This year's " May Day " , Chinese people will travel up 3%

This year's " May Day " , Chinese people will travel up 3%

China Tourism Research Institute at the National 60 key tourist cities on urban residents will travel during May 2014 survey showed that "51 " travel wishes of our residents is higher, is 68.12% , higher than the same period last year nearly 3 percentage points ( 65.53% ) , and higher than the willingness to travel during this year's Qingming ( 63.18% ) . Tourism market will be fully "warming ."

Unlike nearly outings during the Qingming main intention highest outbound travel during May . Walks Walks and semi -service menu as the main travel way . Tour prices, according to some tourism enterprises feedback message , tourism product prices rose slightly during May will appear . On the whole, China Tourism Academy considers the period May -rich tourism products , tourism market will fully "warming ."

From traveling type of view, the holiday tourism hotspot or preferences of tourists will continue Qingming holiday features to car , hikers based, outbound and inter-provincial travel around , Family Fun number or increased. The proportion of domestic provinces and cities and suburban travel tourism reached 33.46% and 35.22% . Travel abroad as a major travel type. Choose to travel abroad , the proportion of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan reached 67.25% , respectively, tourism , 49.54% . The Palme d'Or booking data shows outbound travel May grew 30.72 percent during the period .

From the travel way , the heat Walks , menu-driven services by tourists like . More guests choose Walks Walks travel half way . Choose their own organizations, individual and group tour travel trips accounted for 46.69% , respectively , 15.52% and 35.74% .

From the travel destination, on the outskirts of the market , the shorter "day trip ", " two-day trip " popular , Hebei, Henan , Shandong, Shanxi and Beijing as "a swim " hot spots . Domestically tour , Xiamen , Wuyishan , Sanya, Hangzhou , Shanghai and other places favored by tourists . Outbound regard to Taiwan, Hong Kong , Korea , Bali, Japan, the most popular , Korea, Taiwan , Vietnam, Cambodia and other lines to heat up, the more obvious the Cambodian tour "warmer " sharp decline of Chinese tourists to Malaysia .

From the travel routes , the route favored team half free . In addition to the regular tourist routes , mainly to " Air + Hotel + Transfer " and other free combination team Portability product preferences by white-collar workers and families exercise tourists .

From the tourist point of view constituted , Sichuan, Chongqing, Yangtze River Delta city group , the Shandong Peninsula , as well as residents of the Central Plains Urban Agglomeration highest willingness to travel .

From the accommodation structure, the low-end mass tourism accommodation of choice . Choose budget hotels tourists up 49.07 percent , two , Samsung moderately priced hotel (33.33%) , choose four-star luxury hotels accounted for 10.93% , while 4.37% of people choose social hotel occupancy , 2.3 % chose other ways .

www.linkedin.com/pub/crystal-wang/65/514/b93/

O2O: Lost half rings

O2O: Lost half rings

4.25 days , top grade discount wechat concept store opened in Hangzhou of Sandy . Consumers shopping in the store in addition to the use of wechat pay , but also two-dimensional code scanning products , put it in the top grade discount wechat shopping cart, users pay for the follow-up , the express delivery.

4.26 days , followed the next day , paid at Beijing wechat and had a coffee and 3W -depth cooperation , creating a " day without a wallet - 3W intelligent life experience hall • Open Day ." Day , 3W turned into a coffee can show the future of intelligent life experience hall , all exhibiting intelligent hardware , are very naturally integrated into the entire physical space , user corresponding two-dimensional code scanning products can be purchased directly make an appointment , follow-up express delivery . Has become a " roll call time " a line under an intelligent pre-sale hardware platform .

One is to open in Hangzhou , Alibaba 's stronghold ; an aim Beijing 's Zhongguancun , China's Internet heartland. wechat pay so dense lines whereabouts to activities , the selected partner , too interesting, can not help but let us begin speculation , wechat being constructed under this line O2O cliff, leading to what is where.

2014 can be said to O2O hot year, almost all of the traditional industry giants are doing various attempts , hoping to use the Internet to transform the thinking of the enterprise , in order to avoid all- channel mobile Internet era was the fate of being eliminated .

Many people O2O understanding , still stuck in the era of buy that O2O just from online to offline . That is done online via the Internet the way of marketing , the target population to the next line, while building interactive closed loop pass on the good news or the value of the next line .

In early April , the founder and the first 24 coupons COO, passenger clouds founder Peng Lei, 3W coffee in doing a theme of sharing , which said:

For local businesses concerned, in fact, buy only a short-term marketing behavior , is more of a means, not a pattern.

In the short term , can indeed lead to a large number of buy low-cost way through the crowd , but the crowd rush to buy from, will swarm and scattered . Like locusts , leaving only a cup messy , as well as the ability to be a serious overdraft services for local businesses , the real value of the business brand awareness to the next line , or into the next line is very limited membership .

So , O2O always will exist a "lost half- ring" , that is, from the line and back line, is a process of Offline 2 Online .

In my opinion, if you really want the internet traditional industry thinking landing , O2O transformation of its inevitable way. Businesses need to restore the line to brand value , not just by low prices.

Core Internet thinking, that is, the user thinking. Internet circles often say " to a user-centric " , in fact, whether online brand, or the line brand ; whether 2B business, or 2C business ; consumers , spectators, fans , customers ...... in fact you this brand generalized "User " on .

Doing business , the brand is in fact a relationship with these broadly between users.

The channel? These are all brand touch users ways.

But now the online channels are monopolized by the major Internet companies get from online users increasingly high cost . By comparison, the line under it, If we get traffic , coupled with the conversion of the user 's perspective, really can be called a sea of ​​blue . Consumers offline does not mean the user , because of the lack O2O half rings , traditional physical membership card, it does not produce any interaction with you.

The online platform based wechat , etc. , it is a natural CRM system , it can be a sufficiently lightweight way to help brands build relationships with business users , including the establishment of a closed loop payment experience is good enough .

wechat payment options with 3W coffee cooperative "3W intelligent life experience museum" , with the top grade discount cooperation " top grade wechat concept store " is in fact O2O which lost half ring inside, exploring how down to help traditional businesses to establish their own user system via cable, use of the physical location of the advantages of traditional business lines under the line from the conversion to online users .

wechat up the stage, singing the line businesses , wechat are looking for offline scenarios , and the next line of business is the transformation of the Internet during the O2O information under the thinking .

This point of view , O2O this "lost half- ring ", Offline 2 Online merchants should be the next line , the real value lies, huge outdoor advertising screen , most advertisers should not have to , but should be the next line of business themselves .

So some , they look more like a top grade discount stores such entities 3W coffee in the future can really explore a complete O2O road , but ultimately everyone finality for the future , have their own judgment, and can not achieve it, he is the founder of the brand even more heart pattern.
https://twitter.com/Marketingactus

Social marketing shift three characteristics , for example with Durex

Social marketing shift three characteristics , for example with Durex

Social marketing has gone through a few years time , but today when it comes to social marketing , the first impression is still the most insiders Durex , I often hear a lot of companies are looking for when looking for Durex B division team . Most people have the impression that the reason is because they will social marketing is equivalent to this understanding : the microblogging operators often get a lot of turn comment. Such standards, Durex is certainly qualified , whether it is " Rainy Night overshoes " Liu Xiang Olympic events or promptly after the fall microblogging Durex creative team of flexible mechanisms to make them perfectly done that .

( Timely weibo after Liu Xiang Olympic Games losing )

But only if a large number of transfer assessment as the basis for the success of micro-Bo is obviously one-sided, and this effect is not sustainable , after all, you can not expect Durex have a " rainy night overshoes " This effect microblogging day. In a way , the daily operations of a micro-blog like waves, as a whole is stable and forward , but it will be the climax of the way there will be a trough, successful microblogging operators should be " wave of advance ."

