Ruth Lor Malloy Author- Updates to China Travel Guide

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 updated information is not in my Beijing 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

"Ruth Lor Malloy's Beijing - A Travel Writer's Guide to One of Her Favorite Cities." is now available in Acrobat .pdf format. This e-Book can be easily downloaded into a Palm Pilot, and into Windows and Macintosh computers. You might be able to borrow the PDA devices from some public libraries. With these, you can easily take this new guide book with you to Beijing, and quickly "find" restaurants, travel agencies and airlines. It will have maps and images recorded of some of the famous places in Beijing too.

This e-book when purchased will always have Ruth's most current information.

Click Here for Details about her book and to view the table of contents.

Note: “Indexing.... to help people find content about Beijing on this page just hold down the "Ctrl" key and type in the "f" key. A little window should pop up. Then type in what you are looking for...

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Beijing:

I was back in Beijing for a week in April, my first trip there since last summer.

Flying there: High gas prices have brought changes to airline practices. Be aware that some domestic airlines in North America do not supply meals and charge for even one check-in bags. Ask about this when you plan your trip. Many airlines now use only kiosks for checking-in and counters only for luggage so you need a passport, credit card or frequent flier number to do this. Some airlines let you check-in within 24 hours of departure on your home computer but you have to have a printer to print-out your boarding pass.

How was your trip to China? Our Air China flight from Vancouver to Beijing left 10 minutes early. Seats in economy class had individual monitors, a choice of five or six movies in Chinese or English, and those wonderful wings on each seat. What else do you call those flaps you pull out to keep your head from falling on your neighbour’s shoulder when you sleep? The pilot announced that the 8620 km. flight would take 11 hours and 40 minutes. The cabin crew served two hot meals with a choice of rice or noodles and plastic forks and spoons. No disposable wooden chopsticks. They must have saved several trees. The washrooms were clean but offered no soap. The staff did not smile much but carried out their job efficiently giving us Arrival Forms to fill out. No need to fill out a Customs form or a Health form.

Most international flights arrive at Beijing’s new Terminal Three. Ours was on time and we had a long walk to a bus that took us to Customs and Immigration. These buses leave every three minutes. A monitor tells which of the many carousels your luggage will be on. The luggage area also had telephones and many carts. Leaving via the Green “no declaration” aisle was swift. Outside were lots of taxis, a free shuttle bus to connecting flights in Terminals One and Two, and CAAC buses downtown.

This new 2008 Terminal is spacious with excellent signage in English and Chinese. It even had places to sit. A bus goes directly from here to Tianjin. It took a little over an hour to clear Customs and pick up a taxi. A desk in Arrivals where you can book a car was not apparent. We left at 6pm and arrived at The Peninsula Hotel 50 minutes later. The driver did not understand “air-conditioner” or “Peninsula” but did understand the hotel’s Chinese name “Wangfu Fandian.” In spite of government efforts, only a miniscule number of taxi drivers understand English.

On the way into town, it was apparent that Beijing’s announced plans to finish all exterior construction before 2008 had not been fulfilled. Cranes and huge green construction curtains were still on many buildings but with another three months before the Olympics, I expect that many more buildings will be finished soon.

Julie in PR at The Peninsula later said you can get better discounts on domestic flights if you book the earlier ones in the day. Each airline has a different discount policy. You can check out prices and book Chinese domestic flights on the web-sites: www.Ctrip.com , or www.eLong.com .

Changes: The mobile telephone store at the corner of Wangfujing and Gold Fish Lane which used to sell SIM cards is no longer there. It’s another construction site. The basement of the Sun Dong An Plaza was still being rebuilt so I still don’t know whether or not the theme park “Old Beijing” will still be there.

Over on Jianguomenwai, the Friendship Store was still open with a Baskin-Robbins, Café Eife, French Bakery and Pizza Hut. It’s been threatening to close for several years now. A huge ferris wheel, said to be the biggest in the world, has been built in the Beijing Amusement Park in the southeast part of Beijing near 4th Ring Road – too far away to see the Forbidden City -- fortunately.

Chris at Monkey Business Travel Agency has his office in San Li Tun North which, he says, is going upscale. Tour groups have spoiled the Yashow Market nearby – and peddlers there now grab at you. A fancy new European style plaza is going up next door. Some of the bars are still there. The Tree is good and somewhat like a pub. Poachers attracts a young crowd on weekends. Jazz Ya is good. The Spanish restaurant Bocata has tasty toasted sandwiches and healthy drinks. Between San Li Tun South and behind the Pacific Century Plaza is a 12-bar complex with Revelations being especially good. The book store Book Worm south of Pacific Century Plaza is popular. Chris also says the best jazz is at the East Shore Jazz and that Paddy O’Shea’s is a real Irish pub and very busy. John Bull has become a coffee shop. At Chaoyang Park, most of the bars have disappeared. The west side of the park still has the pleasant Italian restaurant Annie’s.

The new architecture is unique and amazing -- especially the CCTV building in the CBD on 3rd Ring Road, east of the China World Hotel and World Trade Centre. It is imposing and fascinating but will it stay up? It too should be finished by the Olympics. Also in the neighbourhood next to the China World Trade Center, is a new office and hotel tower slated to be Beijing’s tallest.

To see Beijing’s amazing new structures from the outside, the new National Centre for the Performing Arts, nicknamed “The Egg” is immediately west of the People’s Congress (on Tiananmen Square). This theatre is huge and has only one entrance on its west side. A gigantic pond surrounds it now but will all this water disappear after the Olympics? Will Hubei province want its water back? You can see the two most famous Olympic buildings – the Egg’s Nest and the Water Cube – on the way to the Great Wall. It’s due north of the Forbidden City at Fifth Ring Road and many people stop their cars on the east side to take pictures. Most of the new buildings were designed by foreign architects.

Nothing much of the old foreigners’ shopping area of Wangfujing exists now except for a few metal statues of rickshaws and outdoor barbers. The old Catholic church is still there and is a popular place to skateboard and take bridal photos. One ancient store did have a sign saying it was established in the late 1800s. The area south of Tiananmen Square is being rebuilt in the style of old Beijing and it looks good if you peek in past the temporary fences. This was the shopping area for Chinese people in the 1900s complete with old trolley car and it should be worth a visit.

The Capital Museum isn’t exactly new but it was my first visit there. As museums go, it’s not as classy as the Shanghai Museum, but its interior has an amazingly huge reproduction of an ancient bronze ceremonial vessels that’s at least six stories tall. Children will love the life-sized dioramas of old Beijing. The museum is right at the Mixidu subway stop and it’s free.

Beijing has enough water now because canals from south China is bringing water to the city. The new American Embassy in Liangma will be open during the Olympics by President Bush himself. The British will take over the old U.S. embassy buildings near the Silk Market.

On this trip I looked at the cheaper hotels and five five-stars, The Peninsula, the Sofitel, the JW Marriott, the Ritz-Carlton and the unusual Commune by the Great Wall. Please let us know your favourite Beijing hotels. Most Beijing hotels have problems getting good, trained English-speaking staffs.

Holiday Inn Express: Except for its location in the northeast of the city beyond Fifth Ring Road and off most maps of Beijing, the Holiday Inn Express was good value at Y458++. (Its promotional rate is about US$68 a room.) But next year, do expect three more of this cheaper international chain closer to centre city. It took me over an hour by no. 13 subway line plus a 500-meter taxi ride to go there from downtown. But it is only 40 km. to the Great Wall, and 30 minutes by bus to the Summer Palace. It also has 24 hour hot water, accepts credit cards, gives free internet service on its four lobby computers and has 71 television channels including CNN, HBO, Bloomberg, and the Discovery Channel. It is clean, new and sparkling. The English of its friendly staff is the best of the cheaper hotels. Tea was Y10, beer Y10 and Y15, and noodles ranged from Y15 to Y38.

The four-star Holiday Inn Changan is on a side street off Chang’an Avenue/Fuxingmen Street, the main street that runs between the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. It’s about a 10-minute walk from the Wukesong subway station on Subway Line One. It too was looking good and not bad for Y736++ (including two breakfasts). It now has a Thai restaurant and an upscale Chinese restaurant and is relatively close to the Olympic basketball venue. Be careful. Tea can be a pricey Y32 here, more than the noodle soup at Y25. This hotel was fully occupied during my visit so I couldn’t see a room but I can recommend it.

