I travel to China several times a year mainly for fun but also to check out hotels and new tourist attractions for my book. The following information is not in my 2002 book. 

The following items are dated with the month the information was obtained. Everything is subject to change but this should give you a good idea of what to expect. Please also look at our collection of photos from some of these places.

Vertical Layout Slides   -   Landscape Layout Slides

The last time this page was updated was 12/31/08

Luoyang
Luoyang is now 1 1/2 hours by road from Dengfeng, and our IST/Concepts East group had dinner in the Peony Plaza Hotel where we were staying. It was not as good as before but seemed okay. The restaurant opened next morning at 6am which was great for us early-risers. The breakfast buffet was edible except for the insect on my plate and the poor pastry. I discovered that two of our group had both been violently ill during the night with diarrhea and vomiting. One spent the day in bed but Curt was able to go with us. I could only conclude that it was the food in the hotel the night before, an opinion supported by one of our group, a medical doctor. We complained to the hotel (which sent them flowers), and to CITS Head Office who organized our tour.

We are not going to use that hotel again, unless it gets better.

Because the group asked about visiting a school, our first stop was a primary school near the Longmen Caves along a muddy road still under construction. "Bus massage," said our guide Tony Wang of the jarring and wobbling.

We requested a class learning English. Tony went in first to ask permission of the headmistress. Ours was the first group of foreign tourists to visit this school. We talked with the students who didn't know much English but sang us "Happy Birthday -- Yi Er" -- and one other song -- at the top of their lungs. The decibels were too high to be comfortable. The teacher spoke very little English. Harriet took videos and showed them to the increasingly excited kids. Everybody had a great time.

One person felt we shouldn't have just dropped in on the school unannounced because we disrupted the routine. (I think the school benefited from our visit so it was worthwhile for all of us. Besides we were only there about half an hour at the most and I hope we stimulated them to work harder at English.) But the rest of the group liked the visit and the Longmen Caves. The parking lot at the caves is now half a kilometer from the entrance and we paid Y2 each for a ride on an eight-passenger electric cart. Titles in English in the caves have been improved. More toilets are available, one of them near the entrance that was very clean and even had hooks to hang purses!

Lunch was at the Eight Immortals Restaurant about a kilometer from Longmen where we were bothered at the table for at least five minutes by a woman trying to sell us paintings.

The road to Mrs. Yang's and her bound feet and cave home (page 544) was blocked by construction so we went to the Folk Customs Museum instead. It's too bad so few people go to this museum because it has so many good things to see: the building itself is an old Shanxi Guild Hall which has not been recently restored, so you get a feeling it's ancient. It has an exhibit on traditional weddings, embroidery, and shadow puppets. For Y20 each extra, you can get an explanation of the puppets (in Chinese), plus a charming 10-minute performance with music. Members of our group agreed to pay for this themselves.

Our group loved the City Museum even though they were tired. This group loved museums and we went to every museum we could find.

Tony then took our doctor, a psychiatrist, to the best general hospital in the city where he had a talk with Chinese doctors dealing with mental patients. Suddenly the doctors stopped talking about them. Tony thought it was because they thought the visiting doctor was a reporter and mental illness is a sensitive subject.

No one complained about our mini-bus which was old and not as comfortable as the others we had. They seem to have accepted the fact that Luoyang is a backward provincial city.

>From here on, the group started over-reacting about our food and washing chopsticks. One couple brought their own chopsticks. But it didn't seem necessary.

Tony planned dinner in the hotel again but we all objected. That's where we got sick! He quickly telephoned and arranged for the Cantonese restaurant (page 541) near the market behind the New Friendship Hotel with its fast food. The table cloths were dirty there on all the available tables so they give us a private room.

I should be back in this area in May asking about an alternative to the Peony Plaza Hotel. Stay tuned. -
RLM, Date: October, 2000.

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Macau
Macau was its usual charming self. Changes are expected to be precipitated next year by the loss of STDM's monopoly to run all the casinos. There is talk that the city will try to become another Atlantic City with up-market resorts.

Around the giant 20-meter high Kun Iam (Goddess of Mercy) statue are streets full of interesting restaurants now. This statue is on a spit in the harbor and many of the restaurants are pleasantly located on the waterfront.

The Government Tourist Office has changed its e-mail to: mgto@macaotourism.gov.mo  . Its web-site is: www.macautourism.gov.mo . Its Hong Kong office is at 1303 Shun Tak Centre, West Wing, 200 Connaught Road Central, Tel. 852-2549-8884, or Fax 852-2559-6513. The e-mail is: general@dnet.com.hk  .

I've been to Macau many times before and I do speak a few words of Cantonese so feeling as if I belonged there, I felt an urge to take a public bus after walking across the border from Gongbei in Zhuhai. Bus drivers said to take Bus #30 to the Hyatt Regency on Taipa Island. They were right, but the route was circuitous and it took a lot longer than expected.

The route was indicative of all the other buses I took in this city. We never went directly from point A to B. We always seemed to go off the main streets, along narrow side streets, taking forever. It was however a good way to see this multi-faceted city of glass walled skyscrapers and old Portuguese mansions for a couple of patacas.

Where to Stay:
I stayed two nights at my favorite hotel, the 1983 Hyatt Regency (page 749) - a nice compromise between the crowded convenient mainland, and the spaciousness of the off-shore islands. It is close to the airport and has Hyatt's good services. Its e-mail is: hrmhkso@netvigator.com  . Its web-site is: www.macau.hyatt.com  . The Hong Kong telephone is 25590291. Rooms now range from MOP$850 to MOP$2100, and suites from MOP$1850 to MOP$6000. Travel agents have been giving over 50% discounts. All hotels add a 10% service charge and 5% tax.

The Hyatt's breakfast buffet costs MOP$133, and the lunch buffet is MOP85 in its A Pousada restaurant. The dinner buffet ranges from MOP$128 to MOP$188. The guestrooms are all 28 square meters and there's free coffee/tea making in every guestroom. It has a climbing wall, good for its team building courses. Its dim sum is wonderful - king prawn dumplings for MOP$29, pork dumpling with scallop for MOP$29, barbecued pork bun for MOP$16, deep-fried squid ring with garlic for MOP$23, bean curd skin roll with mushroom for MOP$22, sliced turnip pastry (that looked like crispy cocoons) for MOP$18. They were all very good.

I also had a look at the Pousada de Sao Tiago (page 749) which is still the most romantic hotel here - though the beauty of the Hyatt with its louvered windows, Portuguese ceramics and lush tropical garden makes it a close second in that department. . The bus stop is close-by too in both cases. The Pousada's web-site is www.saotiago.com.mo , its e-mail: saotiago@macau.ctm.net  . Rooms range from MOP$1580 to MOP$1920, and suites MOP$2200 to MOP$3950. It has been discounting 10%. It has no CNN, no room safe, but it can accept credit cards and traveler's checks. In Hong Kong, Tel. 2739-1216, and fax 2739-1198.
RLM, DATE April, 2001.

More current information on Macau will be in Ruth's China Guide published by Open Road in Spring, 2002.

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Nanjing
Nanjing (page 383) has many changes. The bus from the Shanghai Stadium terminal cost Y88. Over two hours later, it dropped us off at the Jinling Hotel in downtown Nanjing. The hotel was much more central and classy than the bus stations near the railway station where I had gotten off on a previous trip. It was also much more inviting. I went in for a lunch of German sausages and met some Americans interns working temporarily in that hotel. The Americans were an unexpected addition to the staff of this Chinese hotel. 

