Beijing Visitor Blog

Centro in the Kerry Hotel Beijing

2013-04-18T18:10:00.002+08:00

Located in the luxury Kerry Hotel in the foreign embassy area of the Chinese capital, Centro is right up there as one of Beijing's top night spots.

Centro's motto is "Beautiful People Serving Beautiful People" and this stylish bar on Level 1 of the hotel draws the city's celebrities for its award-winning cocktails and live jazz acts. Happy hour is between 5 and 8pm though Centro is open 24 hours a day.

Centro
No 1 Guanghua Road
Beijing
100020
China
Beijing
Tel: 86 10 6561 8833 ext. 42

Hotels in Beijing
Books on China and Beijing
Beijing Personals

Tags

Beijing Clubs
China bars

Modernista

2013-04-01T18:10:00.000+08:00

Modernista Old Cafe and Tapas bar is quickly earning itself a reputation as on of Beijing's top night spots.

Modernista is an art deco themed live house with DJs, live acts including blues, funk, Dixieland and jazz plus film screenings and open mic comedy events. There have also been photography exhibitions and a mahjong evening.

Wash down your tapas with a fine selection of beer, whiskey and absinthe.

Modernista
Baochao Hutong 44
Dongcheng
Beijing
Tel: 0136 9142 5744

Hotels in Beijing
Books on China and Beijing
Beijing Personals

Tags

Beijing Clubs
China bars

Haze Nightclub Beijing

2013-03-09T02:39:00.002+08:00

The fairly recent Haze is one of Beijing's top nightclubs. Haze is a trendy duplex: two floors, bar and cafe on top and basement dance floor below.

Haze specializes in techno, nu-disco and house with frequent visits by the world's top DJs plus its own in-house professionals.

Haze is located in the Guomao district of the Chinese capital on Guanghua Lu.

Hotels in Beijing
Books on China and Beijing
Beijing Personals

Tags

Beijing
China

St Joseph Seminary Church Macau

2013-02-13T17:15:00.000+08:00

聖若瑟修院及聖堂

The baroque St Joseph Seminary Church in Macau was built by the Jesuits on Mato Mofino hill between 1746 and 1758.

After the Jesuits were expelled from Macau in the 18th century by order of the Marquis of Pombal back in Portugal, the building was taken over by the Lazarists (Congregation of the Mission).

The church is approached via a flight of granite steps leading to the central door under a "broken" arch.

The interior of the church is lavishly decorated with the dome reaching 19m.

The church a holy relic of a piece of bone from St. Francis Xavier, who was active as a Jesuit missionary in Goa, Macau and later Japan.

St Joseph Seminary Church
Rua do Seminario, Macau
Tel: 853 8399 6699

Hotels in Macau

China Job Search

Books on China and Beijing

Beijing Personals

Tags

Macau

Beijing Police

2013-01-26T14:49:00.000+08:00

人民武装警察

The Beijing police force has a long history. The Beijing Police Academy was founded in 1901 on the Japanese police model and had Japanese trainers. Before then local, poorly trained police police were paid for out of the public coffers.

Nowadays Beijing's police force is under the control of the Ministry of Public Security.

The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) is China's national police force (with the exception of Hong Kong and Macau) and it operates Public Security Bureaus, akin to police stations in other countries but with many more powers throughout China.

Ministry of Public Security police wear blue uniforms and have been armed since 2006 with a locally made 9mm double-action revolver.

The People's Armed Police is another arm of China's police force (with the exception of Hong Kong and Macau) and is a paramilitary gendamarie, somewhat on the lines of Italy's Carabinieri, the Guardia Civil in Spain and the Guarda Nacional Republicana in Portugal.

PAP policemen wear olive green uniforms and are armed with pistols and carry a whistle (see photograph below).

Visitors interested in the history of Beijing's and China's police force should visit the Beijing Police Museum in the Foreign Legation Quarter.

Hotels in Beijing
Books on China and Beijing
Beijing Personals

Tags

Beijing Police
China Police

Harbin Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival 2013

2012-12-22T13:25:00.001+08:00

哈尔滨国际冰雪节

The 29th Harbin International Ice & Snow Sculpture Festival opens in Heilongjiang Province with a spectacular opening con Saturday January 5th, 2013 and lasts for around one month.

The hundreds of ice sculptures at Sun Island, Zhaolin Park and "Ice and Snow World" are built from blocks of ice taken from the Songhua River by around 15,000 workers and designed by local engineering students and increasingly by artists from around the world.