The Jin Jiang Inns and Home Inns chains are clean and basic but have almost no English. If you think you can manage with sign language and pocket dictionaries, and don’t mind substandard services, you can save a lot of money staying there. At the Jinjiang Inn on the street on the north side of the Hongqiao Market and about a block east, single rooms were Y199 and doubles Y229, and a tour of the Great Wall with lunch and English-speaking guide was advertised for Y160. The Hutong Tour was Y200. Ask about entry fees and English-speaking guides as these prices are very good. It has a computer in its coffee shop. It too was full during my visit.

The Compass Hotel reception desk had a friendly lady with very little English. It is on a side street near the north end of Wangfujing. Its rooms were small, air-conditioned, and had the usual television set. Mine also had a mosquito coil. Its bathrooms had hot water on demand and no shower curtain. Carpets were worn. Their tour to the Great Wall at Badaling started at Y220 and is worth considering.

I already describe the Lusongyuan, Bamboo Garden and other courtyard guest houses in my Beijing guide. My favourite on this trip was the Red Lantern House at 5, Zheng Jue Hutong, Xinjiekou Nan Dajie, Xicheng district, 100035. Tel. Simon at 13801358094 or Linda at 13901125417. Or phone 6611-5771. They have a good reservation system in English The English of the man who showed me around was also good. This small inn has several buildings and the one I saw looked charming. They are all in old Chinese style. Tours to the Great Wall at Badaling and the Ming Tombs cost Y240 and the hutong tour is Y200 with no lunch. Breakfast is Y25-Y28 and pizza Y46 for a nine inch. Beer is Y4. Rooms are Y200 for a single. No television or phone. Bathrooms have no shower curtains.

The five-star Peninsula Beijing was very good. My room on the club floor came with chocolate chopsticks and free wireless and broadband. I had a sore throat and without blinking an eye, cheerful staff brought a favourite remedy, ginger tea. (The other two five-star hotels couldn’t do this even though it only means boiling a few slices of ginger and adding honey for five minutes. Every restaurant can do this. The ors d’oeuvres at its Club Floor cocktail/ happy hour included shrimp on a stick, potato chips, and enough yummy nibbles to fill one up if you don’t want to go out to eat.

The Peninsula’s fitness club was closed for renovations but would open the following month. My room strangely offered no facial tissues but the service was otherwise very good. Used towels disappeared and were quickly and quietly replaced. Okay, I admit I wasn’t taking my own advice about traveling green. I didn’t have time to tell the hotel I would reuse all towels. I was only there for two nights.

Every room has universal electrical outlets beside its large desk, two-line telephones, 42” flat television, and a thermometer showing the outdoor temperature. The safe was too small for a lap top and if you call Housekeeping, it can deliver a tooth brush or DVD player to your room. It has a DVD movie library – all original, no pirated – and the Chinese movies have English sub-titles. Each bed has two pillows and bolster. Ceilings are molded and bathrooms are larger than usual with a video monitor by the sink. My book already describes it great location near Wangfujing.

The Peninsula will be getting 10 BMWs and two Rolls Royces in July. It will be serving some organic foods in its restaurants, and especially in its new Spa. Julie also said its airport staff are allowed to meet guests between your plane and Chinese immigration and they will guide you through the formalities. The Jing’s dinner buffet offered over 50 different dishes a night including sea bass. The lamb was a little tough, but the tandoori chicken was tender and moist but missing some authentic spices. Okay, so I lived for four years in India and got the real stuff! You might love it. Let me know.

The Sofitel Hotel is on the north side of Jianguo Avenue which is the eastern extension of Changan Avenue west of Third Ring Road. It has a handy location next door to the Wanda Cinema and the New World Department Store, and you can walk from it to the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels. Like some of the other new hotels, its bathrooms have a window allowing light into its bedrooms, a feature I don’t like because bathroom visits during the night could disturb a light-sensitive room mate.

But every room has lots of electrical outlets, complimentary wireless capability and very big safe deposit boxes. Its décor with its black pillow cases give a somewhat Victorian feel. A television monitor is in each bathroom as well as bedroom. The hotel has a 25 meter pool with glittering blue, red and green stars on the ceiling. Its buffet breakfast costs Y190++ and its dinner Y268++. I didn’t stay here so can’t comment on the service.

My taxi driver said he knew how to get to the Commune by the Great Wall, but missed the turn-off before Badaling. Fortunately, we had the telephone number. The trip each way from downtown Beijing cost Y300 or about $45.

This relatively new resort is very interesting. Not only is it the only five-star property along the whole length of the Great Wall, but it’s a tourist attraction in its own right.

A Beijing real estate developer asked eleven Asian architects to design their dream houses using local materials. Soho built these on eight square kilometres of mountain land snug up to that amazing monument. You can wake up in the morning, pull your curtains aside, and bask in its famous beauty.

By staying near the wall, you can go there before the crowds arrive or after they have left. You can spend a couple of days and ski or golf nearby. Many Beijing-based corporations have their company parties there. It seems to be popular with wedding banquets. Wealthy Beijingers spend their weekends there hiking, relaxing and partying.

The buildings are imaginative but livable. One of the most popular has a bamboo decorated exterior and interior and a meditation room. Another looks like three bridges at an airport – extending out in different directions, each room very private and separate from the others, but joined nevertheless. Most have cathedral ceilings and glass walls – the better to see the view. Guests in many of the villas share common living rooms and kitchens with other guests, but if you can afford it, you can rent a whole villa with four to six bedrooms for yourself.

I was impressed by the effort of the friendly staff to give good service. But they need more training and experience but this shouldn’t deter you from looking at it. The Commune has two restaurants and 24-hour room service. It offers locally grown produce including ostrich soup for Y38, and a 10 course Sichuan meal for Y380 each plus wine. It also has an Anantara spa, a swimming pool, and children’s playroom. It has a staff of 300 for its 216 bedrooms. A whole villa costs about Y16800 a night and individual rooms go for Y2300. All prices add an additional 15% service charge.

The Commune is managed by Kempinski but you can book and get information through its web-site: http://www.communebythegreatwall.com/en/ . You can also book and get information through travel agencies like East Tours in New Jersey at web-site: www.east-tours.com or www.chinaluxurytours.com . Toll free: 1-866-402-4462 or e-mail: info@chinaluxurytour.com .

Chris from Monkey Business also talked about the Red Capital Ranch, a Qing Hunting Lodge. It’s also by the Great Wall but it’s more rustic. You can sleep in a real kong bed there – if you want.

The Marriott and the Ritz Carlton are neighbours in the new district of China Central Place (Hua Mao Zhong Xin) with its office buildings and malls. They are near the 4th Ring Road on the eastern edge of the CBD. This superhighway has fewer traffic jams to the airport and Olympic Green. It is also connected to the superhighway to Tianjin -- but it is not immune to delays. These two hotels are beside the upscale Shin Kong Mall which like so many other malls is full of luxury brands. The Marriott is more American contemporary, and very large; the Ritz-Carlton is more European, small, intimate and more expensive. They are both on a side street on the north side of Jianguo Road which is basically the same road as Jianguomenwai and Chang’an (the street that goes between Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City). They are served by the Da Wang Lo subway station. The Sofitel is between these hotels and Wangfujing. Both hotels are full for the Olympics. All three have high-class spas.

The JW Marriott is at 83 Jianguo Road, Tel. 5908-6688. The closest ATM to this very attractive hotel was in a bank across the street. It has a spa – yes, I was able to use its steam room which has changing colored lights on its ceiling. Its club rooms have free wireless. An attendant named Jenny was very cheerful and helpful.

My room 2309 was more colourful than that of most other hotels – bright red and yellow tapestry on a white duvet-covered bed. Even a single has seven pillows and I found no power saving light bulbs. A real ikebana plant sat on the desk. It gave a choice of five different kinds of drinking glasses. Every room has a DVD player, and you can connect your computer and camera to the television monitor and your Ipod and MP3 player to television speakers. A Venetian blind on a window separates the bathroom from the bedroom – not completely opaque. You can also see through the door into the bathroom but the toilet is hidden. Sorry, I prefer more privacy if I’m sharing a room. But this openness seems to be the new style for hotels.

It subscribes to China Daily and the South China Morning Post. It seats 1100 at banquet tables in its ball room. An excellent breakfast buffet offered dim sum, cold cereal, eggs, fruit and pastries. It has 250 different international wines on its wine list and three restaurants including a steak house. Its nine-room spa has a room with three beds – and it can do foot baths for five friends at a time -- so you can have a party. Its 25 meter –long pool is open 24 hours, and its pool-side lounge chairs are heated. Its gym has 30 machines. My Y750 aroma therapy massage left me weak like a limp dishrag, a lovely feeling.