Because of this , you have the impression that perhaps Durex have disappeared a long time, the last time my impression of Durex 's still stuck in it in the show released a micro-Bo , the contents of this event , compared with the two very different , but this was a relatively good past six months Durex content.

( Spring Festival Durex timely weibo )

So that often brings little surprise Dudu no longer magical yet ? Perhaps the fact that is not the case , as opposed to traditional marketing , social marketing is a dramatic change , in 2013 and 2011 social marketing has been very different , faced with such a background , Durex made ​​its own changes.

Durex integrated marketing

The summer of 2013 , in order to promote the new series of Durex hwan feel shock stick on the microblogging Durex launched a " feel -hwan trip " activities , the so-called " feel -hwan Journey " is the Durex ask a couple, once from Beijing Shangri-La in Yunnan travel to , but in this trip, the couple did not have any money , by the way have to be exchanged with the desired use Durex Vibes.

The purpose of this activity is in fact most people tell at a glance that we change the minds of sex toys in the "evil " impression , to guide people in an open , normal state of mind to look at this product. In this respect , Durex is intended to change the idea of everyone 's ideas and马佳佳have the same purpose .

But this spread is different from the past out of the past, just Durex active in microblogging circle , while at the same time spread online and offline . It was first released in the promotion of Events Online , and called on fans to help around the couple to complete the " feel -hwan trip ." After the couple arrived in a city , Durex official micro reported that the couple will live in the " exchange of goods " road anecdotes, such as the couple on the road Vibes been identified as airport security appliances, marble street stall in exchange with the love story Vibes have been so fun to get a good official micro- propagation , which we can also see that the best ideas often come from life.

Often because of the high degree of concern activities , the couple arrived in a city initiative to help get the local fans . An event which triggered the explosion point a couple in Chengdu when the "accident" to a pack Vibes lost in the street , being a guy go out and buy Lucai and call the local TV station picked up the phone the first time, the final Durex Vibes "free" boarded the station , got great exposure , and it passed the social network has been widely spread and become a successful event marketing .

The online campaign launched by Durex , and at the same time promoting online and offline , live events eventually turn in the line of transmission lines , to achieve a sense of O2O spread . Fans in action enhanced interaction , the Durex only published on the microblogging on the " feel -hwan trip" content and fan interaction, also called boot fans came from online and offline , deeply involved in the interaction with the Durex couple to achieve a spread on the closure.

Durex cross-border cooperation with Northern Ireland

Under normal circumstances, we will feel co-branded with the film 's only about sponsorship, and other traditional forms of implants . So how to cooperate with an official micro films?

The video：http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjcxMzM4MDQ0.html

During the Valentine's Day this year , Durex and movie " Northern Ireland " carried out a cross-border cooperation , Durex as " Northern Ireland " movie special edition customized small tin TT, prizes and interactive activities initiated in the micro -Bo , the movie do publicity, " Northern Ireland " was released the same day, in some cinema tickets as long as the couple can get this little tin . In return, the " Northern Ireland " as Durex cut a " Durex customized version" of " Northern Ireland " trailer , and play all day on Wanda screen.

Durex marketing changing revelation

From the above two cases , the 13-year Durex marketing into a single micro-blog that obtained before the outbreak is no longer content with mere huge event marketing , but gradually move towards integration and precise , specifically said to have the following three features .

Features a : Integrated Marketing Communications than simply social marketing

Internet has changed the world of marketing has changed the same way, but the current social marketing does not replace traditional marketing , networking will be separated by a thin layer and then the real screen, users go to the next line of intimate contact with the brand and purely on social networks the exchange difference is great , it's like two friends online dating , online chat regardless of how hot, they eventually need to go to meet the reality will make the feelings go further.

In today's increasingly serious fragmentation , only one mode of transmission has been unable to meet the demands of brand communications , integrating online and offline mode of transmission is the spread of a fly, of course, not all integrated communication means to invest heavily in various media , such as Durex in the " feel -hwan trip" spread in features for its fans on microblogging activities initiated by , the participation of users online and offline anecdotes then spread on a secondary line, which is a spread on the O2O2O ( online - offline - online ) .

Features two : From cast a wide net to focus on training

For most of the past, the official micro , their one major task is to increase the fans, no matter where he comes from accepting all these fans are , therefore zombie powder , became the official micro- controlled lottery regulars , the fact that they respect the official micro- value better than nothing. Fans should be really valuable as friends and their own ongoing exchange of people . So for the official micro speaking, your task should no longer be useless to increase fan , you should shout a " get out of control microblogging draw circle " or " Get out of the zombie powder microblogging circle" , you should train your core development fans , these core willing to continue to interact with you , willing to help when you need to stand up the first time , when these core fans over 1000 , when ( 1000 hardcore fans theory ) , you must be official micro vibrant .

Durex "mobile tavern " campaign has been able to attract many fans to participate to tell their love story , precisely because it has trained a large number of core fans.

Features three : Campagin: From Social to Social Auxiliary leading PR

Social marketing impact of traditional marketing can say is revolutionary, but today most of the time we see is still traditional PR -led social marketing , do not change the old traditional way of thinking forever could not handle the new media . Durex In both cases, social media is completely dominated by the traditional marketing methods , this approach is closer to the fans and easier to shorten the distance between the brand and the fans , Durex in many Campagin able to maintain flexible reasons for being in this . Of course , this is the Coca-Cola bottle in the nickname summer 2013 campaign has been to give us a lesson.

In a way , Durex marketing microblogging from the mere event marketing shift toward integrating online and offline marketing , showing the changes in the overall environment of social media , social marketing also shows the kind of break with the past should be forwarded to the success of a large number of pure judging whether or not the standard . Durex is the last example of social marketing in today's fragmented , made ​​perhaps change Durex still worth learning ....

https://www.facebook.com/weibochina

Osaka foreign tourists reached 2.6 million, of which the number of mainland Chinese tourists third

Osaka foreign tourists reached 2.6 million, of which the number of mainland Chinese tourists third

By the depreciation of the yen and the factors affecting the low-cost carriers in Japan, Kansai International Airport and other additional flights, visit Osaka in 2013 exceeded 2.6 million foreign visitors, a record high. Among them, the number of tourists from mainland China ranks third.

According to Japan's "Sankei Shimbun" news, April 22, the agency was informed by interviews Osaka Tourism Bureau, the number of foreign tourists visit Osaka in 2013 exceeded 2.6 million, reaching a record high.

Osaka Tourism Bureau revealed that in 2013 foreign tourists visit Osaka 57 million increase over the previous year, reaching 2,601,340 people. This data is the highest record since 2001.

In accordance with national and regional perspective, about 558,000 tourists from South Korea people. Tourists from China Taiwan region is about 531,000 people. Tourists from mainland China was approximately 526,000 people. Tourists from China, Hong Kong is about 175,000 people. Tourists from Thailand to 131,000 people.

https://www.facebook.com/China.tourist

Chinese middle class began to enjoy the fun of travel

Chinese middle class began to enjoy the fun of travel

China's middle class domestic travel . They have fun , they have the ability to enjoy all the sudden arrival of this, they are fun. This is changing some wonderful grand picture.

Chinese middle class has gone on to become the planet 's most important social groups on the road . How do they spend money, how to wear , where to live , what to eat , how to educate their children and to make many other choices will define this era - the first for China is so , then the rest of the world is also true . How the middle class travel and what to do upon arrival is particularly critical .

Reported that a large number of Chinese people around the country every year to play , booming domestic travel in identifying destructive , mediocre and vulgar behavior is an attractive thing. The potential problem is due to China 's economic growth and the consequent emergence of the middle class rose more money too quickly , so Ms. Hung Chinese domestic tourism or too late to figure out what they want from a holiday .

