marksfour trip report.. In Search of the Joy Luck moment...
 

My husband and I were accompanying our daughter back to China where she was going to continue her second semester. Being a Chinese American and this being my first trip to China, I arrived in the Motherland thinking I would feel as if I ‘belonged’, but there was no Joy Luck type of feeling, just a strange out of body experience.... tons of people who look like me, new smells, and new driving 'rules'.... I knew I would not find this feeling in Beijing, but it is our first stop of 3 urban cities (Shanghai and Hangzhou to follow) and perhaps it was waiting for me on our next stop.

Some memorable things:
Being hit by a car, meeting 2 Norwegians who were conned 4 times in 2 days (my husband was only conned 2 times in 2 days), watching an Acrobatic Show in an unheated theater of 27 F degrees, my husband’s foot massage which resulted in severe jaw pain because he clenched his teeth all through the painful massage the day before, mastering the subways, riding the train on one of the busiest days of the Spring Festival, finding out that China Air hires the most beautiful Chinese women, following the China-Japan dumpling ‘controversy’ daily in the paper, enjoying a 20 course feast with the parents of a Chinese student we had hosted a few summers back, a night of fireworks at eye level from our hotel room, and realizing that no matter how much one reads and researches about China one can never fully grasp all that China was historically and what it is today.

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Our service on our JAL flights put the US carriers to shame.... the friendly service, the food, the constant cleaning of the restrooms, the carts that will back up all the way down the aisle to let you get past, the smiles, the fresh pillow cases, the unused headsets sealed in plastic, and the idea that they want to keep us happy during the flight and not make us feel as if they are doing us any favors. I only wish they flew domestic US flights! I was hooked on the mix of crunchy salty/ sweet snack crackers they hand out..anyone know where to find something similar in Hawaii?…..I have cravings!

Well, we arrived in Beijing late at night and so we took advantage of our hotel driver and checked into the Peninsula. The fresh fruit bowl and note from the manager were a nice touch (but what we needed was something less healthy, like some brownies or a few cookies! ha). The room was extremely small for the 3 of us but it didn’t matter at the time because we only had energy to crawl into bed.

When we woke up the next morning we knew that 10 nights in this small (Grand Deluxe!?) room would not be comfortable for the 3 of us (one of us is a professional snorer). We asked for a duplex room that is 2 stories and with the new room came Club level amenities, a better night sleep for all, and we were able to use the living room to have our daughter’s college friends over for drinks, etc...

Since our daughter lived in Beijing this past semester (and this being her 3rd trip to China) we would not get to try many of the Fodorites’ recommendations for food but rather some hole in the wall places that she would frequent. We would also use the amazingly efficient subway system more than the taxi. She became our built-in interpretor, money handler, shopping haggler, itinerary planner, bargain hunter and subway navigator....we were now ready to go.


Day 1: Lama Temple, Dim Sum lunch
The Hotel is located kitty corner to the Denshikou subway Station (which is adjacent to the Regent Hotel) so we hopped on board and rode it just 4 stops north to the Yonghegong Station which is steps from the Lama Temple. Our daughter’s Chinese roommate Wen Jing is from a town 2 hours outside of Harbin and she joined us for the day. She has never been to any of the major attractions in Beijing she explained that the entry fees are too high and it is common place for out of town students swho study in Beijing, not to visit these places. It was a nice stop for all of us.

We then had a dimsum lunch at what looked like a good sized popular restaurant. Apologies for not getting the name that day since we were in a jetlag fog and our D only knows it as the “24 hour place”. To find it, walk back to the Yonghegong subway station and look diagnonally across the street. It is set back slightly from the road but look for all the red hanging lanterns out front of this 2 story building. (You end up walking under the second ring road overpass as you cross the street at this busy intersection.) Lunch was different filled baozi, a mochi type rice wrapped in lotus leaves, various jaozis or dumplings, and some vegetable dishes. The restaurant has many tanks filled with live fish, turtles, snails, etc. and my husband (who loves pet stores) was only too happy to look in all the tanks. I think he would have purchased a pet turtle if he could.

That night we wanted to treat Wen Jing to a special dinner and she said American style food is her favorite food. So we ended up walking from our hotel to the Outback Steakhouse at the Beijing Hotel. Walk west on Wangfujing Road (what a colorfully lit and active broad pedestrian street!) and it is on the right). First real night in Beijing and we are eating baby back ribs, cole slaw, steak, fries and baked potatoes (!) but it was special for Wen Jing and that was what we wanted.

Aside: Whenever people would talk to us they would look at my blonde husband, then our daughter (who is often asked if she is from Xinjiang) and then look at me and logically start speaking to me in Chinese.....they might as well be speaking to me in tongues.

Stay tuned....

If anyone wants to follow up on the restaurant, from the description given I would be fairly confident it's the local branch of Jin Ding Xuan, which sometimes bizarrely translates itself as 'Golden Tripod Attic'. There's little English around but picture menus from which to choose from an assortment of Cantonese, Beijing, and Shanghainese baozi and jiaozi, with a few Hong Kong-style extras such as milk tea.

Peter N-H

Welcome home and thanks for the report. Great start, please keep it coming! I was just wondering what happened to you. Anxiously awaiting more of your story.