Nanjing also has a food street now on Shizi Qiao Lane, Hunan Road, from which cars are banned. The Nanjing Da Pai Dang there has cheap, good local food, little English, but cute little old men greeting you with much enthusiasm at the door. More expensive, better and less noisy is the Lion King Restaurant almost next door. The area even has a Thai restaurant, but don't expect authentic. 

A second 3000-meter suspension bridge has now opened over the Yangtze River, the longest such bridge in Asia. A new ring road has cut down the time getting around this city. 
Nanjing is building a walkway by the Yangtze River similar to Shanghai's Bund to be finished in 2006. It is constructing a subway, the first phase of which should operate in 2004.The metro should go south from the railway station to city center and onward to Fuzi Miao/Confucian Temple. 

Where to Stay: (page 386) Hotels here add a 10% service charge and 5% tax, and accept credit cards. The downtown hotels here (Crowne Plaza, Jinling, Ramada, and Sheraton) are within a couple of kilometers of each other and about 42km from the airport, and seven km from the train station. The most centrally located is the Jinling. The best price for tour groups seems to be at the Sheraton. These hotels and others will be reviewed in my next guide book along with other helpful information. 

The Sheraton Nanjing Kingsley Hotel and Towers has changed its fax number to 6669999, and its e-mail to: nanjing.kingsley@sheraton.com  . The Jinling Hotel's fax is now 4711666; the web-site is: www.jinlinghotel.com  (English), and the email is: hotel@jinlinghotel.com  . The Mandarin Chamber Hotel is now three and five-stars; its e-mail: ZYLhotel@public1.ptt.js.cn  . The Holiday Inn is now the Ramada Plaza Yihua Hotel with the same address and telephone numbers. The fax is 3309999; the e-mail: nkgch@public1.ptt.js.cn . It's giving the same prices with a 50% discount. Its gym has 13 machines but none with heart monitors. An internet center is almost across the road in the Telecom building. 
I have always liked the setting of the Dingshan Hotel in Nanjing even though it was a long way from city center. It was first built in 1976 near the former British residency, almost in the middle of a commune on top of Ding Shan Hill. It sat above a lovely patch of countryside isolated from the bustle of the Jiangsu provincial capital. What a nice surprise to learn that Shangri-La was building a hotel there, and that access was a lot faster from downtown because of the new road. The Shangri-La is 7km from the railway station and 45km from the airport. 

From the outside, the new SHANGRI-LA DINGSHAN (Dingshan Xiang Ge Li La Dajiudian) is beautiful and imposing. It is in traditional Chinese architecture and you can see it from at least a kilometer away, like the castle that it is. It reminds me of Wuhan's fat and cylindrical Yellow Crane Tower, three Yellow Crane Towers to be exact, joined together. It is set on 80,000 square meters of grass, flowers and driveway. 
Inside, the lobby of this otherwise wonderful hotel is something out of Las Vegas. The ceiling is a dome, blue with 800 twinkling stars. You walk in the front door and you see a crack in a mountain which is too narrow to go through to the elevators beyond. My first thought was that it was the entrance to Shangri-La -- but staff said it had to do with another Chinese story based on the ancient poem "Peach Flower Valley" - by poet Tao Yuan Ming. Inside the elevators iridescent blue panels and riders are reflected in mirrors, designed to represent infinity. 

The lobby is small for a Shangri-La. The reception desk is to one side with only cell phones and two people there. It's rather unusual. For a hotel that was only opened eight days before I stayed there, the Shangri-La Dingshan did unexpectedly well. It only took 30 minutes for the telephone operator to find the user name, password and local server telephone number so I could use the internet directly from my own computer. The waitress brought me the wrong drink and a tea cup on a plate, not a saucer. The cook ignored the waiting customer and took the grilled sirloin platter away to be refilled as I reached for it. Those were the only glitches in my two nights there -- if you can call them that. Everything else appeared to work fine. The free-for guests frequent shuttle buses downtown left on time. The breakfast buffet was up to Shangri-La's high standards. 

My room (1025) was a deluxe, the cheapest. It had a glass desk with handy electrical outlet nearby and beyond the balcony, a view of an old colonial building. Beyond that was an office building a kilometer away, and then the old Yangtze River bridge in the smoggy distance. I could also see a pagoda on Lion Hill on the horizon. The room had three telephones and a data port, seven lamps, and eight ceiling spots - no shortage of lights. It had a clock and its own tree (fake). The couch was comfortable and the stool at the end of the bed was classy and even useful. The mini-bar had goblets. Its television offered CNN, CNBC, Italian, French and German channels as well as Chinese.

I kept walking into the dressing room though I wanted the bathroom. It's placed where bathrooms usually are. The safe box fit my laptop and the closet could satisfy three suit cases full of clothes. It came with an iron and ironing board. The bathroom had a separate shower stall with two heads and a seat, and a two-sink green marble wash stand. 
In addition to the desk, there was a dressing table with a lamp. 

Still to come are the Deli corner, pool deck, gym and night club--all of which should be finished the end of 2001. It already has tennis, a golf driving range and a 25 meter long pool. The ballroom seats 700 banquet style and offers simultaneous translation, and digital visual walls. 

The Shangri-La has now taken over the Dingshan Garden Hotel as its four-star wing. The Shangri-la Wing is indisputably five star. Rooms in the Dingshan Wing range from US$120-$160 and a suite there costs $200. Rooms in the Shangri-La Wing including its Horizon Club range from $200-$320. Suites range from $350 to $2000. It has been discounting 30 to 45% off of these. The address is 90 Chahaer Road, 210003. Tel. 8802888, fax 8821729.E-mail is: sldn@shangri-la.com  . Web: www@shangri-la.com  (English). It has 689 rooms including its serviced apartments and villas. Rooms are a huge 50 to 60 square meters. 

The Dingshan has been isolated from the city up until now. It makes me think of the Holiday Inn Lido Beijing which developed as a center in itself. The Nanjing
International School is on its grounds. Within 10 minutes walk are a Carrefour department store, a supermarket and some interesting restaurants. The new ring road expressway now means it's only a 15 minute, 7 to 8 km, drive from the Jinling Hotel and the downtown center. 

The Shangri-La's Chinese restaurant serves half portions on request, and you can thus sample twice as many dishes as you usually can. Its XO Sauce (scallops, dried shrimp, and chili peppers) was so good, we ate it straight from the sauce dish. We had cold salted Nanjing duck (Y20), stewed pork ribs (Y7 a piece, sweet and succulent with cloves), and shrimp and crab meat in half-pastry for Y22 per piece (very European). It also had soup for Y10, spicy chicken for Y36 and sweet rain flower dumplings for Y4 a piece (ground sesame inside. The outside looks like Nanjing's famous rain flower stones.) There was also date paste cake (Y15 for six pieces) and vegetable dumplings (Y12 for six pieces) and especially good steamed Xiao long tang bao (minced pork dumpling with soup inside) for Y15 for six pieces. 

As you can see from my 1999 edition, the cooks at the Dingshan are already very famous. Many of them have now moved over to the Shangri-La's kitchen. The breakfast buffet costs Y98, and dinner Y98 Breakfast included sushi, yogurt, cold Japanese noodles, congee, 17 different breads and buns, and six hot dishes. Incidentally Shangri-La chefs add no MSG in any of its restaurants. 

