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 update for this page was 12/31/08

Basic Information
Both Hotmail.com and Yahoo.com (page 145) and probably other servers,  now have "pop-mail" on which you can probably directly access your  own e-mail at home. I register with them both in case one of them gets too busy. Yahoo seems to be more accessible than Hotmail.   You should practise with these before you leave for China because charges add up if you have to figure out how to use them in China. -- RLM

Dictionaries: Computer and electronic shops in China now have electronic dictionaries that are lighter to carry than paper. Mine cost Y180 but has no sound. It's been very helpful and quick once I punch in the English. Chinese shows up. But it doesn't have all commonly used words.

More expensive varieties give the words aloud. Instructions are in Chinese, so you need a Chinese-reading friend to help you.   RLM..
                              * * *
Repairs: The pull on one of my zippers came off and a repair person on the street fixed it in two seconds for Y2.  The soles were coming off my sandals, and a repair person on the street glued and stitched them up for Y12.  Another person re-strung a broken pearl necklace for Y10. Amazing!   RLM.   
                              * * *
Prices in China are going down. Deflation is rampant. This is great for foreign shoppers.     RLM..
                              * * *
Medical Concerns. Page 113. In the small city of Taishan, Guangdong, the price of a bed in the
People's Hospital in a large ward is Y8 a day; in a private, air-conditioned, one-bed room it's
about Y24.   RLM., July, 1999
                              * * *
Money. Page 122. For a list of their ATMs in China, consult www.visa.com and www.mastercard.com.

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Getting Around

Questions and Answers:

Dear Ruth, I am a female who will be traveling alone to China in Oct. of this year. I seem to be having a little difficulty finding the best way of getting to Chongqing to take a boat down river to Shanghai. I will be arriving in Shanghai... have looked at some train schedules and found nothing that goes directly to Chongqing. I want to be safe in my travels and would love any help you can offer. I am on a very tight budget and don't mind roughing it at all!! I would also appreciate any info.you could give me about boat operators on theYangtze...Sue.

Dear Sue, Many thanks for your e-mail. I travel alone most of the time when I'm in China and have never been endangered because of it. The only problem I have is luggage. What can be done with valuables when going to the bathroom, or asleep on a train? Yes, there are pick-pockets and purse snatchers, but so far, I've been lucky. ( I carry a lock that can attach a computer to a shelf.)

For the cheapest way to get from Shanghai to Chongqing, I queried several travel agents. Bao answered within 24 hours. Zhou answers on the fourth day, today. Their answers follow:

Bao wrote: The cheapest way to get from Shanghai to Chongqing is by ship. It's about $40 but it takes five nights and days. A flight there costs $162, to Wuhan $91. Sorry, we don't book regular ship tickets, only cruises. --Bao You Pei, Shanghai China International Travel Service. E-mail: baoyp@scits.com  .

Zhou wrote: At present the flight from Shanghai to Chongqing is 1340yuan RMB and by train is ok. The train number is K123,16:30 departure. The price is 489 yuan RMB for soft bed and 312 yuan RMB for hard bed.

There is a ferry all the way from Shanghai but on even number days in Sept.and Oct, and on odd number days in Nov.and Dec.
The price for the boat as below:
First class 2061 yuan RMB
Second class 1111 yuan RMB
Third class 521 yuan RMB--
Zhou Shi Zhi, CITS Chongqing, e-mail: zhoushiz@online.cq.cn .

As you may know, one U.S. dollar is worth about 8 yuan RMB. If you are going to Chongqing to catch a ship, it would be a duplication if you took a ferry to get there. Zhou's address is under "Chongqing" on my web-site.

As for boat operators, please look up "Yangtze Gorges" on my web-site for the expensive ones. Write to Zhou for the cheaper ones. -- RLM, DATE. September, 2001.

We took a 2 week tour with the British Columbia Automobile Association. (via Marco Polo Tours out of Vancouver) It was an excellent tour and we enjoyed all of the largely four star hotels we stayed in. The five star hotel we stayed in Beijing was the Tianlun Dynasty Hotel. Nice hotel conveniently located downtown but our room looked out into the back street and the windows were very, very dirty.

We cruised up the Yantgze aboard the Pinghu 2000. Having read your report about the ship before we left, I was not expecting a terrific boat. Indeed, your observations were correct.