Aloha e komo mai(welcome home!)

marksfour, could you share your conning experience so us future/returning china travelers know what to look out for. also, if you know what happened to the norwegians, pls pass it on here. no graphic details needed. just the con.

i went to china about 20 yrs ago, and was conned by a t-shirt vendor by the great wall. no great financial loss, just mad about being such a lolo.

Thank you for your replies and to PeterN_H for helping with the name of the dim sum place.

HawaiianTraveler we had printed your trip report and carried it with us...it is now rag tagged and wish we could have eaten at some of your recommendations but we were being guided by our D and doing Beijing 'college-style'.

Kuranosuke I am happy to mention the cons..the Norwegians paid 500rmb for their cab ride from the airport to their hotel near the Forbidden City, they had Tea with 2 young college aged girls and paid 4 figures in rmb, they also paid double what we paid for the same Great Wall Tour, and were taken by students to an Art Gallery and actually purchased art...
My husband (mind you our D was not with him either time)was taken to an art gallery and fell for the story of this 'famous teacher in all of China' who he met at the gallery and was willing to give husband a deal on his famous art...embarrassingly, the next day he ended up at yet another art gallery of yet another famous Chinese artist...with art most similar to yesterday's gallery!

Day 2: Silk Street

Aside: As for Chinese money on our trip, we ended up using our debit card at the ATM machines rather than carrying a lot of US money and having the hotels exchange it. The fee was just $2.50 US and worth the convenience.

So we were off to Silk Street to get down coats. The snowstorms in the south and west were not affecting us in Beijing but the cold winds definitely were…one upside to these winds…beautiful blue skies! Our D managed to get me a Northface down coat for $27 US complete with all the Northface tags so at the very worst it is real…errr, real fake?

Tonight was a quiet dinner at the hotel and a movie in the room. We had started our trip a bit sick and we all needed a night to regroup and get a good night sleep...we still had 13 days to go.

marksfour: ok, i got it. be mindful when taking a cab from the airport, no tea with chicks, and no buying of "famous" artworks. thanks. :-)

This has the makings of a classic AAA+ Fodor's report! Can't wait to read the rest..!!

Definitely looking forward to the rest of this! Lucky you having a "local" guide. BTW, my first trip to China was with a tour group, and in Guilin the leader took some of us to a cafe that sold fried rat, among other delicacies. He bought one of the turtles that was otherwise destined for soup, and we ceremonially released it in the nearby river.

nice start look forward to more..

Keep it coming!

I'm really enjoying your report and looking forward to more!

Thank you for your replies and encouragement. I should have thanked all of you in the very beginning for helping us plan our trip. Your reports and information were invaluable to us.

Thursdaysd –loved the story of the turtle
Ekscrunchy and Shanghainese – we also printed your reports and brought them with us.

I am encouraged so I will continue…..

Day 3: Hutong, Underground City, BIE campus, Baozi & Jiaozi

Off to the Underground City! You can read more about it from this Time article (http://www.time.com/time/world/artic...185440,00.html) We took the subway to the Qianmen station and upon exiting the station you face south then cross the street and start walking toward the right along Qianmen. Turn left at the first alley you come to…(you will now be south of Qianmen) and you will stroll through a predominantly gray colored Hutong. It appears empty but as you walk through and peer down the alleys you realize there is a lot of life behind these old walls. One memorable shop/home consisted of a 3’ wide enclosed store running the 8’ width of their home. In the windows were cigarettes, candy, potted plants, bags of dried fruit snacks, bottled drinks etc.. with their living area right behind this store. A slight turn in the road brought us to a farmers market of sorts…a wooden wagon with fruits and vegetables, more beautiful veggies and fruits laying on newspaper on the ground, and a few items that were being grilled on a portable grill. On our stroll we also noticed several large positive slogans that were either on banners or painted on the sides of the buildings (one read “We must first establish a civilized nation”). We also experienced our first public restroom...a door in the alley held a row of squat toilets with no dividers, but there was toilet paper on the floor at each one. Tomorrow I may forego all liquids…

After ¼ mile from Qianmen (being out of shape, it felt longer than this) is the entry. You may be thinking you are lost and there can’t be an entry to the Underground City…trust me..you are not lost..it is just that subtle. Be on the lookout for an unobtrusive door on your right. There is a green sign over it saying it is the entrance to the Underground City (62 West Damochang Street). We were all prepared with our 20RMB admission fee and flashlight to wander through this underground marvel but when we entered through the door four friendly soldiers about 18-20 years of age were very apologetic when telling us it is closed for renovations in preparation for the Olympics.

So it was back to the subway station to ride to the Xizhimen stop where our D’s old campus is located (which is south of the Zoo). We then started our “Day In the Life of D” and we strolled through her old “campus” (4 buildings) and the surrounding area that was her home for the past 4 months. By now we were very cold so our D took us to a hole in the wall place for a snack of steaming baozi (again apologies for not having a name since it was all in Chinese and one would get lost trying to find this place by taxi or on foot). There is a table outside where 6 men huddled together eating hot bowls of soup noodles and baozi. Next to the outdoor table was a large steamer with baskets on top. Walking through the plastic strips at the entry (our first experience with these commonplace strips), the long narrow eatery fits a small counter for diners on the left and barely enough room to walk to the back to place your order. Once the order was placed, the owner brought our 2 bamboo baskets filled with tiny baozis and set them on top of the steamer while we waited for them to be heated. The steaming baozi were finally ready and the hot savory meat & veggie mixture that filled these small soft buns tasted wonderful.