Lijiang, Tiger Leaping Gorge, about 90 minutes drive from Lijiang is one of China's largest domestic arrivals tourist destination . Lijiang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site , but have struggled to maintain the original appearance . In awkwardly attracted world , " Ms. Hung " attempts, Lijiang has reinvented itself to become a gathering place for Standardization store , all stores are stocked with the same souvenirs : a comb made ​​of horn , red cape Naxi , jade bracelets and jewelry made ​​with yak bone .

Let a nation's culture as well as to cater to tourists a once beautiful place into a theme park behavior people instinctively feel angry , but did not grasp the essentials of this view . Chinese tourists are enjoy the Lijiang Naxi owns and growing domestic travel market share . Domestic travel accounted for 5 % of China's GDP , the proportion is still rising . Domestic travel market may seem small, but for China and the world this is a critical moment .

Domestic travel is bringing many Chinese people in the past almost never heard of common experience. The country is now ready to accept that people experience them rather than oral discussion , the point is to shift from survival to pleasure .

https://twitter.com/christianinsoli

WeChat future 9 big business

WeChat future 9 big business

 1.WeChat direction will further control content subscription numbers , political and economic , public discussion of the direction of financial numbers , especially further blockade and control , otherwise the subscription number will be the next public opinion broke out .

2.WeChat will further support the service number , service number to create electricity supplier ecosystem , and vigorously promote the development of C2C service number . Micro- shopping , micro stores, mall and other products cut into the micro has proven its ability to erupt . Open menu functions from the service number , service number nine open API interface , open the application WeChat service number to pay ; enough to prove WeChat commercialization schedule is in full progress.

3 in that the overall number of public numbers 3000000 +, WeChat overall number of users 500,000,000 domestic ; . WeChat public access data from this number , the graphic conversion rate of 30% has been very little , most of FIG account Wen average conversion rate of 15% ; this also explains each WeChat user has started to pay a lot of WeChat public number, number of public information WeChat homogeneity ( especially information category ); WeChat will further control WeChat number of public number, WeChat you to enhance the overall user experience .

4.WeChat on derivative products in development , micro- communities, wind chimes system becomes WeChat number of public operators gospel , how to extend the fans demand , with more optional items to enhance the fan experience of reading . Of course, this will lay the future WeChat ecology , operators will be the most important part of WeChat manipulator .

5.WeChat advertising process , WeChat began testing a wide gray point through text links ads around February 2014 , there are only a part of the large gray-scale testing authority. By WeChat and wide through the next point strategy, future WeChat form will appear in the ad : ① WeChat top without any advertising ( for the sake of user experience ); ② WeChat forms of advertising at the bottom of the Graphic Communications diversification ( in addition to text links , will realize images and rich media ) to improve ad conversion ; ③ wide stop advertising management background will be implanted WeChat public No. background , WeChat number of public managers will get more autonomy ( optional advertising, while No ads CPC -based public pricing ); ④ wide will provide the background to automatically stop advertising WeChat number of public managers clearing functions .

6.WeChat will focus on the next version upgrade WeChat personal user experience , while also providing new opportunities for point No. grassroots WeChat public operators . ① will once again open WeChat the search function can search public message numbers themselves are not concerned about ( this feature has not been proven ) ② repositioning circle of friends ecological chain , currently too wide circle of friends dissemination of information , the reader can not be precise positioning information , the latter will add functionality to retrieve and subscription information circle of friends .

7.WeChat developers standardization, current WeChat has reached the peak of development , WeChat cloud on the basis of Tencent , WeChat open cloud application ; overall WeChat development field will sort out . From the current situation, the latter will be fully standardized, only WeChat cloud developers to get more support ( policy support , as well as open interfaces of the underlying technical support ) .

8.WeChat pay scene depth combined with the line and become true mobile Internet O2O of tickets . From the social attributes , location attributes (LBS), a closed-loop payment , communication system fully open up , to be the next growth point.

9.WeChat large CRM will provide more support to open more integrated CRM management solution that enables WeChat in the light heavy marketing experience deeper down the road . Provide enterprises with more experience scenes , to provide consumers with more high- tack tools.
https://twitter.com/Marketingactus

Chengdu - a Relaxing City

Chengdu in Sichuan province which is in the central part of the country is not always included in many group tours.  I like to send people there on private custom tours as Chengdu has so much to offer in the surrounding areas.  Home of the Panda, you can visit the Experiment Station which has only Pandas  including new born ones in the nursery.   Chengdu has many relaxing parks and tea houses where the local people gather to play Mahjong and other games during the warm afternoons. Dufu's Cottage park is one of my favorites.  You can often see an orchestra practicing, choir groups and children playing games.  They have a fantastic Bonsai collection also.  The Wen Shu Temple park is another with vegetarian lunches and tea with snacks in the park.  There are also several areas of the city that have preserved the old buildings and left as they were 100 years ago.  Here you see Jinlin Street as one example.  Another is the beautiful Kuan Xhai Xiang Zi Alley with its beautiful courtyard restaurants and tea houses.  I often stay at the Buddha Zen Hotel which is a traditional hotel built around a courtyard and the area around the hotel has been preserved in the old style. There are many small towns and villages surrounding Chengdu like Huanglongxi town which is very scenic as one example.  If you want to visit remote mountain areas with small villages and Tibetan people you may want to visit my web site at www.interlakechinatours.com       Look under packaged tours:  10 Day Mountain Tour.

You may even stay in a Tibetan family hotel in one of the small villages if you like.  For more information check my web site or email me for details at    email:  interlak@eskimo.com

How to increase your visibility in China ?

How to increase your visibility in China ? 

It is very easy to design a website in China , but it is difficult to make one " successful" and attracts a lot of traffic.
A website attracting nearly a million of Chinese visitors per month and we also greatly helped other blogs. I myself started a blog late last year and I was surprised at how quickly it began to receive thousands of visits to each of its publications. There is an art happens when the traffic of a blog and because we are aware of some of this knowledge, I felt compelled to share it.
Please note that this publication replaces another popular enough that I had written on the same subject in 2007. This publication is intended to be useful for bloggers , whether those who write just for fun or those who have head have an income thanks to their writings. I want to say that all the tactics I describe will not necessarily work for everyone , however, some of them should be useful and applicable.

# 1: Submit your content to an audience likely to share

When you are at the strategic level on the Chinese people you intend to target with your publications, it is imperative that you take into consideration the ability of the public to share your publications. Some readers will be more or less active in sharing your content , but it is important you to get involved more in your writing style , the choice of subjects or your targeting so sharing your content is done in a natural way . You will need to talk about a subject that attracts the attention of readers who will share publications or questions.
If you can identify groups with high levels of concentration in blue and orange circles in the diagram above , then you can greatly increase your chances of reaching a wider audience and also increase traffic to your blog. Targeting a group of people who are less inclined to share your content may not be a serious decision , especially if the subject is to your heart. However, by doing this , you minimize the chances of seeing the name of your blog circulating on the net.

# 2: Discover places on the net or your target audience tends to regroup.

In China, you have 700millions in terms of netizens and 7billions of search every day on Baidu.
You need to research in order to determine or consumers with different characteristics tend to cluster and what they do during this time. This research should enable them to understand the customer in order to better target their advertisements through. For example, an advertisement offering extreme sports to a 65 and can be considered a total waste of resources and time customers.
Luckily for you , bloggers do not need to spend a colossal sum to know where your audience gathers on the net. You probably already know the blogs, forums, websites or social communities online and they tend to go . Based on your list of places , so you can promote your blog through tools such as DoubleClick Ad Planner . Optimize the content of your blog for SEO
Search engines are a godsend gold regarding the increased traffic of a site or a blog. However, many bloggers ignore this for many reasons , especially due to misunderstanding. As I already said , referencing must never interfere with the meaning of the content . In 2011 , Google has recorded over 3 billion daily searches globally and this number continues to grow.
Take this opportunity to massive traffic is invaluable for bloggers . SEO for blogs is both simple and easy to implement, especially if you use an optimized platform such as WordPress , Drupal or Joomla .
Never let your bad experiences with spammers taint the amazing power and valuable contributions SEO can have the level of traffic for your blog. # 4: Make use of Twitter, Facebook and Google + to share your content and find new contacts
Weibo has just announced that they have reached 465 million registered accounts. For its part, wechat has over 250 million active users .
Google facebook and twitter are inactive in China.

