China trip report 2016

We arrived n Beijing on June 23rd after a 13 hour flight. The flight wasn't too bad as we were in a new Boeing 737 with redesigned pods. These new pods have a far superior design than the old ones and I was able to sleep for almost 7 hours!

We had booked a meet at the plane, expedited customs processing and limo through our hotel, the Waldorf Astoria Beijing. However no one was waiting for us so we continued on our own. Line at customs was long and took about 20 minutes. The a/c is not what we are used to in N. American and we were quite hot while waiting. We retrieved our bags and exited and searched for our driver. And searched. In the heat. We couldn't find one, so called the hotel. After stalling for 20 minutes they told us they "forgot" to order our driver. By this time we were so hot it was getting unbearable. So we waited "only 5 minutes" which was actually closer to a half hour for the WA airport rep to show up. We thought he was going to drive us to the hotel, but he called us an Uber which got us to the hotel. I thought about jumping in a cab, but the hotel kept telling me "just 5 minutes", so we waited. I was not pleased at all about the wait, but we eventually got to the hotel.

I wanted to try Peking duck so the hotel recommended 1949 and offered us the hotel car, which we gladly accepted. The restaurant was lovely and the food was quite good. The hotel met us at the hotel with their car and whisked us back when we were done. I wanted to see the Wangfujing night market and convinced J-li to join me. Most of the vendors were closed even though it was only around 9:00pm, which I thought was very strange. We wandered around a bit, watched a young couple share a stick of deep fried insects and headed back to the hotel. Usually I would want to explore longer but I have a lingering injury that is limiting my walking so I was happy to get back to the hotel and a bucket of ice (to help with pain and swelling).

King Premiere Suite:



Tub with a view:





Corridor between living area, bedroom and bathroom:

Day 2

We booked a 2 day private through Jessie Di. The first day we went to the Summer Palace, Lama Temple, Olympic Park and an acrobatic show. I can't fathom how ABD leaves the Summer Palace off their itinerary because it is so beautiful and has such an intriguing history. Perhaps they will add it in the future.

We thoroughly enjoyed the acrobatic show. It was thrilling and very entertaining. I didn't take any pics here as there was perpetual movement and no flash photography is allowed. I highly recommend this for a free afternoon (the show is an hour).

J-li (mandarin name) has been studying Mandarin for 5 years and is quite gifted with her knowledge of the language (speaking and writing). She was offered the chance to share writing characters at the Summer Palace and the man doing the poem was very impressed with her writing:



Lama Temple:



Olympic Park:

Day 3

We headed to the Panjiayuan Antique market first thing. I loved it here! We bought ceramics, a beautiful teapot and some beautiful wall scrolls. I thought the prices were very reasonable and our guide told us we were in the back of the market which is a wholesale market. J-li was getting very hot and was not so happy about the shopping so we left once I felt we had covered enough ground. As a note the temperature was in the mid-90s plus humidity, so it was very hot, but a nice breeze kept me cool so I was okay.

After leaving here we went for lunch to a local spot. The food was delicious and very reasonably priced. Next we went on a pedicab hurting tour. This was fascinating -- seeing the inside of these alleyways was so interesting and different than what we are used to. We also visited a private family courtyard and were invited into their home, where they showed us their family history, family photos and showed us their living quarters. Talk about cramped living quarters, wow. And we apparently were in one of the largest residences.

Next stop was Temple of Heaven Park. Historically famous for being a stage for solemn rights performed for the reigning emperor 3 times a year. It's a lovely place to visit, perhaps not so much for a teenager in the blazing sun. J-Li spent her time sitting in the shade while I talked to our guide on the echo wall (it really works) and walked up the steps to view the inside of the Imperial Vault of Heaven. On our way back to meet the driver we stopped at the Round Altar, constructed around the lucky number 9. The middle was thought to be the center of the universe, so it is a popular spot for pictures.

Last stop: Jingshan Park for the views of the Forbidden City. It is a bit of a climb up, but worth it for the views.

Dinner was at Capital M. Our cab had no issues finding it after the hotel gave him a thorough briefing, but the a/c in the cab stopped working halfway there, which made for an uncomfortable journey. Food was delicious and we got an air conditioned cab back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we are meeting ABD in the afternoon. Morning will be another hutong tour. I would love to visit Beihei Park but not sure about doing it on our own.

Pics to follow.....

Antique Market





Random pic outside of market:



Hutong:



Family courtyard (blonde girl that speaks Mandarin in loved by all!):







Traffic jam in hutong:

Quick footnote: our guide did some research and told us today why the night market was so quiet the other night. The government decided to close it permanently as of yesterday. They said it was taking up the street and it was time to give the street back to the people. When we drove by tonight on our way to Capital M there was a solid blue fence around the entire area with a few guards outside. I'm so glad we went our first night. There are other night markets, but I'm not sure where they are or of they are similar. In any case, such a shame these delicacies are gone for good:

Very excited to read a new China ABD trip report. I'm so glad you're having a good time with Jessie, and enjoyed Capital M. That's wild about Wangfujing market closing. That was very popular. I'll be back in China with my DW fall 2017, so I'll be on the look out for new fun things to do and good restaurants to eat at in your trip report

That's a shame about the Waldorf dropping the ball on your airport pickup. I feel like in Beijing, it's still a bit amateur hour as far as their luxury hospitality services go. It's a great city, but I don't have complete faith and trust in the hotels, taxi drivers, etc. Maybe a bit of an overstatement based on a couple of anecdotes. Who knows. Your hotel room definitely was several steps up from the Peninsula Beijing.