Aboard were five tour groups (2 Canadian, 1 German, 1 Taiwanese and 1 USA) and the boat was full. The boat is definitely three-star with the stench of diesel fuel along the corridors. Some of us got headaches from the smell. People complained about the coldness of the rooms (it was raining and damp outside) and the food was a major disappointment. Not only was it of poor quality, there was little of it and our plates at the table were left empty after each meal (not usual for Chinese fare.) As well, the waitresses tried to pour beer in our glasses half-filled with foam. I suppose it used "less beer." While the crew was friendly, there was little to do aboard that did not cost $$$ We rented the mahjong room for 50Y per hour and coca cola was 15Y while beer per bottle was 25Y. A cup of expresso cost 55Y and a friend who paid the exhorbidant price said it was worse than the coffee served at breakfast. All in all, we found the ship lack lustre and spartan.

I would suggest visitors avoid the Pinghu 2000 for their Yangtze tour. Date: May-June, 2001 Lynda Colbeck

Beijing, Xi'an, Guilin: We had a wonderful time overall. I had not been back in China for over 10 years - I backpacked through it during my University years (1991). I travel to Hong Kong many times, but never really had a desire to go back again to China. As you can tell by my last name I am Chinese - born in Hong Kong - immigrated to Canada when I as seven years old. I am very fluent in Cantonese and had upgraded my Mandarin in university (I could get by okay with it).

This trip to China left me with a whole different impression - "WOW!" The most impressive was the attitude of the people who serve you - they bend over backwards to be nice to you. It is amazing what commercialism can do to a society in a span of a decade.

Anyway, we went with Canadian/Air Canada Airlines. It's not exactly my favorite airline but it was the only one that has direct flights from Vancouver to Beijing and from Hong Kong to Vancouver. We had booked most of the accommodations and air tickets with our local Chinatown travel agent. It was a design package deal - a whole lot cheaper than Globus etc. It would seem that our local agent goes through a wholesaler in Vancouver (JBC), then they contract it to an international travel agency in China, which than contracts it to small local agencies in the cities.

It was inexpensive - for 17 days including all hotels, transportation to/from hotels, some sightseeing (about nine structure days), some meals, shows, and air tickets - it came to less than $3700 CAD/ person. We had a group of four people.

We had people meeting us at the airport with transportation and itineraries. Our local tour guides spoke very good English. We crossed off the stuff we did not want to see and added on items we wanted to see.

We were in Beijing for four nights. We had guided tours of the Forbidden Palace, Summer Palace, etc. etc. - all the big places that one should see in Beijing. Our tour guide spoke very good English. But don't ever use Xinhai International Travel Service. Their original itinerary included one day at the Great Wall at Badaling; we wanted to go to Simatai/Jinshanling (see page 269). At first they said they had to okay it with head office. Then they were going to charge us an extra $100 CAD each (that is $400 CAD = Y2000.00 RMB) to go there. When I phoned my travel agent in Canada, they told me they had okayed the change and were going to pay an extra $160 CAD for all of us to go and told us not to worry about it. (I have dealt with this travel agent for years). Of course I was just furious with Xinhai.

We finally rented a taxi for Y700 RMB. It worked out just great. The taxi driver picked us up at 7:30 am and drove us to Jinshanling and dropped us off. We hiked to Simatai (over five hours) on the Great Wall. It was fantastic. Our driver was at Simatai to pick us up. We lingered on the wall until dark and did not get back to our hotel in Beijing until 9:30 pm at night.

The taxi driver was just wonderful. My girlfriend had dropped her wallet in the car as she was getting to leave. He brought the wallet back up to her in the hotel later that night. It was worth every penny. We still think the Jinshanling portion of the Great Wall is more spectacular than the Simatai portion. You can see a lot more snaking around the mountains closer to Jinshanling and at Simatai there are more ups and downs - the steepness of the Great Wall was just incredible there.

Our next stop was Xi'an. Our travel guide was Wang Yong with the Shaanxi Historical Relics International Travel Services. He was very knowledgeable and spoke excellent English. He has a major in history and English in university. He was very flexible in what we wanted to do and at our request took us to places where local people eat. He took us to great places in the Muslim area.

The Yang Ling tomb - the one right by the airport - is a must see. It did not have a lot of tourists, but the museum there is world class with all explanations in English and Chinese.

Our next stop was in Guilin - where Wu Wei - from the Overseas Chinese Travel Service - met us at the airport. We had arranged for a short tour day with him when we arrived, then for him to drop us off at Yangshuo at night where we had arrangements to stay at the Paradise Hotel. For the four of us with a private van with transportation from the airport to sights in Guilin, return to Yangshuo that night, plus transportation to Longsheng, overnight there in Pingan, return to Guilin to airport (not including lodging or food) was $288 US for the four of us. It was a little pricey in comparison to some of the local prices there - but you paid a little more for the comfort of a bigger van. We left most of our luggage in the van since we left right after Longsheng to the airport.