Note that these people fit perfectly into the category of " content distributor " that I described above , which means that they are likely to spread the word about your blog.
However, relying solely on these networks to attract traffic requires patience foolproof, but also attention to the evolution of these and a greater consideration in terms of content to be shared and to which we must take to do so. We must not overlook the impact of Twitter on SEO . My advice would be to use the following process:
If you have not already done so, create a personal account and an account for your blog on the following sites: weibo, douban, baidu forums... My friend Dharmesh has a personal Twitter account and an account for OnStartups , one of his blogs. He has also created on Facebook , Twitter and LinkedIn.
Document these profiles vastly more possible. Use photos , write compelling descriptions and make each of these most useful and credible as possible profiles. Studies show that well- informed profiles are more likely to attract readers and to correlate with other similar profiles .
Link contacts with people with whom you have shared personal and professional experiences. Follow the news of those who can easily let you know . Services such as FollowerWonk FindPeopleOnPlus and can easily help you

Start sharing your content. At this level, you can share your own publications related to publications that you or those who you stronger .
Interact with the online community . Use hash tags, searches , or those who follow you on social networks to find interesting conversations for you interfere . Social networks can be considered as an extraordinary environment to let you know as well as your blog.
If you use a participatory approach in a systematic way , or if you give a positive and memorable track who views your interactions on these sites print your followers and your fans will grow and your ability to generate traffic to your blog by sharing content will be enormous.

For many bloggers, social media is one of the most important sources of traffic , especially during the first few months after the launch period where SEO is not really a big role to play. # 5 Install Google Analytics and pay attention to the results of the latter.
At a minimum, I recommend to all bloggers install Google Analytics , which is free , to see where visits originate recorded on their blog . This tool will also allow them to see what sources offering quality traffic , but also what is said about them and their blog.

Add graphics , photos and illustrations to your blog

If you are a person who can design graphics , take photos or make fairly simple illustrations, but rather funny, you should leverage that talent on your blog. By hosting images on your blog , you will create another kind of traffic , the image searches .
When creating images or illustrations, I strongly advise to ensure that others can easily share legally , so what you get as a content creator . To do this, you can , for example, include in the image a small annotation indicating that the image is perfectly reusable condition to link to your blog.
Some people may venture to use your images without any reference or link back, which is highly unpleasant. However, you can easily find this type of person using the similar image in Google Image function , as shown in the image below:
Do some research on the keywords most likely to promote your publications

Not surprisingly, for your publications automatically appear in the list of proposals at the level of queries made via the search engines , it is imperative to know what the terms and phrases used by users when formulating their queries search engines . It is quite difficult to guess these terms without first trying a little research. To help you in this task, you can bring you free tool called Google AdWords Keyword Tool.
The use of this tool is quite simple: after you open the tool , put in a few words and Adwords will arrange to provide you with sentences there is relative and are likely made ​​by users via search engine

sources :

1. moz.com/
2. www.google.com/analytics/‎
3. marketingtochina.com/seo-become-visible-search-engine-baidu/
4. http://www.baidu.com/search/url_submit.html.
5. http://searchengineland.com/the-global-seo-content-marketing-landscape-180718

The Chinese textile devices Market

The Chinese textile devices Market 

Today we are going to analyse the Textile Industry of China, with a report of Fil Control, specialist of electronic Devices in Textile Industry .

The textile industry and the Chinese clothing has a major asset, its complete industrial chain . It makes China the world's largest exporter of clothing. But this trend is beginning to change more and more thanks to the low cost of labor. Indeed, East Asia has undergone major changes in recent years. It was noted that the manufacture of Chinese clothing tends to move towards the South-East Asia .
Respond to these changes , many analysts highlight the urgency of the clothing and textile restructuring of Chinese lead and industry industrial upgrading, increase the number of value-added products and to create their own brands clothing. `

Oldest Industry in the world

The textile industry is one of the oldest industries in the world. However, it remains to be now fully globalized . Despite the abolition of quotas , some low-income countries have managed to develop their textile industry, as China has done. Asia accounts for 80% of world exports of textiles and clothing ( a total of $ 500 billion ), while Europe accounts for only 15 %. This figure is surprising, but it's the truth !

Where does this increase come from?

With the increasing number of large areas of specialty channels and new technologies , outsourcing to countries with low labor costs have boomed . Asian countries have been severely affected by this revolution. In the 60s , with the emergence of new production centers in Asia, the textile industry has been transformed. Previously , the major exporters in Asia are Hong Kong ranked third with 7.4% of world exports, while China ranked fourth with 6.5% , Taiwan sixth with 5.7% , and finally the Republic Korea ranked seventh with 5.6%. Burma also has an important place in this industry (see article). T others

Cambodia and Bangladesh are major players in the textile industry in China.
Indeed , Bangladesh is the world's second leader for textiles , but many people wonder if it will last. The textile sector enjoys a privileged status in this country , which is still very open to international trade. But despite these advantages , however, it seems hampered by the lack of energy, poor logistics infrastructure , and the unstable political situation. The textile sector still represents 83% of Bangladesh's exports . The textile sector and the industrial center of Bangladesh , but also one of its weaknesses , and changes in supply and demand can have a significant impact on the economy.

Textile Market in ASIA

In Cambodia, you will discover that many protesters challenging their low income and working conditions. The textile is a key sector of the Cambodian economy . 90 % of their exports are based on textiles and shoes. A third goes to the United States and Europe. The textile sector employs 650 000 workers including 400,000 working indirectly for major international brands. Faced with rising wage demands , the government has promised to increase from $ 80 to $ 95 per month, the minimum wage in the next April .

Thank you 
filcontrol.com/

100 million Chinese tourists visited foreign countries

Nearly 100 million Chinese tourists visited foreign countries last year, and they are likely to extend their advantage, the largest passenger - expenditure on the planet , state media reported Thursday.
A total of 97 million Chinese tourists left the country last year, up from 14 million the previous year, the China Daily said, citing official data from the National Tourism Administration . The figures highlight the rapid increase in the number of Chinese traveling abroad , numbering only 29 million in 2004.

Chinese travelers spent $ 102 billion abroad in 2012, making them the world's biggest spenders ahead of Germans and tourists from the United States, and are almost certain to have surpassed this record last year, according to the report , citing researcher Rui song .

The Chinese economy has boomed over the past decade , expanding the ranks of its middle class , who are hungry for foreign travel after decades of isolation countries during the last century.source

European Union and Asian countries have moved to facilitate visa procedures for Chinese tourists in recent years , eager to take advantage of their big- spending habits .

"Chinese tourists spend abroad so that some foreign call us " walking wallets "," Song, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences , was quoted as saying.
Hotels and retailers around the world have stepped up their efforts to woo Chinese visitors .
Famous Harrods of London says he now has 70 people speaking Mandarin and more than 100 across China Unionpay for direct payment of Chinese bank accounts.

chinese-tourist.blogspot.com

SEO Tips: How to improve Baidu good weight so quickly?

SEO Tips: How to improve Baidu good weight so quickly?

Foreigners with Google , China with Baidu , Baidu SEO webmaster for the vast majority of the site is very concerned about the right weight , which is what we call the value of BR , although pesos like Baidu estimated a value network stations provided , except that the explanation on one side , but not negligible webmasters data , especially friends of the string when the value is changed br wide variation often good friends of the chain, in a short period of time to improve pesos website Baidu be a good start. Ha said today on how to improve the value of br for a short period .

