A fast and furious trip to China for my little brother's wedding. With a compressed time frame, we had to be selective about what we could see. A quick 3 day trip in Shanghai, then 3 days in Wuxi for the wedding, then 5 days in Beijing. I had traveled to Shanghai and Beijing 4 years ago with my mother, but this would be Johnny's first trip. So I was excited to show him and see the changes post Olympics - pre Expo.
DAYS: 12 Days: May 17 - May 29, 2009
WHAT WE DID:
SHANGHAI
05.17.2009
Riding with Air China is about the equivalent to riding the Chinatown Fung Wah Bus that commutes daily from NYC and Boston, but imagine making it a 13 hour long journey. Overcrowded, smelly, hot with a cacophony of guttural snorts, chattering and crying. We sat four rows behind a family with 3 young babies --an endless cycle of crying, 13 hours non-stop if you can believe it. Nothing makes a long transatlantic flight longer and more tiresome than a wailing
child.
The in-flight meals consisted of a gluey oil of gloppy cornstarched brown gravy with what looked like your choice of either shrimp, pork or chicken. It felt like we were the hungriest we've ever been, and all I could do was stare at the gruel; gruel that was reminiscent of that served by Hagar the Horrible. The only edible item was the white rice, which was at least something. We really wished we had brought with us a box of Luna bars.
Just a few days before our departure, up to 130 passengers who shared a flight from the U.S. to Beijing with an infected swine flu student, were detained and quarantined for 10 days. Our whole flight looked like a sea of white masked bandits, except us. When we landed in Beijing, we had to wait, as officials came in with a thermometer gun and held it to each of our heads to take a reading. I was praying that we wouldn't be detained; 10 days would be our whole trip. I was sweaty and feverish and still writhing in pain from the bad hot dog I scarfed down from JFK.
We landed in the new Beijing Capital International Airport's Terminal 3, designed by Sir Norman Foster. It was really quite an impressive structure of glass and steel adorned with imperial Chinese colors of gold and red. Covering more than a million square meters, it is the world's largest airport building, designed to accommodate 50 million passengers a year by 2020. The sheer scale of the building is overwhelming!
We shared our transfer flight to Shanghai with a large group of migrant workers. With few seats in the waiting area, the floors were densely occupied by a sea of squatting tan faces dressed in blue navy suit jackets, pink beige shirts and grey slacks.
By the time we landed in Shanghai, it was late Monday night.
A warning: It's easy to be taken for a ride by the taxi driver
s in Shanghai. Even with full knowledge of Chinese, you can get cheated, as did my father on his previous trip and as did we on this trip. Even after I had given the cabbie the directions in Chinese and a map of our hotel and the address written in Chinese, we were still driven the long way around. Here are a few tips I had learned after our experience that might make for a more pleasant ride next time:
1. Getting a receipt. Fa Piao . The hotel can help you dispute the price with the taxi companies and you may be able to get some of your money back. Also, more importantly, should you leave something behind in the taxi, the receipt is the only way to trace it back.
2. Taxi companies are color coded. The light blue taxis have the best reputation. If you can't find one of those, opt for yellow, then green, or white.
Or alternatively, take the Maglev - the high speed train that propels up to 431km / hr (!!) taking you from the airport to the city center in 10 minutes. So much fun.
05.18.2009
Shanghai isn't necessarily what you would call a beautiful city, like Paris or Amsterdam. However it is an interesting one with its entanglement of early 20th c. European architecture, odd post-Soviet inspired governmental buildings, old Chinese structures and new Western derivative hi-rises. It's a rewarding city to enjoy, but it's not an easy city to cover by foot.
Waking up in the Rui Jin Hotel was heavenly. Our room was absolutely quiet and comfortable. The hotel is a series of garden villas occupying about 7 hectares of land, set in the tree-lined French Concession. This property was once the residence of a British newspaper mogul family, the Morisses. It's really a fantastic refuge from the urban bustle.
I really love the French Concession area. Huaihai Lu forms the spine of the French Concession, where you'll find fancy designer stores, parks, gardens and museums. Just strolling around, we encountered old Art Deco style villas. The neighorbhood is also located close to the Xiantiandi district - a pedestrian area of restored shikumen style homes into trendy boutiques, restaurants and outdoor cafes.
We started the day with Moganshan Lu 50 or M50 on our mind. It's the cradle of Shanghai's modern art scene - a grouping of factories and warehouses co-opted to galleries and artists in residence. Walking towards the Huanpi Station stop to take us to our art destination, we strolled through Fuxing Park. Fuxing Park was once part of a private French estate - there's still a sign in the park warning "No Dogs or Chinese allowed." Despite this warning, it's now enjoyed by many seniors in the morning doing exercises. People going through tai-chi routines individually or with a group. People walking backwards. A lady clawing at a tree in slow motion staring icily at us. A few people bumping their backs against a tree trunk. I love that people do what they want and don't seem to care about all the other weird things people around them are doing.
