Flavours of North West China

I went to an interesting restaurant near my home a few days ago. It is called Xibei restaurant and those of you who know some Chinese will understand that they serve North West Chinese style food. The food is very fresh, healthy countryside food. The cuisine has more grain-based foods since they grow more grains in the north, so many different types of noodles, pancakes, dumplings and buns are found. There is also the Muslim influence from the sizeable Muslim population in the NW, especially around Xian, Lanzhou and Ningxia.



As soon as you enter you get a warm feeling from the red lanterns and folk papercuts.

And look at the colourful rural patterns of jackets worn by the staff welcoming us at the door.

As they lead us to our table we walk by traditional containers of different kinds of grain.....not just plain old rice but various beans, millet, maize and barley.

It feels as if we have entered a traditional Shaanxi village where the villagers live in caves dug out of the hillside. Here the "cave dwelings" serve as private dining rooms.

Note the "fish" hanging from the window, they symbolise a wish for a plentiful harvest.

Some more harvest produce

We start our meal with some cold starters...cucumber dipped in sauce...

....followed by cold noodles and wheat gluten in hot sauce.

 Bean curd is eaten everywhere, and this type has a special texture and has a soy sauce based dipping sauce.

 

Lamb is a popular meat in NW China and prepared in various ways, roasted, fried, sizzling plate, and stewed.
Even though there is no town by the sea in NW China, they do have freshwater fish. Here is a slow-baked fish dish which is so soft that even the bones can be eaten.

And finally I think you can't guess what this honeycomb like dish is! It comes in its wooden steamer, and is like macaroni...little circles of pasta, made from buckwheat...very good for eating with the spicy food.

That is the end of our NW China meal. You really feel like you are in a rural village but actually you are near the city centre of Beijing. If you want to try the food in its original surroundings, you could take a side tour to Xian (see Jun 2010 blog) and see the terracotta warriors at the same time. Feel free to ask me for more details.

Shenyang Home of the Last Emperor Pu Yi

As a Tour Operator to China for the past 25 years, I am always looking for special places to send people especially around or near by Beijing for those with limited time.  For history buffs, I checked out Shenyang where the Last Emperor Pu Yi went after he left the Forbidden City.  He was considered a puppet for the Japanese who occupied north eastern China.  The photos here are the home where he lived for a time before the revolution had him sent to prison.  If you have seen the movie  "The Last Emperor" you will know more about his banishment to Shenyang.   Besides this historical mansion you will see the Guanju and Qingning Palace, a much smaller version of the Forbidden City in Beijing built in 1637.   Few tourists tour this area not far from North Korea so there are not the large crowds of people.  This area is also more similar to China of the 1980's and '90's which has not changed much.   Click on the photos for a full screen view.

2 For 1 China Tours a Bargain?

This is my 25th year of travelling to China with over 50 trips and 20+ years doing Tours To China.  I have seen the very good and the very poor tours.  I have also taught a class on Travel in China here in Seattle at the University of Washington and some of the Community Colleges as a one day seminar.  A bargain is only a bargain if you are happy with the results and the value you received.  One of the often over used phrases is

"2 For The Price of 1"  for just about everything these days including the tour business.  I receive many advertising flyers and one particular one advertised a 13 Day tour including Shanghai, Xian, Beijing and a Yangtze River Cruise.  Cost was based on 10 or more people in a group  (sometimes as many as 40 or 50)  The advertised cost was $6,899 per person and Did NOT Include the International airfare.   If you booked early you would get 2 tours for the price of 1 or  $3,449 per person dbl. occ. for a group tour.  I took their tour itinerary and sent it to my partner in China without telling him the cost and asked him to quote it to me using the same level of hotels, boat and a few more sights.   I could do a 15 Days similar tour with a 4 day Yangtze River cruise on a 5 Star Line, plus one additional city to visit for $2.497 pp dlb. occ. for 10+ people not including the international air.   I can do the same tour as a Private tour for from 2 to 4 people for $3,297 pp dbl. occ.   Smoke and Mirrors can fool some of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time.   Do your research and compare what you get for what you pay.  Deluxe hotels can mean just about anything.  It takes a  Knowledgeable, Professional tour planner to really give you what you want for what  you are able or want to pay.   China's economy is flourishing these days as you will see.  For more information contact us at    Interlak@eskimo.com   web site is  www.interlakechinatours.com    in Seattle doing Quality Tours to China since 1992.  Ask for our references of some past customers who do not mind being contacted either about their tours or my services.  Click on the photo for a full screen view!

Happy Lantern Festival 2013

Feb 24th is the 15th day of the first lunar month and the first time in the year to see a full moon (if there is no smog!). It is the official end of the Chinese New Year festivities, and is marked by the Lantern Festival. In Chinese, it is called the "yuan xiao" festival, and we all get together as families and eat small sweet dumplings, called yuan xiao, on that day.

One can see many lanterns hung up and children playing outdoors with all kinds and colours of lanterns, some to be floated up into the sky with their personal wishes or new year resolutions.