What is the weight of Baidu

Although only one site of the taxable value , but it is still a model study , namely , the weight Baidu Baidu evaluation and participation site. Objectively : Baidu internal construction , construction, and comprehensive external evaluation of the user experience , so many homeowners focus more on building links , good quality to outside the survey chain the main site, increased weight site has a positive sense, then, the chain said the reason for the emperor. Subjective terms : Baidu Pesos based on keyword ranking , with a small c reliable observation, no clue 50 sites before the word get weight 1. I think you want the team website website weight to get a good clear and reasonable classification and also need quality content and the level of the internal structure.

Baidu necessary condition to improve short-term weight

1 seo : Title in the search engine seems to have a large proportion , so that when the title of SEO should reconsider , so do useful work . Why ? Keywords for search engines and the title of hyphenation are very sensitive in terms of the part dies , will not be on the ranking list of keywords, we all know, when we do basic keyword to highlight , so that the search engines will think that the password is very important is that we require peers is the most authoritative industry, then you might give a good ranking and SEO tips and tricks SEO the following conditions are the same for keyword research SEO techniques " seo " will be at the front .

2 , the authority of the site: Why do you want to emphasize the authority of the site is actually a very high value of the authority of search engine , in fact it is also a manifestation of national conditions China , in terms of amplification : experts Chairman and construction built on the sites of state-building SEO experts SEO professions certainly in terms of internal structure or content of the search engine website, but they must be classified in the work of the senior chair , why? Needless to say, the authority of the nation-building no more authority than the President should he not ? so often and gov org discovery might even get a better grade .

3 modifiers title : A title often see this site: "XX best hospital " " The more professional XX ", in fact , this site modifier is not good, not his best or most professional writing , Baidu will think you are the authority , the same user will not feel your site is very professional, and feel the sense of self- deception. From the point of view of search engines, sites of this title keyword weight dispersed , it is not suitable for keyword ranking site Users will also find your site very bad taste, it is not suitable for user access . When writing the title when the site so that we can add a list of keywords that can be , in particular, how to write will not detail here . Friendly Reminder: Site Title if the Baidu website unrecognized not take " official site " on the grounds that he can not afford to play !

last

Wrote what many want to help a little , just to name index weights of keyword ranking very friendly, but the proposal is still many sites more conducive to the classification of the long-term stability and weighting under the supplementary declaration you can gain weight classification long tail keyword is also a very good way , next time I will share how to classify long tail keywords .

https://www.facebook.com/angelina.seo

view also http://china-market-research.blogspot.com/2013/04/seo-for-ecommerce-in-china.html 

February 2014 China online travel sites covering 30 of the top number of users

February 2014 China online travel sites covering 30 of the top number of users 

February 2014 Chinese online travel site users cover 10 before the number of ranking are: Ctrip, Lotto Travel Network, the same way network, swim together, the way cattle travel, Mango, ass mother travel, leisurely tour net, brigade Watch, Tempus International.

https://www.facebook.com/China.tourist

China is Pandas!

You see here me with a pair of two year old Pandas. They are like lively children always willing to play.  Chengdu in Sichuan province is the home of the Pandas in China.  Located in south central China, the Experiment station just outside Chengdu is like a wonderful zoo devoted to only Pandas.  There is a nursery with a very large picture window where you may see the New Born Pandas close up.  The old Panda Preserve was destroyed by a large earthquake a few years ago.  Fortunately they had just remodeled the Experiment Station so tourists can see the Pandas in their natural habitat close up.  If you go to see Pandas be sure to visit them during the morning hours as afternoons they usually sleep which is part of their habit even in the wild.   I had  my photo taken with a large Male Panda a few years ago and couldn't believe how friendly he was since he was born and raised at the Panda Preserve.   Sichuan province is one of the most interesting provinces in China with many nature sights and cultural places to visit.  A kind of sleepy large city with many parks and tea houses, a visit here will be well rewarded with fond memories of old and new China.   Let my 26 years of Travel in China help you plan a special tour customized just for you and your special interests.  You can see my web site at www.interlakechinatours.   Click on the photo for a full screen view!

Why do Chinese people love to travel?

Why do Chinese people love to travel?

Chinese people has become the world's favorite tourist groups. In 2013 , nearly 1.1 billion passengers worldwide outbound tourism , while China is ranked first source , this is the statistics released by the World Tourism Organization ; travel to Hong Kong last year, the number of mainland reached 4070 million, is to go to the year 2001 nearly 10 times the number of arrivals , which is published by the Hong Kong side data ; mainland China this year, 225 million people choose to greet horse bell sounded way in tourism , which is released before the Spring Festival, China Tourism Research Institute forecasts .

Why do people become so love to travel? For some people, travel is an escape. Your life how many disappointments, how many you have reason to escape it . See it all around us : traffic congestion, interpersonal stress, job bitter fight, pandemonium , etc., which is not what we want in life . Our mind often encounter suffocation , fear, anxiety. But no way, you can not go home also can not move either resignation , which had had the day before, which had affected by the gas , the pressure had to bear down - those that make your heart like all things languish lingering , and almost the only way to make your escape from the bleak life of mediocrity , is tourism .

In other words , the greatest charm of tourism lies in the crowded and anxious to get rid of the fetters of everyday life circle (the Spring Festival travel, then this is China 's oldest and most important way old-fashioned festive holiday - the Spring Festival Gala , water like a banquet, relatives and friends visit each other and send each other to the other children lucky money composition - get rid of ) , and fled to a strange , strange , mysterious and exciting afar to experience a moment , " the dream into reality," a wonderful feeling. Therefore , tourism is always something to make you full of joy .

For us increasingly numb to life , the tour is a powerful incentive . Your choice tourist destination, often reflect what you want the day off , which is in a closed conservative daily life is how rare ! Tourism also allows you to rediscover yourself. You go to a new place , you can find a new self , which is your home, at the annoyance of daily chores can not do - travel inspired you with another perspective on the world , to see life.

www.linkedin.com/pub/crystal-wang/65/514/b93/

2013 China e-mail marketing industry data reports

2013 China e-mail marketing industry data reports

A global leader in e-mail marketing services agency webpower recently released in China e-mail marketing industry data reports reveal the overall development of the email marketing industry, and the industry status quo mail marketing applications for the year 2013.

According to statistics, in 2013 the average EDM served whole domestic industry was 94.07%, the average open rate of 11.59% independent, with an average rate of 20.56% independent click to open an average rate of 2.38% independent clicking served.

Throughout China e-mail marketing industry, in 2013, the average delivery rate of 94.07%, compared with the 2012 average delivery rate of 90.90%, representing an increase of approximately 3.49%; average open rate of 11.59% independent, up 14.83%; mean Click to open separate rate 20.56%, up 1.18%; average rate of 2.38% independent clicking served, an increase of 12.26%.

From the full year to analyze trends, email marketing in 2013 show a steady trend of rising demand, which in the second quarter was the most prominent e-mail marketing, one, three, four-quarter performance is more stable. April, May, around June, it was the busiest year period of economic activity, the industry focused enterprise applications mail marketing tool, and actively carry out various types of e-mail marketing campaigns, mail frequent interaction with the user, e-mail marketing, the effect is significant.

2013 Status and Analysis of e-mail marketing industry

2013, to carry out permission-based e-mail marketing has become common knowledge within the industry and the application of e-mail marketing firms. In the e-mail marketing practices, in addition to continue to strengthen in the message header, content and design; mail user data collection and management; thorough application to send personalized e-mail strategy, the email marketing industry showed the following characteristics and trends in overall:

1 normative increasingly demanding. 2013 is the norm in e-mail marketing. On the one hand, the number of e-mail marketing, sending bonus is disappearing, bulk mail business purpose without bulk, resulting in non-delivery system planning of marketing strategies fail, unsubscribe complaints, lack of interaction, such as the negative effects of subsidence effects begin to be felt. On the other hand, countries continue to strengthen the e-mail marketing business activity, personal information security and other aspects of supervision and management, e-mail marketing to further enhance user awareness and legal level, etc. These objective factors that the parties are required to carry out e-mail marketing messages more standardized marketing activities.

