Note Of Beijing

Note Of Beijing
Jun 4, 2007 04:36
DRAGONPLAN Points: Join Date: May 30, 2007 Status: offline	Just returned from Beijing . The weather is above 18-23 deg Celsius(7th--12th, May ), no sandstorm. Some notes to share with you: If you go to Houhai/Shichahai, while you rent the boat, don't go for the electric motorboat. If you do, be prepared for the frustrating snail pace. Better get the foot-pedalled boats. Salesman checked carefully the 100 yuans I gave them. Becareful. Wangfujing is under renovation. Xin Dong Ann market is closed. A shopping centre opposite Crowne Plaza is closed with white papers pasted on the doors. The building opposite the Wangfujing bookstore is under demolition. Another building diagonal to Xin Dong Ann had been flattened saved for a noodle shop that stands alone. Luckily the Oriental Plaza is there but Sony ExploraScience had been shifted to Chaoyang Park. Beijing Capital Museum (Shoudu Bowuguan) located at the east side of Muxidi Subway. It's huge and quite empty. If you love authentic ceramics and mutton fat white jade pieces and Chinese classical paintings, you should visit this museum. I visited Panjiayuan market for the second time and I was disappointed. I spent 4 hours slowly perusing everything on show, hoping to get something. Poor reproductions and kitsch stuff are in abundance. And they asked ridiculous prices that I wouldn't pay for even if it were one fifth. Traditional Chinese paintings are typically printed, or half-printed-half-painted on poor quality paper (tea stained?). You should beware that there are agate that looks like jade. Agate is cheap. Last year we bought a celadon vase and we realise why it was so cheap. The mouth of the vase was tilted at a slight angle. So check and check. This is a crowded congregation of people/traders from all over China and they smoked, hawked, coughed and spit like nobody's business. I felt ill after I got back, empty handed. Nature lovers: A variety of tulips at Zhongshan Park are in stunning full bloom. There's also the black tulip! At the foot of Xiangshan, there are tulips, chrisantemum etc also in full bloom. If you are going to Xiangshan (557m), take a subway to Bajiao Subway, where a highway connecting Bajiao Subway to an off-road leading to XiangShan. From there take a cab. It's faster than taking a cab from Pinguoyuan Subway. We went there on a Sunday. It was crowded. If you have energy, plan your trip early and you can also visit the nearby botanical garden (Zhiwuyuan) too. Dazhalan Street is overrated. I won't recommend it, unless you're looking for a pair of traditional leather shoes. Invariably, stuffs are kitschy. Outside the Dazhalan I saw two skinny salesgirls chasing after a fleeing big black guy to fit a T-shirt on him. Besides it was dusty and the road repair was in disrepair.

Jun 4, 2007 04:36

DRAGONPLAN
Points:
Join Date: May 30, 2007
Status: offline

Just returned from Beijing . The weather is above 18-23 deg Celsius(7th--12th, May ), no sandstorm. Some notes to share with you: If you go to Houhai/Shichahai, while you rent the boat, don't go for the electric motorboat. If you do, be prepared for the frustrating snail pace. Better get the foot-pedalled boats. Salesman checked carefully the 100 yuans I gave them. Becareful. Wangfujing is under renovation. Xin Dong Ann market is closed. A shopping centre opposite Crowne Plaza is closed with white papers pasted on the doors. The building opposite the Wangfujing bookstore is under demolition. Another building diagonal to Xin Dong

Ann had been flattened saved for a noodle shop that stands alone. Luckily the Oriental Plaza is there but Sony ExploraScience had been shifted to Chaoyang Park.

Beijing Capital Museum (Shoudu Bowuguan) located at the east side of Muxidi Subway. It's huge and quite empty. If you love authentic ceramics and mutton fat white jade pieces and Chinese classical paintings, you should visit this museum. I visited Panjiayuan market for the second time and I was disappointed. I spent 4 hours slowly perusing everything on show, hoping to get something. Poor reproductions and kitsch stuff are in abundance. And they asked ridiculous prices that I wouldn't pay for even if it were one fifth. Traditional Chinese paintings are typically printed, or half-printed-half-painted on poor quality paper (tea stained?). You should beware that there are agate that looks like jade. Agate is cheap. Last year we bought a celadon vase and we realise why it was so cheap. The mouth of the vase was tilted at a slight angle. So check and check. This is a crowded congregation of people/traders from all over China and they smoked, hawked, coughed and spit like nobody's business. I felt ill after I got back, empty handed. Nature lovers: A variety of tulips at Zhongshan Park are in stunning full bloom. There's also the black tulip! At the foot of Xiangshan, there are tulips, chrisantemum etc also in full bloom. If you are going to Xiangshan (557m), take a subway to Bajiao Subway, where a highway connecting Bajiao Subway to an off-road leading to XiangShan. From there take a cab. It's faster than taking a cab from Pinguoyuan Subway. We went there on a Sunday. It was crowded. If you have energy, plan your trip early and you can also visit the nearby botanical garden (Zhiwuyuan) too. Dazhalan Street is overrated. I won't recommend it, unless you're looking for a pair of traditional leather shoes. Invariably, stuffs are kitschy. Outside the Dazhalan I saw two skinny salesgirls chasing after a fleeing big black guy to fit a T-shirt on him. Besides it was dusty and the road repair was in disrepair.

Jun 4, 2007 04:47	#1
JOHNNY512 Points: Join Date: Nov 29, 2004 Status: Offline	Detailed information. Thanks, Dragonplan.

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