We went across the lane to what resembled a little sundries shop, and met the family who owns it. A set of grandparents, their daughter, her teen son and 9 yr. old son. The daughter was on the floor boiling jiaozi in a pot on a hot plate that was laying on newspaper. Our D said she boils hot noodles and/or jaozi at lunch time and delivers it to the different people who work in the area for money. We saw her teenaged son several times that day toting a steaming metal container delivering these hot lunches.

Lunch was at our D’s favorite Jaozi place called Lao Bian Jiaozi. It is located on the same street as the Guo Yi Hotel (where the National Elections were held) at No. 1 East Wenxing Road. Walk ½ block south from the hotel and you will see it on the left corner. The egg & carrot jaozi one could eat for days, along with the pork jiaozi, then there is the egg & pork w/ vegetables & gravy (tastes a lot like egg fu yung back home but looks nothing like it), a walnut and celery dish with the freshest light sauce (the often ignored celery back home was transformed into one of the tastiest vegetables!) and then Basi bananas fried with syrup on top. You need to dip the bananas in water to cool before eating. If you are going to the Beijing Zoo this is close by and well worth a stop…don’t overlook the celery ….

Aside: We met up with another one of D’s Chinese friends who is a Beijinger. She explained to us that the majority of dorm rooms in Chinese colleges house 4-6 students in a small double room, where there is no room for a desk or dresser. If a Chinese student rooms with an American in a Study Abroad Program, they are guaranteed a room with just one roommate. Chinese students will apply for these dorm slots regardless of how far the commute is to their respective campus. Sounds like a win-win situation and how fortunate for the American students to have Chinese roommates!

Facinating report! You are so lucky to have your daughter there as a guide!

Marksfour,

I am totally enjoying this and can't wait to read more. My husband and I will leave for our 23 day trip to China at the end of March Every trip report is a delight to read, but this one is so filled with good humor and great food that it's definitely the kind of report I find most entertaining and informative.

Thank you!

Linda

Great report! I am looking forward to hearing about your entire journey. It's been about about 10 yrs since I visited China on a very rushed trip. I am trying to convince a friend we should go.

Wiselindag - Have a wonderful trip! We will look forwad to hearing about your adventures.

Nancy - I hope your friend will say yes to a trip back. The city seems to grow a 'floor a day' so I can imagine the growth that has gone on over the last 10 years.

Day 4: Forbidden City, Coal Hill, Quandjude Peking Duck

D stays back at hotel with a short list of things to get done: find a foot massage place, get tickets to an Acrobatic Show, send some laundry out, and find a small tour to Mutanaiyu….but basically she needed a little break from us.

She sends us on our way to the Forbidden City…what was to have been a 20 minute stroll has now become over an hour long trek! Once our personal tour guide is out of the picture we become directionally challenged. We are lost and looking the part - like prime targets to be taken to a tea house or an art gallery….but we do finally end up at the east gate in a most round about way. Yes, it is an amazing complex and the scale of the structures and the site itself blew us away. We opted for the audio tour and it worked fine for us..stopping when we were no longer in a certain area and restarting at the next appropriate spot.

We were told to go to Coal Hill (Jingshan Park at the north exit of the Forbidden City on a Sunday (which is was) to see the groups of people gathering to sing songs, dance, playing musical instruments, enjoying their picnic lunches, etc. What a treat to hear voices in song as we walk up to the top of the hill. No matter how cold it is, being outdoors at a park is a popular pastime. We took the stairs and were put to shame when an elderly man walked up all the way without stopping. The 360 degree view of Beijing was a site to behold.

We got back to the hotel to see how our tour guide was progressing with her tasks only to find our laundry drying all over the room! She has lived in Beijing long enough to conclude that the hotel is “ripping us off by charging us too much per piece” so she decided to fill the tub and do it herself. Housekeeping will hate us now.
But she did secure tickets to an Acrobatic Show, a lunch & tour to Mutanaiyu for 180rmb each, found a foot massage place across the street for 68rmb for an hour.(Directions and details for all above to follow in future post). Yes we can live with the laundry drying all over the room.

Dinner was at the Wangfujing Quanjude Duck restaurant….we didn’t get there until 7:30 pm. It wasn’t crowded at all – just 2 tables with foreigners like us. We were a party of 5 that night (2 of D's college friends)and asked if we needed to order 2 ducks but we were reassured one would be enough. I know HT mentioned the duck size can vary according to the size of the party (at Made in China?) so we were hopeful. The restaurant was out of 6 of the dishes our D tried to order, but we still ended up with quite a feast. Pickled cucumbers, a plate of sliced dried beef, 1 soup, 1 almost-a-soup dish, another mixture of vegetables complete with my favorite tasty celery, a mushroom dish, the not-as-big-as-our-appetites-were-hoping-for-duck w/ the pancakes and green onions, plum sauce & sugar, and then a rice dish w/ bits of duck and almonds that was actually a sweet like mochi rice dish and a nice treat for the end of our meal. We may have hit it on a bad night or went to one of their less popular locations, but to be honest, we would not go here again for the atmosphere nor the food…but maybe to see them fill our tea pot from 3 feet away.