The ice sculptures in the "Ice City" in Harbin are illuminated at night with multi-colored lights embedded in the ice and also by laser shows.

Firework displays are also part of the attraction along with swimming contests in pools in the frozen Songhua River, ice climbing contests and ice restaurants where customers eat hotpot in restaurants built from blocks of ice.

Nearby Yabuli Ski Resort is another pull for the nearly 1,000,000 visitors expected to arrive for the winter period.

Other big snow festivals around the world include the Sapporo Snow Festival in Hokkaido, Japan and Canada's Quebec City Winter Carnival. The Shangri-La Hotel in Harbin is the city's most luxurious hotel to stay during the Ice Festival.

images © Daniel Allen

Hotels in Harbin
China Job Search
Books on China and Beijing
Beijing Personals

Tags

Snow Festival
Harbin

Hong Kong Mass Transit Logo

2012-11-24T17:16:00.000+08:00

香港

Hong Kong's Mass Transit has a distinctive logo. The white sign on a red circular background consists of 3 strokes: a vertical line and two semi-circles at the top and bottom.

The MTR logo captures the inter-connectivity of Hong Kong's MTR with subway, light rail and the Airport Express running out to Hong Kong International Airport.

Hotels in Hong Kong
Books on China and Beijing
Hong Kong Personals

Tags

Hong Kong
Subway

Beijing International Convention Centre

2012-11-23T15:51:00.000+08:00

Tags

Beijing Conference

Long Life Garden Hong Kong

2012-10-26T15:16:00.000+08:00

Long Life Garden in Kowloon, Hong Kong is a shop specializing in traditional Chinese herbal medicines.

Popular with tours of Japanese tourists, Long Life Garden offers demonstrations of its medicinal products often extracted from various creatures including sea horses (see above) and plants such as ginseng and garlic.

Rows of jars line the wooden shelves of the store which is a delight to wander.

Long Life Garden
308, Canton Road, G/F
Kowloon
Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2730 1202

Tags

Hong Kong
Chinese medicine

Hong Kong Estate Agents

2012-09-22T21:33:00.004+08:00

香港

Hong Kong has some of the most expensive real estate in the world. A lack of space and a large population has meant Hong Kong has gone vertical and most places to rent in Hong Kong are in high rise blocks of flats.

The Hong Kong property market is highly competitive and a large number of companies are involved in the sale and lease of property in Hong Kong.

Prices of properties to rent in Hong Kong depend on the location and the space of the property. Hong Kong landlords normally require a deposit of 1 or 2 months' rent in advance.

Check your rights on the Hong Kong government website that deals with housing.

Books on China and Beijing
Beijing Personals

Tags

Hong Kong
China

Qiongzhu Temple Kunming Yunnan Province China

2012-09-15T17:47:00.000+08:00

筇竹寺

Qiongzhu Temple or Bamboo Temple is located on Yu'an Mountain, 12km north west of the city of Kunming in Yunnan Province.

The temple originally dates from the 13th century and is a Chinese Zen temple. The temple and statues you see today mostly date from the reconstruction work of the Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty after a devastating fire destroyed most of the original structures.

Qiongzhu Temple is known for its 19th century sculptures of the 500 Buddhist arhats or luohan (Buddhist adepts freed from the cycle of death and re-birth) sculpted by the renown Chinese artist Li Guangxiu and his five disciples. The art work proved too much for the artist's contemporaries and patrons and was his last commission.

The clay statues, which took seven years in the making are beautifully painted and capture various personalities and states of human existence: the young and the old, the healthy and the sick, the happy and the sad.

Some of the statues ride waves like surfers on one wall of the temple and are particularly grotesque: one has arms longer than his body, another eyebrows reaching down to his chest.

Qiongzhu Temple is also known for its fine setting with ancient cypress trees and the grounds also contain a vegetarian restaurant for visitors. The main hall of Qiongzhu Si contains a 14th century stone tablet recording the diplomacy between Imperial China and Yunnan in Chinese and Mongolian script.

Hotels in Beijing
Books on China and Beijing
Beijing Personals

Tags

Kunming
Chinese Temples

Hong Kong Public Light Buses

2012-08-28T14:03:00.001+08:00

香港小型巴士

Hong Kong's Public Light Buses are a quick and easy way to get around Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories. Hong Kong's Public Light Buses (PLBs) are also known as Maxicabs or Green Minibuses (GMB) to differentiate them from the red Private Light Buses, which are unregulated and can run on their own routes and charge their own fares.