I also stayed in the other important new hotel. The CROWNE PLAZA NANJING (Jin Ying Huang Guang Jiudian) is at 89 Han Zhong Road, 210029, at Wang Fu Street. Tel. 471-8888, 471-9999. E-mail: crowne@jlonline.com . Web: www.crowneplaza.com . (English) It has 290 rooms ranging from 28 to 34 square meters. 55% of its rooms are actually suites 60 to 100 square meters. It has been offering a Y598 suite package with breakfast. Rooms have safes, separate showers, CNN, BBC, Italian and German channels, and kettles. Non-smoking rooms are available. 

The hotel layout is confusing. It plans to hire staff to direct people to the hotel's 7th floor lobby and to other floors. It is difficult to find the right elevators at first. The Chinese restaurant (not operated by Crowne Plaza) is on the 7th floor and the coffee shop is on the 9th. Guests rooms are on the 37th to the 53rd floors. Its ballroom seats 100 at tables. It is the highest hotel in Nanjing, and shares its building with offices, the six-story Golden Eagle shopping mall, and a supermarket. 

The Crowne Plaza was originally opened as the G.E. Plaza Hotel. It has lots of wood d‚cor, lots of gold trim, and very highly polished floors. The reflections fascinate, especially in the lobby where the mirror-like polish doubles the beautiful gold medallion behind the reception desk. A nice touch are the chairs for guests at the reception desk. 
The lobby is a real lobby, spacious and elegant. 

My room, a suite, was huge and had a bench at the base of the bed which had four fluffy pillows, duvet, and bed-to-ceiling padded headboard. It was easy to reach the data port from the desk.(All rooms have broad-band access.) The walk-in dressing room had a complicated safe just barely big enough for a lap top. The walk-in closet was huge with about 3.5 meters of bar for hanging clothes, and lots of drawer space. It had a dressing table and mirror and live orchids. The bathroom had a separate shower stall, tub, one sink, scales, lots of amenities, make-up mirror, and bathroom speaker for radio and television, but no ironing board. The bed was king-sized. It receives CNN, BBC, HBO, Japanese and European channels. The Crowne Plaza has non-smoking rooms. 

Its breakfast buffet offered dim sum, beans, tomatoes, French toast, pastries, made-to-order eggs, noodles, pepper steak, yogurt, congee, and several kinds of fruit and juices. Its lunch buffet presented three kinds of shrimps, baby crabs and starchy cobs of corn. It had lots of salads, sushi, noodles, cheeses, barbecued salmon, lamb, pork, chicken breasts, etc. with a choice of spicy or regular sauces. It had several hot dishes and a good display of pastries. Its breakfast buffet costs Y78, dinner Y98 to Y138 (seafood). But I found one chipped plate. It has Asian cuisine, barbecue, and a Cantonese restaurant. It has a night club, karaoke and a Y56 foot massage service. Its pool is year-round. It has aerobics and a gym with 19 good machines. 

Its business center charges Y0.50 a minute for e-mail and will be subscribing to the Asian Wall Street Journal and South China Morning Post. 

Within a block on a side street is a little bar 77. "It's famous," said Marketing Communications Manager, Victoria Li, of the Crowne Plaza. 77 is one of those dinky local places, tiny and dark that attracts foreigners trying to escape the world of glitz and business that is the five-star hotel almost next door. The grubby night market is one kilometer away. A subway station will be opening nearby.

Practical Information. 
A taxi to Wuxi from Nanjing one way costs about Y500. The Nanjing-Shanghai train now takes almost three hours. 

Nanjing China International Travel Services nd China Jiangsu Overseas Tourist Co. 202 - 1 North Zhongshan Road, 210003. Tel: 0086-25-3421948 Fax: 0086-25-3410271 E-mail: ea01@njview.com  . The website is: www.njview.com  . It has a wide variety of tours, one of which is an eight-day seven-night tours in its own coach around Jiangsu province if there are at least 10 people. The price is US$250-a cheap and quick introduction. This is for double occupancy in three-star hotels and includes all meals, and transportation from and back to Shanghai. Cities include Suzhou (1), Wuxi (1), Yixing (1), Nanjing (2) and Hangzhou (2). CITS says it stops at clean washrooms. 

These agencies charge for hotels and breakfast: 

Group over 10 passenger individual traveler below 10 passenger 
5 star Jinling Hotel $55 $95
Sheraton $50 $110
Hilton $40 $90

4 star Central Hotel $40 $70
Grand Hotel $40 $60
Xuanwu Hotel $35 $55 

3 star Nanjing Hotel $30 $50
Friendship Hotel $25 $35

Yangzhou 
3 star New Centry Hotel $35 $40
International Hotel $25 $30

Zhenjiang
4 star International Hotel $30 $50

Wuxi
3 star Meilidu Hotel $20 $30
4 star Hubin Hotel $25 $40
5 star Sheraton $70 $105

Suzhou
3 star Nanlin Hotel $30 $50
4 star Suzhou Hotel $35 $55
5 star Sheraton $80 $105

The travel agency in the Sheraton said flight tickets from Nanjing to Beijing cost Y920, to Guangzhou Y1070, to Tianjin Y810, to Lanzhou Y1250, to Urumqi Y2250, and to Xi'an Y990. Trains take three hours to Shanghai, 12 hours to Beijing, 30 hours to Guangzhou, and 27 hours to Xiamen. A day tour leaving at 8:30pm costs Y140 and includes the Ming Tomb, city wall, Yangtze Bridge, Xuanwu Lake, Linggu Park, and Sun Yatsen mausoleum. 

Two bus stations are about 100 meters apart near the railway station. Ask for
Zhong Yang Men (more for express buses), or Zhong Yong Da Xia. No English is spoken at either place. 

Excursions: 
Yangzhou 
This city (page 412) is now 100 km. from Nanjing, about a 11/2 to two-hour drive. The landscape and buildings of its main tourist attraction, the boat trip on Slender West Lake, were largely designed an Emperor's visit and paid for by local salt merchants. It might have the reputation of a laid-back, tourist city, but it does have an industrial zone, 4 km from downtown with a population of 3.6 million. It manufactures Mercedes buses The best of the hotels here especially for business travelers and tourists is the Grand Metropole. The Xi and Yangzhou are better located for tourists because they are in the old city, walking distance to the entrance to the boat ride, the museum, parks, and tourist shops. But the Grand Metropole is not far away. It has a gym, sauna, and night club. 

Grand Metropole Hotel A China Travel Service (H.K.) Hotel. Four Star. 242 rooms. BBC, German, 1 Wenchang Xi Road, Tel. 732-2888, fax 736-8999. E-mail: yz.jhjd@public.yz.js.cn  . Web-site: www.gmhotel.com  (English). Rooms are Y700 to Y900, and suites Y1500 to Y8000. It has been discounting 30%. This is about 1.5 km. from Slender West Lake, 

Yangzhou Hotel (Binguan) Rooms range from Y388 to 480 and suites from 680 to 4400. It has been discounting 25 to 35%. You can pay by credit card. 