Marks4444444444!

I've been waiting for your report...was worried you might be stuck in one of those snow bound train stations

Great report!!! Keep it coming!

Temple of Heaven, Pearl Market, Acrobatic Show

We went to the Temple of Heaven and we liked seeing all the local people who enjoy the park..ribbon dancers, a small group of women crocheting small animals to sell, people playing a modified badminton (w/ no net), card games being played, etc.
After ToH we walked across the street to the Pearl Market where we spent just an hour there…we had 3 things to purchase and did so rather quickly…our bargain shopper had it down to a science.

Now for the fun part…the Acrobatic Troupe at the Beijing Workers Club in the Xuanwu District. Our D ordered tickets from someone at Tianamen who then went to pick up the tickets then delivered them to our hotel...didn’t think we’d see them but here we are!

We get to the auditorium earlier than expected and right next door we see a line of people at a take-out window. We figured it must be something good to eat, so we stand in line too. We find out it is a restaurant take-out window (no sign on building or at the wondow but just look for the line of people to the right of the theater)A 1/2 hour later the window opens and we wait our turn and tell them we want what everyone else is buying - baozi that are fried so instead of the soft bun, it is slightly crispy on the outside as well as delicous ones that are steamed. It is so cold out that we take our food inside where we can sit at a table. There on the table is what looks like a Chinese bottle of hand sanitizer…clear liquid in a small bottle with an unreadable label. So my husband opens it and luckily he sniffs the bottle first…it is a type of hot sauce. When in doubt - sniff first!

Once outside we see that tour busses have filled the parking lot. We are able to find 3 very good seats since it is only 1/2 full. It is freezing in the theater and we realize there is no heat. So 27 degrees F outside means 27 degrees inside! Plus there must be a door on the side opened somewhere because there is a cold breeze blowing in. Everyone left their hats, gloves and jackets on for the show but we couldn’t imagine how the acrobats in their tights could perform so well in this freezing theater.

The show was very entertaining and partly because it is neither glitzy nor super-polished which made the stunts seem even more terrifying. As the acts continued they became more daring...and with no safety nets or safety wires. This very entertaining 1 hr. show ended just before the frostbite was to set in so we were off to our hotel to begin the thawing process.

PS. If you order popcorn, they put a microwaveable bag into the microwave and when it is done popping they hand you the bag...just like you eat it at home.

Mutanaiyu and Foot Massages

Our small coach (QingChunJiaRi International Travel Services) picked us up at our hotel at 8:00 am and our guide asked us not to tell the other 2 in our group (the Norwegians) that we paid 180rmb each because they paid 350rmb each. Don’t know how that happened since the price on the brochure states 180rmb…but when the Norwegians arrived, they confirmed what they paid.

It was a clear, blue skies, cold day and the Sacred Way was literally empty...the 7 of us were the only ones there. Made the ‘required’ jade and cloisonne factory stops (not printed in brochure but Fodors posts had us prepared). We loved our 2 hours walking the Wall at Mutanaiyu...we ran into a total of 6 others on the Wall.

Husband’s conclusion: He’d rather be defending the Wall than attacking it.

Now for Foot Massage #1 – Located right off Dongdan North Main Street. (the street North of the Peninsula Hotel which is also the street South of the Regent). There is an alley right across the street from the Regent…you will see a green Massage sign. Go down the stairs and you may think you are in a living room with the TV and computer on, but behind the low wooden divider are 6 lazy boy chairs . For 68rmb one can have an hour long shoulder/neck/arm/upper back/calf & foot massage. Husband’s masseuse was a blind man and this is where his jaw clenching/teeth grinding began. I on the other hand had a wonderful, relaxing massage and felt rejuvenated....husband awoke next morning with jaw pain from clenching for an hour. But like the 2 Art Gallery visits…you’d think he would have learned..stay tuned for foot massage #2...

Chinese New Year Eve

I had posted our day earlier under “Chinese New Year in Beijing” (Summer Palace & Fireworks) and not wanting to commit a faux pas on the Board, I will not double post. ( I wish I knew how to paste the link.)

However, I do want to mention our Muslim Lunch that day! Go to the Xinjiang Hotel and walk into the front door, walk through the Lobby and right out the back door. You will see an alley that looks like it dead ends up ahead...there is an entry way sticking out on your left. You have arrived!

The small restaurant was filled with people who look like they are from the Xinjiang area, so it appeared to be a popular neighborhood place.

Our D ordered her favorites: Potato dumplings filled with a spicy lamb/onion/ cabbage mixture, a chicken, potatoes with thin but wide noodles in a reddish & yellow sauce (beware the spice called ‘ma’ which resembles a whole black pepper..if you’ve been “ma’d” you may not be able to taste the rest of the meal), an order of naan bread covered with ground red chilis & spices that when dipped into the chicken dish gravy…divine!, separate orders of their famous freshly made yogurt with bits of pineapple and ground nuts (a must to keep the palate cooled), and small spicy lamb kebobs.....you will thank me for this one :)

Give us more info on the Pearl market- what did you buy- what was the asking price and what did you bargain them down to? What type of Pearls? This will give me an idea of how much of a bargain pearls are there- In Manila they are really a great bargain.

marksfour,

Love all the local places you are eating at and describing in this report. People will now be taking this report with them all folded up to China and following in your footsteps

Aloha!

