Travel tips for China?

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by look 171

Rick,

Got any more pic of the Rape of Nanking museum or other info? That would be one of my must do list next time I am in the area.

Not really the kind of place where I like to take photos. Read Iris Chang's book and then go see the museum. It will change you. Japan has never apologized or been held to account for their crimes in China and that serves the Chicom gov't. well as an endless source of anti-Japanese propaganda. I swear, you have to take a class to learn that kind of hatred. It's not natural.

[harvardma]

Whenever I go to Beijing for tourism I stay at the Jade Garden Hotel. It is reasonably priced, clean, and a short walk from the Forbidden City. At night up the street is a night market that stretches for about 100 yards with sidewalk food stalls selling everything you can imagine that is a lot of fun. As someone mentioned on an earlier post I think the Mutianyu part of the Great Wall is the best. I also always like to go to the Dirt Market which is a vast, outside, (but roofed) flea market.

In Shanghai if you want to experience a small scale water village you can go to Qibao Old Street in the Minhang district. The urban planning museum next to people's square has a huge diaorama of the city that is cool. Also surprisingly good is the Shanghai auto museum. They have a great collection and it is always pretty empty.

[TimT]

Street food in China is amazing...

Rick posted that pancake goodness.. I forgot what they are called but they are damn tasty....

what it looks like being prepared (Ricks pic)



Finished product...

[1967 R50/2]

Lived in Beijing for 3 years:

1. For the wall, go to Mutianyu or hike from Jinshanling to Simitai, rather than the tourist trap of Badaling. Go early in the day.

2. To get a good pic of Forbidden City, go up Coal Hill, which is immediately north of it. You look down on the entire affair. Go early in the day to all attractions: Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, etc.

3. The line for Mao's tomb looks long, but it moves VERY quick. If you can skip anything, you can skip this. Mao is not much to look at. Other items worth seeing: Of course Temple of Heaven and the Lama Temple.

4. Take the subway. It's cheap. Don't do too much in one day.

5. See the acrobats Third Ring Road east. Touristy but incredible. Olympic gymnasts look like chumps after this show.

7. If jet lag has you awake early, you can see the raising of the flag at Tianamen. It happens at sunrise any day. Calendar is online.


Eating:

1. Go to Da Dong. Bar none the best Peking Duck and possibly the best service you will ever have. Quan Ju De is a close second.

2. Go for Hot Pot at Hai Di Lao. There are several locations in Beijing.

3. If you want to hang and drink beer, Sanlitun bar street, Ho Hai or Nan Luo Gu Xiang
Shopping:

4. If you are jonesing for something "American" go to Let's Burger in Sanlitun. Their burgers are better than most burgers you would get in the US. Otherwise, avoid western food.

5. Try anything from Xinjiang, particularly Da Pan Ji (big plate of chicken) or Nan Chao Ruo (Stir Fried Naan Bread and Lamb)

6. If jet lag has you awake late, go to Ghost Street. It's a solid kilometer of restaurants, many open all night. The "Ghosts" are the late night patrons.

Shopping,will depend on what you want.

1.If you want "antiques" go to the Panjiayuan market on the weekends. Very little is genuinely antique, but much of the stuff is very neat. Negotiate hard.

2. If you want clothes, Yashow in Sanlitun has a vast selection of cheap touristy clothes and on the top level you can get custom made suits and shirts.

3. Little known secret, if you are into mechanical watches or tube stereos, China is the place to be. Most Swiss movements are made in China. Tianjin Seagull makes a huge chunk of the world's mechanical movements. Beijing Watch makes watches that are more expensive than some houses. Just saying'. Google for more info.

Shanghai:

1.Take the tourist tunnel under the river from the Bund to Pudong if open. it is cheap…and pretty campy, psychedelic.

2. If you want to go up one of the tower's in Shanghai, go up the Jinmao tower, NOT the Oriental pearl. The lines at the pearl are long, the Jinmao, they are shorter , plus you the oriental pearl is actually in the photo.

That is all I have to say.

[Shuie]

Hot Pot is where it's at. I so want to open a Hot Pot restaurant here.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by Shuie

Hot Pot is where it's at. I so want to open a Hot Pot restaurant here.

There are plenty of them in CA. We tried to go to the Hai Di Lao in Arcadia a few weeks ago and gave up after waiting an hour. I know Hai Di Lao is the trendy hot pot chain in China now, but there are so many countless mom and pop hot pot places there, that I'd never go to a chain.

This is some random hot pot place near the Hong Qiao airport in Shanghai we stumbled upon as soon as we left our hotel. It was so good and cheap.



My Thanksgiving Dinner in 2011 was spent Chengdu. It's a new trend to decorate a restaurant in the Revolution motif and these guys really had it down, even period-correct uniforms for the staff.











