Travel To China

Eric asked:


We took many China tours in the past years and enjoyed each of them. When we came first to China, we were with a big group that was a popular way of traveling then, but when we returned to China for a second trip, we decided to take a private tour that went on our way. We chose Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou as our preferable destinations that our friend in Shanghai recommended highly. We booked our trip with a China travel agent that turned out having arranged our tour capably and perfectly!

We got into Shanghai on one fine afternoon in the spring and met our first private guide, who waved hand to us and smiled. We greeted each other warmly and began our drive to the city. On the way she gave us a short welcome presentation and confirmed our schedule and then a general introduction to Shanghai. Our interests were raised quickly and arrived in our hotel without sensing of time passing! I guess we actually spent at least one hour on the transfer.

Our hotel was located just near the Nanjing Road that enabled us to have the convenience to explore our free days. Shanghai is busy and modernized. The guide suggested we spend our first free day to the Nanjing Road and the Bund. Nanjing Road gave us an impression of a “shopping paradise”. People were all busy at Nanjing Road with many strolling along the busy street looking for bargain sales. We desired to try our skills that the guide taught us and indeed we got some luck. The bund was lined with different architectural styles from old China to modern influences in the buildings. It is a must-see metropolitan destination if you are in Shanghai!

After one free day we headed for Suzhou on the third day morning with our private guide and driver. The guide seemingly had too much good things to say about Suzhou that she explained all the way long (actually 1.5 hrs drive). We were impressed and excited to arrive. Suzhou is located in the south of Jiangsu province, some 80 miles west of Shanghai, along the old Grand Canal. The city has been famous for its fabulous Chinese classical gardens for many centuries. Chinese people are proud of this and have a proverb: “Above is Heaven; below is Suzhou”. However, we both found Suzhou should also be noted for another thing: its beautiful women! In the street, the restaurant and tourist site, we saw so many oriental beauties. The city itself is dotted with lakes and ponds connected by a spider’s web of canals. And all the canals are lined with whitewashed houses with gray-tiled roofs. We visited two famous gardens that we enjoyed very much and also pay a short visit to the silk factory to see how the silk was produced and dyed. It is amazing!

Hangzhou was the counterpart of Suzhou. The West Lake with boating was really a highlight of our visit in Hangzhou. It does not only have the moving legend but also the beautiful scenery. The guide told us there were Ten Featured Sceneries in the West Lake Area that formed during the Southern Song Dynasty. They are distributed around and within the lake, and serve to show the charms of the West Lake - through a use of varying locations, varying seasons, and varying times of day. Each scene is unique, and when taken together, are said to present the essence of West Lake scenery, and form the core of any West Lake tour. In the afternoon we went to the Dragon Well Tea House to taste the world famous green tea. Dragon Well Tea is loved by both local people and foreigners because of its four unique wonders - emerald green color, aromatic flavor, sweet taste and beautiful appearance. We purchased some tea for ourselves at a very good price.

We must also mention the nightlife in Hangzhou. We stayed in a very comfortable hotel just beside the West Lake. The night view of the lake was different from that in day. We loved our leisure walk around the lake very much. It was also a happy experience to enjoy the culture performance in the city center. The guide arranged this for us flexibly since it was originally excluded in our schedule.

We ended our trip in Hangzhou with a memorable visit to the water town named Wuzhen. Wuzhen is about 80km from Hangzhou and is maybe the most famous one of this kind of beautiful towns where local people still rely on the river network. Wuzhen shows its two-thousand-year history with its numerous ancient stone bridges floating on crystal waters, stone pathways between the mottled walls and its delicate wood carvings. Also, setting it apart from other towns, it gives a unique experience through its profound cultural background. It is a birthplace of a galaxy of talents. In the year of 1991, Wuzhen was authorized as the Provincial Ancient Town of History and Culture, so ranking first among the six ancient towns in Southern China.

Finally we got back to Shanghai in the late afternoon after the Wuzhen water town! The following day we were taken to visit the must-sees in Shanghai: the Shanghai Museum on Renmin Square, the fabulous Yu Garden at the Old Quarter and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. We learnt a lot about Chinese history, Chinese culture and China’s modern development. We were amazed at China’s fast economy development and growth. It is just in its youth! In evening we were suggested to have a night cruise in the Huangpu River which turned out a unique experience to see the night view of the Bund lined with lighted styles of buildings. It was spectacular!