Hi BillT- Got a long strand (actually 2 strung together) of round pearls (most of the ones they have out are flatter pearls so you really have to insist for round ones)for $30 US. This price included a better quality clasp too. It took our D 3 booths to find someone who would not let her walk away at that price. We stayed and watched her connect the 2 strands to make one long one so that we knew we were getting the actual pearls we purchased. At a different vendor we picked up just 2 pairs of pearl earrings for $1 a pair. We had to ask them to find us the rounder ones and not the flatter ones.
Now we know their 'bottom line' and I hope this helps with bargaining.

HT-thanks for the kind words. Happy travels!

My Bad!
re: Foot Massage place

Dongdan North Main Street is located EAST of the Peninsula Hotel and WEST of the Regent Hotel!

Hotpot, Tiananmen Square for Flag Lowering ceremony, Night Market

Hotpot! Where to go for Hotpot? There are many places that have been recommended but we thought we’d see where the Concierge would recommend …he sent us around the corner to the Dong Lai Shun Hot Pot Restaurant. (I would say to look for the large wall poster of China’s famous hurdler Liu Xiang but that wouldn’t be fair.) It is located on the 5th floor of the Sun Dong Au Plaza (a multi-floored corner shopping plaza - one block east of the Peninsula on Wangfujing Street). We devoured our thinly sliced beef, lamb and pork that we wrapped in lettuce and cabbage leaves along with thin mushrooms and a very tasty sauce. There is something to be said about a freezing cold day and sitting in front of a steaming hot pot eating ones fill of tasty food...I was ready for a nap...

...but instead we took the subway to Tiananmen Square to watch the lowering of the flag ceremony. For those of you who have not seen it - at sunset everyday, the soldiers walk out from the gates north of Tiananmen and with precise movements they lower the flag. Whereas the US folds the flag into a triangular shape, the Chinese soldiers twist their flag. We were able to watch the ceremony through the crowd (that was about 20 people deep) by holding up our digital camera and watching through its display window.…get there at least 45 minutes before sunset if you want a front row...we got there 30 minutes early and were standing in the 4th “row”. Amazingly, as quickly as the crowd gathers, it disperses.

Now for the Wangfujing Night Market...my advice for the less adventurous diners...eat first and then find a snack at the market. D’s favorite is the scorpions on a skewer (beware the grilled starfish and the grubs...she said they were overrated...so we took her word for it). There is one Night Market located on the north end of Wangfujing (you will see all the stalls and red hanging lanterns) but there is also a smaller one located a few blocks down Wangfujing. There are stalls with similar foods on skewers but I was intrigued by the very tiny ‘store-front-restaurants’ down this lane. Favorite snack was the popular candied red round fruits on a long skewer!

Marksfour,

I am really enjoying your report. I am heading to Beijing and Chengdu in April for work/pleasure and am taking note of many things from your experience in Beijing.

Thanks,
Amy

Akm_tn - Have a great trip! April sounds like a perfect time to go.


Beihai Park, Kro’s Nest, Beijing University street vendors

At all the major attractions in Beijing we saw many tour groups (the waving flag held by the tour leader is easy to spot) made up of Chinese people. Bei Hai Park was no exception...and it appears that leisure travel is popular with Chinese citizens.

At the center of the Park is an island called Qióng-huá Island with a large white stupa you can see from across the lake. At the Nine Dragon Wall we read that it is one of three walls of its kind in China. It is made of glaze bricks containing 9 dragons playing in the clouds...wish we had a panoramic camera to fit the entire wall in a photo. The park is so large with an equally large lake that one could spend all day there...unfortunately the freezing temperatures cut our visit short.

Now since our D’s friend from Beijing was with us, we asked where she would like to go for lunch...to which she quickly replied...pizza! Now if you really feel like you need to eat pizza in Beijing then go to Kro’s Nest by the main gate of Beijing University (the old gate and beautiful tree lined streets of this prestigious old university is worth seeing). The owner of Kro’s Nest is from Atlanta, and according to our D and her friends, he makes the best pizza. We get there only to find a handwritten note taped on the door saying he is enjoying the Spring Festival. So if you visit Beijing University and don't feel like a pizza, you should grab some meat skewers, hot roasted yams, and what we call 'tortillas with filling' from the street vendors out front...

Aside: D’s friend from Beijing told us that many primary schools are not located close to residential areas (Beijing is that big), therefore many schools have dormitory facilities. She explained that many Beijing students live at their schools during the week and go home on the weekends because the commute to and from school is too long. I asked about homesickness at such a young age and she said, yes both she and her brother initially experienced it but such is life in a big city.


Tomorrow we are off to Shanghai...

Terrific report, can't wait for your impressions of Shanghai!