This was hands down the best hot pot I ever had in Chongqing. I had taken the bus from Chengdu and the girl next to me started helping me with my Sudoku puzzles. We ended up hanging out for a few days and she definitely steered me to the right places to eat.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Not really the kind of place where I like to take photos. Read Iris Chang's book and then go see the museum. It will change you. Japan has never apologized or been held to account for their crimes in China and that serves the Chicom gov't. well as an endless source of anti-Japanese propaganda. I swear, you have to take a class to learn that kind of hatred. It's not natural.

I read a couple of books about the RApe of Nanking and seem a bunch of shot films from various sources. Not a history lesson taught in school, that's for sure. I remember an old friend's father hated the Japanese and refuse to buy anything Japanese. He was from a small village in the southern part of China. When the Japanese solders arrived, they tortured his family and many others in the village, then went on to the next and did the same.

Are those skeletons in a tank like fixture?

[Rick Lee]

Yes, those are skeletons and there are plenty more there than I got in the photo. You'd be hard pressed to meet a Mainlander who doesn't hate Japanese people. I have a Chinese cousin in-law who's marrying a Japanese guy, but she grew up mostly in Canada and has worked in Japan for a while.

The happy ending at the museum is that the US did extradite some of the top officers from the Rape of Nanking back to China to stand trial and they were executed. Do a Google search of Unit 731 if you really want to make yourself angry and sick.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

There are plenty of them in CA. We tried to go to the Hai Di Lao in Arcadia a few weeks ago and gave up after waiting an hour. I know Hai Di Lao is the trendy hot pot chain in China now, but there are so many countless mom and pop hot pot places there, that I'd never go to a chain.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at Hot Pot Hot Pot in Ahambra. Used to be called Little Fat Sheep. It is the real-deal. You have to go early otherwise it is a wait.

I had some interesting evenings on Wangfujing in Beijing. I had every proposition that Rick has mentioned along with a few others. That's what happens when a single lao wai walks around...

[TimT]

2. To get a good pic of Forbidden City, go up Coal Hill, which is immediately north of it. You look down on the entire affair. Go early in the day to all attractions: Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, etc.











I call this pic "Busted" they were playing a game, and the instant I pressed the shutter... she looked up....




4. Take the subway. It's cheap. Don't do too much in one day.

The subway is super easy to use, Maps in English are available, and the subway is clean and safe..

5. See the acrobats Third Ring Road east. Touristy but incredible. Olympic gymnasts look like chumps after this show.

Yes amazing


4. If you are jonesing for something "American" go to Let's Burger in Sanlitun. Their burgers are better than most burgers you would get in the US. Otherwise, avoid western food.

As mentioned in a previous post... There is a terrific brick oven pizza place In Sanlitun



That has some good suds

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Yes, those are skeletons and there are plenty more there than I got in the photo. You'd be hard pressed to meet a Mainlander who doesn't hate Japanese people. I have a Chinese cousin in-law who's marrying a Japanese guy, but she grew up mostly in Canada and has worked in Japan for a while.

The happy ending at the museum is that the US did extradite some of the top officers from the Rape of Nanking back to China to stand trial and they were executed. Do a Google search of Unit 731 if you really want to make yourself angry and sick.

I know about Unit 731. We traded for those docs and still no called us on it. Frightening how a group pr people can do that to another human. they were much more brutal then the Germans. I know many of the Chinese, in Taiwan, mainland, and Hong Kong love all things Japanese. I am glad they are ok with the past and move forward.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by nostatic

We had Thanksgiving dinner at Hot Pot Hot Pot in Ahambra. Used to be called Little Fat Sheep. It is the real-deal. You have to go early otherwise it is a wait.

I had some interesting evenings on Wangfujing in Beijing. I had every proposition that Rick has mentioned along with a few others. That's what happens when a single lao wai walks around...

They proposition me also on the Bund also. This was 15 years ago when I was ugly, and I am no gwai lao. Reminds me of Waikiki Beach a long time ago. No fun.

[motion]

Wow, you guys are totally awesome. I really appreciate all the great tips and will take this info with me. I have a lot of experience with the hookers in the Caribbean islands, so pretty sure I can handle the Chinese variety. My wife suggested I take a photo of us with me, so I can point to her in the photo. They can't compete with the blond hair/blue eye women

Finding food is my biggest concern, but I guess its doable. I'll have to do more research on what the common non-meat dishes are. The street food looks great!

Any ideas on what a taxi for a day costs, just to drive around the city? Are there double-decker hop on/hop off busses?

I have several days in Shanghai... are there any outstanding destinations reachable by high speed train that I should check into?

[morganb]

Originally Posted by motion

I have several days in Shanghai... are there any outstanding destinations reachable by high speed train that I should check into?

I lived in Shanghai for about 5 yrs. You can try Haugzhou. You would probably want to spend a night there as its about 2 hrs from memory.