2 personalized, precision marketing is the trend trend. Intelligent computing model based on BI to email marketing intelligence-based marketing automation technology becomes more mature, fully human liberation, marketing resources are more fully utilized, the accuracy and efficiency of e-mail marketing to get a double upgrade.


3 diversify email marketing application. Currently, whether domestic or international markets, are conducting an active e-mail integration with other channels. According to a survey from MarketingSherpa 1095 名 marketers show foreign companies have applied to email marketing websites, social media, events, blog, SEO / PPC, direct mail, mobile, print publications, public relations, SMS, in-store advertising and were integrated use of e-mail marketing. The domestic mail and text messaging, micro-channel, APP Push and multi-channel marketing is also effective combination, and breaking the previous simple simple channel integration, be more in-depth exploration of the integration approach. In favor of multi-channel data sharing, multi-channel seamless fit.

4 Optimized become the focus. On the message header, content and design testing and optimization, email marketing has become a business seeking to enhance the effect of the daily strategies. Cloud disk, cloud storage, html5, e-mail and other mail polymerization new feature upgrades, Gif, email dynamic effects, video, adaptive response to changes in design technology for e-mail marketing optimization technology provides a new means.

Chinese e-mail marketing industry is in a stage of rapid development. Although developed regions and abroad awareness on e-mail marketing also has some gaps, but the introduction of foreign advanced concepts and technologies, and advanced e-mail marketing service providers in the e-mail marketing product innovation and localization strategy, are for domestic enterprises to develop effective e-mail marketing, and tap the potential value of e-mail marketing offers a very favorable timing and objective conditions, and now in China, about 10 percent of e-mail marketing application business as an opportunity to begin to carry out data mining based on behavior interactive personalized e-mail marketing, be Comparison of high-end precision e-mail marketing, marketing opportunities for significant returns and market-leading. With the rise in e-mail marketing "big data", rational and efficient data collection, analysis, management and use, to protect the security of data, focusing on the end user's experience level data are also included in the agenda and other issues, a new focus.

In addition, the annual report for 2013 focused on e-mail marketing application four key industries: tourism / hotel services, foreign commerce, retail and traditional corporate status of a specific e-mail marketing, the depth of excavation, by e-mail marketing within the industry with outstanding performance TOP3 3 email marketing metrics data enterprises (average open rates independently, the average independent click to open rate, click the average independent service rate) for statistical analysis, combined with the market environment and the development of various sectors of the background, a detailed analysis of the industry TOP3 enterprises to cope different events change in marketing innovative strategies to provide practical experience in various industries to share the mail host.
https://www.facebook.com/lina.fromshanghai

Touring Changsha and Beijing with Garrett and Bethany

I deliberately waited to post an entry until after my brother Garrett and his wife Bethany came to visit us.  I knew I would have plenty to write about since they had never been to China (or anywhere in the Eastern hemisphere).  Plus, Stacie, the kids, and I had yet to venture outside of the Hunan Province since we arrived last August.  We had been to a few place in Hunan and I have written about those (Zhangjiajie, Jinggang, and Xiangtan), but never farther than that.  We were all looking forward to the visit from family and the opportunity to share in this experience with them. 

Garrett and Bethany arrived on a super late Sunday night flight on China Eastern Airlines that went through Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Shanghai, and then our new home city of Changsha.  I hired a driver to take me to the airport to pick them up.  Well, my fluent-in-Mandarin SUU assistant, Karisa, made the call initially.  I simply had to get picked up, tell the guy in Chinese what the flight number was (I'm getting very good at numbers) and that they were coming in on China Eastern.  I basically said in Chinese "China East airplane," but I think he got the idea.  The conversation was very limited for the 45 minutes to the airport.  I burned through all my Chinese in about 2 minutes and then watched a movie on my iPad while we drove.  When we got to the airport, the plane was delayed.  The driver seemed a little impatient, but he was very nice.  There were a few other foreigners wandering through the airport from other flights and my driver kept looking at me as if to say "Hey, there are some foreigners, how about them?" as if any foreigners would do.

Finally, after waiting an extra hour, Garrett and Bethany finally came through the gate.  I was so excited to see them.  It had been so long since we've seen any family that it was a bit emotional for me.  We had a difficult first semester adjusting to life in China and were just starting to do well in about January.  Personally, I worried a little that seeing family would trigger that "I want to go home now" impulse in me.  But, that didn't happen.  I was just excited to see my brother, who just dropped a fortune to come visit me.  Plus, anyone who thinks he may have come to Changsha for the vacation and planned to see our family on the side has never been to this place.  I did discover later that it was kind of their big anniversary trip.  How romantic!  I'm sure that staying in a small apartment with a family of 7 in a less-than-hygienic country killed the mood pretty quickly.  However, Garrett assured me that after all the island, Mexican, and Alaskan cruises they've been on, they were ready for a new kind of experience.

The morning after the arrival (Monday), they were pretty jet lagged.  I was kind enough to not plan anything that morning.  We woke them up just before noon and took them to Liu Jie's.  Garrett and Bethany had been reading about our favorite restaurant in this blog (we eat there about 4 times a week) and his favorite SUU teacher (besides me of course), Earl Mulderink, had just come to Hunan Normal University for a guest lecture and raved about the great hole in the wall restaurant I had taken him to.  So, Garrett was primed and ready to try the food there.  And the verdict...they loved it of course.  We ended up eating there twice during his stay because it's so good and so cheap.  After lunch, we took him over to the university and showed him the scenic spot on campus with the pagoda and the pond with the goldfish just at the base of Yuelu mountain.  We hiked the back side of the mountain and showed Garrett and Bethany the interesting grave sites and monuments on the mountain.  The Japanese had invaded many parts of China during what they call the War of Japanese Aggression (1937-1945), including the city of Changsha.  On the top of Yuelu is a monument of a Japanese soldier kneeling in apology.  Stacie's friend, Lily, told her that the monument was created by the Chinese to show what they think the Japanese response should be following the war.  We found it interesting and thought Garrett would too since he is a huge history buff.  Plus, Stacie and I have been a little surprised by the continuing level of hostility the older Chinese exhibit toward the Japanese people.  In fact, our friend Wouldbe told us that the characters for Japanese person (日本人) also mean (go f*&# yourself).  So, if you say "Japanese person" in the right context, you are using a profane expression.  And, it's probably no coincidence that they chose the Japanese as the basis for this slur.  

After we hiked the back side of Yuelu, we went down the mountain and walked over to east entrance of the mountain, which is very near to our apartment.  We took the cable car to the top, enjoyed the views of the city since it was such a clear beautiful day, and then took the mountain chute/slide down to the bottom.  We kept joking that Garrett and Bethany were such good luck with the weather.  It was supposed to be raining the entire time they were in Changsha, but it didn't really rain at all.  Plus, the sky was blue and the pollution was minimal.  When you book a flight months in advance, you can't possibly know what kind of weather you're in for, so we were very fortunate in that regard.  After the mountain, everyone was tired.  We chose a very unique kind of dining experience for dinner, the local Pizza Hut.  Garrett really wanted to try this pizza they had with salmon and wasabi on it, but they were all out.  Must be in high demand or something!  Anyway, the food was very good and the Pizza Huts here in China are considered upscale dining.  The people look a bit better dressed when you go in there, which is strange compared to how the restaurants are in America.  