Off to Shanghai

We head to the airport at 6:00 am on a Saturday morning with clear roads. The busy Beijing Airport runs so smoothly and we were at our gate within 20 minutes of arriving! (Big US airports could never compete with this.) 2 men met us curbside and took us to the Domestic Flight counter which had no line. I found it interesting that this was a check-in counter regardless of which airline you were flying. Our 2 porters had on large badges that read “Free Bag Service(?)” or something like that, but the word FREE was very large. Once we checked in the men intercepted us and said to us, “Tips?” and kept repeating it until we realized that they were insisting on getting a tip. Which we gave them and then went on our merry way.

Now this is where I was confused…I was surprised by the no line at our check in counter but then on our way to security I saw the hordes of people at the Air China counters. We were flying Air China and I didn’t know why no one else used our line? I know one of you will know the answer.

Going through security was a breeze (we were able to leave our shoes and belts on and laptops had to be removed from carry-ons but not removed from their padded cases) and like I said we were at our gate within 20 minutes of pulling up at the curb. Also, where are the crowds we saw at the check in counter? The gates all seem to be empty.


Our flight to Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai offered wonderful service by the most beautiful flight attendants. We noticed when breakfast was served, the Western flyers around us all ordered Chinese breakfasts (8 steamed jiaozi, cup of fruit, 3 good sized crustless sandwiches, and the small foil bag of pickled vegetables that I had read about on this board) while the Chinese flyers all opted for the American breakfasts!

Shanghai! What a city! Once again the airport is so well organized that we were quickly in the taxi line with our 5 suitcases (remember we are delivering our D to her new college). The taxi ‘police’ sees our bags and send us over to the van line and we are on our way.

I am slightly feeling it…the Joy Luck moment is starting to peek out…this city just feels more familiar, the people seem more relaxed here, even the language sounds different than in Beijing. I am loving this. I see famous buildings in the distance …. it just feels so friendly and I am still in the taxi. I can’t wait to walk the Bund and the French Concession and take note of all the architectural wonders..old and new.

We get to our hotel (Le Royal Meridien) and we love the location. It is on Nanjing Lu, across the street from the People’s Park and a block away from a familiar place for our D - Raffle City). Our room is on the 41st floor and we have a perfect view of the Huangpu River and the Pudong buildings beyond.

I pull out Shanghainese’s report and read it aloud for the 100th time. We only have 2 nights (aka 1.5 days) in this glorious city and there is food to be eaten! Tonight our Chinese exchange student (whom we hosted back home 4 summers ago) and his parents are taking us to dinner so we will only have tomorrow to try some of Shanghainese’s recommendations...

Once we are settled we head down Nanjing Lu to the Bund. What a street! It is Saturday Feb. 9th and everyone seems to be on vacation. I am loving the crowds and the shops and the hanging lanterns and the ambience of this road.....and then we get to the Bund. The first thing I want to do is to peek inside the Peace Hotel to check out the art deco designs but it is all chained up and I am disappointed. But there is still so much more to see. We cross the street and now we are on the river and take pictures of ourselves with the Pearl Tower behind us. Has anyone ever been here and NOT taken a picture with the same background?

On our way back to the hotel along Nanjing Lu, we hear jazz music….a 1/2 block down we see a man sitting on a balcony playing a saxophone and a crowd has gathered below. (How can you tell when a crowd has gathered on Nanjing Lu on a weekend during a Holiday? It’s the part of the shoulder to shoulder crowd where people have stopped moving.) The live music was a wonderful treat.

Tonight...the “feast”...

Dinner at Zhang Shen Ji Restaurant

Our “son” from Shanghai lived with us the summer before he entered Tsinghua University in Beijing through an exchange program with our children’s school back home. It has been 4 years since we have seen him and we were looking forward to meeting his parents. They picked us up at our hotel and since neither of us speaks eachother’s language, our D and “son Harry” were in for a night of translation…

Aside: We were told by D that it is the Chinese way not to open hostess gifts in front of the giver so we were prepared for them not to open our gifts until they returned to their home. When we got to the restaurant, they too had gifts for us. Our D told us to wait to open ours at the hotel and our “son Harry” told his parents to open them now the American way. We all laughed and decided to open them right there.

The Zhang Shen Ji restaurant serves traditional Hangzhou cuisine. (Super Brand Mall Branch location West Lujiazui Road, Pudong New Area)
Our hosts had reserved a private dining room for the 6 of us looking across the river toward the Bund. Were we in for a treat. I cannot remember all of the 20 dishes they ordered but will list the ones that were most memorable. The food kept coming and we were in a dream-like state experiencing delicate balances of flavors all beautifully presented. First came about 6 cold dishes, and then came the dongpo pork (a favorite of a famous Hangzhou poet) which were small tasty morsels of deliciously seasoned pork served in a large clay pot, a sweet tasting fish, honey ham with veggies, shredded fish soup, shelled shrimp in a delicate tea sauce, steamed dumplings that are filled with meat and veggies and has a lot of juice within the thin wrapping..you suck the tasty juices out before eating the dumpling, sweet lotus roots, delicious goose feet one ate wearing plastic gloves, little white puffs filled with a slightly sweetened whipping cream, a pastry reminding me of a thinner baklava but tasted completely different and lighter, and the last thing I remember is a fresh melon platter.

After dinner it was impossible to hail a taxi and we didn’t want our hosts to take us all the way back to our hotel since they live in the Pudong area. They insisted on waiting with us but after 20 minutes and no luck, our hosts insisted on driving us back to the hotel. They said taxis are hard to catch in this area at night and they were right.