A total of 4350 Public Light Buses are allowed to operate in Hong Kong and they can carry a maximum of 16 passengers. Public Light Buses operate on fixed routes with fixed fares on a timetable. The destination of the bus is shown on the front in both Chinese and English.

The Octopus Card, as well as cash, is accepted on all of Hong Kong's Public Light Buses. Many of the buses are now LPG vehicles, with plans to phase in electric buses in future. Most of the buses carry advertising.

By law passengers are obliged to wear seat belts on Hong Kong's Public Light Buses. Some of Hong Kong's Public Light Buses run 24 hours. When you want to get off the bus call out to the driver: "Next stop please!"

Hotels in Hong Kong
Books on China and Beijing
Hong Kong Personals

Tags

Hong Kong
Light Buses

Made in China Restaurant Beijing

2012-07-28T11:32:00.000+08:00

The Made in China restaurant is the centerpiece of the delicious haute cuisine on offer at the Grand Hyatt Beijing Hotel.

Traditional Beijing Duck is wonderfully prepared in imperial style and is a favorite with diners. The restaurant is set in an open kitchen and the chefs and their skill are on full display.

Made in China
Seats 126 people
Located in the lobby
Hours: Breakfast 7am-9am
Lunch 11.30am-2.30pm
Dinner 5.30pm-10.30pm
Reservations: +86 10 8518 1234 ext: 6024

Hotels in Beijing

Tags

Beijing restaurants
Chinese food

Green T. House

2012-06-30T10:35:00.001+08:00

Green T. House, founded by celebrity chef Ms. Zhang Jin Jie (aka JinR) as a Beijing teahouse in 1997, has become a beacon of Beijing's haute cuisine eateries. The beautifully prepared dishes all feature tea in some form.

Green T. House also features a tea shop, a spa and gallery.

Green T. House
6 Gongti Xilu Beijing, China 100027
朝阳区工人体育场西路
Tel: 010 6552 8310

The nearest subway station to Green T. House is Dongsi Shitiao.

Tags

Beijing Restaurants
Chinese Food

Kunming Stone Forest

2012-05-21T13:15:00.000+08:00

石林

The Stone Forest (Shilin), 120 kilometers or two or three hours by bus from Kunming East Coach Station in Kunming, is a spectacular area of limestone peaks, caves and crags covering over 400 square kilometers.

Two parts of the Stone Forest, Naigu Stone Forest and Suogeyi Village are both classified as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The impressive limestone karst, at an altitude of over 1700 meters, was formed by retreating seas around 270 million years ago. Nowadays visitors can enjoying wandering around the eerie and strange rock and cave formations - many of which have resonant names such as Hanging Rock and Strange Wind Cave.

The Stone Forest is associated with the indigenous Yi people's legend of Ashima, a beautiful girl who was turned into stone after not being allowed to marry her chosen sweetheart. Each year the Yi celebrate the Torch Festival with folk dances and wrestling matches in the area.

Hotels in Beijing
China Job Search
Books on China and Beijing
Beijing Personals

Tags

Kunming
China

Kunming Flower and Bird Market

2012-04-30T13:37:00.001+08:00

昆明花鸟市场

Kunming Flower and Bird Market (Kunming Huaniao Shichang) in Kunming is located near the center of the city around the intersection of Dongfeng West Road (东风西路) and Wuyi Road (五一路).

Kunming's mild climate is perfect for growing flowers (camellias, lilies, orchids, and roses) and this large market has many stalls selling freshly cut flowers, along with caged song birds, antiques, curios, Mao badges, small animals, books, calligraphy brushes, Yunnan ethnic clothing and varieties of fish.

In operation since 1983, the Kunming Flower and Bird Market is also a good place to have lunch in one of the many restaurants in the area.

Hotels in Kunming
China Job Search
Books on China and Beijing
Beijing Personals

Tags

Kunming
China

Bai Theater Yunnan Nationalities Village

2012-03-15T23:09:00.000+08:00

The Yunnan Nationalities Village is a short distance south of Kunming on the north east shore of Dianchi Lake.

Yunnan Province's many ethnic minorities including the Bai, the Dai and the Yi are represented here through displays of crafts and performances of ethnic music and drama, as in these images showing a traditional Bai drama.

