Travel China and Beyond

Places to See in China / Beijing — Beijing DongYue Temple Visit

One of the less visited temples in Beijing is the DongYue (East-Mount) Temple.  This Taoist temple is located at 141 DongYueMiao ,ChaowaiDaJie in ChaoYang district of Beijing (interestingly enough it is right across the street from busy shopping malls), but often overlooked.

If you want to visit you can take a cab to the address above or use the subway.  The temple is located near by the Chaoyangmen station.

The temple has been rebuilt in multiple dynasties since its establishment in the 14th century    The stone tablets in the temple represent apparently one of the largest collection of those in China.  Some of the 90+ tablets are inscribed by famous caligraphers and date back to the centuries of the temple’s first operation.

Today the temple is a nice place to visit and both experience some very interesting architecture and get a glimpse of Taoism, as well as just to enjoy the piece and quiet of its many courtyards.   Here an older Chinese gentleman is enjoying an exercise….

Buying Murano Style Glass Jewelry in the Silk Street Market in Beijing

When I was in the Silk Street Market in Beijing last month buying some stock for my online jewelry store, Chinafinds, I noticed that there were a number of stalls selling beautiful Murano / Venetian style glass jewelry. There was no attempt to pass it off as ‘genuine Murano glass’ or ‘authentic Venetian glass’ as it was very clearly made in China. It would be hard to imagine importing the genuine art glass from Italy and selling it in a Beijing market anyway!

At any rate, the quality of many of the items that I saw was quite good and the prices were much, much lower than those of the real Italian Murano glass items that I have seen. I had seen Chinese Murano style glass jewelry in the markets in previous years, but the amount was smaller and the quality was not nearly as good. Clearly, the Chinese manufacturers are perfecting their techniques.

Buying Cloisonne Jewelry at Hongqiao Pearl Market in Beijing

Still on Day 2 of my recent trip to Beijing—my daughter and I headed back to Hongqiao Pearl Market after lunch and a bathroom break at the hotel (for those of you who have never had the pleasure of visiting Beijing, a visit to the hotel bathroom is generally infinitely preferable to using the (un)sanitary facilities when one is out and about!). This time, we were in search of cloisonné jewelry. Like cinnabar, cloisonné is an ancient Chinese decorative art. To create cloisonné, wires are first arranged on the item to be decorated in the desired design and then the spaces in between are filled with successive layers of colored enamel. Finally, the item is fired and polished. Cloisonne can be used to create decorative plates, bowls and ornaments as well as jewelry, but today we were only interested in its jewelry applications.

The large central area of the third floor of the Hongqiao Pearl Market is devoted to pearls and to get to the place where cloisonné, cinnabar and other traditional handicrafts are sold, you have to go to the far back reaches of the floor. There you will find a multitude of items other than cinnabar and cloisonne—wood carvings, rugs, stone carvings, Christmas ornaments, Chinese seals (chops), decorative boxes, glass spheres with carvings inside them, hairpins, writing pens, writing brushes, ink sticks, wall hangings and more! Bargaining is, of course, essential. We finally found a few places selling good quality cloisonné bracelets. One of the vendors, who was selling cloisonné of higher quality than those in the neighboring stalls, was particularly informative about the different quality levels of cloisonné. She showed us the difference between cloisonné items that were lighter weight and had a rougher texture and those that were heavier and had a smoother, more polished texture. From what I understood of her explanation in Chinese, the former used a less expensive four-step process in its manufacture and the latter used a lengthier and pricier six-step process. I may not have understood her all that clearly, but I was impressed with the quality of the items I purchased from her. There was clearly a difference between the two types of cloisonné and the six-step process simply produced a higher quality product. We purchased both cloisonné bangle bracelets and hand-knotted cloisonné bead necklaces from her and then returned back to the hotel to collapse in our comfortable room.

Buying Cinnabar Jewelry at the Hongqiao Pearl Market in Beijing

On Day 2 of my recent trip to Beijing, I rose early from my comfortable bed at the Holiday Inn Temple of Heaven, urged on by my nine year old daughter who was worried that we would miss out on all the good stuff at the complimentary breakfast buffet if we didn’t arrive sufficiently early. After quick showers and a long breakfast (the breakfast buffet really was quite tasty and all the good stuff wasn’t gone!), my daughter and I got into a taxi and headed over to the Hongqiao Pearl Market.