The road to the bridge is almost finished. The road is still very rough with lots of construction so take a Gravol if you are prone to car sickness. You are right about Pingan - what a beautiful quiet little village. We arrived right at harvest time, and everyone was rushing to get the harvest in before snow or rain arrived. Most of the rice stalks were already dried, and lying on the edges of the terraces - it was beautiful. The village is still very innocent and secluded - still very much untouched by tourism. I don't know how long this will last (I predict not long) - since the road to Pingan is almost done - almost right to the doorstep and lots of construction is going on for lodgings for tourists etc. Before long, we will have to pay for any photos we take. We are so happy that we got there before this all hits.

Thus overall we had a great trip. Your book was very helpful, and thank you for your response to my original letter. We can't wait until China develops some of its ecotourism, and I think Guilin is right ahead of everywhere else in China. --Joanna Wong, Date: October, 2000.

* * *
Train - from Hong Kong to Beijing:
The following is just to tell you about the fancy 28-hour Hong Kong-Beijing train, a Hong Kong-China joint venture. It is to show you that China's or even Hong Kong's modernization is unlike that of other countries.

I arrived at Hung Hom Kowloon Railway Station in Hong Kong an hour before departure for this top-of-the-line train. The place was full of brightly-lit stalls selling cookies, water, toys, books and magazines. It took a while to find the "KCR Intercity Passenger Services (Through Train)" check-in at the north end; I never did find an available luggage cart though I saw a handful of travelers pushing them.

I could hear a woman on the loudspeakers saying something in English about Beijing train K98 being delayed. Inquiring at the desk, I was told to wait until 3pm at which point a clerk explained in English that there'd been an oil spill on the tracks and the train was late. She said to leave a telephone number where I could be reached, and to telephone for more information at 9pm. I could check my bags in the station. I had already paid for the checking of one bag through to Beijing.

I had about six hours to wait so expecting an overnight delay, I took my bags, and went to telephone my friends. The public telephone accepted both coins and phone cards but it took me a while to discover that you just pressed on a picture of the numbers.

Then I went looking for a public bus back to Hong Kong Island, went downstairs from the station, and asked a dispatcher for a bus to "Central." (Buses with red signs still indicate that they go through the tunnel.) He pointed back up the stairs although right beside us was a sign saying "Macau Ferry Terminal." This terminal is on the other side of Central. So I ignored his directions and saved hauling my bags back up a flight of stairs. The Macau Ferry bus worked.

I started telephoning KCR, the railway company 2947-7888 periodically from 8pm. "Push 1 for Cantonese, 2 for Mandarin, and 3 for English." Precisely at 9pm, a live operator answered and explained that the train, now "98A" was leaving at 4:15pm the next day and passengers should arrive earlier to pick up checked bags. I neglected to ask what time it would be arriving.

The next day I called again and was told the train was leaving at 3:30pm, not 4:15. "Sorry for the inconvenience."

I wish that railway stations in China itself would have equally polite and helpful operators.

At the train station was a sign in English saying our train would leave at 3:15 (15 minutes earlier than stated the night before.) We each got a note from a senior manager of the KCR apologizing for the delay and thanking us for our patience. Nobody had to x-ray their bags. The train was about half full and I supposed that some people had opted to fly instead. I had a compartment with only two berths all to myself even though I had paid for space to be shared with three others. The ticket cost considerably less than for a plane.

The train was comfortably air-conditioned. My compartment had two hangers, a mirror, call button, a thermos of hot water, two reading lights, and two sets of fresh sheets and pillows. Embroidered dragons decorated the backs of the 30" wide berths. For luggage there was a loft above our heads and only a 5"-high opening under the beds. There was a magazine to read in Chinese.

We were told not to use the toilet in the station, nor open the windows, and not to smoke or spit on the floor. We left at 3:35 and then stopped at Dongguan a few kilometers beyond the border. There we all got out with our bags and went through a cursory inspection at Chinese Immigration and Customs before continuing on. I don't remember seeing anyone's bags opened.

A waitress taking orders arrived at our doors before each meal with a menu in English and Chinese. The dining car had white table cloths, each table with a silk rose in a vase. A thermometer indicated throughout the whole trip that the temperature outside was 29 C. It also had a haze of oil smoke, so thick I could barely see to the other end of the car. Dinner that night was an overpriced Y40 and included rice with a tiny stone, coca cola, and stir-fried shrimp with no flavor and no firmness.