Practical Information: 
A web-site for industry is www.yangzhou-china.com  (English). .The Moon Culture Festival is Sept. 8 to Oct. 8 annually during which celebrants look at fancy lanterns, listen to ancient music, and eat Yangzhou food. There is also a Spring Tourism Festival. 

CITS is now at 10 Fengle Upper Street, 225002. Tel. 7345746, 7318518, Fax is the same. E-mail: YZ.C.I.T.S.@yeah.net   . 

The Yangzhou Tourism Bureau, Marketing and Promotion Section, is at 8 Upper Fengle Street, Tel. 7363909. The fax and e-mail remain the same. For brochures. 


Zhenjiang: (page 416)
This historical city is now 60 km from Nanjing airport and is on No. 312 State Highway. Until the new bridge gets finished between Zhenjiang and Yangzhou in 2003 or so, you have to cross the Yangtze by ferry. Pearl S. Buck's old home is still there. If it isn't open and you want to see inside, contact CITS. It has photos, copies of her book and classes in English. A taxi from Yangzhou to Zhenjiang costs Y500 to Y600 including tolls. A taxi from Nanjing to Zhenjiang costs about Y300 to Y450. 

The best hotel is still the International, page 416. 

Practical Information: CITS is in the Zhenjiang Hotel. 92 West Zhongshan Road, 212004. Tel. 5233888. Its fax is the same.. 

The Zhenjiang Travel and Tourism Bureau's e-mail is: zjttbc@pub.zj.js.info.ne t. The web-site is www.tour.zj.js.cn . (Chinese only). FIT department Tel. 5226063.
. -RLM, DATE, July, 2001. 

From a previous trip: 
The bus from Hefei dropped me off at a terminal next to the Zhong Yang Hotel, north and east of the Yangtze River bridge, a long way from downtown. The new Sheraton Nanjing Kingsley which opened in February of this year, is beautiful and luxurious (page 386). The new e-mail addresses of the Sheraton Nanjing Kingsley are: nanjing_kingsley@sheraton.com  and center@public1.ptt.js.cn , but it no longer uses the telephone number 6519990. It has a wonderful gold dragon in its lobby, but its cigar bar won't be open for a while and its bowling alley, track and putting green not at all. 

The Sheraton's twin rooms have double beds, and its bathrooms have big tubs and separate shower stalls, robes, and television speakers. Its ballroom seats 300 banquet style. Its 25 meter- long swimming pool is inviting and its observation elevator gives a good view of the city. 

The Y98 breakfast buffet has a lot of variety and included sushi as well as Danish pastries, eggs, and cereals. The "dinosaur ribs" (Y48) were great and I got a free coffee when I complained about its inedible hard potatoes. Its summer lunch buffet cost Y78 including service charge, its dinner buffet was Y188. The Irish stew tasted like real Irish stew. 

The Sheraton has a golf simulator, but it can also arrange for you to play golf at the golf club on the other side of the Yangtze River Bridge, 40 minutes drive away. Hotel guests can get free shuttle service there and a 10% discount on Saturdays and Sundays.) The Sheraton has a unique elevator that takes some getting used to. You push the button for the floor you want and then you follow an arrow to the next available elevator. After you get the hang of it, it's quite fun. 

There's now a 11:30am show at the Chaotian Palace (page 393) which was originally built in 1385 and rebuilt in the Qing. It's on Jianya and Mouchou Roads. The entrance fee here for the Museum of the Six Dynasties, which has titles in English is Y5. Nanjing was a capital of these dynasties. The museum has celadon, models of water wheels, carts and ships, and tomb figures. It has a "herb of immortality" taken from a fifth century tomb. Obviously it didn't work. Antique stalls are open weekends from 8am-5pm. A few antique stores are open daily here from 9am-5pm. Nearby is the Kunju opera theater. 

The area around the Sun Yat-sen mausoleum (page 388) is wooded, sylvan and beautiful, and is great for hiking. It is full of tiny museums, including one in the Linggu Temple, of Sun Yat-sen's life in life-size wax figures. If you're not in a hurry, you should be able to tour the area by public tour bus or on foot; a tour bus stop is across the street to the left, from the Hilton. 

Things have changed in the Confucius temple area, especially with the Mandarin Garden Hotel (page 387) which is now rated five stars, but cannot compare with the Sheraton, Hilton and Jinling Hotels. Its standards are poor. Its telephone number is no longer 2202555 and you can no longer sit in its air-conditioned lobby and watch old China outside because the market has been re-designed. The English is almost non-existent. But it's an interesting location for tourists and cheap. Published room rates range from Y480-Y530 negotiable. 

The Temple no longer has wax figures of Confucian scholars writing examinations, but it does have a performance of ancient chime bells and a good exhibit in stone of the life of the sage. This is a good place for tourist and curio shopping. (I had pearls re-strung here.) 

Across the Qinhuai River near McDonald's is the Former Residence of the Wang and Xie families, worth a visit for its slate carvings and a table full of little canals where miniature boats bearing drinks for guests used to float. The mansion was originally built in the Six Dynasties, at least 1500 years ago. ----RLM, DATE: July, 1999. 
* * *
Thanks to the Sheraton in Nanjing, we have more leads. I didn't have time to follow up, so if you try these, please share your experiences with us. "For a factory making custom carpets, there's the Jiangsu Jurong Yimaxian Carpet Co., No. 85 Jianshe Road, Jurong City, Tel. 511/7222205; for Tiffany lamps, there's the J.B. Hirsch Lighting Company, No. 150 Changhong Road, Shuiximen, Tel. 6513228, 6510778. Make sure it's 110 volts for North America.

"As for golf, the Nanjing Zhaofu Golf Club is at 176 Zhuzhu Street, Pukou District, Tel. 8853333, 8853460, and the golf driving range is at Xuanwu Lake, Tel. 3609424.

"For night spots, there's of course Danny's Irish Pub on the 4th floor of the Sheraton with China's largest Irish Whisky selection and a live band every Friday and Saturday. There's also Tequila on Shenzhou Road, a dump, but everybody 18 to 24 goes there, while many local students will try to practice their English on you. They also have many Karaoke rooms. Then there's Ladies at the back of the Tai Pin Shopping City, near the Hilton, Tel. 4415118. Every night there's a different beer promotion sponsored by a foreign beer label, with a local DJ."-- Sheraton Nanjing Kingsley Hotel and Tower, DATE, July, 1999. 
* * *
Xinhua News Agency and Agence France Presse reported in February, 1999, that Chinese archaeologists have found the exact location of Zhu Yuanzheng's grave (page 389) which has been hidden for 600 years in an apparently successful attempt to foil robbers. Zhu's final resting place and those of his wife and 46 concubines were discovered through precision magnetic tests carried out over the 20,000 square meter site and is at the end of a 120 meter long passage. The tomb was built between 1381 and 1383. 

Do not expect to visit this awesome find for a while yet but keep your eyes open for signs of construction and excavations when you are visiting the Ming Tomb in Nanjing. RLM, DATE, February, 1999. 


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Nanning
From Guangxi CTS: --McDonald's is now open at 39, Chaoyang Road (first floor of the Nanning Department Store). The phone and fax numbers are 2810908 and 2820141.

-- The best pearl store is the Ming Zhu Gong (shining pearl palace). It's on Ming Zhu Road just opposite the Majestic Hotel.

