China Travel Blog

Stumble Travel is a fun new app that randomly “flies” you around the world to watch top-rated YouTube videos of fun sights and cool things to do that you never knew about.

For example we have videos of the Blue Man Show in the USA, a funny video of a “Storm Trooper” dancing in Shibuya Japan, an impressive drum performance at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and more - try Stumble Travel now, it’s a really fun way to discover interesting new attractions worldwide : )

Note: To view more details about the attraction that each video is about, click on the attraction name which is located just above the video player.

China is showing off lots of military hardware at the 60th anniversary National Day Parade in Beijing on October 1st 2009, including: guided missile launchers, ballistic missiles, tanks, helicopters, new fighter planes, fighter-bombers, AWACS, airborne refueling tankers, etc. Here are pictures and videos of these vehicles and aircraft swarming Beijing for the parade rehearsal (click on the thumbnails for bigger images) -

Lots of Chinese tanks and rocket/missile launchers:

Swarm of Chinese helicopter gunships (WZ-9):

Airborne refueling tanker with J-8 and J-10 jets:

Chinese AWACS aircraft in formation with jet fighters:

Chinese J-10 and J-11 jet fighters:

A video of tanks rumbling down Beijing’s Central Business District:

I recently had a good experience staying at Urban Cube serviced apartments in Causeway Bay. Its location is unbeatable - only a 2 minute walk from Times Square in Causeway Bay, a major shopping & commercial hub in downtown Hong Kong. There is a “Wellcome” supermarket across the street and plenty of shopping, convenience stores, fast food and restaurant options nearby. The Causeway Bay subway station entrance is only a short walk away (also at Times Square) so it was super easy and convenient to get to other places in Hong Kong. The clean and contemporarily furnished rooms have all the usual amenities you would expect: broadband Internet, a flat screen TV, microwave, fridge, desk, etc. One thing though to keep in mind is that when you shower, be careful when turning the faucet handle to the max - the water pressure is pretty strong and can easily send the shower head flying : ) Check out their website for more information and photos!

This is a must read - and don’t stop until the end because that’s when it really hits you! Apparently a jilted Chinese girl sent this message to the Swedish Embassy to warn them of the disaster this man will inflict on Chinese women. I feel bad for the poor girl.

From: XXX
Date: XXX
To: XXX
Subject: Please Help Protect Chinese Women From This Man

I am writing you to inform you of the perverse and inexcusable behavior of Johan Otto Englund who is studying chinese at Shanghai Jiao Tong University now. In Early February of 2009, Johan visited me in my hometown of Changsha city in china. We met online several months earlier and established a cyber relationship ( He contacted me there firstly. ) Johan said to me he was studying International politics in sweden before, who is very interested in chinese politics . He need to see Chair Mao’s, Lei Feng ’s home town in Changsha.

He asked me if i will show him around and meet him in person in changsha. He said to me in letters and phone calls at MSN. I was friendly to see a western friend from overseas to china who is special to see Characteristics in Changsha. I was enjoyed and be proud to be his tour guider that’s all my feeling.

When i was leading Johan to Hunan Museum, Changsha Museum and Martyrs Park , Johan said he was thinking to being a nurse in Africa to help poor ppl and he was working in Nursing home in Sweden, taking care of old ,retired ppls. He traveled lot places in Europe, Africa,South Asia . He will work in European Unions or United Unions forhuman rights. He is also a Vegetarian who doest want to kill animals.

Tour on the road, Johan was sincerely talking about the price of Mineral water, food, travel fee was expensive, he is thrifty . I respected his honest, Sympathy with his student status. I paid myself, sometimes I also paid his travel fee and food.

He said to me many beautiful words all leading me to believe that he is a noble humanitarian wanted a chinese girlfriend as Capable as I. His words persuaded me that he was falling in love with me and I liked him in lot in his noble Integrity. It seems Johan and I were happily togather after this so, I relented to his demand.

I taken Johan to my home twice . My mom cooked dinners for himduring Spring festival to Lantern. My mom was very happy to see a western ppl can speak chinese to her and Johan said ,he ‘d love to have Table Tennis ‘ competitions with my mom . My mom laughed lot and gave him expensive gree tea and good fruits as gifts. Johan didnt give me or my mom anything. He was very enjoyed visited my home and praised house’s decoration deluxe and my mom’s wonderful cooking.

I sent Johan back to Shanghai from airport in changsha . Then i havnt hear any informations from him. I called his cell phone , firstly nobody answer. Later, Johan said, he is busy and has a new gf in Shanghai. It is too late for me but, I hope in all my heart that you will be able to do something about Johan Otto Englund so he will not be able to hurt other girls like he has hurt me. Please do not let him hurt more chinese girls ’s kind heart and friendly respect to ppl from other countries.

P.S. Johan gave me bad flu and asked too much sex.

Name: Johan Otto Englund Pass & Visa No. xxxxxxx xxxxxxx

Other posts you might be interested to check out:

• A Phoenix was supposed to light the cauldron at the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony
• Hilarious poster in China - “The Ten Secrets of Women Call”

Note: This is a continuation of an earlier walking tour of Nanluoguxiang and the Drum Tower

From the Drum Tower, walk south along Di An Men Wai Da  Jie (地安门外大街). Stay on the right (west) side of the road as you head south, and keep your eyes open for a busy little alley on your right. It is about 100 meters south of the Drum Tower. The busy little alley is Yan Dai Xie Jie (烟袋斜街), the entrance to Hou Hai Lake (后海). Turn right into Yan Dai Xie Jie.

