Be Careful Booking Hotels in China

You need to be careful booking hotels in China. For my clients I do not book less than 3 star hotels except in very remote areas where it may be necessary. Trying to save money in China can be a disaster if you try to save it with hotels. Here is a typical 2 star or less hotel as an example. The photo with the t.v. is actually the lobby with a desk in the corner as a front desk. I stayed at this hotel in a small tourist town just outside Chengdu just to show people what a local 2 star or less hotel looks like. No western tourists stay here but it was the "best" hotel in the town. Yes, that is a Squat Toilet you are seeing in the bathroom. The shower with no hot water available was a shower head out of the wall and drained onto the floor which had a drain. Note the sink had no hot water faucet. Cost was $35 a night. Breakfast was not included. It did have heat but no air conditioning and this area becomes very hot and humid during the summer. I write this just to show what to expect from most 2 star or less hotels although some can be fairly clean. Tours to China has been my business for almost 25 yearss; but my real passion is the culture and the people.

people.

Marvels of Beijing Arts and Crafts

If you go on a group tour in China, you will no doubt be taken to a souvenir shop - sorry arts and crafts museum. They are of variable quality, the best pieces of course being in the Forbidden City and National Museum. I went to a place mentioned recently in Time Out near the Temple of Heaven, and grandly named as the Hundred Crafts Workshop and Museum.

The 4-storey building houses over 30 studios and over 100 craftsmen and their apprentices, dedicated to protecting hundreds of years of traditional handicrafts. They are there to explain their craft, work on pieces of art in front of your eyes, and of course to sell. I read on the internet an overseas tourism official who called it the Louvre of China. Well, when I got there, I was of course disappointed. There were indeed many, many different kinds of handicrafts on display, some of high quality. There were also hardly any visitors, which is a relief in Beijing, but also not much going on in the various workshops, and few artisans keen to explain what they were doing. Perhaps it was because it is low season now. 

Anyway I took some photos to show you some of the pieces on display. Some belong to one of the "Eight Marvels" of Beijing arts and crafts - jade carving, cloisonne, ivory carving, carved lacquerware, palace carpets, Beijing-style embroidery, inlaid filigree gold lacquerware and inlaid gold lacquer. Others are just fun items.

This is an example of cloisonne, which was brought to China in the 13th century from the West (Islamic culture), and became popular during the Ming Emperor Jingtai's time, especially using blue colours, so the name of this type of art in Chinese is "Jintai Blue". It then became popular in the 18th century in Europe.

A more modern piece commemorates the Beijing Olympics of 2008, with some traditional motifs around the border.

This studio caught my eye. I'm sure you haven't seen such figures before. They are carrying a bride to her wedding in a traditional sedan chair. Strings of firecrackers are carried at the head of the procession. Double happiness signs are everywhere, all in lucky red colour of course! But what are the delicate figures made of?

I had a close look and saw what they call "hairy monkeys" - complete bodies of cicadas which are cleaned up and given hairy bodies. It's supposed to be decorative but I'm not sure I'd want this on my mantelpiece in the sitting room at home!

The craftsman has created a birthday party with musicians.

Same musicians playing in a jazz band!

Something more traditional is papercutting, you need skill and patience to do this!

A popular character to hang up, especially at Chinese New Year time - fu, meaning fortune.

Unusual black and white one.

Beijing Opera face.

There are many differnt kinds of studio, and I nearly got a fright when I passed by these dogs - luckily they were just stuffed animals standing guard outside a studio!

Jade carving is one of the Eight Marvels, and a couple of pictures here are of some delicate jade pieces

This guy caught my eye, and I went in and saw many other funny figures

Nice gifts for newly weds

Not sure what these naughty boys are up to, but will leave it to your imagination!

Getting around in Beijing - car, bus, metro, bike.

I've been away travelling in Xinjiang and South China visiting HIV/AIDS hospitals and volunteer groups, and so have not had a chance to write for some time. What I noticed was that the traffic is getting worse in all the 6 cities we visited, and it's also getting worse in Beijing.

 I look out of my window and can see traffic jams such as these everyday during peak hours.

If I look out another window to the 2nd Ring Road, it's not any better. By the way, the fogginess in the picture is not due to my camera!

The problem is that there are 20 million people in Beijing and 5 million cars. In 2010, 2,000 new cars were sold every day. Now the Beijing government has controlled this to 1000 new car licence plates issued every working day. On top of that, each car is not allowed on the roads one day per week, based on the car licence plate number.  

And there are not just taxis, cars, buses, motor bikes, bikes and rickshaws on the roads, there are also tradesmen on every busy corner where they can do some business, such as this mini street market.

The bus system is very good and cheap (less than 20 US cents), but also crowded. However, you need to speak Chinese to know where to get on and off.

There are even double decker buses, but they are just as crowded. Beware of thieves!

There is a big new transport hub built near my flat in Dongzhimen.

There are  many buses that run from here, as well as the airport express close by and metro station.

The metro only costs 2 RMB (around 30 US cents) for any distance. It is heavily subsidised by the local government to encourage people off the roads. Even though more and more lines are being built, they are insufficient, and getting a train needs a lot of patient queuing and/or pushing to get on! A record 7.6 million passengers - equivalent to the whole population of London - were carried in just one day in September this year! There are already around 350 km of lines in operation, about the same as in New York, and mostly built in the last 10 yrs.

Just outside the shiny new buildings, there are also rickshaws available. Remember to bargain with them or you will be ripped off. They are especially welcome during rush hour when taxis are very hard to find. Taxis are cheap compared to the West, around 2 RMB per km.