Service was good. Jetlagged, I phone At Your Service at 2:30am and it answered in less than a minute with an apology for being tardy. The bar was still going strong at 2:30am too. PR said it was working on signs about re-using towels.

The hotel supports a project called Safe Kids and a school for deaf children. It has displays of the children’s art for sale.

The Ritz-Carlton (Li Si Ka Rr Dun on Da Wang Lu) was next door and fantastic. Taxi drivers should understand Hua Mao, Shin Kong Place or China Central Place, the upscale mall next door. The service was excellent with 550 staff for its 300 rooms. It is much smaller than the JW Marriott and more private. Many Chinese pop stars and Japanese business men stay there. A cigar lounge is on the ground floor. It will also meet guests at the bridge in the airport without extra charge.

Rooms have BBC, HBO, Cinemax, CNN and Discovery Channel, one Ipod speaker, and carved and gilded mirror frames. The floor is bare wood and seven pillows are on each single king-size bed here too. You can hook up your camera to its television monitor. The air conditioner powers down in 45 minutes if there’s no movement in the room. It has two Rolls Royces to ferry its guests around. ATMs are in the nearby mall and Chartered Bank. The room safe was big enough for a lap top, but not deep enough for my SLR camera. The only other thing I found wrong was the misspelling of dining in its Guest Directory and sometimes the key card didn’t work in the elevator.

It took 40 minutes to drive to the airport in the late afternoon. Security was very strict about liquids. I had a table spoon of cough medicine left in a large bottle and they took it all away. It was the size of the bottle that was important, said the guard.

Medical concerns. I had a persistent cough. The Peninsula’s concierge wrote down directions in Chinese to the nearby Beijing Union Hospital along with a request to see an English-speaking doctor. (From the Peninsula’s door on Gold Fish Jinyu Lane) take a right, then a right onto the first main street, another right at the next block, and then a left. The entrance is through a fancy Chinese gate and one registers in the booth on the left after entering. First of all, I had to pay Y100 for the consultation, and the doctor did speak excellent English. Then I had to pay Y510 for a blood test and two x-rays. In addition, the cough medicine and anti-biotics cost about Y155.

Three days later, when I didn’t get better, I went to the Beijing International SOS Clinic which has now moved west of the Kunlun Hotel. This clinic has foreign doctors. Mine was from Australia. It charged Y1010 for a standard consultation and Y258 for anti-biotics. I didn’t get over that cough for another three weeks. The web-site is: http://www.internationalsos.com/en/ourresources_clinics_china_38.htm .

Food: Still afraid of contaminated foods in China? At the Jing Restaurant in The Peninsula, Canadian chef Stewart from Vancouver who has been three years in China, says his produce is all local, and he eats here himself and he’s okay.

Tips:

I was in a hurry. It was 1:45pm and the lunch buffet was about to be wisked away. I told the manager I wanted something fast and cheap, and the buffet was too expensive. He offered it to me at half the usual Y268 price. – RLM, DATE. April, 2008

Last summer, I spent a total of 13 days in Beijing at five of its several top hotels: the Grand Hyatt, Shangri-la, St. Regis, Westin, and Ritz Carlton Financial Street. I also stayed one night at the Renaissance – which was also good but not as luxurious, and I looked at some of the cheaper hotels. Reviews and updates follow below and please remember, we want to hear about your experiences too.

Descriptions with addresses and telephone numbers are already in our 2007 Beijing guide for a wide range of hotels, but these six five-stars were researched after press time—some for the first time because they are new. As soon as these changes are incorporated into the latest edition of our book, we will delete the information in this section. Some web-site addresses here are repeats, so for more information and our other reviews, please buy the book. It’s really inexpensive, a bargain for the amount of information it has in its over 300 pages.

By August 2008, Beijing will have at least 24 five-star international chain hotels with brand names like Crowne Plaza, Four Seasons, Hilton, Mandarin Oriental, Marriott, Peninsula, Regent, Sofitel, and Sheraton in addition to the above. (It also has many good and cheaper Chinese-run hotels already described in my book to be updated at a later time.)

Will there be a glut of top-of-the-line international chain hotel rooms after the Olympics? Hotel managers queried said no. Beijing is growing as an important world destination and needs all those fancy hotel rooms. But we shall see.

Among the new hotels are the Conrad Beijing on Chang An Avenue between Second and Third Ring Roads, and the Scandic by Hilton Beijing on Guang An Men Wai West Second and Third Southwest Ring Roads in 2008. Other new hotels are listed below according to areas.

Published here are also restaurant and other prices to help you decide approximately how much money you can expect to spend on your trip. Below are some updates on the Olympics and shopping too. The hotel rates are pegged to February 2008 because each day -- nay each hour is different -- and this might or might not be the lowest possible. Prices and exchange rates are constantly changing. To calculate a rough exchange rate, click on: http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic . In December, 2007, it was about Y6.5 for one Australian dollar, Y15.07 for a British pound, Y7.3 for one Canadian dollar, Y10.8 for one Euro, Y5.12 for one Singapore dollar, and Y7.39 for one U.S. dollar,

The following updates are organized according to the chapters in the Beijing guide book, primarily by sections of the city.

Chapter Four - The Big Picture
The Pollution.
Beijing should be stopping all its exterior construction the beginning of 2008 and then the air should be cleaner. The big steelworks which have badly polluted Beijing’s air have now left the city. During the Olympics, local Beijing residents think government officials will be ordered to keep their cars at home. The opening of Subway Line 13 will also help keep the roads free so visitors can get around unhindered by traffic jams.

Chapter Five - Hotels
While I haven’t seen it yet, my Beijing friends say the Commune by the Great Wall, a tiny hotel of 11 villas (46 guest rooms) is worth considering. It is set in greenery and is within walking distance and sight of the Great Wall. Of course you have to want to spend more than the usual tourist-y morning at that famous monument and you have to like hiking. You can also study contemporary architecture; each building was designed by a different architect. Rooms start at Y1788 a night says its web-site: www.communebythegreatwall.com/en/ . A tour of the exterior costs Y120 per person and you can see the interiors if they are not occupied by guests. It is 75 km. from the Beijing airport, 75 km. from downtown Beijing and is managed by Kempinski.

Chapter Six - Tiananmen and Wangfujing Area
The Grand Hyatt. For February. 29, 2008 Expedia charges $195.88. Website. www.beijing.grand.hyatt.com says Y1450. Its happy hour buffet in its executive floor lounge was very impressive as was its breakfast buffet with the staff pouring tea properly from a pot through a strainer. We gorged in its popular Made in China restaurant which has many interesting dishes like spinach salad with sesame sauce and wasabi. We sampled Peking duck. We had chicken baked in mud which my sister broke with a mallet. We also tried the spinach in hoisin sauce, cabbage with shrimp, and a noodle dish. They were all perfectly done. (See Food below for some prices.)

I was looking forward to swimming in its pool because of its underwater music but alas, there wasn’t any. Staff said there should have been some animal sounds. Maybe next time. A welcome bottle of water was beside each lounge chair and floating on one’s back was lovely because the ceiling with its stars kept changing colour. Free form with palm trees, this pool is indeed the most beautiful hotel pool I’ve seen in Beijing.

The Hyatt now has 825 rooms served by a staff of about 1350. Our Club Deluxe Suite 1650 was luxurious and comfortable. It had two bedrooms, two full baths, three televisions, one in-room safe and a kitchen with a microwave and refrigerator. Part of the Hyatt’s residential towers now houses 100-square meter hotel suites, some with real fire places. Its Red Moon lounge is a cigar bar. I did have a problem with the English of one telephone operator one morning, but aside from that, and the lack of underwater sound, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there.

A plus of course is the adjacent Oriental Plaza, one of Beijing’s largest malls. The Hyatt has a convenient lower floor door directly into this plaza which is open from about 9:30am to 9:30pm daily. This mall has the closest ATMs to the Hyatt. Convenient is the one in the Bank of China at the Oriental Plaza’s west end at Wangfujing.

Notes on other hotels in this area.