Another attendant came by with box lunches for Y20 each which were just as good.

The toilets and washrooms were clean but had no toilet paper. The toilet room had a hook for a purse. The literature had mentioned a shower, but during our whole trip, no one could use it. The train rattled along much quieter than other Chinese trains, and even the hard class looked good.

The train was great except that it didn't have an electrical outlet for a computer. The conductor spoke a few words of English. I woke at three the next morning to find that we were only in Shaoguan, still in Guangdong province. It was then I discovered that we didn't have any radio communication with anyone.

We didn't move again until 8:20am. The conductor had no idea when we'd be arriving in Beijing. The Kerry Hotel in Beijing had offered to meet me but I couldn't them. As it turned out, the concierge sent people several times to Beijing station which also didn't know what time our train would arrive.

Fortunately I had a book to read and some of the other passengers could speak English. The scenery was interesting, and time passed pleasantly.

After we arrived finally in Beijing, a voice on the loudspeaker in English told us to pick up our checked luggage in the west wing of the station. The station is huge with no luggage carts. When I got there panting, I discovered that the checked luggage had to be picked up in the opposite end of the station in the east wing at the "Registered Luggage Hall." By the time I got there, I was exhausted and discovered I had to pay another Y35 to get my bags. Understandably, the people who were to meet me were nowhere to be seen. Fortunately one lone taxi was outside the door of the Customs Hall and other nice passengers let me have it.

I don't know how often this super-deluxe train is late. I just wanted to show you that when you're travelling in China even in the most luxurious of circumstances, you should always be flexible, ready for the unexpected and in good physical shape.
* * *
China Travel Service who sold me the ticket did not have a printed schedule in English. (I was able to get one from a CTS manager, a friend). This train took 28 hours and operated on alternate days. Last September, it left on even numbered days. It had Hard Sleeper ($574-$601), Soft Sleeper ($934) and Deluxe Soft Sleeper ($1191). Children's fares were about 30% less for those 5-9 years old. Passengers 10 and over pay the adult fare. Each adult passenger can accompany one child under the age of five for free, provided that the child does not occupy a sleeper..."

In Hong Kong, "Through Train tickets can be bought at KCR East Rail Hung Hom, Mong Kok, Kowloon Tong and Sha Tin station ticket offices (from 7am-7pm daily), and at KCR-appointed ticket agents. In Hong Kong, passengers may purchase the tickets 60 days in advance for Hung Hom to/from Beijing and 30 days in advance for Hung Hom to other stations enroute. Northbound ticket sales will stop 20 minutes before train departure at Hung Hom Station and two hours before train departure at the other three KCR East Rail station ticket offices. Southbound tickets will stop selling two days before the date of departure and only southbound tickets for Beijing to Hung Hom can be bought in Hong Kong. Southbound tickets for other stations to Hung Hom should be bought at the departure station in the Mainland.

"Deluxe Soft Sleeper tickets to Dongguan, Guangzhou East, Guangzhou and Shaoguan stations will only be put on sale 2 days before departure. For other classes of travel such as soft and hard sleeper, the pre-sale period will remain 30 days.

"If the train (K98) from Kowloon leaves at 15:00, it stops in Dongguan at 16:14, in Guangzhou East at 18:00, in Guangzhou at 18:41, in Shaoguan at 21:05; in Changsha next day at 2:47, in Wuchang at 6:36; in Hankou at 7:03, in Zhengzhou at 12:16, and in Beijing West at 18:58.

"If the train (K97) leaves Beijing West at 9:11am, it stops at 15:47 in Zhengzhou, at 21:03 in Hankou, 21:26 in Wuchang, 01:16 next day in Changsha, 6:57 in Shaoguan, 9:24 in Guangzhou, 9:40 in Guangzhou East, 10:52 in Dongguan, and 13:10 in Hung Hom.

"Luggage allowance: 20kg. for each adult fare (excluding folding wheelchair for the disabled), and 10 kg. for Child . The total length + width + height of each piece of hand-carried luggage should not exceed 160 cm. or about 63 inches.

"Luggage/Parcel Consignment service is only between Hung Hom and Beijing West. For each five kg. to Beijing West, it's $8.90 for luggage, and $25.50 for parcels.

"Passengers can book tickets 60 days in advance for either direction and ticket sales stop 20 minutes before departure at Hung Hom Station; in Beijing, passengers can book 30 days in advance...