There is also a long distance bus station next to the transport hub, and you can take a bus trip to Jinshanling which is one of the most spectacular parts of the Great Wall, or to Panshan, a mountain area a few hours drive away.

Motor bikes are restricted, but you can still see many of them in this parking area.

I prefer to cycle around when I can. You feel so free and happy when you can go faster than all the cars stuck in the traffic. There are many small roads with trees on both sides which are cool in summer. Cycling down the hutongs to see the local life is also interesting. There are bicycle parks to keep your bike safe. However, theft is not so much of a problem  now. I think the thieves focus on mobile phones, iPads and laptops these days.

If you get a puncture or need some repair work done, then it's quite easy to find a bike repair man. 

And I think it's so romantic to take your girl (or boy) friend on the back of your bike, something you don't see much of these days.

Note how the cars are going down the wrong way on a one way street.

You can do it even in broad daylight and get away with it!

Don't Overlook Factory Workshops

When guides mention Workshops, it doesn't really sound that interesting at first; but don't overlook the opportunities to see crafts and local products being made by hand. You do not have to buy them of course. Above you will see a rug workshop where they are all made by hand. I think it is amazing that they can make these rugs using just a photo or drawing to make each rug individually. I have several in my home and they wear like iron. The other photo is a small workshop that makes leather products. I sketched out a shoulder bag that I wanted made for a day bag to carry my cameras, water and snacks in during the day. The young man made some suggested additions and I picked out the leather and color that I wanted. I came back in three hours and it was all finished. The quality and workmanship is excellent and only cost me $22 U.S. There are many large workshops as well as local small ones that craft many different products including pottery, rugs, clothing, cloisonne, furniture, jewelry, jade and the list goes on. Ask your guide to give you some suggestions and I am sure they will be able to give you ideas. One of my favorite places for seeing and buying hand made crafts is LiJiang Old Town north of Kunming. As a tour operator I go to China often and will be spending four days in LiJiang and I am sure to find some special gifts to bring home for Christmas too. For more ideas contact us at interlak@eskimo.com

Biking in China

There are many places to go biking in China; however Yangshuo area outside of Guilin is my favorite because of the scenery and the town. You can take the Li River Day Cruise from Guilin to the small town of Yangshuo set amongst the haystack like hills surrounding it and along the Li River. There are flat roads and trails to ride and you really will get the feeling of being out in rural China amongst the locals. It does help to have a guide with you and there are many local guides who speak excellent English and can translate and show you the places to visit. Bikes rent for about $2 to $3 U.S. per day. You can also hike in this area as well as go on a motorized rickshaw ride if you do not want to go biking. Guide costs vary depending on the length of day. The shirt I have on I picked out because the Chinese characters seemed nice....it actually says, "I have No Money". Great to ward off the sellers and got many chuckles from the locals who thought I didn't know what it said. As a Tour Operator to China for over 25+ years, I still like to take time out to enjoy myself with a day of fun now and then. For more information and details on Travel in China and specialty customized tours to your interests, contact us at interlak@eskimo.com Our web site is at www.interlakechinatours.com

Best Place to Visit and Hike the Great Wall

Probably the top interest destination in China for most tourists is visiting the Great Wall. Perhaps no thought is given to where the best place is to visit for lack of knowledge however. For the average tourist, my favorite area on the Wall is the Mutianyu section. Not many tourists here and it is the most beautiful section with lush green vegetation. The large group tours go to a closer section to Beijing accessible by freeway which is called the Badaling section where you will often find 80 or more buses in the parking lot and very crowded. Both sections have cable cars that take you up onto the Wall. Once you are on the Wall at Mutianyu you may hike out left which is quite level. About one mile out is a section not repaired to show you what it was like when it was in ruins. Few tourist go beyond 100 yards so often you may hike out to areas where there are few if any tourists for great photos. For avid hikers there are other sections with more challenges which I will be glad to share with you if you contact me by email. interlak@eskimo.com Tours to China and Tibet has been my business for almost 25 years. Let my experience and local Chinese associate partners help you plan your own special tours to China. Customized tours to your interests and needs is our specialty.

Hotel Deals on the Internet

For those searching the internet for the best deals in hotels; one needs to be very careful to read the fine print. My wife and I just returned from a trip to Spain. Although I am a tour operator to China, it is our off season vacation which she arranges every year. Needing a hotel the night before we left Madrid, she looked for a location close to the airport and reasonable just for one night. On Price Line she found the Hotel San Pablo just 5 minutes from the airport since we had a 07:00 flight the next morning. The cost was $49.90 Euros or $67.37 U.S. dollars. When we arrived posted behind the desk was their rack price of $39.00 Euros or $52.65 U.S. The clerk was embarrassed about it and gave us a large suite to compensate since we had pre-paid the one night. No breakfast was included. In China it can be the same when booking a hotel. Be sure the hotel is as they listed as a Sofital and Sofitel are two different hotels. One being a major international hotel and the other being a "knock off". One is well located and the other in Beijing although advertised as close to Tiananmen Square is actually 1.2 miles away.
Is Breakfast included as well as the 15% to 20% service charge included. Breakfast per person can be from $12 U.S. to $25 U.S per person if not included. You get what you pay for not matter where you travel these days so be careful what you are purchasing or booking. For more tips on travel in China check our web site at www.interlakechinatours.com 25 Years of Experience and we too get hooked now and then travelling in other countries during our off season.