The next morning (Tuesday), we left very early to catch a high speed train to Beijing.  None of us had ever been on the high speed train before and it was quite a nice experience.  There was plenty of leg room, the chairs were pretty comfortable, and the ride was very smooth since we are obviously traveling on rails.  Plus, the security lines are a joke in China.  They figure that nobody would really dare do anything so they make you just put your bag on a conveyer belt and walk through the metal detector.  It takes about 5 seconds.  Then, you go right to your gate.  It's much easier than airport travel.  I was a little nervous about traveling so soon after the knife attack at the railway station in Kunming that killed 29 people and injured a 130 more, but most places in China are fairly safe. The high speed to Beijing takes about 6 hours compared to the slow train, which is more like 20 hours.  Stacie and I had talked about taking the slow train, but thought Garrett and Bethany would probably not want a 20 hour train ride after just getting off an 18 hour flight.  Originally, I thought we would be going to Beijing without a Chinese guide and I was scared to death.  My Chinese is NOT sufficient to get around, but I hoped the subway system would be easy (in most cities it is) and I thought the hotel staff could help us find our tours to the various sites.  However, we lucked out and our friend Wouldbe agreed to take us around Beijing.  He is from Changsha and couldn't afford the high speed train (and we couldn't afford to pay his fare), so he left a day early on the slow train and met us at the train station when we arrived.  Actually, he wasn't waiting for us when we got there.  We exited the train station and stood right out front for about 45 minutes as I tried to call Wouldbe and figure out where he was.  He kept saying, "I'm in the South Plaza" and I would reply "I'm in the South Plaza, just look for me."  Then, he would say "Tell me what you see" and then I would describe the surroundings.  Eventually, we discovered that Wouldbe had gone to the wrong train station and had to take the subway back to where we were.  It was frustrating at the time, but how do you get mad at a guy who slept on a wood slat for 20 hours so he could help your family have an easier time in Beijing.  Wouldbe is the best!  

We found our hotel, which is in a university district where Wouldbe's cousin Wu Kai is going to school.  We thought it would be easier for Wouldbe to be near his cousin and the subway provided very easy access to the city center.  We were very happy with our hotel accommodations, especially considering how cheap it was.  We paid 100 yuan per room per night (about $33).  Since we had three rooms for three nights, our total hotel bill was $300.  So cheap!  Plus, the beds were softer than the ones we've been sleeping on for 7 months and the toilet and shower were Western-style if you know what I mean (no squatting).  Garrett, Bethany, and Nicolas slept in one room (again, damper on any anniversary getaway stuff), Ezra, Wouldbe and I in one room, and all the girls in the other.  First thing Wouldbe said to me when we got in the room is "Do you care if I sleep in just my underwear?"  I said "Knock yourself out."  Wouldbe then said, "Huh?"  Wouldbe also very much enjoyed using the shower.  I think he showered morning and night during our stay because the water was "free."  In China, he explained to me that the students usually only shower once a week because they have to go to a special place and pay to shower.  Otherwise, they just clean themselves in the sink at their dorm room.  So, Wouldbe was living it up with his twice per day showers.  

That first night after we checked in, we headed over to the famous Wangfujing Snack Street where they sell all kinds of delicacies like silkworms, sea horses, star fish, and scorpions.  The place was at the very top of Ezra's To-Do list.  He REALLY wanted to go here and we all wanted to take him.  He made a special deal with his Uncle Garrett that he had to try everything that Ezra would eat.  I told him he needed to make a deal that he would eat anything Lucy would eat.  It's a much safer bet.  But, he was stuck.  If the kids ate it, he would have to man up and eat it too.  When we got to the snack street, I had a harder time wrapping my mind around what we were about to do.  I guess seeing the live scorpions squirming around on those sticks really brought it home for me.  I was carrying Lucy and she buried her face in my neck and said "I don't want to eat it."  I told her she didn't have to eat anything she didn't want to eat.  She felt better, but still would not look at the bugs.  We purchased a stick of scorpions for 25 yuan (about $6).  That's pretty pricey for food in China, but they know the foreigners will come and pay it.  And guess what, they were right.  Ezra took the first nibble and said he thought it was pretty good.  Then, it was my turn and I nearly put it in my mouth about 4 times before finally sticking it in there and chewing.  Then, Garrett ate one, Annie, and then Nicolas.  We all agreed that it tasted a lot like a potato chip and the battle was more psychological than anything else.  Next, we tried the starfish.  We all took a bite, but it was kind of hard to chew.  The consensus on that one was that it tasted like tree bark or wood of some kind.  That's all we tried.  We guessed the fried sea horses would probably also taste like potato chips and nobody really wanted to try the giant juicy looking bugs.  So, that was that.

The next morning (Wednesday), we got on the subway and headed to the train station to catch a train to the Badaling area of the Great Wall.  Wouldbe and Wu Kai (the boys and I kept calling him Wookie) were our guides.  I was concerned about going to the Badaling area since it is the most heavily visited part of the wall, but we were willing to go wherever they wanted to take us.  We waited at the train station for about an hour since we barely missed the earlier train.  As we waited, we noticed people forming a huge line to get to the train.  I asked Wouldbe what they were doing and he said that the seats were first come first serve.  This always makes me nervous since we had such a big group and the children needed to sit close to us on the train.  We got in line, but were kind of far back.  When they opened the gate everyone started pushing and shoving and running to the train.  Stacie told me not to worry and that we would get seats.  So, we walked quickly to the train, got on a car and there were still plenty of seats. I'm still not sure why the Chinese are so averse to forming real lines and to having reserved seating.  It's just nuts over here sometimes when you are trying to get on a bus, hail a cab, or do anything that normally requires a little bit of etiquette.

When we got to the entrance area to the wall, it was about 1 p.m. and everyone was hungry.  There really wasn't much to eat at the bottom of the wall since it was mostly souvenir shops.  We did find some fried rice and fried noodles that were pretty terrible, but we ate them anyway.  Plus, everything is overpriced as you might expect, like having to pay $1.25 for your noodles instead of 75 cents.  My favorite part of going to the tourist sites (apart from the sites themselves) is bartering for souvenirs.  I think the children would agree as we always give them their own money and let them loose to negotiate.  They've gotten really good at it too.  Annie and Nicol got a sweatshirt that says "I climbed the Great Wall,"  Lucy got a shirt that says "I love China" (she SO doesn't love China), Evelynn got a shirt that says "I love Beijing," Nicol and Ezra both got those conical straw peasant hats, and Lucy and Evelynn both got little stuffed animal Pandas (Lucy appropriately named hers Souvenir). Oh, the little girls also got a version of those Russian Matryoshka dolls (nesting dolls) that were Pandas (did I mention they love Pandas).  Lucy is so good at naming her souvenirs.  This one was called "Tons of Heads."  

Oh, so the highlight of the Great Wall was not souvenir shopping and eating bad fried rice.  The wall was absolutely incredible.  It's hard to describe how amazing it was.  The climb was pretty steep in places, but the weather was moderate, the crowd was pretty minimal, and we very much enjoyed the scenery in the area outside of Beijing.  It's always nice to get out of the city a little.  When we were in Zhangjiajie back in September, we felt rushed by our tour guide.  This time, we were able to go very slowly with the children and just enjoy the fact that we were on the FREAKIN' GREAT WALL OF CHINA.  I felt like father of the year taking my children to this glorious place.  You can look at pictures in a book or on the internet, but I was really looking forward to seeing how high the wall was and making some snap judgments about the viability of climbing over the thing during a siege.  Plus, the amount of labor that would go into building a wall that size that stretched across all of China is astounding.  As I walked along it, I kept thinking about how many of the workers were killed during its construction, either from exhaustion or from trying to run away and getting buried alive in the wall by their masters.  We kept asking Wouldbe questions about the wall and apparently he knows as much about his country's history as American students know about theirs. Anyway, we spent all day at the wall, which is what we really wanted to do.  When we got home, everyone commented that this was their favorite part of the trip.  After we returned to the city of Beijing, we found a very nice Japanese restaurant and had Japanese style tofu, hot pot, fresh sashimi, and some other dishes that were suspiciously like American dishes but we loved them.  For example, what kind of Japanese restaurant serves chicken fingers? Also, who serves tuna salad with garlic on white toast? We liked it, but the national origins of the food were a bit puzzling.  The restaurant owners took our picture with a Polaroid camera, we wrote some English sentiments on it, and posted it on the wall.  The Stein family is forever enshrined on the wall of a restaurant in Beijing.