The Regent. Travelocity.com says US$103 for February 29, 2007. Its website: www.regenthotels.com/reg/home/index.html says its cheapest single room is Y900 for the same date. The first thing noticed during a quick trip to the Regent Hotel was its neighbour, a Rolls Royce Motor Car Showroom. Don’t let that discourage you. Prices here are attractive. This hotel opened April, 2007 with 500 rooms starting at 40 square meters, all with coffee and tea making, safes big enough for lap tops, and a bathroom with a window opening onto the bedroom. Every room has wireless accessibility (not free), a DVD player and a 43” flat screen television which shows CNN, BBC, HBO, Bloomberg, and Star Movies. Its indoor pool is 45 meters long and its gym has 18 machines. Its spa has 13 suites – with one to three beds -- and give a wide variety of treatments. You walk in to the fragrance of lemon grass and orange. The address is: 99 Jinbao St., Dongcheng District, 100005. Tel. 8522-1888.

The Park Plaza Wangfujing. http://www.parkplaza.com/beijingcn says Y495. Travelocity.com says US$67. Compared to its five-star sister the Regent, this four-star hotel is not impressive. I like the nearby though older four-star Novotel Peace better. It’s closer to Wangfujing, it’s had more experience and I’m used to its idiosyncrasies. Opened in 2006, the Park Plaza just might need more time to get polished. It does have free wireless capability in its rooms, CNN, National Geographic, BBC, and CNBC. Rooms have safes big enough for a lap top. It is at 97 Jinbao St. Dongcheng Dist., Tel. 8522-1999. This is half a block east of The Peninsula.

The Peninsula. Its web-site www.peninsula.com says it has a winter package for Y1600 that includes breakfast and choice of transfers or dinner, etc. Travelocity.com says a room on February 29, 2008 is US$177. I dropped in for tea and learned that it will be opening a new 10-room spa in spring, 2008 with British firm ESPA management. It now has wireless capability free in its rooms as well as public areas, and has added Harry Winston Jewellers and Calvin Klein Connection to its many high-end stores.

Motel 268. Y538 for a family room. No discounts. The web-site address given by the receptionist connects to a hotel booking agencies. www.motel268.com . Tel. 5167-1666.
She said this hotel was only for people with a Chinese I.D. though a Chinese friend can register for foreigners. “Maybe in July,” it will get a license for foreigners. Motel 168 is a similar cheap hotel in the same Wangfujing area. I think your Chinese friend might get in trouble if he or she registers for you, however.

Restaurants: At the Grand Hyatt’s Made in China, appetizers cost Y30-Y165, main dishes Y48 (vegetables) to Y398, seafood Y118-Y888, poultry Y78 to Y268, vegetables Y48 to Y78, soups Y68 to Y118, and noodles and dumplings Y36 to Y70. Since this is a hotel, add 15% surcharge and since this is the Hyatt, the food at all of its several restaurants is great.

On this trip we explored the Oriental Plaza which is directly below the Grand Hyatt. A CRC supermarket and Watson’s drug store, a circling sushi bar, Starbucks, Bread Talk bake shop, and Paris Baguette are on the LG level. So are a Dairy Queen, KFC and Mr. Pizza. The cheap noodle restaurant Be There, Be Square is no longer there. The upscale South Beauty (Sichuan) restaurant, and the downscale McDonald’s and Yogen Fruz are on the UG level. Most of the restaurants are on the level below ground in the Wangfujing end. At the Food Forum, just be sure to find out the price first, and then pay for a chit at the entrance. The Plaza’s web-site has specific addresses. It’s at www.orientalplaza.com .

The famous Quan Jude Peking Duck Restaurant just off Wangfujing now charges Y198 for a whole duck, and Y99 for a half, Y5 for each pan cake, Y2 for scallions and sauce, Y2 for a bowl of steamed rice, Y20 a cup of long jing tea plus 15% service charge. It is now open 11am to 1:30pm and 4:30pm to 8:30pm.

The Dong Lai Shun Restaurant at 198 Wangfujing is still dumpy though I suspect (without reason other than the forthcoming Olympics) that there might be changes before that event. Prices were different, some higher, some lower than in 2006. They are now Y8 for a bowl of noodles and vegetables, and for its hot pot, the pot and soup Y25, lamb slices Y23-Y58, beef slices Y38, scallops Y20, fish Y30, and chicken Y16. Tea is Y30 and Y40 and Coca Cola Y5. The hygiene should be okay since everything is cooked in boiling soup stock.

Chapter Seven – Chongwenmen Area
To be opened in 2008 is the Beijing Marriott Hotel City Wall at Second Ring Road and Beijing Railway Station East Road.

Chapter Eight - Jianguomenwai and Central Business District Area (C.B.D.)
Much construction and destruction have been in this area. The new Sofitel at the east end of Jianguomenwai is now open. A five-star Mandarin Oriental should be opening this year too in the C.B.D. in the new television building – which you can’t miss because its two towers defy gravity. The JW Marriott (opened in November, 2007) and the Ritz-Carlton Beijing Downtown (to open in 2008), are both in China Central Place just east of the C.B.D. on Jianguo between Third and Fourth Ring Roads. To be opened in 2008 is Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel at the southern edge of the C.B.D as part of R&F City.

The St. Regis Hotel. Its web-site is www.stregis.beijing@stregis.com . This hotel is already booked completely for the Olympics and has a waiting list. It will be closed from November 1, 2007 to Spring, 2008 for a major over-haul, reducing its 273 guest rooms to 258 by making some even bigger. Changes will also be in its lobby, Garden Court and garden. Its Club Rooms will remain open during this period.

It will be hard to make this hotel better than what we experienced last summer. Our room 1024 had six handy electrical outlet that fit almost all the world’s plugs, lots of bottled water, Herald Tribune, butler service with wake-up coffee or tea, walk-in closets, and two double beds. The concierge was very helpful in locating some nearby restaurants.

Its buffet breakfast had one of the largest and most exotic selections of food ever seen (Y200 plus 15%). It offered dim-sum, chicken skewers, bread pudding, vegetables, and six juices including guava, melon and mango. There were crispy croissants, sticky rice in bamboo leaves, smoked salmon, and eggs, and lamb chops and beef steaks grilled to order. We gorged in its wonderful Italian restaurant. I loved it bathroom scales which showed I had lost 10 pounds!! Staff was very helpful, running to provide a pad and pen to a customer on a telephone – without being asked.

Restaurants:
The St. Regis is close to a lot of little restaurants: Sizzler, Oriental Tapas, and T.G.I.Friday’s. On Xiushui Nan Street nearby, there’s a Middle Eastern, a Tibetan and a Steak and Eggs (open for breakfast early). Starbucks and Baskin Robbins are still at the Friendship Store nearby. Standards are not as good as in the St. Regis, but they make for an interesting and cheaper change.

We went with friend Roberta to Three Guizhou Men, a popular local restaurant. We found it north one block of the Guiyou Department store and then a right onto a lane of several restaurants marked “pool – snooker club” (if the sign’s still there). On the right/south side, you will see three parallel lines on a sign (which is the character for Three – there’s no English) and the telephone number 6591-8760. The place looks a little dumpy with cement floors and it uses a lot of chili peppers, coriander, mint and oil, but the food was very interesting and very cheap. (You can ask for less oil.) We had lamb with peppermint leaves, sour catfish soup Y35, Miao style peppermint lamb (Y56), coriander with sliced egg plant Y22, doufu/beancurd salad Y16, and rice. A bottle of wine cost Y120. With a small tip (few people tip in China), it cost Y490 for seven of us foreigners and we enjoyed it.

The Nu Jia Xiao Cai Family Restaurant with home-style Beijing food is still there, still without a sign in English in front and still pretty cheap. You eat in an exotic setting at unpolished marble tables on old style Chinese furniture. And there are pictures on the menu with prices. You know you’re there when you hear the squawk of real mynah birds. I had diced bean curd with peanuts, wonton noodles and no tea for a total of Y17. The price goes up with fancier dishes.

I found a Schlotzsky’s Deli in the China Trade Centre. Tel. 6505-0806. It has pizzas, salads, sandwiches, sourdough, wheat, dark rye and jalapeno cheese buns. For those homesick for an American deli, a toasted sourdough bun with three meats, three cheeses, mustard, black olives, onion, lettuce and tomato cost Y19.50 and Y29.50; an 8” pizza ranges from Y18 to Y48, and a salad costs from Y5.50 to Y23.50. Soups are Y9.50 and a beer Y12.

