china travel blog

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.

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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)..

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I recently travelled to Xi’an, China and came across this gem of a poster outside a local bar. Apparently it teaches women how to behave and what to do when a guy calls them:

1. When you get a call from a man do not believe he just want to discuss some philosophy with his valuable time, however it is perfect to prove your charm.
2. Emphasizing this is nothing but a game, if you play the game try your best, it will make you happy, nevertheless, it will cost you a lot if you still serious for this game.
3. Man is apt to self-worth, so you can make he confused without any effort. By the way this kind of people is interesting and dangerous. Be careful!
4. When you be enamored of someone, don’t receive his invitations but keep him at an arm’s length.
5. Don’t drunk before men’s invitation, because he may still invite you to have a drink. Don’t ask he pay a big bill that will make him unhappy.
6. Leave before you drank and don’t forget explain to you female partner.
7. When you plan to make a call to a lovely men, remember wear your glasses and breathe smooth without gum. Come down.
8. When you get a ring please wait for others speak first because men like women who are mysterious.
9. Don’t believe what a man said in a call. The best way to understand him is talking with him after he drunk.
10. Don’t hung up the call rudely, if you don’t want to talk with him you can speak softly, ’shi t’.

Such words of wisdom.

A friend recently forwarded me this touching story from the mountains of Chongqing, China -

An incredible love story has come out of China recently and managed to touch the world. It is a story of a man and an older woman who ran off to live and love each other in peace for over half a century.

The 70-year-old Chinese man who hand-carved over 6,000 stairs up a mountain for his 80-year-old wife has passed away in the cave which has been the couple’s home for the last 50 years.

Over 50 years ago, Liu Guojiang a 19 year-old boy, fell in love with a 29 year-old widowed mother named Xu Chaoqin..

In a twist worthy of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, friends and relatives criticized the relationship because of the age difference and the fact that Xu already had children.

At that time, it was unacceptable and immoral for a young man to love an older woman.. To avoid the market gossip and the scorn of their communities, the couple decided to elope and lived in a cave in Jiangjin County in Southern ChongQing Municipality.

In the beginning, life was harsh as hey had nothing, no electricity or even food. They had to eat grass and roots they found in the mountain, and Liu made a kerosene lamp that they used to light up their lives.

Xu felt that she had tied Liu down and repeatedly asked him, ‘Are you regretful? Liu always replied, ‘As long as we are industrious, life will improve.’

In the second year of living in the mountain, Liu began and continued for over 50 years, to hand-carve the steps so that his wife could get down the mountain easily.

Half a century later in 2001, a group of adventurers were exploring the forest and were surprised to find the elderly couple and the over 6,000 hand-carved steps. Liu MingSheng, one of their seven children said, ‘My parents loved each other so much, they have lived in seclusion for over 50 years and never been apart a single day. He hand carved more than 6,000 steps over the years for my mother’s convenience, although she doesn’t go down the mountain that much.’

The couple had lived in peace for over 50 years until last week. Liu, now 72 years, returned from his daily farm work and collapsed. Xu sat and prayed with her husband as he passed away in her arms. So in love with Xu, was Liu, that no one was able to release the grip he had on his wife’s hand even after he had passed away.

‘You promised me you’ll take care of me, you’ll always be with me until the day I died, now you left before me, how am I going to live without you?’

Xu spent days softly repeating this sentence and touching her husband’s black coffin with tears rolling down her cheeks.

In 2006, their story became one of the top 10 love stories from China , collected by the Chinese Women Weekly. The local government has decided to preserve the love ladder and the place they lived as a museum, so this love story can live forever.

Navigating your way around the maze that is China’s cities has just gotten much easier with our new Personalized Map Service. In three easy steps, you can now create and share your very own personalized interactive English China map that shows:

• A map at a location and zoom level of your choosing
• A popup text bubble at any location you desire. The text bubble can contain any information you wish, for example: an address, directions, date and time of the meeting place, etc
• Your map’s recipients can drag, zoom in, zoom out or view the map full screen

Click here to start creating your personalized interactive English China map

Here are some example personalized maps that can be created:
The Bird’s Nest - National Stadium in Beijing
Peter’s House Party
South entrance of Nan Luo Gu Xiang

Visitors to Beijing and Shanghai now have a powerful new tool to browse the top tourist attractions, restaurants, nightlife and shopping destinations in China’s two most cosmopolitan and vibrant cities! Using FunTouristAttraction.com’s interactive attractions map, at a glance you can:

• See where the city’s top attractions are located
• Compare different attraction’s star ratings using the color-coded labels
• Quickly find different types of places (attractions, restaurants, nightlife and shopping destinations) using the color-coded labels

View the Beijing interactive attractions map
View the Shanghai interactive attractions map

FunTouristAttraction.com’s pan-able and zoom-able interactive attractions maps make it super easy for tourists to:

• See which subway stations are closest to their favorite attractions
• Plan their own walking tours to fully experience the sights, sounds and smells of the city that are impossible to experience from a tour bus
• See where the best attractions are geographically clustered within the city

Planning your own self-guided tour in Beijing and Shanghai is now a piece of cake!