Johnny was calling this the Long Moganshan Lu Death March. We got off at the Shanghai Railway Station stop. The hot summer sun was beating down on our shoulders as we walked about 1.5 miles before we found the area. It is a dead zone hidden outside of the city. M50 is along the banks of the Suzhou Creek, so we were able to get our bearings. This area is unique with a gallore of galleries and interesting warehouse spaces; be prepared to spend a half a day at least exploring!
Dinner: GUYI
87 Fumin Lu, near Julu Lu.
Jing'an Temple Station Stop /
Shaanxi Nan Lu Station Stop
Hunanese Cuisine
11am - 10:30pm
This is a slightly upscale Hunanese restaurant in the French Concession that seems to be perpetually crowded and always with long queues outside, but it is worth the wait. Just take a number from the hostess, dressed in "Super Dry" Ashai Silver jacket and matching skirt and in 15-20 minutes she'll take you to your table; ready for smoky and spicy Hunanese cuisine. It was hard to decide what to choose from - everything looked and smelled so wonderful. We started with cold spicy bean curd. Muttons encrusted in cumin, spicy prawns, lotus seeds with green beans and woodear mushrooms, rice with greens and perserved pork. Everything was delicious. Cold beer and the lime soda were good foils to the spicy meal. It was definitely an electrifying treat to our tongues.
05.19.2009
Old Town (Nanshi)
Dongtai Lu Flea Market
Bird Market
Huxinting Tea House
Dinner : DIN TAI FUNG
Top floor of the shopping mall in the Xintiandi complex
The ultimate and perfect dumplings in Shanghai. My brother, Jon and his wife, Soo suggested to meet us for dinner at this chain restaurant. It has the perfect xialongbao: the perfect dumpling is a balanced ratio of dough to meat to soup. I'm a firm believer that that perfect dumpling is one where the casing is thin enough for the bun to be delicate, but doesn't break apart when you pick it up with your chopsticks. The filling should be tender and flavorful, soup not too much and not too greasy. And it should be served with the traditional vinegar and ginger dipping sauce.
We were delighted! We ordered a few different steamed varieties: xialongbao pork and crab topped with crab roe, shao mai shrimp. The skins were translucent and the perfect size for a single bite. It was golden! We also ordered some soft and fluffy vegetable and tofu steamed buns and smoky morning glories. We shared a pot of Ju'er tea ; a mix of Jasmine and Pu'er.
WUXI
05.21.2009
Wuxi borders Changzhou and Suzhou and is split by Lake Taihu. James' wife, Candy is from this city of 8 million. It's where they've started to make a home and started an English language school, Enjoy English, for children.
The hotel we stayed at:
The first night's banquet: Wuxi cuisine is typically sweeter than most Chinese dishes. They are known for their spare ribs and the Three Whites dish: White bait fish soup, white shrimp and white fish (a steamed flounder or bass)
05.22.2009
Family field trip to the Grand Buddha at Ling Shan
One of the largest Buddha statues in China
05.23.2009
Wedding Day
The Procession from the Groom's House to Obtain the Bride
Dim of 18 loud firecrackers marked the started of the procession.
According to the tradition, the groom would go to the bride's house to fetch her, taking with him the bridal chair, which was covered in red satin and fresh flowers. Today's version - a flowered decked black Audi:
At the Bride's house, the Bride's friends, who would not "surrender" the bride until they were satisfied by red packets of money, and haggling. They also had hidden her shoes, which James had to search around the room.
We were offered a sweet soup of dates and lotus seeds and another soup of two hard-boiled eggs with noodles, symbolic of the well wishing of a first born son and the departure of the bride from her family.
The Bride's Journey to the Groom's House
Arriving at the Groom's House
The Lunch Banquet
My Grandparents. Candy and James in the back.
A plate of duck's tongues on the lower right hand corner that brought squeals to our table:
Wedding Banquet
The official wedding time was at 17:18 - for luck.
The turtle is a must dish in a wedding banquet, as its Chinese name is very auspicious. Even though Johnny and I think we have a pretty adventurous palate, we simply weren't brave enough to embark on this culinary adventure.
BEIJING
05.25.2009
Navigating this city is not easy. The street names can be confusing. Like trying to find our accommodations in the dark of the night. We had booked a small hutong style boutique hotel, Cong's Hutong, located off in small alley. None of the taxis would take us there, but assured us we were going in the right direction, so we decided to walk. It didn't look far on the map from the Chaoyangmen Station, where the airport train dropped us. However getting our bearings with the streets was difficult: There was Dongzhimen Beidajie (North), Dongzhimen Nandajie (South), Dongzhimen Waidajie (Outer) and Dongzhimen Neidaijie (Inner). We walked a quarter of a mile before we realized we were on Dongzhimen Waidajie instead of Dongzhimen Neidajie. It was dizzying.