-- Many air-conditioned bus coaches go from Nanning to Dongxing on the Vietnamese coastal border each day. They leave almost hourly from the General Bus Station and No. 2 Bus Station. We of course can arrange a car and driver to meet travelers and take them from the border to Halong Bay. The Vietnamese portion costs Y950 for a Japanese-made car (without a guide). Foreigners are allowed to go by land via Dongxing into Vietnam if they have a Vietnamese visa. (See Beihai above)

-- China Southern flight CZ 361 leaves Nanning at 20:05 on Monday and Thursday.
for Hanoi and takes 45 minutes.

--The train to Hanoi leaves Nanning on Tuesday and Saturday both at 20:23. It originates in Beijing and picks up passengers in Changsha, Guilin, etc. --
- Roger Lin, Guangxi China Travel Service, dhakalin@163.net, July, 2000.
* * *
>From the Majestic Hotel: Our hotel is about 35 km from the Nanning airport and it
takes about 45 minutes by bus. We have a free shuttle bus between the hotel and the airport every day for our guests. We now have a new gym, pool, lighted tennis courts and food street.

The Mingyuan hotel will be reopened mid-August after renovations. All facilities are brand new according to a "4-star" hotel standard. And besides the guest rooms, Mingyuan also has its own shopping center, bar ,multi-function conference rooms, etc.--
George Tse, Front office manager, Majestic Hotel, July, 2000.
* * *
(Page 572) This capital of Guangxi province is booming and modern. At the same time, it has an interesting anachronistic feature in the official writing used for the Zhuang majority. In 1958, the government invited some Russians to create an alphabet for the Zhuang people who up to then had no written language. You can see it still only on government buildings, but "Guangxi", the region, is spelled "CVANGJSIH" and "Minzu" (nationalities) is spelled "MINCZU." Ah, those Russians!

The population is now 1.2 million urban, and three million rural.

It now has two flights a week with Hong Kong, Bangkok and Hanoi. Nanning is also linked directly with 23 other cities in China. The opening of the new, faster expressway from the airport into town is now scheduled for October this year. It currently takes 45 minutes and Y80 by taxi.

The Nanning-Kunming railway is now running. With the expressway open, it now takes about four hours by bus from Guilin to Nanning.

Where to Stay: (page 572) The best hotel is the Majestic for location and service. The International is good, but it's too far out from city center. A new five-star, the Jin Hua Hotel (Dajiudian) should open in June of this year.

10% -11% surcharge is added to all hotel prices.

The Majestic Hotel (Mingyuan Xindu Da Jiudian), is charging Y858-Y968 for rooms and Y1858-Y11880 for suites. It has been giving 20-30% discounts. The price includes breakfast. Its breakfast buffet otherwise costs Y108 and its afternoon tea Y35. Its dinner buffet is Y108. The food street outside its front door is a cheap point-to-order restaurant, with good but bland food.

The Majestic no longer has its business center operating 24 hours a day, and now has a non-smoking floor. It charges 0.10Y a minute to send e-mail on your own computer from your room; it charges Y40 for 20 minutes for e-mail service in its business center. It has in-room safes, lots of closet space, and tile bathrooms, scales and kettles.

It no longer has a "call waiting feature on its telephones" and the drapes in my room didn't fit. But things were otherwise fine and I enjoyed my stay immensely.

The 318-room Nanning International Hotel is now rated five stars. It is beside South Lake on the way to the airport. It is five km from the railway station, five km from a bus station, and one km from bars, shopping and banking. Its website is: www.gxnnih.com. (English). It charges Y15 for 30 minutes e-mail. The e-mail address is: nnihps@public.nn.gx.cn. The web address is: http://www.gxnnih.com (English)

Rooms cost Y768-Y968; suites cost Y1388-Y13888, and it has been giving a 20% discount. It has CNN and pay TV, but no pool and no in-room safes. It does have two lighted tennis courts, Food Street, and sauna. It is near the Guangxi Customs Building.

The Yongjiang Hotel (Binguan), at 41 Jiangbin Dong Road, 530012, is now rated four stars, Tel. 2808123, Fax 2800535. E-mail: yihng@public.nn.gx.cn. Its spacious rooms are Y480-Y780, and Y1880-Y8880 for suites. It has been giving 40% discounts.

The three-star Mingyuan Hotel (Fandian) on the same grounds as the Majestic Hotel charges Y363-Y980 for rooms, and Y396-1380 for suites. Tel. 2808923; Fax 2808583. It has no CNN, no closets, no in-room safes and needs renovating badly. (See above.)

The Guangxi Provincial Museum, open Tuesday to Friday 9am to 12 noon, and 3pm to 6pm, is open weekends from 9am to 4pm. It is closed however on Monday. Tel. 2806602 and is at 27, Minzu Avenue. On the same grounds as the museum is the Ethnic Garden, with typical minority houses, and an 1883 German cannon used against the French.

Where to Eat: Food at the Yongjiang is cheap and good. For Y25, it has a great Cantonese buffet breakfast. Cantonese food at the Yu Xiang Ge Restaurant, on the 11th floor of the three-star Jin Yue Hotel was delicious and reasonably priced, Tel. 2802338. It's at 59 Xin Min Road.

Seeing the Sights: The Flower and Bird Market are at the western end of Yuan Hu Road. The area grows Longan (Dragon's eyes). You can buy south sea pearls in the city.

Yiling Cave, the largest cave in Guangxi is 16 km from Nanning. It is in the Wuming Yilingyan Sightseeing District, 530103. Tel. 771/602-0420. It is open 8am-5pm with a Y6 entrance fee to the park; and an additional Y15 for the cave. Visitors walk 1.1km and climb lots of stairs. On Saturday and Sunday about 11am, its mainly Zhuang ethnic folk dances include invitations to the audience to join in the bamboo dance, and a wedding ceremony. The antics of wild monkeys rival the dancers for your attention. There's a basic but decent restaurant.

Tour guides might suggest a visit to an old Hakka village of over 5000 souls called Yang Mei, 36 km northwest of Nanning. You can visit this village by road, or by boat in four hours from Yongjiang Bridge in Nanning for Y80-Y120 round trip.

This village is not a sterile theme park. People have really lived here since the Song dynasty and the place is piled with garbage. Most of the homes were built in the Ming dynasty. You can wander around and study the kitchens and earthen floors. But activities haven't been organized for tourists. They did not have demonstrations of folk arts, for example. Still, it charges a modest entrance fee "for cleaning the village." And there is a 11/2 hour tour with guide if you want so you won't overlook the feng shui dogs, and the wonderful signs in the market from the Qing that say, "Don't put water in the meat" and "No stealing." There is a small restaurant, Tel. 9833539 where we found some dragon boats stored.. But the open sewers and gross toilets diminished any enthusiasm I might have for Yang Mei.

Travel agents here say Jintian village (of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom) is too far away for Nanning's visitors to go to, and there's little to see.

Vietnam: Nanning is a gateway between China and Vietnam. (Beijing and Guangzhou also have flights with Hanoi.) But you can't get Vietnamese visas in this region. You can however get them in Guangzhou. CTS Guangxi and probably other agents can arrange visas in 10 working days for about Y800. The Nanning-Hanoi flight on China Southern costs about Y860.

An air-conditioned bus coach goes from Nanning to Dongxing. Then you cross the border and take a bus to Halong Bay in about five hours, and on to Hanoi in three more. An expressway between Nanning and Pingxiang is being planned. And there's talk of a Guilin-Haiphong-Ho Chi Minh City route in two or three years.