YanDaiXieJie has plenty of cute little souvenir shops, apparel stores and cafes/bars - one that I particularly like sells sets of matchboxes with different interesting designs, e.g. Communist propaganda, Time magazine covers, pretty Chinese models, etc. After walking about 200 meters you will see the lake that is Hou Hai.

There should also be a small stone bridge very near you. After you’ve checked out the surrounding shops (there are boat rentals nearby too), cross the bridge and turn left (south) to walk along the lake - the lake should be on your left. Keep walking south along the lake; you will pass many bars and old neighbourhoods. After walking along the lake for about 500 meters from the small stone bridge, you will hit Lotus Lane (He Hua Shi Chang, 荷花市场) - a strip with many fancy restaurants and bars. One of them serves great Peking duck and has a free cultural show every evening.

In the next post I will continue our walking tour to Bei Hai Park!

I spotted this advertisement by the Beijing Tourism Administration in a subway station - is it just me or does the imagery look like Disneyland? I can spot a few of the seven dwarfs, Snow White and a (somewhat evil looking) Mickey Mouse. The castles in the background look suspiciously familar to Disneyland’s, too.

(click on image to expand)

I wonder what the Beijing Tourism Administration was thinking when they made this poster - after all, isn’t there plenty of exciting imagery from Beijing’s tourist attractions they could use? e.g. pictures of the Forbidden City, Great Wall, Temple of Heaven, the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube, etc.

Enjoyed the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony? So did I. In a recent interview with Zhang Yimou, a few alternate ideas for lighting the cauldron were disclosed… the most dramatic one involved using a Phoenix! The proposed Phoenix lighting sequence was illustrated in these sketches revealed during the interview:

A fiery Phoenix chases the final human torchbearer from behind

The Phoenix picks up the Olympic flame from the human torchbearer

Carrying the flame, it then turns around to fly to the Olympic cauldron

The fire bird soars up & around the cauldron, setting it ablaze!

Wow.

However the Phoenix plan was eventually changed due to technical difficulties. It was difficult to project a bright, fiery Phoenix image on the stadium wall - apparently to get the desired dramatic effect all the other lights in the stadium would need to be turned off!

Related posts/pages you might also like:
A hilarious poster in China - “The Ten Secrets of Women Call”
Touching love story from Chongqing, China
Olympics themed hair styles getting popular in Beijing!
Interactive map of Beijing tourist attractions

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Getting a massage is definitely one of the must-dos for anyone visiting China – how does getting pampered for more than an hour for about 10 US dollars sound to you? However, getting a massage in China can be quite a confusing experience for the first timer. There are so many choices on the “massage menu”, often with little or no English translation. Typically, a massage place will offer these different kinds of services:

Foot massage (足疗 - Zhu Liao)

This usually consists of soaking your feet in hot/warm water, followed by 30-60 minutes of massaging your feet. Sometimes they also include a brief period of head and body massage. Highly recommended.

Full body massage (保健 - Bao Jian)

Self explanatory - you are massaged from head to toe. Highly recommended.

Back rub (推背 - Tui Bei)
Your back is massaged and rubbed with oil. Sometimes they also put a warm mat/cloth on your back for therapeutic effect. Highly recommended.

Spine massage (整脊 - Zheng Ji)

You lay on your belly while they massage your neck/spinal column.

Ear candle (耳烛 - Er Zhu)

Only for the adventurous! They light a special candle and stick it into your ear. Apparently, the candle creates a suction effect which cleans out the gunk from your ear. It actually works pretty well – at the end, you can ask them to cut open the candle to show you the gunk that the candle removed.

Scraping treatment (刮痧 - Gua Sha)

They use a tool to scrape your back, which apparently improves blood circulation. Only for the adventurous – it could hurt a little and leave prominent marks on your body for a few weeks.

Vacuum bottle treatment (拔罐 - Ba Guan)

They rapidly heat up bottles and stick them on your back to create a suction/vacuum effect. Some places will even drag the vacuumed bottles up and down your back : ) Warning: Only for the adventurous! It can be painful, and leave very prominent red marks on your back for many weeks.

Wu Dasheng, a local barber is adding to the celebratory mood in Beijing by giving free Olympics haircuts to little kids. These haircuts feature the Beijing Olympics emblem, the Olympics mascots “Fuwa”, the words “I Love China” and other cool designs. Check it out. The first kid looks badass : )

Despite what you hear in the news about Beijing’s pollution and dust storms, it can actually be quite pleasant to take a walking tour around the city. The pollution and dust storms (which only occasionally happens in the spring) have gotten a lot better in recent years. The Drum Tower historical district is especially interesting to walk around as you will get to observe many traditional neighborhoods, local people and shops:

Take a taxi and tell the driver to drop you off at the south entrance of Nan Luo Gu Xiang, which is on Di An Men Dong Da Jie (南锣鼓巷的南门，在地安门东大街). Start walking north up the 700 meters long alley – it is filled with bars, cafes, restaurants and gift/craft shops. Explore and walk north all the way until you hit a semi-major intersection – you should have arrived at Gu Lou Dong Da Jie (鼓楼东大街).

Head west along Gu Lou Dong Da Jie for about 400 meters and you will see the Drum Tower. If you wish you can take a look inside the Drum Tower for a small entrance fee!

In another post, I will continue the walking tour to Hou Hai Lake and Lotus Lane (He Hua Shi Chang; 荷花市场)..