We spend one more free day in Shanghai to purchase some gifts for our friends and family before we left for our home. On the last day when our guide - no, our old friend - came to pick us up at the hotel, we had to say Goodbye to this wonderful country and our old friend. After we checked in at the airport, our old friend said “See you later” with hand waving and smile on her face, like the way she was greeting us at the airport the first day. Yes, we will definitely see each other later!



Kyra

Shane Lee asked:


This article is about the Peking roast duck and you can find some useful information in it if you are planning your China vacations now.

The history of the Peking roast duck can be traced back to as early as the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368) when it was listed among the imperial dishes in the Complete Recipes for Dishes and Beverages, written in 1330 by Hu Sihui, an inspector of the imperial kitchen. Details regarding the cooking process were also described in this early cookbook.

In the early 15th century, when the Ming Dynasty capital was shifted from Nanjing to Beijing, roast duck remained one of the famous dishes on imperial court menus. According to the local history, the earliest roast duck restaurant in Beijing was the old Bianyifang Restaurant, which opened during the Jiajing reign (1522-1566). ( info for your China travel and vacations ) Distinct from the method in which the duck is hung from a hook in the ceiling of the oven and roasted over and roasted over burning wood, the Old Bianyifang Restaurant roasted its ducks with radiant heat. The walls of the oven were first heated with sorghum stalks whereupon the duck was placed inside and cooked by the heat given off by the walls. A duck roasted in this manner is crisp to the touch and golden brown in appearance; its flesh is both tender and tasty.

There are literally dozens of restaurants that serve roast duck, but perhaps the best known are Quanjude and Bianyifang. Each of the two has a different method of preparation, but each produces a delicious result. Quanjude roasts their ducks over burning wood while Bianyifang roasts its ducks using radiant heat from the oven walls.

(1). Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant ( Since 1864 ) :

Nowadays, if you talk about the Peking roast duck, everyone will mention the Quanjude roast duck. It is like the representative of the Peking roast duck. Quanjude has several stores in Beijing and the most famous one is the Qianmen (Qian gate) Quanjude. The Qianmen Quanjude is not only a restaurant to eat roast ducks, but also a place of tourist attraction now. The furnitures here are very “Traditional Chinese” and you can feel the charm of the Chinese culture here. There are 30 VIP rooms and 1 president room in this restaurant. ( info for your China tours and vacations ) The president room is the place where the Chinese leaders accommodate the foreign leaders. Many famous people have been here. One interesting thing I found is that you can write some Chinese charaters in the body of the duck with a Chinese writing brush before it is roasted. These charaters will then appear in your finished roast duck. Pretty funny! :-)  There is an old shop in this Quanjude restaurant and you can find the look of the Quanjuede in 1930 there. Lots of people think this is the best place for the travellers to find the “Old Beijing feeling”. You can even find the map of the old Beijing Hutongs here. The roast ducks are very delicious in Quanjude for sure, but what attracts so many people here is the history and traditional Chinese culture of this old restaurant. Here is the address: 32 Qianmendajie Street, Beijing. Tel: 010 - 67011379.( Cost is about 110 rmb for one person ) To get here, you can take the Line 1 subway to the “Qianmen” station.

(2).  Bianyifang ( Since 1416) :

The history of Bianyifang is even longer than Quanjude ( more useful China vacations info at Travel2ChinaInfo Dot COM ) . The Chinese characters for Bianyifang has two meanings: one is “cheap restaurant” and the other is “convinient restaurant”. At first, I thought the name means cheap. :-)  Lots of people made the same mistake. Actually the “Bianyi” here means “convinient”, not “cheap”. The cost of Bianyifang restaurant is about 70 - 80 rmb for one person. Address: 87 Tiantanlu Street, Chongwen District, Beijing. Tel: 010 - 67014281.

Copyright belongs to Travel2ChinaInfo Dot COM .  You can find more information about china travel, lhasa travel guide and travel tips from our web site.

NOTE: Permission is granted by the copyright owner to disseminate this article in whole or in part provided credit is given to the author (with a link to the article’s source URL Travel2ChinaInfo Dot COM ) and this NOTE is not removed.



Summer