The market is located right beside the beautiful Temple of Heaven, so it is quite convenient to do both of them in one day. However, we had already had several pleasant outings at the Temple of Heaven in the past, and today only shopping was on our agenda. We entered the Hongqiao Pearl Market through a side entrance as it appears to be undergoing some sort of construction facelift, leaving the front entrance not easily accessible, and went straight to the jewelry section. To do this, we had to march determinedly past the first floor vendors selling scarves and knickknacks and electronic equipment, evade the second floor vendors as they tried to sell us shoes, clothing, luggage and purses, and go right up to the third floor where all the jewelry is. This morning, our objective was jewelry made from carved cinnabar. Cinnabar jewelry has an interesting history; originally, it was made from a tree sap lacquer that was colored by the beautiful but toxic mineral cinnabar (otherwise known as mercury sulfide). The resulting red lacquer was painted onto an item in multiple coats, letting the item dry between each coat, and then the resulting layers of lacquer were carved by artisans in decorative patterns. Obviously it wasn’t known at the time that the mineral cinnabar was dangerous and any poisoning that resulted was probably low level enough never to be noticed. Today, Chinese cinnabar products contain no actual cinnabar—the classic red color associated with cinnabar is provided by a harmless red dye.

Cinnabar jewelry, our objective of the morning, comes in many forms. One of the most common is the cinnabar bangle bracelet. Carved with a variety of traditional Chinese designs, these bracelets come in various widths and sizes. Some aren’t even red—I encountered pure black cinnabar bracelets on this visit for the first time. There are also cinnabar bead necklaces, cinnabar pendant necklaces, and cinnabar earrings. My daughter and I managed to buy a good quantity of each type of cinnabar jewelry and came back to the hotel laden with loot. Our next objective would be cloisonné, but that could wait until after lunch!

A Visit to the Malian Dao Tea Street Market in Beijing

On the first day of my recent trip to Beijing, I decided to take the afternoon and visit the Malian Dao Tea Street Market in the southwest corner of Beijing.   This fascinating market stocks a dizzying array of Chinese tea and tea accessories and is a cultural experience in itself.  There are a large number of stores in this area, but the one that my daughter and I went to was a four story edifice that houses a multitude of small vendors.  The first floor is crammed with hundreds of small tea stalls, primarily selling loose leaf tea but also stocking teapots, tea leaf storage canisters, tea cups, etc.  The second and third floors replicate the more crowded first floor, although the price seems to go up as you ascend to the upper levels.  (The fourth floor doesn’t appear to sell tea at all, but has unrelated stores and perhaps a restaurant—I’m not sure!) On this visit, I concentrated on the first floor and ended up buying 6 pounds of loose leaf tea—four pounds of jasmine tea and two of green tea.  The tea was remarkably reasonably priced at about $8.50 per pound and it was very good quality.  Of course the initial selling price was around three times as much, but that is to be expected in a Chinese market.  The obligatory bargaining was good practice for my scheduled visit the next day to the Hongqiao Pearl Market to buy jewelry for my online store Chinafinds.

Don’t miss out on the Holiday Inn Temple of Heaven on your next trip to Beijing!

On my recent trip to Beijing to visit friends and purchase new stock for my online store Chinafinds, I stayed in the Holiday Inn Temple of Heaven. For anyone not familiar with this hotel, it is a real bargain jewel. Its biggest drawback is its location, which is convenient to the Hongqiao Pearl Market and the Temple of Heaven itself, but not to anything else. However, it still fairly central and a fairly short cab ride can get you anywhere you need to go. I really like the hotel because 1) the price is right (about $100 for an executive floor room with buffet breakfast included) 2) the staff are very kind and attentive 3) the rooms, at least on the executive floor, are clean, well kept up and comfortably furnished 4) the food in the breakfast buffet is good. I have stayed in many fancy and expensive hotels around the world and consider myself to be quite a hotel snob, but this place meets my basic standards and doesn’t break the bank.