The train leaves Nanning on Tuesday and Saturday at 8:23pm and arrives in Hanoi on Wednesday and Sundays at 11:30am. Because of the differences in the wheels, you have to change trains and go through Vietnamese formalities at the border. Chinese officials board your train to complete theirs. But you have to get off the train in Vietnam.

Pingxiang is 18 km. from the border port and the train station. The two-star Jinxiang Dasha is the best hotel in city center. After you pass the Vietnamese border, it's five hours by car to Hanoi. You cannot get a visa at the border, but you can get a car and guide if booked ahead of time.

CTS says it can arrange a car from the border for about Y600 to any hotel in Hanoi. Roger Lin said to make sure it's a Japanese vehicle with English-speaking driver.

See also Beihai above where there is service by ship or road to Halong Bay.

Practical Information:
The bus station in Nanning, Tel. 0771/2439805.
Internet Service is on the third floor of the Hua Mei Building, 44 Xing Ming Road, Tel. 2627730. This is to the right less than a block outside the side gate of the Majestic Hotel. It is open 8:30am to 4am and charges Y10 an hour.
Guangxi Tourism Administration, 40 Xinmin Road, 530012, Tel. 2805859, Fax 2809932. E-mail: dragonlink@163.net  For brochures and tourist information.
Nanning Municipal Tourism Bureau's telephone is now 2821623X3183. Its e-mail is nntb@public.nn.gx.cn.

Travel agents :
CYTS, Tel. 585 1920, Fax 5853651.
Guangxi China International Travel Service is at 40 Xinmin Street, 530012, Tel. 2804960, Fax 2816197. E-mail: citsgx@public.nn.gx.com. Ms. Tan Hong should be able to help individual travelers go to Vietnam. CITS charges $66 for a room at the Majestic Hotel, including surcharge but no breakfast, plus a $3 booking charge.

Guangxi China Travel Service has moved to 10/F, Diamond Plaza (across from the Nanning Department Store), 66 Chaoyang Road, 531002. Tel. is now 2619975, Fax 2618018. Its e-mail hasn't changed. But you can also try: Roger Lin, at  dhakalin@163.net with a copy to rogerlin@263.net . CTS charges Y650 for a room at the Majestic with no breakfast. For breakfast, add Y70. At the International Hotel, CTS can get you rooms from Y600 with western breakfast Y50; at the Yongjiang Hotel, it's Y400 including breakfast.

CTS charges for an airport transfer to a Nanning hotel, Y25 per person for group of 10, Y30 per person for 6 to 9 clients, Y50 per passenger for 2 to 5 clients, and Y120 for one client.
Guangxi OTC, 40 Xinmin Street, Tel. 2618573. Fax 2804105
Nanning OTC, 4 Minzu, Tel. 2624854, 2837509, Fax 2837509

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Putuoshan (page 345)
This island home of the Goddess of Mercy Guan Yin is only about 10 km. long and now has over 20 monasteries and nunneries. It has 3000 to 4000 inhabitants of whom about 1000 are monks and nuns. It has no high rises. The largest buildings are four storeys tall. Most are two storeys and in old architecture. You find yourself in another earlier world.

The place is full of carved gateways, flagstone roads, and stone stairways. It has about 50 minibuses, and in two days, I saw only a handful of cars (carrying V.I.P.s). Buses cost Y2 to Y8.

The air is clean and invigorating, great for sleeping. The island is for walkers and if you've planned a one-day tour here, you're missing out on a worthwhile experience. I spent two full days and didn't see everything. I kept getting side-tracked by religious processions and anniversary celebrations and would have liked a third or better still a fourth day just to explore at leisure.

It is obvious that lots of pilgrims come here. Temples are in good condition with beautiful statues. Unlike those in other Buddhist temples, the main statues in all but one temple are of Guan Yin (Kwan Yin), the Goddess of Mercy. Unfortunately, there are very few signs in English.

While Buddhist temples usually have traditional lohan saints, some of the temples here might have different incarnations of Guan Yin herself. Around the main statues in many temples are male warriors, which is unusual for a Buddhist temple. These two are Wei Tou and Guan Yu, the God of War. Perhaps the designers of the temples here gave her all this military protection because she is a women.

Worshippers outside were burning paper money for Guan Yin to use, as if deities needed money. Temples on Putuoshan give free admission to seniors over 60.

The hotels are adequate if you're not fussy. The temples are wonderful and full of fine carvings, well worth a visit for art lovers as well as Buddhist pilgrims.

Getting There: I took a relatively comfortable bus from Shanghai which leaves daily at 8:15am from Shiliupu Quay (Number 16 pier) in Shanghai, about a kilometer south of the Peace Hotel. An hour and a half later, it arrived at a wharf in Lu Tiao Gang/Luchaogang where a hoverferry waited to take us to Putuoshan. The trip costs Y185 (on the less crowded top deck) or
Y155 (on the lower).

A second such combination which is cheaper but longer leaves Number 16 pier about a half hour later and you get a ferry at Jing Shan. These boats are the fastest and easiest way to get to Putuoshan from Shanghai, but they are dependant on the weather. Ferries are cancelled in high winds. You have to be flexible and if prone to seasickness, take your own bag or take precautions.

You can also go via Ningbo, take a one hour bus to its port, and then a one-hour 10 minute boat to Putuoshan. From Ningbo, you could take a boat from Shen Jia Men too. These are also dependant on the weather and schedules, but these boats are apparently bigger and more dependable. These routes could take a much longer time.

Expect delays. Our bus stopped for ten minutes so that three pretty girls could find a toilet. The buses were otherwise on time.

Where to Stay:
The best is the Putuoshan Hotel (formerly the Hoitak Putuoshan Resort). This is at 93 Meichen Road, Putuoshan, Zhoushan 316107. Tel. 580/609-2828 or fax 609-1818. E-mail:htpts@putuoshanhotel.com or htpts@mail.zsptt.zj.cn. Web:
www.putuoshanhotel.com or www.chinaholiday.com/htpts. This is about a kilometer from the ferry pier near the center of town. The hotel's mini-van meets all ferries.

This hotel is about four stars (unofficial). Rooms cost Y698 and Y1,888, and suites cost Y1588 to Y3888. It has been giving 10% to 30% discounts in low season and charges a flat Y20 service charge per night per room.

This 168-room hotel seems to have the best English, but communicating can be a problem. Its business center has e-mail service (Y15 minimum for 10 minutes) and ferry tickets for sale. It is air-conditioned and generally clean but my room had stained carpets and my bathroom was moldy. Rooms have a good-size desk,luggage rack, and kettles, Japanese television but no CNN. Beds are especially firm. It accepts credit cards and changes only cash. Safe deposit boxes are on the lobby level.

It has a bright, pleasant lobby and decent looking restaurants. Coffee shop prices for soups are Y15-Y20, salads Y18-Y38, sandwiches and hamburgers Y28-Y38, main courses Y15-Y58, and snacks Y12-Y20. It is one of the few hotels in China with a vegetarian restaurant (not cheap).

The second best hotel is the 153-room three-star Xilei Xiaozhuang Hotel nearby at 1 Xiang Hua, 316107, beside Puji Temple. Tel.580/6091515 or 6091812 X 501, 55, or 545. Fax 6091023. Room prices there range from Y505 to Y696, and suites from 2080 to Y3800. Discounts have been 50% in low season.

