Category Archives: china

Hongqiao Pearl Market, Beijing

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Hongqiao Pearl Market, Beijing 449
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

The Hongqiao Market building was under repair during my April 14 visit, but I think will be beautiful when finished before the Olympic Games.    It is located across the street from the metro stop for the Temple of Heaven, a Beijing Attraction you’ll want to visit.     A day in Biejing would be a shame but if that is all you have and you have great stamina you could visit Tianenmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven,  and Wanfujing Street for shopping, food stalls, and souvenir vendors.   All these places are along the excellent Biejing Metro which is very crowded but clean, cheap, and efficient.   Taxis are also cheap and easy to find if you prefer that approach.  For taxis try to have a written description of where you are going to show the driver.  The subways announce the stops in English.

Hongqiao Pearl Market is one of several huge market buildings in Beijing where there are hundreds of vendors in small stalls hawking their wares. I didn’t see any Pearls here but bought a suitcase to carry home all the stuff I bought at … other markets!

Note that the vendors in China often practice a kind of cutthroat capitalism that is not common in the USA. Initially the price they quote you will be far above reasonable and the game is to get them to come down a huge amount while they make you feel guilty for doing that. I enjoyed the little jousting with the vendors, especially because they tended to have good English and I’d bring up other topics to discuss.

However I think the aggressive style common in the markets might upset or intimidate people who were simply looking for a good deal and in that case you should learn to say (phoentic spelling here) “Byao Byao” which means “no!”.

Tian Tan Buddha, Lantau Island Hong Kong

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Over at Travel and History I posted one of Charley’s buddah pix from Hong Kong.   Thanks to the eee PC crash I lost over 100 of my Hong Kong area and train trip pictures from the first 3 days of the China adventure.  Luckily Charley and I had each taken quite a few.

Tian Tan Buddha

This was the beginning of our adventure that took us from Hong Kong’s piers out to Lantau Island via a big ferry, then via a small ferry to unknown China Sea territories looking for the Tai O fishing village, which we did not find.     

Pork Ball Restaurant, Shanghai Near Bund

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Pork Ball Restaurant, Shanghai Near Bund 596

Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

On the China trip I enjoyed the Shanghai street food more than that of Beijing but not sure if that really represnted differences in the cities of just where I happened to go.

These Shanghai dough balls had a rolled pork ball in the middle and were then steamed and fried on one side. Yum! However my favorite dish during the 14 day trip was the simple, but simply perfect Wonton Soup served near our hotel in Shanghai.

PEK Airport – Beijing China. Know Your Terminal! Hint – it is probably “3”

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PEK Beijing – Know Your Terminal!

When travelling to or from Beijing’s Airports, keep these items in mind:

BCIA stands for “Beijing Capital International Airport” and is commonly used when referencing the Beijing Airport even though PEK is the same Airport.

Know your Terminal! PEK is a *huge* Airport, and the taxi will need to know which Terminal you are departing from. My United Airlines PEK to SFO flight was from Terminal three and I think most international departures are now from that terminal. Your hotel concierge may ask you “which airport” and I think they really mean “which terminal”. Clear this up before getting in the Taxi as the Chinese Taxi drivers rarely (read that as “never”) speak English. If you plan to use Taxis in China be sure to get the excellent printed cards from your concierge (or make some yourself before you leave) that list locations in Chinese so the driver will understand where you want to go.

PEK is the Airport Code for Beijing’s main Airport which, without much traffic, is approximately a 40-50 minute taxi ride from most areas of the city. The cost for the taxi should be about 100 Yuan, perhaps a little more. In Beijing and Shanghai always ride in taxis with meters to avoid scams.

Note: This is a repost from AirportCityCodes.com, where this got no traction. I’m trying to see how the ranking will differ at JoeDuck which has higher authority with Google, seemingly pretty much for anything I write about!

Beijing Table Tennis

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Beijing Table Tennis

Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

We had a lesson from a former member of the China National Team here in the TT club located in the Basement of the huge sporting goods store on Wanfujing Street, Beijing’s big shopping area.