Back at the hotel and off to bed...but not before the fireworks going off all around the city and at the 41st floor (same location as ekscrunchy’s room!) we are now looking down at this spectacular aerial display...we know we need another week in this city...

I do not mean to be nosy but can you tell us what you gave for gifts and what they gave you - your report is so enjoyable. We are looking at a tour in November - do you know what the weather would be like then? Also do you tip everyone like you do in the US?

Thank you!

Oh my, your Shanghai portion started well. How cold was the weather inside and outside? Was there still snow on the ground and what did you wear?

Wonderful trip report, Marksfour((f))

So enjoyed the Beijing section, which brought back so many fond memories of our trip last August.

Quite fascinating to 'see' this amazing city through your eyes from a freezing winter perspective as opposed to our hot and sweaty summer sojourn.

Your detail is fabulous!

"When in doubt, sniff" :D

Jackie

Flycatcher06 - We had brought them some Hawaii items...t-shirts (for the males), chocolate covered macadamia nuts (we heard his mother loves chocolate), some notecards and hand soaps (also for his mother and a CD of Hawaiian music.
They in turn gave us a beautiful box of tea from the famous Fujian area.

Shanghainese - Thank you...still working on the rest of it :) The weather was still very cold and we had to bundle in our down coats. However when the sun was out it was more comfortable...there was no snow on the ground BUT there was huge bank of snow all along the side of our hotel. The next morning the huge bank of snow was removed...the efficiency of this city is amazing. I also wanted to mention that the trees were leafed out and the grass and hedges were all green! Such a change from Beijing in February.

FurryTiles- Thank you...all of your trip reports were so helpful to us.

Hi Marksfour,

I have been enjoying your wonderful trip report and I'm looking forward to reading the rest.

I have a question for you about your great wall trip. You stated your daughter bought your tickets, which included the wall and lunch (as well as the factory stops). Could you please tell me about the lunch you had? Also, how long were you at the factory stops?

Also, do you know where the QingChunJiaRi Intl travel Services is located?

Thanks!

Monica ((F))

Monicapileggi - The lunch was actually very enjoyable! It was located in a quiet courtyard and there was only one other table taken. After we ate lunch (many dishes on the fresher, lighter side were served and there was more than enough for our group)our guide said we have about 20 minutes to take the cloisonne 'tour' and shop and then we would continue on. The jade factory stop was only 30 min. which allowed for a short 'tour', some browsing, restroom stop and then we were on our way.

We enjoyed Mari our guide and she gave us a brief history of Beijing, and some interesting Olympics facts (The symbol of the running person resembles the character "Jing" or 'capitol' and it represents Beijing moving forward. Also the 5 mascots are named for their slogan "Beijing Welcomes You" BeiBei, JingJing, YuanYuan, YingYing, and NiNi.)

D found a place to sign up at Tiananmen. Here is the contact info. from the brochure:
address: Beijingshi Laodong Renmin Wenhuagong
email: [email protected]
tel.:010-65124332 I hope this helps.

Shanghai-YuYuan,

Husband and I awoke early to the stroll in the French Concession...it was wonderful trying to imagine what life was like back in the day...then taxi to the Bund to see buildings we missed the day before. Favorite building of all time - the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. Do not miss going inside this building - you will be taken aback by its beauty.

Back to the hotel just when D was waking up (you know how college students roll) and we grab a quick breakfast across the lane at Jamaica Blue. Off to stroll People's Park...at one time we take the stairs down to cross the street and we are in an underground mall-the first part resembles Shanghai in the 1920's (faux Disney-like manner) then the faux setting is behind us and it is shops, shops, and more shops. We find some luggage and notice it is not easy to bargain here...eventually we get some Swiss Army luggage for $30 each (D got the large one down to $30 and the owner refused to go lower than $30 for the matching smaller one).

We drop our new bags off at the hotel and then we are off to YuYuan and find ourselves in a sea of people. We are trying to get to the entry of the park and the dense crowd seems to be going in every direction but toward the entry. Not making much leeway, we duck into a place for a quick late lunch with Korean items on the menu...BiBimBap here we come! Hits the spot and we are back outside with the masses trying to get inside the park...after much jostling (and claustrophobia about to set in) we sadly give up and decide we will catch a cab to Xintandi to walk around.

We exit the YuYuan Bazaar area and we are now in a new sea of people walking along the road. I try to avoid a group of people who are walking toward me and I sidestep to my left and I am hit by a car. Luckily I do not fall to the ground but rather find myself spinning and manage to stay upright. The car just hit my left hip and left elbow and I was just badly bruised (and a bit shaken since I heard the thud). The driver was concerned and stopped immediately to check on me. I reassured him I was OK and nothing was broken so we continued on our way. (One good thing about being in a semi-frozen state is that the injury is automatically 'iced'.)

Get to Xintandi and it is pretty empty..our D's friend from France tells us it reminds him of some of the back alleys in France while parts remind my husband of SF. All I know is I am loving this dynamic city! There are quite a few places to eat in the Xintandi area but I want to try at least ONE place from Shanghainese's or Ekscrunchy's reports so we go back to the hotel to regroup...by the time we get back I am pretty uncomfortable where the car hit me and as I thaw out it is more evident that I will stay in tonight. (When the college kids want to grab McDonalds to bring up to the room, I am honestly just fine with that.)