Suzhou is a really good day trip. Bao'en Temple Pagoda and Panmen Gate are really good and I really enjoyed them. The Humble Administrators Garden is seen as a highlight but I did not really enjoy that to much.

[TimT]

There is also a two tier pricing scale that can occur...

Wifey and I decided to visit Yellow Mountain in Anhui province... its where the government big shots had there summer "cottages"

We arrive in the airport at Huangshan, and wifey says stay inside till I call.. stepson and I retire to the massage chairs.... She is outside negotiating price from Huangshan to Yellow Mountain.....


Ring Ring Ring.... phone rings Wifey says come out to taxi .... stepson and I grab the luggage and head out to the cab....

Cab driver goes ballistic when he sees me and stepson approach the cab...Me being white and my stepson is mixed race....He complained to much luggage.... (two bags plus stepsons back pack)

Wife was crafty... had Anhui tourist rep with her when she negotiated price....

The ride to Yellow mountain was a bit tense... my wife and the driver arguing..Its cracks me up though.

The whole debate was over probably $20...

My wife came from a very poor family, she watches every expense...She is a tiger mom...

Yellow Mountains




You can get some pretty good food in some of the regional airports...

Fresh noodles and veggies at Huangshan, It was just mushrooms, veggies,noodles and stock.... I could not tell you if it was a veggie or meat based stock....

When have you seen airport food that looks so damn good ?

[motion]

Originally Posted by morganb

I lived in Shanghai for about 5 yrs. You can try Haugzhou. You would probably want to spend a night there as its about 2 hrs from memory.

Suzhou is a really good day trip. Bao'en Temple Pagoda and Panmen Gate are really good and I really enjoyed them. The Humble Administrators Garden is seen as a highlight but I did not really enjoy that to much.

Will those train trips give you a sense of the Chinese countryside?

Tim, thanks for all the tasty food pics I guess I'll paying the Irish tax

[Shuie]

Originally Posted by TimT

There is also a two tier pricing sale that can occur...

Yep. I'd always heard about how cheap everything was in China prior to going there. We learned pretty quick that anything that came with an English translation was full on retail.

The food was incredible. The noodle restaurants...OMG. I had no idea there could possibly be so many different kinds of noodles. The food was amazing everywhere we went. Having a local with us who could argue with the waiters and get us through the places where nobody spoke English was priceless. I don't know the names of anything we ate and I have never before or since seen anything like what we were served. It was amazing. We ate like Kings for what seemed like no money (in the local places where the menus didn't have English translations).

I lost all of my pictures from my trip when I lost my iPhone in a cab after leaving Beijing. I will never get over that. It really aggravates me every time I think about it. I have to find a way to go back and see more of this country. Its the only place I've ever been in the world that I feel this way about.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by motion

Any ideas on what a taxi for a day costs, just to drive around the city? Are there double-decker hop on/hop off busses?

We paid a taxi driver the equivalent of about $50 in Xi'an to be our chauffeur for the day. I'm sure it's more in Beijing. I think we paid about $70 to have one take us to Mutianyu and back and we only had him for that trip. But he did find a killer lunch place in the middle of nowhere and it was a glorious meal.

I seriously suggest finding a hot, local, English-speaking female student to be your guide. She will be a ruthless price negotiator for you, she will be your advocate and, whatever she costs, you will save many times that amount in what you pay for stuff AND the headaches you avoid by having her by you.

That girl in the massage photo I posted kept me from getting totally robbed by a taxi driver on my first trip to Chengdu. He was driving me all over the city and she was blowing up my cell phone from the restaurant, asking where I was. I handed the phone to the taxi driver and then she told me he was trying to rob me and not to pay him. When we arrived, she took about 1/10 of what was on the meter, crumpled it up and threw it at his face and yelled at him as he drove off. Very cool spectacle. Chinese women are absolutely ruthless. I had to buy a pair of nice shoes for a business meeting on my last trip. Mrs. Lee, her mom and grandmother accompanied me to the local marketplace where the vendors were all trying to get me to talk to them. God, I felt sorry for the guy I got the shoes from. They beat him down to a fraction of asking price. I can count and negotiate in Mandarin ok, but geeze, these women are merciless advocates for their men.

[1990C4S]

Beijing Tour: Beijing Tours, Beijing China Tours - Tour-Beijing.Com

I had a very good tour from these guys.

[Targa Me]

Hello Motion,
Before leaving on your trip make an appointment with your doctor and tell them about your China trip and ask him/her for a prescription of Zithromax. It's a very broad antibiotic. (obviously have it filled before leaving) If a day or two before you leave China to return you feel ill take the antibiotic, it should mask any symptoms you may be having long enough to board the plane for your return. If the Chinese suspect you are sick they will not let you board the plane.
Be safe.