Yunnan Nationalities Village theme park opened in 1992 and visitors can enjoy a variety of traditional re-enactments including an elephant show and musical performances.

© Beijing-Visitor.com

Hotels in Beijing
China Job Search
Books on China and Beijing
Beijing Personals

Tags

Yunnan
China

Calligraphy Brushes For Sale

2012-02-18T15:41:00.000+08:00

書法

These beautiful calligraphy brushes are for sale in a hutong street market in Beijing.

The brushes come in all shapes and sizes and make for a great souvenir from China whether you practice calligraphy or not.

The art of Chinese calligraphy grew out of writing the Chinese characters of the Chinese language.

Chinese calligraphy brushes are made of wood often bamboo and the heads are made from animal hair (or feathers).

Hotels in Beijing
China Job Search
Books on China and Beijing
Beijing Personals

Tags

Beijing
Calligraphy

Shichahai

2012-02-17T15:38:00.001+08:00

什刹海

Shichahai (lit. Lake of the Ten Buddhist Monasteries) is an area of three historic lakes Qianhai (前海), Xihai (西海) and the largest lake Houhai (后海) located north-west of the Forbidden City and Beihai Park.

The Prince Gong Mansion (恭亲王府), Zhengjue Temple, the Museum of Mei Langfang (the former residence of Beijing Opera star Mei Lanfang from 1949 to 1961) and the Prince Chun Mansion (醇亲王府) - the father of the last Chinese emperor - are all located in the area.

Shichahai was formerly the northernmost part of the Grand Canal connecting Beijing to Hangzhou in the south.

Hotels in Beijing
China Job Search
Books on China and Beijing
Beijing Personals

Tags

Beijing
China

Year of the Dragon 2012

2012-01-31T09:40:00.000+08:00

龍

Monday 23 January was the start of the Chinese New Year celebrations. This year is the Year of the Dragon, a highly propitious year as the dragon is associated with power, vitality and action and was a symbol of the Chinese Emperor.

It is considered good luck to be born in the Year of the Dragon and maternity hospitals in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore are expecting a mini baby boom. The Year of the Dragon is also good news for companies producing baby products such as baby clothes, toys and medicines.

Temple Fairs are in full swing during Chinese New Year celebrations including Changdian Temple Fair in Taoranting Park, Shijingshan Temple Fair, Red Snail Temple Fair, Dongyue Temple Fair, Chaoyang Park Temple Fair, Yuanmingyuan Royal Temple Fair, Ditan Temple Fair, Daguanyuan Temple Fair, and Longtanhue Temple Fair.

Beijing Temple Fair By Wang Xi

Hotels in Beijing

Books on China

Tags

Beijing China Beijing Fair China Travel

Book the Fujian Hotel Beijing Book the Beijing Qianyuan International Business Hotel

Valentine's Day In Hong Kong

2012-01-03T12:44:00.002+08:00

Valentine's Day in Hong Kong is big business with florists, chocolate shops, hotels and restaurants all having improved sales.

Check the local listings magazines for Valentine Day's deals at the big hotels like the Peninsula, InterContinental and the Regal Hongkong Hotel in Causeway Bay, live music cabarets, aphrodisia dessert buffets and romantic dinner offers. In 2010 Valentine's Day fell on the first day of the lunar new year holiday making it a doubly busy day.

© Beijing-Visitor.com

Hotels in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Job Search
Books on Hong Kong
Hong Kong Personals

Tags

Hong Kong
Valentine

Beijing Hutong Pedicab Tours

2011-12-02T14:31:00.004+08:00

A number of companies now offer tours of Beijing's hutong by pedicab. The narrow street's of Beijing's hutong are not really suitable for cars, making pedicabs and bicycles the best and most environmentally sound way of seeing them.

Beijing hutong pedicab tours usually take in the Drum Tower, Prince Gong's Mansion, a Siheyuan (traditional Chinese courtyard house), Lama Temple and Pipe Tobacco Alley close to the Bell Tower. There is usually a stop for a drink at a hutong cafe or teahouse.

A number of large Chinese tour companies offer pedicab half day and full day tours.

© Beijing-Visitor.com

Hotels in Beijing
China Job Search
Books on China and Beijing
Beijing Personals

Tags

Beijing Hutong
Hutong

Christmas Services at Churches in Hong Kong

2011-12-01T12:23:00.000+08:00

With more Christian churches than any other city in China, Hong Kong has a special Christmas atmosphere. In both Hong Kong and Macau, Christmas Day is a public holiday, though Christmas Day in not a public holiday in mainland China.