Chapter Nine - Northeastern Beijing
The Renaissance Beijing. For February 29, 2008 Expedia.com quoted US$162. The hotel’s web-site www.renaissancehotels.com says Y1350 but it gives an AAA discounted rate of Y900. We stayed one night in standard room 513, but would have liked more time there because the location is so good. It is attached to the Air China Centre, a place to look for first as you might not be able to see the Renaissance’s sign until you’ve passed it. We had a good breakfast with a choice of lots of fresh fruit, eggs and waffles to order, and six hot dishes. It also offered cold meats, crispy Danish pastries, dim sum, congee, and even goat’s cheese. Its pastries were on a heated tray. But my table was sticky and needed cleaning. Tsk. Tsk.

For dinner in its coffee shop, I had a good chicken curry, kept hot in a lighted chafing dish. It was sufficiently spicy to be interesting and came with chutney, raisins and poppadum. The service was good but not as eager as the Shangri-La’s. The pool was small but attractive. It cost Y35 for 15 minutes Internet and a key card is needed to activate the elevator – a reassurance if you like a lot of security. I was surprised to find at least a half dozen foreign Jewish people and their families staying there. The Israeli Embassy, Dini’s Kosher Restaurant and the Kabbalat Service at the Capital Mansion are within walking distance. A bell man gave our taxi driver a wrong address in Chinese but we managed to find our destination by telephoning the Chinese-speaking friend we were meeting.

Beijing Hilton. www.hilton.com mentions a “flexible” rate of US$175 for February 29, 2008. Expedia.com says US$160. It’s new C building has over 100 new executive rooms and should be finished in April 2008 bringing the total to 375 rooms. It will have underground parking, four shops, and a new Asian food restaurant.

Restaurants:
The south entrance to Chaoyang Park no longer has any restaurants. But Annie’s restaurant is still at its West Gate and its moderate prices haven’t changed from my book. The telephone numbers for other branches of Annies are 8589-8366 for Soho, 8470-4768 for the Beijing Riviera, 6436-3735 for Lido and 6503-3907 or 6503-3871 for Third Ring Road.

We had a pleasant light lunch at Dini’s, the Kosher restaurant behind the Hilton Hotel on Nuren Jie Xingba Lu Jiuba Jie. It is open Sunday-Thursday 11am-2:30pm and 4pm to 10pm. On Fridays, it is open 11am to two hours before sundown and Saturdays it opens 30 minutes after Shabbat ends (one hour after sundown.)

Chapter Ten - Northwestern Area.
Shangri-La. Expedia.com and www.shangri-la.com both quote US$135 for February 29, 2008. It took me 90 minutes by taxi during a weekday to get from the Grand Hyatt downtown to the Shangri-La. Okay, so it was during the evening rush hour but the taxi driver avoided the ring roads. I couldn’t ask him --maybe they were equally jammed – but we stopped at pretty well every one of innumerable red lights. Normally this trip takes less than 30 minutes. This area is also optimistically 30 to 40 minutes from the airport – on the ring roads.

I wanted to stay at the Shangri-La to see its new Valley Wing extension but it was the ride on the hotel’s 38-seat River Dragon boat to the nearby Summer Palace that caught my fancy first. The hotel can arrange a drive for you to the nearby boat dock, less than five minutes walk away. The wharf is beside the Wuzhou Art Museum which you can visit before taking the cruise if you want. It was a tranquil 30-minute, four kilometre introduction to that lovely garden and it was devoid of buses, cars and other traffic congestion. The hotel’s guides were good. See “Canal” and “Services” below.

Shangri-La’s new extension is beautiful. It has 142 rooms, the smallest of which is a huge 50 square meters. You can enter the fourth floor of the Valley Wing also from the fifth floor of the Garden Wing. There you are met by a brilliant flash of red and halls lined with mirrors, a sharp contrast with the classical European décor of its Garden Wing. Rooms all have IPod speakers, heated towel racks and walk-in closets. Guests in this wing get complimentary buffet breakfast, all-day beverages including Champagne, wines and canapés, and wireless internet access. Its gym has 22 new machines and three sets of weights. Its new 25 meter – long pool is now open. Its new ball room can seat 700 at banquet tables.

My sister tried out the new spa, her treatment based on the scents she liked. She was completely relaxed and loved it. The spa also offers jetlag treatments, and an 80-minute chi balance treatment. Staff can do acupressure with aromatic oils to fit the elements.

We stayed on the Horizon Floor of the older Garden Wing which was wonderful. Our Grand Diplomat Suite there was decorated in warm tones, with a 32” television, and safe deposit box that fit and could also recharge a lap top. It had full length wall-to-wall windows. Walls are otherwise covered in places with padded fabrics. Three multi-national electrical plugs were convenient on the desk. It had a separate shower stall as well as bathtub and its mini-bar was stocked with fruit juices as well as alcohol. The room was comfortable and luxurious but in comparison with the new wing, it could do with some spiffing up You can find copies of USA Today, SCMP and the Herald Tribune in the Shangri-La’s business centre.

The buffet breakfast in the Horizon Club lounge was amazing as usual: I felt like the Empress Dowager choosing from grilled snapper, sweet potato puffs, tofu, bacon, sausage, miso soup, congee, cheeses, smoked salmon, eight different fresh fruits, four different stewed fruits, cold cereals, six different cold juices, 10 pastries, and toast. A cappuccino machine was handy. An attendant in a black and gold uniform served tea properly poured from a pot through a strainer.

This uniform was so elegant. I later bought something like it for myself. Service was great and cheerful as usual. My sister who was separated from her passport during my 90- minute taxi ride was very favourably impressed with staff willingness to go the extra mile. “When you ask for help, they will physically show you, not tell you where to go,” she pointed out. But its ATM wouldn’t take my sister’s Star Plus card.

Restaurants: We dined at the Nishimura Japanese restaurant at the Shangri-La. It had several set lunches: a sushi selection for Y170 and assorted tempura for Y150. On its a la carte menu, it had sautéed chicken with egg plant for Y80 and grilled eel on rice for Y130. Everything was so attractively displayed and so interesting; for example, small dishes of egg custard and shrimp, eggplant with fruit, and salmon encased with rice and a ribbon of nori/seaweed. Spoons were lacquer. I wanted to go back for another meal.

My sister had dinner one Wednesday at the Shangri-La’s Café Cha. It cost Y318 for the buffet, “a tad overpriced but a large selection to choose from,” she said. It included lobster, prawns, oysters, clams, sushi, salads, Peking duck, dried spare ribs, fruit, pizzas for kids, a large curry selection and dim sum. “…I don’t remember how many desserts they had but there was ice cream and bread pudding. The staff was attentive but did not hover. I think they took my used plate away when I got up to get more food. It was very fresh and constantly replenished. I would recommend it to my friends.”

One of the closest hotel areas of north-western Beijing to the Forbidden City is the Financial District (Jin Rong Jie) which has a Ritz-Carlton, Westin, InterContinental, and a little further away, the Holiday Inn Downtown and the Presidential Plaza State Guest House. This area also has a growing number of Chinese and foreign banks and insurance companies, and is walking distance to the Fuchengmen Subway Station.

While it takes little time on the loop subway line, it took me one hour by taxi to get there from the St. Regis in Jianguomenwai at 5pm one week day. But then, 5pm is a bad time to travel. The subway was probably very crowded at that time too.

On this trip I was only able to stay at the Ritz-Carlton and the Westin here – both excellent hotels and only one block away from each other. I liked the service and décor at the Ritz-Carlton better, but the Westin is very good too. Between these two big hotels is Seasons Place with upscale stores like Hong Kong’s Lane Crawford and Louis Vitton. There’s a Japanese restaurant, T.G.I. Fridays, and Pizza Hut. Within walking distance is an old temple, converted into a charming and very expensive restaurant, that is worth a visit. See Baitasi Temple in Restaurants below.

The Ritz-Carlton Beijing Financial Street. For February 29, 2008, Expedia.com quotes US$184. www.ritzcarlton.com/hotels/Beijing says Y1650 on the same date. This hotel is more classy than the Westin with many lovely oriental touches like carved wooden screens in its lobby and lamps that look like circular slices of white chocolate. Its ATM is nicely private; you can access your money behind a closed door off the lobby.

Rooms are a spacious 50 square metres and all its in-room safe boxes can fit a lap top and re-charge it too, a brilliant idea. There’s a cordless telephone, featherbeds, marble bath, wireless access, voicemail, 37” LCD television, and in the bathroom a 15” LCD monitor. Its executive lounge has five complimentary food and beverage presentations during the day and evening. Its top-of-the line Ritz-Carlton Suite has a private sauna, a real oven and mahogany floors, and a free-standing bathtub. One of its bathroom mirrors is also a 28” flat screen monitor. There are his and her shower stalls with Thunderstorm Rain Forest shower heads. The published rate is Y42,500 a night.