Where to Eat:
The cleanest restaurants are at the Putuoshan Hotel where prices are moderate.

The Don't Go Temple offers lunch at 10:30am. We could not getanything there to eat at 12:30 noon. The Fayu Temple also offers an early lunch and we had to beg to get food at 1:00 but Guan Yin was with us there. Meals were very cheap (Y2.50 each) with a fixed vegetarian menu.

Food is adequate across the street from the Putuoshan Hotel where there are at least three small restaurants. At the Sichuan Hot Pot restaurant (see painting on its window of a steaming cooking pot with chimney), there is no English. Two of us had crab for Y28, fish (with lots of bones) for Y15, tomatoes and eggs for Y15 and rice for Y4. You can pick your meal from fish tanks.

The Sea Food Garden (Hai Xian Yuan) is a collection of tiny seafood restaurants which I didn't have time to try.

What to See:
I didn't find any English-speaking guides here but CITS below says it has five. I was lucky to meet a former guide of Chinese tourists who wanted to practise her English. A native of utuoshan and a Buddhist, Nancy took me everywhere. Without her,wandering around here with a map only in Chinese could be time consuming. But she couldn't explain the fine details. If you'd like her help, write me.

Maps do show stairs and paved mountain paths and have photographs for you to point to. You need to have someone first explain the photos. You can buy a map at the ferry terminal in Shanghai.

The central bus stop is close to Puji Temple; look for Dou Bao Ta (Many Treasures Pagoda), a small, three-storey tower. Bus One takes you to the main ferry quay (ma tou) and then south to the big statue of Guan Yin. From there you can walk to the Don't Want to Go Temple, Purple Bamboo Temple and the Guan Yin Footprint Temple.

Bus two goes to the same ferry quay, the big statue, and then north to the Fayu Temple (second largest). From Fayu you can get another bus to the ropeway up to the Hui Ji Temple.

Most important to see within walking distance of the Putuoshan Hotel (10 minutes) is the largest monastery Puji where you can go at 4:15am and hear the monks chant until 6am. This is beside the big lotus pond. Not to be missed are the nunneries on Western Paradise Hill (Xi Shan Fa Jie), above the hotels. At the Yuan Tong Nunnery is what Nancy considers the most beautiful statue of the goddess.

The beaches here have fine golden sand and are ideal for swimming in summer. In October, I saw no facilities but hotel manager Isaac Lu said there are umbrellas and life guards. At the north
end of the best swimming beach 100 Step Beach (Bai Bu Sha) is the Sunrise Pavillion (Chao Yang Ge) with a marvellous collection of Guan Yins carved in wood, well worth a visit.

At the stop in the south, the Don't Want to Go Temple (Bu Kun Qi Guan Yin) is the oldest and most important here. It is small and by the sea, just below the much larger Purple Bamboo Temple (Putuo Zi Zhu Ling). It is decorated in carvings of the Japanese monk and his Guan Yin statue and has an obviously patched stele of the Dont-go story which was smashed by the Red Guards and later retrieved from the sea.

This temple commemorates the visit of a Japanese monk in 916 A.D.with a statue of the goddess as he attempted to return to Japan. Continuous storms prevented him from doing so and the Chinese said this was a sign that she didn't want to leave Putuoshan. Hence, it is considered her home.

Look for purple bamboo around the Purple Bamboo Temple which is open 9am to 9pm. It really does exist. This temple has an unusual positioning of mirrors on either side of a white carving of the goddess. Look at the carved lantern above her and the oil lamp which burns 24 hours a day above a marble lotus flower. Many other temples also have these. Look in one of the pavillions
here for the 3.5 meter-long reclining Buddha in "white jade", and the copper murals of the life of Sakyamuni. Look also here for a 1000-armed Guan Yin.

I didn't really want to visit the nearby 33-meter high copper Guan Yin but I'm glad I did. In its base is a hall of exquisite copper, stone, and finely carved wooden murals. These are all recent but nevertheless beautiful. The Guan Yin statue was finished in October, 1997 and judging from the thousand or so monks I saw at the third anniversary celebrations there, I concluded this was not just another money-making tourist attraction.

From here it's only a few steps to the Guanyin Footprint Temple where you can see the goddess' double-human size print on a rock by the sea. She jumped from Lokha Island nearby which you can see with its tower about 10 km. away.

Further north a few kilometers on Putuoshan is the cableway up to the Qing dynasty Fayu Temple with its marvellous five bracket constructions holding up the roof. This temple is the only one not dedicated to the goddess. Its central figure is Sakyamuni, the Buddha and it has a monochrome Nine Dragon Screen. The cableway goes 1095 meters up to an altitude of 298 meters and has the best view. It was built in 1998 by an Austrian company with six passengers to a car. No one helped us off at the top or bottom, alas. We could not get a view from the top because of the trees so the best view of the countryside seems to be on the way there. It costs Y35 for a return trip but you can walk down (or up) if you want.

You should be able to get a bus from the ferry quay to the base of the cable way.

If you get up early and go to the Puji Monastery at 4:15, you could get an experience of a life time. The hotel can arrange transportation or you can walk there in less than ten minutes. The chanting is done in front of the goddess who is dramatically bathed in light. Silk umbrellas, drapes, and hangings drop from the ceiling. Tiny Buddhas, arranged on a cone with a light behind each head, look like a Christmas tree with gold lights from a distance. One monk lights giant red candles. Another gives an exciting solo on a meter-wide drum. Still others beat wooden "fishes," in an ever increasing beat as monks chant in time -- some mumbling, some singing, some yawning. They are not in unison. Their robes are black, with a black or brown capes. Every so often bells ring and gongs boom. The words are the same, over and over again. A few minutes later, a new chant starts.

Worshippers wearing windbreakers and jeans kow tow, bums and palms up with head lower than their knees. Not every worshipper knows when to stand with hands in prayer position, and when to bow, but it doesn't seem to matter. Sometimes we follow the lead of the monks. After standing almost an hour, I sit down tired on the prayer stool and no one seems to mind. Worshippers leave red and gold packages of incense and paper money on the altar to be blessed.

It is strange that there's no smell of incense during the ceremony.

Then we get a break and in single file follow the abbot out into he courtyard weaving back and forth in a long line until we are all out there. Back to the hall and more ups and downs and chanting follows.

Afterwards after 6am, worshippers go out and burn the money -- either for their anestors or for themselves, depositing it into a celestial bank for use in the after-life. Believers don't seem to trust their children to provide this service any more, it seems.

We were there with a couple hundred other people, many of them from Singapore. They handed out money to each monk. No one takes photos; Nancy said you have to get permission and no flash. I wish I had a video camera or at least 400 ASA. It is all very colorful.

We were also lucky to see a procession of the Singapore delegation and monk leaders in sedan chairs going from Puji temple to 100-Step Beach. Such processions happen twice a month, said Nancy. In this one, rows of a couple hundred monks and monastery workers carrying wooden lanterns (though it was brightday-light), marched to the seaside where the leaders burned vast quantities of paper money for the afterlife use of the Singaporeans. The concept was new to me.

Other festivals should be on Guan Yin's birthdays (January 19,June 19 and September 19 in the lunar calendar). Also celebrated is the anniversary of the opening of her big statue in October, in 2000 on the 26th.

