed with all of the lights in the room on. The master switch shut them all off for sleep.

Forgot to mention that at the Westin, there was no 4th floor. Apparently 4 is an unlucky number. This was carried further at the Westin. There was no 14th floor nor was there a 24th floor. For good measure, there was also no 13th floor. I guess they were covering all of their bases. Here at the Meridien, there is no 4th floor, but there is a 14th, 24th and 34 floor.

Glad to know that you had a safe flight to Shanghai!