Milk at this hotel here is flown in daily from Italy for its cappuccinos. You can find hand-painted wall paper and in its hallways, frosted glass, and Ming dynasty style chairs. Whenever we walked by, the staff turned off its noisy vacuum-cleaners, they were so considerate. Its Spa is one of the prettiest in town. It has a suite for couples and three suites with carved old “opium beds.” It also has a water bed used for body scrubs, and an infinity bath tub. (The hotel has a “Green Committee” that checks on wastage.) It has a room to relax in before and after. A 45-minute silky body scrub costs Y650. A 60-minute pedicure costs Y330. Its fitness centre is accessible 24 hours.

It has 340 staff for its 253 rooms. We gorged in its wonderful Italian restaurant. General Manager Derek Flint leads a bicycle tour through the nearby hutongs and to the White Pagoda (Baita) Temple for guests booking an Executive Suite package for two nights. It sounds like fun. (See below for the Baita Temple restaurant.) The only error we found was a prominent spelling mistake: “dinning” instead of “dining” but we quibble.

The Westin. Its web-site www.westin.com/beijingfinancial says Y1050
for February 29, 2008. Travelocity US$135. This hotel has a modern, contemporary look – with not many Chinese touches. Its breakfast buffet cost about Y188 and included a dozen kinds of pastries. I especially appreciated the whole wheat croissants. It had six different juices, fresh lichee and kiwi fruits. You could order eggs, waffles and several kinds of noodles to your liking. While the presentation was attractive, our attendant was a little slow with the coffee pot. Its ballroom can seat 700 at a sit-down dinner. It looks like real fish skin decorates its door, an especially interesting touch for me since I’ve been involved with fish-skin clothing.

Our standard room 1905 was 40 square meters. Other rooms can be up to 60 square meters. It had a cappuccino machine, and an office chair at its three-meter wide desk. It had a 32” flat screen television with interesting information like flight schedules and stock quotes. It’s the only hotel I found with an IP phone for cheaper long distance calls and you can make conference calls from your room. The shower in its spacious bathroom had a rain forest shower head and acupressure water massage, and the curtain on the window between the bathroom and bedroom kept out most of the bathroom light at night. (Since I get up at 4am and frequently work in hotel bathrooms, I am sure even this little light would wake up my husband. Fortunately, he wasn’t with me.)

The whole hotel is wireless, a complimentary service. Its new “heavenly spa” is very impressive. It has “bathologists” who give different kinds of treatments with oils from India, Thailand, Arabia and the Mediterranean. It is all aimed at relaxation and boosting the immune system. It has six treatment rooms, each with its own bathroom. Ask about the infinity Jacuzzi. Its gym has at least 21 machines and a set of weights, and a cold plunge tub makes its sauna authentic. Its steam room with its coloured light therapy should be great in dry winter weather. Its pool is 25 X 12 meters and with a children’s pool, the room feels more like a resort.

I enjoyed this hotel very much but one of my room mates aborted an appointment in its spa when she felt her assigned “bathologist” was trying to hurry her through “calming rituals.” The guest relations people were concerned and followed up with a telephone call but it was too late. The food, however, was great – very interesting with a wide variety of flavours. Ask about its “Unwind…” program at 5:30pm-7:30pm in the lobby, an opportunity to meet other guests. It sounds innovative – especially with the tai chi masters. I didn’t know about it until it was too late to see it.

The Baitasi Temple Restaurant is just north of the Ritz Carlton Hotel about five blocks on the north side of busy Fuchengmen Avenue. Look for the white, 13th century pagoda/dagoba, a large plain white inverted goblet-like monument topped with a fancy “hat” decorated with bells. Your hotel concierge can probably make a reservation and point you in the right direction. And if it’s in the evening, don’t let people there tell you the temple is closed. Well, that might be right, but the restaurant is open. Follow the “Temple Kitchen” or “Temple Restaurant” signs.

This is a very pretty restaurant in traditional, exotic Chinese architecture with private rooms, latticed wooden windows and screens, and a lotus pond. Curtains cover black brick walls. The food comes in small, artistically-arranged portions on gold trimmed porcelain on top of maroon and yellow linens. The chopsticks have gold tips. The menu is fixed – about 10 courses. No a la carte. For Y500 each plus 15%, our dinner included geo duck soup with vegetable and papaya, pan-fried goose liver, steam garoupa, and dim sum. The vegetables were perfectly cooked. It was a wonderful and delicious once-in-a-culinary lifetime adventure. It blew my food budget but accepts credit cards. It’s at 171 Fuchengmen Neidajie,
阜城门内大街171号白塔寺. Tel. 6618-1119; 6617-1119.

Dinner Theatre: I wanted my sister to see the traditional Sichuan opera art of bian lian – face changing – in Beijing. (Actually, it’s been performed recently in Toronto and probably other places abroad too. We still haven’t figured out how it’s done ) One friend said you can find face changing in Beijing at the Hu Guang Theatre daily at 7:30pm but I can’t vouch for that.

This time, I went back to the dinner theatre near the nearby Shangri-La Hotel where I saw it in 2006. Yes it is the Da Zhai Men restaurant. The show starts at 7pm and the service is quick. A cook does a demonstration of noodle-making and an attendant refills tea cups from a tea pot with an amazingly-long spout and much flourish. The variety show, of which a bian lian performer is a part, was free and all we had to pay for was the cost of the meal. We had two cold dishes and three hot dishes, soft drinks, and for dessert, four-happiness bean curd. Two of us paid a total of Y186. It was a real bargain.

The bian lian artist performed second and the rest of the show included classical Chinese music on traditional instruments with female musicians wiggling their hips. A female impersonator sang an aria from Chinese opera. There was also an imitation of the deaf dancers in bright yellow costumes. Some of the performers cruise around the tables afterwards to be photographed with patrons. See Chapter Sixteen below for more on bian lian and deaf dancers.

Chapter Eleven - Northern Part of Urban Beijing and Olympic Green.
The three-star Tibet Hotel. I couldn’t find a price on Expedia, e-Long or Travelocity. Rooms start at Y480, said the receptionist. Its web-site in English asks for a lot of information before it gives out prices: www.tibethotel.com . This hotel is within walking distance of Olympic Green. It is 10 km. from Tiananmen Square. A quick look found it clean but in need of polishing and refurbishing. Don’t expect to find much English here. I was there on a weekend lunch hour and its Chinese restaurant had line-ups of local people waiting to get in. You can get Sichuan and Tibetan food. (Tibetan food is not one of my favourites, alas.) Rooms have safes, hair dryers, and refrigerators. Its telephone is 6498-1133, 6489-5517. Fax 6498-0365. E-mail: sales_6489-5517@sina.com . The Shenhu Travel Service on the premises can help people traveling to Tibet (but so can other travel agencies.)

I went looking for the Sports Museum but alas couldn’t find it and no one in its old neighbourhood seemed to know about it. It is probably being rebuilt somewhere, so Sports Fans should stay tuned on this one.

Chapter Thirteen - Workers’ Stadium Area
The Pacific Centre has a Schlotzsky’s Deli, tel. 6539-3922. For prices see above.

Zhaolong/Great Dragon Hotel. Expedia says $160 for April 1, 2008 but no quote for February 29. An e-mail to zlh@zhaolonghotel.com.cn resulted in an answer from “Helen” that a standard twin cost Y888 for February 29, 2008. For years, I’ve avoided putting this hotel in my books. The service and English weren’t good enough. I did visit it because it has one of the youth hostels in its back yard. This summer, I got a chance to try out the Tandoor Restaurant there (see below) and saw that the Zhaolong had had a 2007 innovation and an upgrade to five-star status. This made it look quite good, though the Chinglish in its web-site made me wonder about it still and I can’t vouch for the service. The front-office staff does speak some English. Let me know if you try it. Consider it a domestic 5-star. Rooms have safe boxes, soft beds, and televisions showing CNN and HBO. The swimming pool is small and massages start at Y60. CITS uses this hotel for its Olympic packages (below). Like all five-star hotels, it accepts major credit cards, and it’s at 2 Worker’s Stadium North Road, Chaoyang District, 100027. Its web-site www.zhaolonghotel.com.cn says it’s in the C.B.D. but that’s not true unless Beijing has changed C.B.D.’s boundaries recently.