So many cool sites to see in Beijing. It's really worth an extra few days like you're doing it. Next fall, the ABD we're going on stops in Beijing in the middle of the trip, so unfortunately no extra days for us, but there's some OYO time in the evenings. I'm looking forward to picking out a couple of new restaurants for us to eat out.

Agree with Cousin Orville, really looking forward to your trip report! We are signed up for next summer and can't wait!

Can't wait to read more. DH and I are doing this tour in October, but we have our extra nights in shanghai so we can do a water village and Shanghai Disneyland. No extra time for Beijing unfortunately. We have a few hours the day we arrive but after 19 hours flying, it might be nap time. I would like to see the Summer Palace, though!

Day 3:

We decide we will sleep in and see 2 Hutongs today. But neither one of can sleep and we are both wide awake at 5:45am. So I change the plans and d code that we will take a cab to Beihei Park in the morning and do the Hutong tour with the private concierge at the hotel this afternoon.

We are out the door for 9am and in the park for 9:20. We were just going to find the 9 dragon screen and leave but stopped to watch a man playing an instrument with vocal accompaniment for a few minutes. We happen upon some boats for rent and decide we would like to spend some time on the lake! J-li is able to drive the boat and had such fun that she wanted to stay out for the full hour. After this we saw the screen which is really quite stunning and much larger than I had imagined. We stopped to watch some locals dancing and a few more doing tai chi on our way out. Getting a cab was no proble,pm, but traffic had really picked up and it took almost 30 minutes to get back. We had some time so stopped at the mall up the road from our hotel and got manicures!

Lunch was at the hotel, then we were met by the concierge for a walking tour a more commercial hutong neighborhood. We also stopped by the Red Wall Hutong Hotel for a brief look around and the Hutong Museum. We arrived back at the hotel in time for our 3:30 car to the Rosewood.

The Rosewood is a lovely hotel, but I don't think the location is good for tourists (fine if you are in a group though). Our room is huge with a nice sitting area, "robe room" (walk-in closet with large changing area) and nice bathroom. Dinner is the standard first day meet and greet with a quick performance.

Beihei Park:





Hutong Supermarket:






Rosewood:

anonymousegirl said:

Can't wait to read more. DH and I are doing this tour in October, but we have our extra nights in shanghai so we can do a water village and Shanghai Disneyland. No extra time for Beijing unfortunately. We have a few hours the day we arrive but after 19 hours flying, it might be nap time. I would like to see the Summer Palace, though!

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We have a water town tour booked for our free afternoon in Shanghai! I will let you know how it goes.

Interesting that the WA had US outlets but the Rosewood doesn't. I brought adapters with me so it's not an issue, except that the desk lamps don't move and the outlets are right behind them, making getting the adapter and extension cord to fit is a struggle. First world problems, I know.

We are also doing Shanghai Disney. We're looking forward to that!

Tomorrow is a half day Hutong tour (they are all very different so I'm not worried about duplication), with lunch at the Noble House. Then it's a free afternoon. It's supposed to rain all day so much m not sure what we will do with the time off. I'm going to see what the weather is like before I decide, but maybe a Kung Fushow would be good if the weather is bad. Or an afternoon tea service.

When I saw the Rosewood on the Map I was wondering what was around there. I forget, it's in the Central Business District, right? Do you have a view of the CCTV tower?
Wasn't the Nine Dragon Screen awesome! The Screen in the Forbidden City was beautiful as well, but it's not free standing or double sided. And I don't remember it looking as clean or restored. For the Disney Nerd, the Nine Dragon Screen in Beihei Park is the one from the Epcot Movie.

We leave for our China trip with Thomson Family Adventures this Friday, so I'm very excited to see your trip report. We have a day and a half in Beijing prior to the start of our tour. We plan to check out the 9-dragon screen. We've also got a private day tour booked that will take us to the Summer Palace and the antiques market, among other sites not included in out Thomson trip. I look forward to the rest of your report and comparing experiences.

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Cousin Orville said:

When I saw the Rosewood on the Map I was wondering what was around there. I forget, it's in the Central Business District, right? Do you have a view of the CCTV tower?
Wasn't the Nine Dragon Screen awesome! The Screen in the Forbidden City was beautiful as well, but it's not free standing or double sided. And I don't remember it looking as clean or restored. For the Disney Nerd, the Nine Dragon Screen in Beihei Park is the one from the Epcot Movie.

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The Rosewood is in the CBD. As far as I can tell there isn't much around the area. I haven't seen the new CCTV tower from the hotel, but will ask if there is an area we can view it from.

Yes, the Nine Dragon screen is incredible and I'm very glad we saw it. It was a very relaxing morning and we needed that after 2 packed days of touring in the intense heat and humidity!

Day 4

Today was a pedi cab tour through a very tidy hutong area. We then did 3 activities: knot tying, calligraphy and paper cutting. Following this we went to a pretty park for a lesson with the Chinese yo yo.

Lunch was at a restaurant called Noble House. It was 'family style' and was pretty good. A bit heavy for me as I prefer a light lunch.

The ABD portion of the tour ended after lunch. The bus was doing a drop off at the Lama Temple which we had already visited. So J-Li and I walked part way (and took a rickshaw the rest of the way) to the Drum and Bell Towers. Not major attractions, but I wanted to see them so I'm glad we went. The views of the hutongs from the towers was really nice and gave an entirely different perspective than from walking through them.

We grabbed a cab from there to get back to the hotel. It started pouring rain 5 minutes after we got in the cab so our timing for getting a cab was perfect!

Tonight is Duck de Chine.

Pics to follow...