CITS Putuo Shan's telephone number is 6091183. The e-mail should be pcits@mail.csptt.zj.cn. Ask for Mr. Yao.

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Quanzhou
This city, a 1 1/2 to two hours' bus ride north of Xiamen and a little over three hours south of Fuzhou, has always been one of my favorite cities. It is unique in what it has to offer and even as it modernizes, it is still one of a kind. Its old apartment buildings and cottages are being torn down and replaced with new buildings, each district in its own unique architecture. The designs incorporate traditional Chinese touches like curved eaves and roof tiles and fortunately, no glass skyscrapers are there to disturb the exotic effect. It looks cohesive and beautiful.

The area around the mosque copies the archway from the gate of that building. Quanzhou should be one of the best looking cities in China when it's finished.

Its bicycle rickshaws with side cars are also unique in China, and add to its old atmosphere, but alas, the government is trying to get rid of them as well as its motorcycles. The best way to get here is by air-conditioned highway bus from Fuzhou or Xiamen. There is still no airport.

Where to Stay: (see page 329) Hotels here add a 10-15% service charge. The best hotels are now the Quanzhou Hotel and then the Overseas Chinese Hotel.

At the 295-room QUANZHOU HOTEL, the fax number has changed to 2182128. The e-mail is: quzhhtl@pub1.qz.fj.cn . The web-site: www.quanzhouhotel.com  had a photo but its English version didn't appear. Its four-star 13-story Nan Xin Building has rooms that cost $110 and suites ranging from $150 to $1500. The rooms here are 20 square meters, were built in 1996, and renovated in 2001. Its six-story, three-star Dong Hui Building has rooms which are 18 square meters and cost Y468. Suites range from Y1300 to Y2633. It has been giving 30% discounts but not on its presidential suite. It offers non-smoking floors and CNN. It has 12 bowling alleys, massage, and it charges Y40 for the use of both its pool and gym. The indoor pool is 20 meters long, is year-round and heated, with lounge chairs. The gym is small; the tennis court is lighted.

Its hot pot costs Y48, the breakfast buffet Y46, and the dinner buffet Y80. It serves continental, Cantonese, Hunan, and Fujian cuisine. Above its reception desk is a beautiful wood carving of the Kaiyuan Temple.

Renovations will include larger desks, two telephone lines, in-room safes, and kettles in its rooms. It will expand its business center and subscribe to China Daily, Fortune and Time. The presidential suite has its own sauna, jacuzzi, and karaoke. It has a convention center.

QUANZHOU OVERSEAS CHINESE HOTEL is on Baiyuan Road, 362000, Tel. 2282192, Fax 2284612. E-mail is: hqds@public.qz.fj.cn . The web-site www.overseaschinesehotel.com  is only in Chinese. It is opposite the Workers' Cultural Park (Gong ren wen hua) and beside a couple of street markets (clothes and food), with lights and noise almost all night. It accepts credit cards, but no travelers checks. The Bank of China is close by.

The lobby and two executive floors should be renovated in 2001. Rooms were renovated in 1999-2000. It has 234 rooms of 18 to 50 square meters, not including bath. They have large desks with handy data port and electrical outlets. My room had an in-room safe, wide twin beds, clean carpets, and CNN. The Chinese breakfast was good with all kinds of pastries, great snow peas, cauliflower, noodles, fruit, congee and 12 hot dishes. It also had toast, eggs and chicken feet - a buffet for Y20. Rates range from Y350 to Y580 for rooms, and Y460 to Y2460 for suites. But it's been giving at least 25% discounts. It accepts travelers' checks and credit cards.

Its ballroom can serve 400 guests banquet style. You can get a back massage for Y35 and a foot massage for Y50. The pool and five-piece gym were in the building next door. The pool is only open from June to October. The tennis court was only open on request. I couldn't see them.

What to See: The Kaiyuan Temple is unique in China with its Indian decorations and roof-top dragons. Unlike other Buddhist temples, it only has two guardians at the front gate. And it has five buddhas in its main hall. The bird-women are servants. The two pagodas here are 48 and 44 meters high. The Kaiyuan temple is 1300 years old. It charges Y5 for parking and closes at 4:30pm.

The Museum of Communication (page 330) has the unusual relics. The ancient Indian artifacts were from the home of an obviously wealthy Indian merchant and included a 1.2 meter-high statue of Vishnu. It also has a statue of Mani, which looks like the one in Caoan Temple and it says that Manichaean had "elements of Jain, Christian and Buddhism." Mention is made of a Ceylonese prince, Shi Gong Xian, who arrived here in 1459, but virtually nothing is known of him. The museum is open 8am to5:30 pm daily and also has models of junks and sampans.

The dome in the mosque has still not been rebuilt but this shrine is still in use. There are historical explanations in English. One sign listed the surnames of the Moslem families here: Ma, Pu, Guo, Ding, Xia, Jin, Ma, Tie, Ge, Shan, Mi, Ha, Yang, Huang, Su, Lin, and Li.

I've been wanting to visit the Caoan Temple ever since I first heard about it over a decade ago. It is the last of the Manichaean temples in China, a minor but interesting religion, with a Persian prophet who became a god, Mani. The temple is 25 km. outside the south gate of the city, and not very large. I suspect the government is paying for its maintenance as this religion doesn't exist today. The road there is bad for three kilometers, and no English sign helps illiterates in Chinese find the way.

But there is a notice in English on the gate which explains that the religion was started in the third century B.C. and came to China in the 7th century. It was brought by Uighur troops who were hired by the first Ming emperor as mercenaries. This temple was first built in 1339 AD. The statues of Mani in Quanzhou are extremely rare and this temple could very well be the only such statues in the world.

My guide knew nothing about this temple or the carved rock god inside, almost two meters tall with lightening and energy emanating from his body. Steven Lam at the Quanzhou Hotel said both the statue in the museum and that in the temple are original.

Travel agents told me to see Chong Wu, an old fishing village that was a 45 minute taxi ride from Quanzhou. It was off the main highway and difficult to get to by public bus so if you see it before I do, let me know what it's like.

Forget about the Tianfei Hot Spring Hotel. Travel agents said its standards were low.

Where to Eat: I asked if anyone could define the difference in cooking between Cantonese and Fujianese. But the only difference is individual dishes, not styles. The Fujianese tend to have more than two soups at a banquet.

Practical Information: (page 331)
CITS is now on the 15th floor of the Zhenxing Building, and its telephone number has been changed to 2231259, and Fax 2231260.

CTS's Sales Manager Jacking Cai (Cai Jian Jing) was very helpful to me. His office is in the Overseas Chinese Hotel, Baiyuan Road, 362000. Tel. 5985940, 2985687, Fax: 2282366. E-mail:ctsqz.fj.cn .

A street of internet bars is to the right as you leave the Overseas Chinese Hotel. Turn at the second left at a store that says "Come on" in English near the Industrial Commercial Bank of China. Fifteen bars are on Hou Cheng Street, the biggest is called "qzwww.com " with 30 computers. It is open 24 hours and is at Room 101-102 Block 5 Hou Cheng Street. Tel. 2186266. It charges Y4 an hour.

Also near the Overseas Chinese Hotel is a large indoor produce market. It's huge, but be prepared to be splashed by squirming fish and geese trying to escape their fate. - RLM, Date: November, 2000.

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