Beijing Botanical Gardens and WoFu Temple

In the cold winter days of Beijing it is good to remember the nice sunny weather of the summer — that is when I remembered about our visits to the Beijing Botanical Garden.  The Garden is located near the West Hills in a nice wooded part of the city outskirts.  It is a nice place to escape in the summer as the garden itself has plenty of greenery, nice walk through fountains and plenty of interesting plants to see.  The complete Garden is comprised of:

• The Ornamental Plant Section
• Rose Garden
• Ornamental Peach Garden
• Tree Peony Garden
• Herbaceous Peony Garden
• Lilac Garden
• Crabapple and Cotoneaster Garden
• Magnolia Garden
• Bamboo Garden
• Perennial Garden
• Aquatic Garden
• Mume Flower Garden
• Arboretum
• Acer-Rosa Section + Coniferous Section + Tilia-Populus Section + Magnolia-Berberis Section + some other ones we did not see
• and Glasshouses
• Tropical and Subtropical conservatories
• Here you can find also examples of Chinese Penjing — which includes Tree Penjing (also known in the west as bonsai), Water & Land penjing and Landscape penjing.  Essentially all these forms of art are focused on recreating parts of a landscape in a very scaled down format.  Some of the trees grown in those landscapes are over 100 years old — quite an accomplishment indeed!   I must point out also that the art of penjing also has geographical / regional aspects.   I did not quite see all different types but from what I understood from some exhibits, there are essentially Penjing styles in pretty much most provinces of China - e.g. Jiangsu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Beijing, Fujian, Yangzhou, Anhui, Zhonzhou, and EVEN a Taiwan style.
• Another interesting part of the Botanical Garden is the WoFu Temple - also known as the Temple of the Sleeping Buddha.

At any rate, you should plan a visit to the Gardens, and spend a day among beautiful trees as well as surrounded by colorful Chinese Halls in the WoFu temple.

You can see some images from both the Garden and WoFu temple in the Photo Album area of the blog.  (Scroll to the area labeled Beijing Botanical Garden and WoFu Temple)

Do you want to go on a Safari in Beijing ? — a Trip to the Beijing Wildlife Park

Just recently someone asked me — “Is there a place to see wild animals in Beijing?”  Of course most people’s natural reaction is — “Go to the Beijing Zoo…!”

Well, I have something else for you — you may want to go to a place a bit off the beaten track (for China / Beijing) — the Beijing Wildlife Park (also referred to as the Beijing Safari Park).  The park is located on the Badaling Expressway — the same road that you may take to go to the Badaling section of the Great Wall.   If you are driving yourself — look for big signs to exit from the highway and follow signs to the place.

My family and friends of ours actually visited the park in the winter — it was a sunny, but cold day (you can see the snow patches on the ground — on the photos below) — but being relatively cold had its advantages — there were hardly any people in the park.

Once you get to the park you will have to stop your car and go and purchase entrance tickets (about RMB70 per adult and 50 for students, kids below 120cm as usual gain free admission).  Near the entrance you will also see a sign advertising the purchase of various small animals to “yes, you guessed it” feed the tigers and lions….

The park has a wide array of animals including some very rare White Siberian Tigers (see the photos above).

While in the park you can also have a glimpse of a section of the Great Wall — added bonus

And the final piece of information — you will be glad to know that you can drive your own car through the park — it is quite unnerving to slowly inch your way among several lions or tigers but it is also pretty exciting.  We felt relatively safe as we were one of the few people in the park and there were guards / park employees (you can see their jeep in at least one of the photos) near some of the electric gates.

At any rate, if you want to experience the thrill of having a lion, tiger, or a bear within an arm reach, this is the park to visit.  Happy travels!

Travel to Fenghua, Zhejiang Province — Off the beaten track

Most visitors to China spend certain amount of time in Zhejiang Province, but that is usually in the city of Hangzhou - a beautiful place famous for both its natural scenery as well as tea plantations.  If you want to get to a less travelled location after visiting Hangzhou, you could head to Fenghua located near Ningbo city (south of Hangzhou).
Fenghua is the hometown of Chiang Kai-Shek, a Chinese figure who has influenced China and Taiwan’s history to a large extent (Chiang Kai-Shek fled with Kuomintang troops to Taiwan in 1949)

Fenghua is famous for both natural scenery as well as great fruit, yellow-fin tuna (from the Eastern Sea), tea — yes there are tea plantations in the hills around the city.