Hong Kong's department stores and shops go into overdrive in the run up to Christmas and the Christmas lights of Victoria will be shining throughout December.

The large number of Christian migrant workers from The Philippines are often enthusiastic church-goers.

Here are a list of churches in Hong Kong with Christmas services and Christmas mass.

St John's Cathedral
24th December - Christmas Eve

5.00pm Christingle Service
6:00pm Cantonese Service
11.30pm Midnight Mass

25th December - Christmas Day

8.00am Said Eucharist
9.00am Sung Eucharist
10.30am Holy Eucharist (Mandarin)
11.45am All Age Worship with Eucharist
2.00pm Sung Eucharist (Pilipino)
6.00pm Evensong

Emmanuel, Pokfulam, Bethanie, 139 Pokfulam Road

11.00pm Midnight Mass
25th December - Christmas Day
11.00am Family Eucharist with Carols

St Stephen's Chapel, Stanley, St Stephen's College

Discovery Bay Church, SKH Wei Lun Primary School

St Andrews Church

24 December
Christmas Eve Services
7:00pm* 9:00pm 11:00pm

25 December
Christmas Day Communion Services
8:30am 9:45am 11:30am 2:00pm* 5:00pm

* Services in Putonghua

Hong Kong Catholic Cathedral of The Immaculate Conception, 16 Caine Road, Hong Kong

Rosary Church, 125 Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon

St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Tsing Yi Island

Christ the Worker Parish

Kowloon International Baptist Church, 300 Junction Road, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon

Island Evangelical Community Church
633 King's Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong (Quarry Bay MTR Exit C)

Watermark Community Church Upper Ground at Aspen Court, 46 High Street, Sai Ying Pun

Holy Trinity Cathedral
135, Ma Tau Chung Road, Kowloon City, Kowloon

Shatin Anglican Church, S.K.H. Tsang Shiu Tim Secondary School
Tak Hau Street, Wo Che Estate, Shatin, N.T.

Dec. 24 Candlelight Service Saturday 9pm
Dec. 25 God in a Manger Sunday 10am

Crown of Thorns' Church, 67 Texaco Road

© Beijing-Visitor.com

Hotels in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Job Search
Books on Hong Kong
Hong Kong Personals

Tags

Hong Kong
Xmas

Beijing Visitor on Twitter

2011-11-30T08:49:00.000+08:00

Follow Beijing Visitor on Twitter.

If you have a Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong or any China-related Twitter acount please follow Beijing Visitor on Twitter and we'll follow you right back.

We look forward to reading your tweets.

Calling Home From Beijing China

2011-11-07T22:46:00.001+08:00

Whether you're in Beijing on business temporarily or permanently relocated to China’s capital, keeping in touch with your family back home is essential for curing homesickness. If you’re looking to call the US from Beijing, here are a few tips and tricks that will help you connect with your loved ones.

How to call the US from Beijing?
To call from China to the United States you have the dial the following sequence:
00 (prefix for international calls) + 1 (country code) + City code + Local Number

How to call Beijing from abroad?
China's international calling code is +86 while Beijing’s area code is 010. To call Beijing from anywhere in the world, simply use the following code:
011 (international code from the US, 00 for the UK) + 86 + 010 + Local number

Calling from and to Beijing cheaper
International calls can get very expensive if you’re calling from your regular landline or mobile, that is why you should consider other, more affordable options. Here are a few of the most commonly used tools by expats to call home
• IC cards or Integrated Circuit card can be found at any post office or most convenience stores and can be used mainly for local calls. It’s a good alternative to calls from your hotel or to roaming.
• Prepaid phone cards are very versatile when it comes to calls to and from China. They can be used by your family back home and by you at lower rates than other offers on the market. The calling card can be purchased online, charging as little as 2cents per minute for international calls. You can even get some free calls if you act now.
• Skype and Google Talk are two good ways to call from PC to PC locally or internationally. However, if you have a slow internet connection, which is quite frequent in China, you will find it very hard to talk to your friends and family.
• Mobile phones are very common in China and can be very cost-effective as long as you get a local SIM. Try to avoid roaming as much as possible since it is generally very expensive for voice and data. Instead, use your mobile only for receiving calls and messages.

So what are you ways of calling abroad from Beijing?