A friend who is fussy about her food recommended the Tandoor Restaurant in the Zhaolong Hotel. It is indeed an attractive-looking restaurant, decorated with a lot of confusing mirrors, and fresh flowers on each white-linened table. It has both Chinese and Indian symbols – carved wooden Indian pillars and arches, and curved Chinese roofs and Chinese characters dangling from the ceiling—a décor inspired by the Silk Road. At lunch time, the set menu cost Y150. Appetizers were Y33-Y58, tandoori Y50-Y240, curries Y50 to Y85, breads Y10-Y15, lassi Y30-Y40, and rice Y40-Y66. The food was excellent and genuinely Indian. (I lived in India for four years.) However, my waiter substituted nan without asking permission when I ordered chappatis.

The Banana Leaf has Southeast Asian and Japanese food, and take-out. It has a playground for children, and is generally attractive, but it has some ragged edges like a few frayed table cloths. It’s at 4, Gong Ti Bei Road, Chaoyang District. Tel: 6506-3399.
Web: www.bananaleaf.com.cn . (No English, but its web-site has some yummy-looking pictures.)

According to readers of City Weekend magazine, the best restaurant in Beijing in 2007 is the Alemeda, a Brazilian restaurant on Sanlitun Jiuba Jie (inside Tongli Studio) but I haven’t tried it yet. Let me know what you think. Tel. 6417-8084.
E-mail: alameda.beijing@yahoo.com .

Other Services: you can get Y40 foot massages on the Ya Show Market’s fourth floor. Many foreign tourists do this while waiting for their groups to finish shopping. My little flashlights are cheaper there than at the market off Wangfujing” -- Y80 for ten flat ones with a switch that keeps it on, or Y6 for the handy one you can wear on a chain around your neck for reading menus in dark restaurants and descriptions in dark museums. This market is so much better than the even more touristy Silk Market.

Chapter Fourteen -Restaurants Generally
As for Chinese food with unhealthy additives, managers at five-star hotels said most of what it serves is imported. The local produce it uses is not processed and is chosen personally by its own people. Besides, said Regina of the Grand Hyatt’s P.R. Department, “most of the problems with food additives is in south China. It doesn’t happen in Beijing.” Another hotel manager said to avoid food stalls. “Locals are very aware of illegal additives and many are eating organically grown foods themselves.” This is a good sign as it reflects on the quality of the local market. Please let me know if you come across anything suspicious.

Chapter Fifteen - What to See and Do
The basement of the Sun Dong An Centre which has housed shops of traditional folk arts and food, a tea house with a show, and exhibits on how things were done in the old days, was in the throes of renovations. So I can’t tell you if Old Beijing has been completely transformed or just renovated.

Since my sister hadn’t seen it, we took a taxi to the Forbidden City from the Renaissance Hotel near the Lufthansa Centre. For some unknown reason, the traffic flow became impossible the minute rain started falling. It was about 9:30am and it took an hour to get to the Forbidden City – normally, a 20-minute trip. I was afraid we would be unable to get a taxi back if we left the one we were in, so we took a spin around the palace and 30 minutes later, we were back at the hotel.

Emperor Qian Long built a canal in the 18th Century between the Summer Palace and the Forbidden City (see Shangri-La Hotel above.) The Shangri-La has a boat for its own guests but other people can take a longer canal ride from near the north side of Beihai Park. This trip goes by the zoo and Purple Bamboo Park. The boat ride is available only in the summer. It is a relaxing change from busy superhighways and gives a feeling of being back in imperial times. Ask your guide about this playboy emperor falling in love with a nun and building a temple for her in Beijing. The canal ride is weather-dependant; if there’s been a heavy rain, the water rises and boats might not be able to go under the bridges.

Our guide said the Long Corridor in the Summer Palace has over 8000 pictures – but other sources said much less. You can count them if you want – some of these paintings are of flowers, scenes from famous novels like Journey to the West and Dream of the Red Chamber. All my sources seem to agree that it’s 728 meters long.

Great Wall at Mutianyu. Sister Gloria writes: “June 27, Wednesday. Tickets were Y35. Cable car one way Y40. It was about 30 degrees Centigrade but overcast. When we got to the top, our fears were correct – not a good day for pictures but the great thing was that we were able to get some shots without other people in them. Francisca was dripping. It was pretty hot too. The stairs are brutal. Good cardio workout there. We decided to take the toboggan ride down. Cost Y40. It certainly saved our legs. It was a nice long run but a couple of slow people ahead of us ruined the fun. The toilets were in a new building which was strangely cool. It had both squat and seated toilets. There were new- looking portable toilets at the top of the cable car. We gave up on the Forbidden City because of the rain.”

Chapter Sixteen - Beijing Fun City
Top Acrobatic Class, China National Acrobatic Troupe. My sister, on her first trip to China, ordered a ticket for the acrobats from the concierge at the Grand Hyatt for Y380 and this was the only troupe he mentioned. She suddenly realized she was to hop in a cab and go it alone. The doorman arranged a taxi and at the end of the show, she found a lot of taxis waiting outside so she had no problem getting back to the hotel. The theatre was 100 meters north of Poly Plaza, which is north of the Swissotel, at the Dongsishitiao subway station. She thought the Acrobats were great and the performers were students. There were about 30 on stage.

This is not the only acrobat show in Beijing. Performances are at 7:15pm at the Tiandi Theater. It’s at 10 Dongzhimen Nan St., Dong Cheng District. Tickets cost Y180, Y280 and Y380. Tel. 64169893 or 6416-0757. The more famous acrobatic show is at the Chaoyang Theatre which is still open and mentioned in my Beijing book. Then there’s the Tianqiao Acrobatics Theatre with the largest stage. It’s at East Beiwei Road, Xuanwu District. Web: www.china-acrobatic.com (no English). Show time is 7:15pm daily.

See also Chapter Ten above on bian lian face changing and deaf dancers.
The deaf women dancers mentioned in my Beijing guide book are those of the China Disabled Person's Performing Art Troupe, and their magnificent thousand-armed Guan Yin Goddess of Mercy dance is a must-see if they happen to be in Beijing. To get the best effect, sit in line with the middle of the stage. For a preview, many web-sites including YouTube have a video of the same fuzzy version. You can see it also on: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/31055/chineese_dance/ .
Chapter Seventeen - Shopping
My favourite gifts for friends are the tiny little flashlights selling for Y15 in the tourist market north of the Beijing Hotel, off of Wangfujing. Also found a light that can detect counterfeit Chinese money there for Y15. However, you can get them cheaper at the Ya Show Market. See Chapter Thirteen above.

Beijing’s Curio City has a sign outside that says Beijing Antique City so you have the right place if you see it.

Chapter Eighteen - Services
There’s a Kinko’s now in the Financial District at Focus Plaza, 19 Fina, Jin Rong Zie, Shi Jiu Hao. It probably has cheaper photocopying and printing than your hotel.

Guides recommended: Joe at baolai1123@yahoo.com.cn . He said he worked for Destination Travel International. Maria at rongzi267@gmail.com was also good. They were on our Shangri-La boat trip.

Travel Agencies: To give you an idea what some agencies are charging, here are Destination Travel International’s prices. I think they are higher than other agencies. You might want to find out if their groups are small.

Destination Travel advertises Great Wall (Badaling) and Forbidden City tours with lunch for Y495 per adult. A half day tour of the Great Wall at Mutianyu with cable car ride, and Cloisonne Factory is Y310 and goes Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. A Beijing duck dinner and Acrobatic Show with guide, transportation and tickets cost Y495. Its hutong tour (six days a week) includes the Capital Museum, Prince Gong’s Mansion, family visit, tea house, lunch, drum tower and bicycle rickshaw transportation. Y495 per adult. Its web-site is www.destinationscn.com and its e-mail is: info@destinationscn.com . All I can tell you is that as a guide, Joe was very good.

The post office at the Novotel Xin Qiao Hotel is open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday but is closed on Saturday and Sunday. A five kg. package cost Y177 to post by surface and Y425.7 by airmail abroad. Its EMS service charges Y930 for five kg. to North America, which takes three days. Compared to these rates, my overweight luggage fee of US$35 on Air Canada from Beijing to Toronto was a bargain – and it arrived with me.