The notable sites around Fenghua are Xikou Xuedou Hill (northwest of Ningbo city) together with the ancient town of Xikou (here you can find Chiang Kai-Shek’s house and the tomb of his mother — apparently a tunnel 668 meters long) Xuedou Temple located on Xuedou Hill, is one of the famous Buddhist temples in China.  The temple (rebuilt in the late 1980s / early 1990s) has also a Sheng School (associated with Chan Buddhism). 
Near by is also the Tingxia lake — a man-made lake on the Shanxi River (south of Xuedou Hill) - which offers some good opportunity for relaxing away from large crowds.

Overall a visit to Fenghua will give you the chance to see some old Chinese towns and architecture and step away from the rapid development in the big cities of China.

Travel to Hangzhou - sites, shopping, places to see

I have travelled to Hangzhou on numerous occasions over the past 19 years.  My first trip there was in 1988 (while I was a student in Shanghai).  Friends of mine were studying in the Hangzhou Fine Arts Institute.  At that time the city was a very nice escape from the overcrowding and smog of Shanghai.  Plus you could not miss the beautiful hills and tea growing areas.

Over the years Hangzhou has changed as the rest of China.  It has grown and become modernized.

The famous sites remain pretty much the same though:

•  The West Lake — with many scenic pagodas and temples as well as the natural beauty of the surrounding hills  (I used to love the beer made in Hangzhou with the same name XiHu PiJiu)
• The Buddhist carvings at the Feilai Feng Caves
• Multiple Tea plantations

If you like Tea, Hangzhou is the place to enjoy fresh picked tea — the famous Long Jing (Dragon Well) variety of green tea.

In the early Spring (April timeframe) you can visit some of the small restaurants on the outskirts of Hangzhou in the hills and both have very nice dinner or lunch as well as enjoy some very aromatic tea and also see and smell the freshly picked tea.

At that time of the year you will find tea leaves drying in woven baskets everywhere infront of the houses in the hills.

Shopping related:
Tea -  You can also purchase the fresh green tea at a very reasonable prices — read Cheap…

 The famous Long Jing teas are:
  XiHu Long Jing
  Lion Xi Hu Long Jing
  Emperor Long Jing  / Emperor Lung Ching
Silk Umbrellas
  Hangzhou silk and Zhejiang Bamboo
  Hangzhou is also famous for silk — the other famous silk city in China is Suzhou.

Shopping street:
   Hubin street (near Hyatt)
   Qing Hefang Street   
   XuHu TianDi — a bar and restaurant / tea house street.  Does this remind you of the name sake in Shanghai ?
Some Museum sites:

• The China Tea Museum located in Shuangfeng, Longjing Road ,Hangzhou
• China Silk Museum (on bus number 38) - located at the bottom of YuHuang Hill near the West Lake.
• West Lake Museum — a nice place to relax and enjoy the scenery — located near XiHu Tiandi

Other places to visit:
  Chenghuang Temple
  Leifeng pagoda
  Dragon Well Village
  Su Causeway
  JingCi Temple
  Yue Temple

With regards to places to stay, here are some options:

• If you would like to be located at a really nice spot - near the West lake — essentially across the street from the paths around the lake — you should consider the Shangri-La hotel; Rates are around RMB1100
• The Radisson Plaza Hotel — also a nice one. Rates are in the range of RMB1000
• Hangzhou International Holiday Inn — you can get a nice room for about RMB600

In terms of getting to the city, you probably should consider travel via train to Shanghai. The train ride is very comfortable and relatively fast (make sure you get on an express train).  Otherwise if you are travelling by plane keep in mind that the airport is a good distance away from town and a taxi ride to the airport will run you around RMB120.

I have heard also about a new service of Air China.  If you are traveling via Air China and you need to get from Hangzhou to Pudong Int’l Airport you can use the Free Shuttle.  The bus leaves from Hangzhou Tourist Center and goes to Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

Well, this is a quick summary.  Enjoy your trip!