As I refold Shanghainese's and Ekscrunchy's Shanghai reports and pack them away, I know we definitely needed more time in Shanghai...so many restaurants have been calling my name and I have not been able to answer!

Tomorrow we take the D-train to Hangzhou...

PS.
Hawaiiantraveler- It was liberating when you mentioned not always eating the locals foods 100% of the trip...this way when D's friends requested pizza, Outback or McDonalds as a treat, we happily joined them.

Tower- Husband sure enjoyed the Tsingtao beer..it was his 'bottled water' at meals.

Hangzhou and farewell...

Before we left for China I had sent the Le Royal Meridien an email requesting them to purchase 3 train tickets to Hangzhou for us. When we checked in they had them ready for us.

Since we will be dropping our D off in Hangzhou and will be coming back to Shanghai for one night, we stored 3 suitcases at Le Meridien. This way all we had to do was help D with her 6 months worth of things (both winter and summer clothing) in 2 large suitcases.

First off I have to say that I am impressed with the efficiency of all transportation in China (albeit the major snow storms never did affect us). The station is packed and I can’t imagine how this huge crowd of people will get through the relatively narrow doorways to get to the boarding platform. Surprisingly everyone shuffles through and we easily find our Car on the D-train to Hangzhou. There are only 6 rows of seats in our car and the seats are very comfortable. The ride down was most enjoyable (1 hr. 18 min) and seeing old farm houses, new apartments, industry, duck ponds, small farms, etc...such an ecclectic mix was fascinating.

We easily catch a taxi to our hotel, the Shangri-La on West Lake. I am told Hangzhou is beautiful but in the taxi all I can think about is my survival! Yes our driver is that aggressive. We get to the hotel and I am thrilled to finally note all the trees, the Lake, the flowers blooming and the friendliest doorman. Our room is in the East Wing and it is exceptionally large with very high ceilings and it exudes charm. The people here are so friendly and ready to serve you. They seem to anticipate our needs...something that was lacking at our hotel in Beijing. Marco Polo said it was the most beautiful place he’d seen and I agree.

We are here for just 2 nights and I will always remember the West Lake setting...the long beautiful strolls, the tree lined streets, the flowers (some peeking out under some snow), the lake itself, the boats, exploring Solitary Hill Island and crossing the Xiling Bridge, temples that dot the hillside and peak out through the treetops, the ever changing moods of West Lake which seems to change by the minute, by the hour and by the day. Each time we see it we notice something different such as the mountain range beyond. As the morning fog lifts, a new scene is always revealed.

The West Lake is surrounded by a broad shady pedestrian walkway and is lined with old mansions… as we stroll past each one I wonder about the history and the story each house could tell. Within walking distance we also visit the Mausoleum of General Yue Fei, the Xiling Seal Engravers' Society which charmingly sits on the top of Solitary Hill, Hua Gang Park and the Lingyin Temple.

We took most of our meals at the Shangri La and we recommend Peppino’s for great Italian... really! The terrace and view at the Coffee Garden matches the nice Asian/International menu - both are very enjoyable.

Foot Massage #2: While our D is at China Mobile setting up her new phone, I convince my husband that his first foot massage was a rare occurrence and that the Spa at the Shangri La must be most relaxing. I mean Frank Sinatra songs are being piped into the Spa. I convince him to get another one with me in this beautiful setting....Now who knew a max 90lb. young woman could inflict so much pain on someone? Thank goodness H has a sense of humor!

Our last day in Hangzhou we accompany our daughter to her new dorm. We sadly say goodbye to our personal tour guide and interpretor and catch a cab to the train station for our train ride back to Shanghai.

Upon arriving at the station we realize it was the last day of the holiday and everyone is getting back to the city. There seems to be as many people outside the train station as there are inside. We join the masses(!) in the waiting area and meet 2 delightful elderly women from Germany who are traveling with some good sized suitcases. I worry that they will not be able to navigate the stairs and when the 2 doors open and the crowd shuffles through, we are separated and we worry about them. We later see them in the train and they are comfortably in their seats.

Aside> If your suitcase is on the heavy side, do not use the smooth ramps on the side of the stairs or you will be pulled down faster than you maybe able to handle. You are better off lugging them down each stair.

The train ride is bittersweet for us. We are leaving our D in a country that is both physically and culturally far from home but she loves what she is doing. We wonder when and if we will ever see her Chinese and international friends again. We realize our trip itinerary wasn’t the most ideal…but we had to work within our parameters and ended up hitting the urban cities (and of course, not enough time in Shanghai).

Would we travel again in the winter and during the Spring Festival? Absolutely! It is not as crowded, the cold is not unbearable, there are no strong smells, and the fireworks were most memorable. Would we like to try a visit in the Fall or Spring and go to Guilin, Yunnan, Xian, Kunming, Chengdu and all the other fabulous places that I have read on these travel boards? Of course...and next time I will make sure to eat my fill in Shanghai at all the places that I missed...and then some.

Thank you Fodorites for all of your help!

PS. Did I ever experience a Joy Luck moment? I am not really sure...I think I have to go back...