 

To mark this happy occasion, I have taken some pictures of different designs of Chinese lanterns you can find in the market for home decoration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taking Adopted Chinese Children Back to China

Several years ago I was asked as a  China tour operator whether I did tours for parents of adopted Chinese children wanting to go back to China to find their roots.   It becomes important to the children once they are in their teen years to know more about their culture and where they came from.   I put together my first tour for parents and their child with a very rewarding result for both them and myself.  Since then my name has gotten passed around and I now do several tours each year.   All had their own rewards and results. Most came from orphanages but not all.   One I like to tell about is a girl that was adopted when she was 5 years old and had been raised in a private family home by caregivers .   She had no memory of her past.  We managed with much research to find the family.  The family invited her and her Mom to dinner since the husband was a chef in a restaurant.  She saw her home and the room that was hers and met all the rest of the family.  This is only one of the stories I could tell but enjoy sharing it with you through my blog.  This has become very rewarding for me as well knowing that I have added to many lives in some small way.

Happy New Year of the Snake

Today is the first day of the year of the water snake. Snakes are not generally liked, feared even, and this year may have its share of unhappy incidents as in previous snake years, such as Pearl Harbour Attack1941, 9/11 Tiananmen incident 1989, or even the Great Depression of 1929.

Many "experts" have been making their predictions. Feng shui master Mak Ling-ling predicts the stock markets will enjoy a smooth first-half before becoming turbulent in the second half of the year. Look at all the gold ( and longevity peaches) in the picture above.  "It's just like the movement of snakes -- fast, aggressive and sharp, but cunning and tricky at the same time," she tells AFP.

Let's hope all goes smoothly for all of us, including the next Chinese President Xi Jinping who was born in a snake year (1953), as was Chairman Mao. Were you born in the Year of the Snake (...1941, 1953, 1965, 1977..)? Then according to China Daily, you are charming, popular, analytical, sociable, but not very communicative, and....well you can see the other characteristics, good and bad in this link: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-02/06/content_16206209_7.htm

The snake pictures in this blog come in different shapes and sizes, but mostly are drawn with friendly faces to make them more likeable!

We had our traditional family dinner last night of too much food (including home made dumplings), and watched the 4 hr CCTV show, with the noise of fireworks in the background. There were less fireworks let off this year after the government reminded us the pollution index in Beijing would still be quite high these days - after all no one wants the smog to come back!

The Chinese character with an snake-like left side adaptation is "fu" or happiness. 

Snake years are sixth in the cycle, following the dragon. So how did the snake get into the zodiac in the first place? According to China Daily, legend has it, long ago, snakes and frogs were friends. Snakes had four legs then while frogs didn't. Crawling frogs worked very hard, not only did they seek food for snakes but also caught pests for human beings. Therefore human beings liked frogs and hated snakes.

Snakes then turned vicious, they would bite human beings and animals whenever they got the chance. The Jade Emperor in heaven tried to persuade the snakes to be kind, but the arrogant snakes refused, so he ordered his soldiers to cut off all snakes' legs and give them to the frogs. Now with four legs, frogs became more hard-working. Legless snakes, determined to make a change, began eating pests for human beings and to combat floods from dragons. They offered their body as medicine to treat patients.

 

In order to encourage snakes to do more good, the Jade Emperor put them into the Chinese zodiac list - sixth in the cycle, following the dragon. After that, snakes didn't attack human beings all of the time, but if they did, occasionally driven by evil, they would cast off a layer of skin to show their determination to restart being kind. But snakes have always held a grudge against frogs, biting whenever the two meet.

Whatever the case, it's a time for family reunions and celebrations all over the country. I will have a rest for a couple of days and then my first clients of the year arrive in Beijing.

Thank you all for your help and support during the outgoing Year of the Dragon, and I wish all of you and your families all health and happiness during the incoming Year of the Snake.

Great Wall Locations to Visit

There are many locations to visit the Great Wall much depending on your time available and what you want to do.  The most popular place with tours and buses to just visit the Wall is Badaling section which I really do not recommend if you are on a private tour or on your own.  Usually there are 50 to  80 buses in the parking lot and it is very crowded with many aggressive sellers.   Mutianyu is my choice with few buses and better scenery as you can see by the photos here and far less crowded.  If you are more into a bit of hiking with fewer tourists, then Jinshanling or Simatai sections are nice to hike between about 40 miles north of Beijing but not a stroll in the park.   If you are looking more for a wild section with few repairs the Huanghua to Zhuangdaokou Guan loop which takes three hours of more to hike and climb are for the avid hikers and climbers.   No matter which section you go to it is overwhelming and photos can never substitute for a real visit.  Take a lunch along for fun if you like although there are restaurants at Mutainyu and Badaling sections.  For more information see my web site at  www.interlakechinatours.com   I am celebrating my 25th year in travel through China and am glad to share the latest travel information with you.    interlak@eskimo.com