In the departure lounge at Beijing airport, the attitude of the usually unsmiling Chinese immigration staff has changed. One officer was directing people to each available immigration booth, saving us minutes. The immigration officer we met said “Nice to meet you” with a big smile and we could push a nearby button to grade his service as “greatly satisfied” if we wanted to. I hope this change of attitude continues beyond the Olympics.

With the opening of new embassies in the Lufthansa Centre area, the telephone number and addresses of several embassies in my book will have to be changed. If my numbers don’t work, consult the telephone operator in your hotel who should be up-to-date.

Chapter Nineteen - The Olympics
Like most hotels, the Hyatt was almost completely booked up one year before and had a waiting list for the Olympics. Some rooms might still be available through Euro Sport, said a P.R. gal Jacqueline. And Alethea at the St. Regis suggested going directly through one of the sponsors who might have spare rooms. You could also try the new 2008 hotels above which might not be fully booked yet. Do expect all prices during this historic event to be considerably higher than usual.

CITS Head Office, one of the largest travel agencies in China and government run, said,
“We did have some Olympic packages but only for hotel and transfer. We have no event tickets.
These are issued through all Bank of China offices in China. To book the hotels below, email Teddy at teddyt@cits.com.cn

	Hotel Tariff for 2008 Olympic Games for different dates
Date	Zhaolong Hotel 5*	Jinqiao Apartment 4*	Rainbow Hotel 3*
Aug07-11, 2008	USD 1040/rm/nt, incl 1 ABF	USD 612/rm/nt, incl 2 ABF	USD 370/rm/nt, incl 2 ABF
	ABF: USD 27 pp.
Aug11-22, 2008	USD 612/rm/nt, incl 1 ABF	USD 416/rm/nt, incl 2 ABF	USD 370/rm/nt, incl 2 ABF
	ABF: USD 27 pp.
Aug22-26, 2008	USD 900/rm/nt, incl 1 ABF	USD 528/rm/nt, incl 2 ABF	USD 370/rm/nt, incl 2 ABF
	ABF: USD 27 pp.

	Hotel Tariff for 2008 Olympic Games for 19 nights consecutive use
Date	Zhaolong Hotel 5*	Jinqiao Apartment 4*	Rainbow Hotel 3*
Aug07-26, 2008	USD 652/rm/nt, incl 1 ABF	USD 444/rm/nt, incl 2 ABF	USD 360/rm/nt, incl 2 ABF
	ABF: USD 27 pp.

We've been telling visitors to the Beijing Olympics to book tickets and hotels rooms for over a year now and now it’s almost too late. And then there are the flights. It might be too late to book these now unless you buy packages through tour operators like http://www.cosport.net/b2008/us/ which operates in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the E.U. Agencies like Mongol Global Tours at http://www.beijing-olympics08.net and www.letstravelchina.com . Some of these agencies are saying they have blocked rooms available, but like CITS says, you must get your event tickets first. For more information and convenient web-sites, buy my new Beijing e-Book. For upcoming updates on Beijing and the Olympics, keep coming back to this web-site’s Beijing section and to the official web-site of the Beijing Olympics which has now been changed to: http://en.beijing2008.cn/ . Don’t wait any longer.

My thanks go to the Grand Hyatt, Shangri-la, St. Regis, Westin, and Ritz Carlton Financial Street for their generous hospitality which has made this report possible. – RLM, DATE summer, 2007.
* * *

What are Beijing’s top hotels doing about neutralizing carbon footprints?

Five-star hotels are caught in a bind – how to give top luxurious competitive service and please fussy high-paying guests and at the same time, avoid pollution.

We recently surveyed the China World Hotel, Grand Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton, Peninsula, and Shangri-La.

1. All are printing on two sides of papers for internal use. Said the Ritz-Carlton, “In addition, we also… print only if necessary and … print a two-page item onto a single page. We have also provided every work desk with a bin for recyclable paper and one for non-recyclable items. In addition, our housekeeping employees separate waste paper, plastic and glass from the guest rooms.”

2. Are they recycling plastic water bottles? Or doing something else about drinking water? All said they collected these bottles to be recycled. The Peninsula said “We also provide a tea / coffee making machine in rooms and suites so that guests have an option to boil water if they wish.” Said the China World, “Used plastic water bottles are returned to the hotel supplier; the supplier has a recycling programme in place. The hotel has a similar system in place with its offices' used printer cartridges which are returned to the supplier for its recycling programme.”

3. As for providing tooth brushes, .” Some of these hotels only provide tooth brushes on request. The Ritz-Carlton said, “We have reduced our amenities (toothbrush, razor, nail file) in the room from two to one set and will only send additional amenities upon request.” The China World said, “Tooth brushes are provided as part of the rooms' standard complimentary amenities.”

4. Are they setting air-conditioners at 25 degrees or more? 24 hours a day? The Ritz-Carlton e-mailed, “The heat is set on 22 degrees Celsius. According to hotel occupancy, it will be turned off and on in the rooms, by the housekeeping department.” Wrote the Shangri-La, “In winter the temperature is set at 22 degrees and in summer 26 degrees. For offices and restaurants, the air-conditioner is turned on during business hours only. As for the hotel lobby, the air-conditioner is turned off between 1am and 5am.”
The China World answered, “In summer, to reduce reliance on air-conditioning in public areas, the hotel uses its own ice storage system to provide cooling for the hotel.” The Beijing government has regulations about the internal temperature of hotels.

5. In what percentage of light fixtures are you using low energy light bulbs? The Grand Hyatt said 45%, and the Ritz-Carlton said, “Currently 25% of our light bulbs are energy saving light bulbs. The hotel is also operated by an energy saving light dimming system, meaning, during the day, the light in the public areas is automatically dimmed and increased in the evening hours.” The Peninsula said, “Over 80%...” and the Shangri-La said “90%+…” The China World “is using light energy light bulbs in all back of the house areas (offices, bathrooms, etc) as well as in the meeting and banqueting areas.”

6. What you are doing to protect your guests from Beijing’s air pollution. Do you offer dust masks? Do you tell them when air pollution is too high to go jogging? The Grand Hyatt said, “The hotel provides weather forecasts for the guests even before they check-in.” The Ritz-Carlton said, “At the moment, ‘dust masks’ are available upon request. Our concierge will inform guests about the current air pollution (when it is abnormally bad) based on what we see outside.” The China World said “As of now, dust masks or air pollution warnings are not offered by the hotel.” The Shangri-La and Peninsula did not answer this question.

7. What about their slippers? Most hotels throw them away. Said the Ritz-Carlton, “We do recycle them but only up to 2 to 3 washings depending on guest usage. Then we have to throw them away.” So let me have my say on this one: I try to carry one pair of slippers from hotel to hotel, but Housekeeping in top hotels frequently insists on laying a new pair out beside the bed every night. I try to hang up towels after one use, to be reused the next time – but alas, I get a whole fresh set. On my next trip, I’ll leave Housekeeping and the G.M. a note that says something like, “I appreciate the exceptional service in your hotel, but for ecological reasons, I want to use my own slippers and toothbrush and re-use my towels.”

8. What else are you doing? The China World said, “Recycled water from the hotel's guest bathrooms are used to water the plants around the hotel complex.” The Ritz-Carlton said (1) The hotel is using the hot water from the laundry department for pool heating. (2) We have a “turn off your light – turn off your A/C” once you leave your office – campaign. Signs are strategically placed to remind our staff. (3) Our hotel has also established a “Green Team” that meets weekly to enforce, review and drive energy saving and environmental protection projects in the hotel. The Green Team will also lead the hotel as we are in the midst of preparing to pass the “ISO 14001” certification on environment protection…and the “Green Hotel” certification by the Chinese National Tourism Board. (4) By mid-December, we would have installed a special filtering device that “cleans” our sewage water before it goes to the city water system. For example, dirty water from the kitchen goes through filters installed in our kitchens before it goes to the city water system. Laundry water goes to the grey water treatment room and after that it will be used as flushing water for toilets. From there it goes to another filter system before it is sent to the city system. (5) This mid-December, we will be implementing our Linen & Towel card that allows our guests to have the option to not change their bed sheet linen and towels everyday during their stay. (6) We will also introduce our “Save Earth Carry-All Bag” for sale in the hotel to encourage guests not to use plastic bags when shopping. All proceeds from the sale of the bag will be channeled to our “Green Hotel Fund” to support environmental related efforts.

When you get to China, ask your hotel managers yourself. Show them you care – if you do. -- RLM, DATE, December, 2007.