Translating for me is my pong pal Dr. Kevin Wu, the best medford oregon dentist who is also a very good table tennis player.

Forbidden City, Beijing

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Forbidden City, Beijing

Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

The Forbidden City and Great Wall of China are the top attractions in China even for locals and people who come to Beijing from around China. In April we enjoyed the fact there were no crowds (though I think a few weeks later – May 1 – is the worst time to travel in China because people are all over the place celebratintg May day).

China’s Great Wall – Simatai

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China’s Great Wall – Simatai 812

Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

At Simatai the Great Wall of China goes up from a valley in both directions, then winds around a steep moutainside. Incredibly this wall was begun over 2000 years ago, though I think most parts were completed during the Ming Dynasty which ruled China for about 300 years – from 1368 to 1644. The Ming were the last of the Han and were deposed by the Qing Dynasty who ruled until the Nationalists kicked their butts in 1911.

Foreign Experts Building Hotel Buffet

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Foreign Experts Building Hotel Buffet 607

Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

The morning breakfast buffet at the Foreign Experts Building Hotel in Beijing was free and exceptional. Rice, vegetables, wonton, Bao, eggs cooked to order, bacon, sausages, and much more made the morning meal a huge feast. FEB was an exceptional hotel at the price we paid – about $80 per night US due to some special deal from our Beijing Friend Kevin Wu, the best dentist in Medford Oregon. We had a huge 1BR suite. Even Hotels.com pricing was more than double this and rack rates were about $500 US per night for our large room .

Beijing Tea Scam: Beware Many Tea Houses near Forbidden City / Tiananmen Square

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Beijing Tea Scam: Avoid the Si Zhu Xiang Tea House near Forbidden City / Tiananmen Square

Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

Update:  Generally, if you are approached by a good English speaker there is a *very good chance* he or she is trying to scam you or sell you something rather than “practice English”.  In Tea houses confirm pricing *before you sit down* or you’ll probably be in for a surprising bill.

Beware the SI ZHU XIANG Tea House in Beijing!

I fell for the Beijing Tea Scam (also common in Shanghai) where you are approached by a person claiming to want to practice english, then subtly lured to a Tea House for a “Tea Ceremony” that is hugely overpriced.

The scam is so good I have learned that many other travelers have also been duped by this because it preys on the fact that you don’t want to insult anybody and generally are unfamiliar enough with the landscape, money, etc. that you just pay the bill.  My bill was $85 for a few tea samples. I’m guessing some who fall for this never even realize that they have been scammed – rather just think they paid “a lot” for Tea as I did untili I realized this was a very clever con game common in Beijing and Shanghai.    I have challenged the charge and cancelled my card and will post follow ups on this later.

The China Tourism groups and guidebooks are guilty of NOT warning people enough about the fact that generally if you are approached in popular tourism areas by people who can speak english they are usually working some sort of sale or scam.   Several sources suggested to me that it is common in China for people to come up and ask to take pictures and “practice” their English.  Although I’m sure there are exceptions to the rule, the notion that people are looking to practice their english is only true in that that they are improving on these very clever short cons.     I think I was approached at least ten times – mostly in Beijing – sometimes it was obvious they were working to sell me something but sometimes not at all apparent.

I can only hope that law enforcement does something to prevent this during the Olympics because a lot of this may overshadow the experience of meeting some of the wonderful people of China, only a tiny number of whom are perpetrating the scams.

Beware the SI ZHU XIANG Tea House in Beijing!

Looking for legitimate tea?   Try Beijing Tea Street but still make sure you understand pricing.  China really takes tea seriously and some are very expensive.

Hung Hom Train Station, Kowloon, Hong Kong

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Here at Starbucks in Kowloon´s Hung Hom train station I am getting a good wireless signal but not sure if it is Starbucks or not.

Things here seem to be named in complicated ways with some overlap.  This is the key Hong Kong train station to mainland but it is in Kowloon and called Hung Hom.    We will board for Shanghai in about an hour and take the 20 hour train north, hopefully with some scenery.   We have soft sleepers but not the top class of them  and I´m not clear how comfortable we will be yet, but I think just fine.