Basically all the metro stations are located around the outer ring. Getting anywhere from the outer ring to inner streets could be from a quarter of a mile to a mile on foot. We quickly found out that using the metro and your feet is useless and takes A LOT of time. Although traffic is awful, the taxis are really the best way (and cheap) to get around in Beijing. The taxis are reliable but they often will not take you to the small alleys, which are legally off limits to taxis
05.26.2009
Dinner: HUA JIA YIYUAN
235 Dongzhimennei Street
Traditional Beijing Cuisine
10am-4am
We were dropped at the new location #5 Dongzhimennei, but I would recommend the original location for his spectacular courtyard ambience. Crispy tofu skins stuffed with duck meat and minced mushrooms. Yi Yuan chicken.
05.27.2009
Cong's Hutong was a friendly and quaint stay. It's a great experience to see a bit of the traditional Chinese living. Mr. and Mrs. Cong were very accommodating and helpful with recommendations and what to see. Unfortunately, since there was a bit of construction all around in the neighborhood, our 5 am banging wake-up calls were not what we had in mind.
Switching to the Hotel Kapok was a great move. Close to walking distance of most of the major sites, taxis were readily available, and it was quiet. Breakfasts were easily found just by walking out and seeing what's being made on the street. Chinese breakfasts take some getting use to, but I enjoy the do hwa, a light airy tofu soup - sweetened or savory, any number of the fried dough sticks, fried scallion pancakes or buns.
Forbidden City
Houhai Park
Guo Moruo Guju
Beihai Park
Dinner : CHUAN BAN
Jianguomen Gongyuantoutiao #5
T: 6512-2277
10am - 2pm 4pm - 10pm
The BEST Sichuan restaurant. It's located on the first floor of the government building housing Sichuan's bureaucrats. You must walk behind the Beijing International Hotel. There's a road that will cut through to a parking lot. Then take a left when you've reached the edge of lot, you should be on Gongyuantoutiao, walk down a bit and then take a right. This is what you should find: follow the overhead puck lights, directing you to the the lit window at the end through the gates, see with the minivan in front? You've arrived at your destination!
Gloriously tongue-numbing! It was worth the search and journey. The menu is an overwhelmingly one inch thick leather bound book. Our favorites were the Sichuan spicy noodles and Ma Pao Dofu. The steamed pork with rice flour was not a hit with us.
05.28.2009
Tiananmen Square
Panjiayuan Flea Market
DongHuamen Night Market
Dinner: LI QUN ROAST DUCK
No. 11 Beixianfeng, Zhengyi Road
A visit to Beijing is not complete without a Peking Duck. The taxi dropped us in front of the neighborhood. As soon as we stepped out, we were surrounded by 10 rickshaws, shouting at us, waving LiQun signs in our faces, accosting us to take a ride with them to the restaurant. We continued forward, but they kept following, shouting at us angrily in Chinese that we didn't know where we were going, that we were going in the wrong direction, pointing at every direction; it was madness.
The restaurant was only a short 2 blocks away. Red lanterns signal you to turn into the dimly lit and divey courtyard house. A roast duck hung in the brick stove, smoking with the scent of the fruitwood. The duck is amazing, skin so light and crispy, meat so juicy, pancakes so thin. It was mesmerizing the skill of the carver. They serve all the condiments for your duck pancake: plum sauce, slivered spring onions, pickled cucumbers. The atmosphere may be a little shabby, but it was definitely one of our favorite meals in China.
PRICE:
- Tourist Visas $130 / each
- Flights with Air China $1,546.94 / 2 RT tickets
- Rui Jin Hotel (Shanghai) $130 / night
- Cong's Hutong (Beijing) 680 RMB / night
- Hotel Kapok (Beijing) 800 RMB - 1300 RMB / night
EXCHANGE RATE: 1 RMB = 0.15 USD
ESSENTIALS AND TIPS: We had an initial problem with obtaining a visa for Johnny. We had put down on his application his profession as a "film technician." This alerted the clerk at the Consulate that he was involved in the media. And we all know China's sentiments on the media and censorship. Especially since this happened to fall on the 20th Anniversary of Tiananmen Square, China was being especially cautious with handing out visas. However much I tried to explain to her what a dolly grip was, that he was not a filmmaker and that the nature of this trip was for a holiday and family wedding, I could not convince her that he was not planning to do a covert documentary or the like. Anyway, long story short, I ended up hiring a Chinese travel agent to help with his visa application.
Chinese style squatty potties are abundant in Beijing. The smells are formidable. Pack some tissues, since many public restrooms don't provide it. Wet wipes and hand sanitizers are also a good friend. Soaps and towels are usually not at the sinks. I would opt for "Preventive Peeing", going before or holding on before getting caught in the squats. But if you have to go, you have to go and I would suggest looking for the star rated bathrooms and also rolling up your pant legs.
RECOMMENDED GUIDE BOOK: Urbanatomy: Shanghai 2008 , Insider's Guide to Beijing 2008
RECOMMENDED READING: The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones. MoMa, the High-Rise Condo , an interesting photo-essay by my friend and artist, Angie Waller