The next day (Thursday), we intended to hit the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace.  We ended up spending far too much time at the Forbidden City and never had the chance to get to the Summer Palace.  I really wanted to see it, but I've never been too big on rushing things.  Often what happens is you barely see a few things instead of seeing one thing really well.  Plus, everyone was enjoying the walk around the Forbidden City.  There was so much to see there and so many interesting stories about events that happened in each of the buildings.  The site is absolutely massive and I know we barely scratched the surface of what was there, but we feel like we saw a great deal.  One of our favorites was touring the Treasure Gallery where we got to see some really old relics from different dynasties.  I think sometimes I forget just how little history there is with my country compared to China.  I remember traveling to London in 2006 with Eric and we were amazed at some of the architecture from the 1500s.  The Forbidden City was even more fascinating because of the design of the buildings and the age of course.   My favorite moment from the Forbidden City, though, was when someone came up to Garrett and Bethany and tried to sell them a souvenir book with pictures of the Forbidden City.  I had taught Garrett that "Wo bu yao" means "I don't want" in Chinese.  With great confidence, Garrett said to the man, "Wo bu wow."  The man laughed and corrected him.  Then, I started helping Garrett to negotiate.  The man was persistent, but we ended up getting Garrett a pretty good deal on the book.  Then, the man made the mistake of trying to sell to me, but I'm a seasoned professional barterer now.  I'll tell you how the conversation went in English, but we spoke in Chinese (as much as I could anyway).  He said, "Do you want a book?"  I said, "I already have one."  He said, "Do you have this one?"  I said no and he offered to give it to me for 20 yuan.  I told him, "I'll give you 1 jiao for it" (less than a penny).  He pulled a coin out of his pocket and said "This is one jiao!"  I said, "I know!"  Then, he said something in Chinese I couldn't understand (probably called me a Japanese person if you know what I mean) and stormed off.  Maybe it was rude of me, but they are so pushy at these tourist sites and think they can take advantage of the foreigners.  One person actually tried to barter with Annie on some item and Annie offered her 50 yuan when the lady wanted a hundred.  Finally, she agreed to give it to Annie for 50, so Annie gave her a 100 yuan bill expecting change.  The lady gave her fake money in return.  But, Annie has been using Chinese money for months, so she refused to take it until the lady gave her the real change.  So, I don't really feel badly about offering the guy one penny for his book.  I do want to add that Garrett was picking up Chinese pretty well for only being here for just a few days.  Some of the words I heard him use in Chinese were: this, excuse me, thank you, hello, goodbye, one, I want, and how much is this?  Not bad, eh.  It was kind of funny how Garrett and Bethany thought our Chinese was good.  I tried to explain to him that it's terrible, but I guess a guy that knows a couple hundred words probably looks impressive to a guy who knows like 5 words.

After we saw the Forbidden City, we took a bus to Tiananmen Square.  I really wanted to see the scene of the 1989 student demonstrations.  We had to go through security to get into the square.  The square looked very massive and we could see Mao's mausoleum in the distance.  However, we took a wrong turn and ended up back inside the Forbidden City.  Unfortunately, once you've entered the Forbidden City, they will not allow you to go back through to Tiananmen.  So, we were stuck and said "Well, at least we kind of saw Tiananmen Square.  That night for dinner, we went to an amazing restaurant and had Peking Duck. Stacie really wanted to try the world famous Peking Duck and so we made it a priority to try this.  In the end, we all loved it, but Stacie thought it was just ok.  She said, "Next to the bacon wrapped duck at the Painted Pony in St. George, this is nothing."  I would probably agree, but this was pretty good stuff. Also, the duck came with a sauce that everyone thought was amazing.  They were like "What is this sauce???"  Finally, I told them "It's just hoisin sauce, haven't you ever had that before."  Apparently, they hadn't.  

The next morning (Friday), we departed from Beijing.  I won't bore you with the details about how we missed our first train and had to take a later train.  It was quite stressful, but I refused to let it ruin the trip.  We had a glorious time and nothing will ever take away from it.  I think this blog has gotten long enough, so I won't tell you about our Saturday outing to Orange Island in Changsha, the Hunan University barbecue where we ate oysters, snails, eggplant, and stinky tofu, or Garrett and Bethany's first experience having church by conference call.  I'll let them tell you about it if you ever have a chance to ask them.  Garrett tells me he is working on a blog entry himself to add to my commentary.  I think that will be wonderful to hear his perspective on the trip too.  When he sends it to me, I will add it to the bottom of this blog and repost the link for everyone. 

Garrett, Bethany and I with Liu Jie and her husband.  They own the restaurant together and they work very long hours. 

Evelynn apparently LOVES Beijing.  We like how her shirt has English and Chinese or what we call "Chinglish."

Garrett and Bethany on Orange Island in Changsha.

Our entire travel party at the bottom of the Great Wall.

It's not often I get a picture with so much love between these two.  They do like each other, but arms draped around each other?  A definite keeper.

Out to eat with Garrett and Beth.  The chopsticks were difficult for them and I think they started getting mad every time we would ask for a spoon for them to use.

The view from the top of Yuelu Mountain in Changsha.  It was such a nice day even though the forecast predicted rain.

We gave up our bedroom to our guests.  Hope they enjoyed the most comfortable bed in the house with it's whopping 2 inches of padding on top of a wood slat.

Kids are obviously psyched about our hotel in Beijing.

Here we are at the Forbidden City.

Maybe their anniversary was a bit romantic after all.

I introduced Garrett to my motto for China, which is "close enough."  The maps, the translations on T-shirts, the quality of products.  Everything to me seems to point to this motto that close is good enough.  In this case, calling South America "South Afarica" is clearly NOT close enough.

Of course we had to play ping pong while Garrett was here.  We often had people walk by and watch us as we played.  For those wondering the score.  I won the first two games and Garrett won the third.  His argument was that he was just getting warmed up those first two games.  My argument was that I started getting tired the third game and that's why he won. 

The cable car ride up to the top of Yuelu Mountain is always so beautiful and relaxing.

It's always nice to have a little English on the menus.  It helps you know what you are in for.  In this case, Garrett and I really wanted to try this pizza, but they were all out of them.

Something tells me Ezra will remember this for the rest of his life.

We had to eat something and to our not so great surprise, they had noodles and rice.  It wasn't very good.

We got this a lot in Zhangjiajie National Park too.  People are at one of the most popular tourist sites in the entire world and what do they want to take a picture of?  That's right, the famous Stein family children!

Our wonderful guides.  That's Wouldbe on the left and Wu Kai aka Wookie on the right.

Uncle Garrett was absolutely amazing with his little nieces.  They absolutely adored him and cried when they had to say goodbye. 

The children wanted to touch the Great Wall.  You can walk on top (which we did most of the time) and you can walk on these sidewalks next to the wall.

It cost us 20 yuan to dress each kid up in traditional Chinese clothing.  Everyone liked it except for Lucy, of course. 

Garrett found this shop with all these traditional Chinese instruments.  He ended up purchasing this one and bringing it home to America.  The guy also had a regular violin hanging on the wall to the left of where Garrett is in this picture.  Garrett motioned to the man that he knew how to play it and the guy pulled it off the wall and handed it to him.  Garrett played a little music for him (even though he had a hard time with it being out of tune), but the people around us were all impressed.  I think it gave Garrett some added credibility in buying this Chinese instrument that he at least has some familiarity with music and isn't just another dumb tourist.  The man taught Garrett some techniques for playing and he plans to practice when he gets home.