"Passengers should arrive at the Hung Hom station 45 minutes before the scheduled departure time. Immigration formalities in China are done in Dongguan Station. The departure time of tickets can be altered before 11am, 1 day before the date of departure for northbound tickets and 2 days before the date of departure for southbound tickets, and only once, at the office where purchased. A discounted refund can be made at least 1 day before departure at the office where purchased. "For a full refund less handling fee, requests must be made 15 days or more in advance. The class and destination cannot be changed."
KCR's Fax Hotline is in Hong Kong Tel.2690-3705. Enquiry 2947- 7888. - RLM, Date: April, 2000

* * *
On Our Own:
Our Chinese was minimal, but we did carry a phrase book and a simple dictionary. We always carried a local map printed both in English and Chinese, and pointed to locations before we got into taxi cabs. We also got help through hotel personnel or others who could write things out in Chinese. In Xian we used a travel agent who was a good friend of one of the Global Volunteer leaders. She made train, plane, and boat reservations for us and insisted that we needed someone to meet us at each stop (and, as it turned out, on at least two occasions when situations shifted, it was very helpful). Our host assured us that this agency (which turned out to be reliable, but not so great that we necessarily would recommend it) had "never" had any problems with any of their arrangements and we didn't want to second-guess our host. Lou Me at Wannon International Tour Corporation, had her office at the Sino-Pearl Hotel (formerly the Holiday Inn), outside the old wall, near the south-east corner. I think the phone number is 323-3888 ext 910.

In retrospect, we realize that to meet the very tight time schedule we had, it was very helpful to have the travel agent taking care of all these things. We did, however, reject her suggestions of guides in Beijing and Guilin-Yangshuo. After we arrived in Xian, we asked our agent to make up three alternate itineraries and their rough costs: we chose Xian-Beijing (train); Beijing (three days); plane to Chongqing; boat from Chongqing to Wuhan (four nights); train to Guilin/Yangshuo (two days in Yangshuo after the Li River cruise), before returning to Hong Kong.

We paid ahead for transportation and "transfers." Those transfers were useful, because:

(a) the four of us and our bags could not all fit into a single taxicab,
(b) in Chongqing, our original boat had been canceled and the local agent re-booked us on another (better) boat. The Yangtze River was too low, so they put us into a good hotel in Chongqing and made sure we got onto the hovercraft that took us 172 km. downstream early the next morning (with other passengers); in Wuhan our boat-to-train connection was quite tight, and our locally-arranged guide was very good.

We were given our first train and plane tickets in Xian. After that, the connecting agencies gave us our tickets just before we needed them. In other words, we did fine "without English" because of the good transfer arrangements, but they weren't cheap. With a more flexible time schedule and just the two of us, we probably could have done okay by having friends write out our travel requests in Chinese.

In Beijing, we were picked up by a young uncertified, but quite knowledgeable man with good English. He guided us through the Forbidden City very nicely (and we later gave him Y200 ((see page 146!)), but without previous agreement). He arranged a minibus and himself to take us to the Great Wall and Summer Palace. Next day, we went around on our own around Tiananmen Square, through a park, and the Beijing Zoo - with no problems.

In Yangshuo, we found a local bicycle guide whose name we DO!! want to give you (See Guilin below). No problems in Yangshuo.

Travel tips? Take your own cup and tea bags if you want tea on the train. Hot water was available. On our trains the dining car was very crowded and not very appealing. We appreciated having food with us.

--George and Ann Levinger, April/May, 1999

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Hotels
...we've launched our Business Options  programme in participating Inter-Continental and Crowne Plaza hotels  throughout Asia Pacific. Valid through 31 May 2000,  the programme now  includes a fourth valued-added option - 50% off accommodation on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights when staying one or more weekday nights.   The new 50% weekend stay option is offered along with the three existing other valuable options of - upgrade to Club level or junior suite, 2000 Priority Club Worldwide bonus points or 500 frequent flyer bonus miles, or full breakfast for two each morning.   -- Jacqueline Lim, Manager,
Communications - Asia Pacific Bass Hotels & Resorts - March 2000
   * * *

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From Other Travelers
I returned from a too-short trip to China--my first to Asia--yesterday. I am very interested and intrigued by what I saw and experienced. I was with a tour--Uniworld--and it was very good, but it was on the several occasions that I got off by myself that I found a real connection with the people of China. 

Examples: 
--A morning exercise class in a park in Beijing where a woman welcomed me warmly. 
--A couple selling original art across the street from our hotel in Beijing. I bought three and sent my tour companions who bought 17 more. A delightful couple--the husband was the artist and his wife was his promoter. 
--A young woman who approached me at the Old Town Market in Shanghai asking if I was by myself and, if so, would I like a companion. She wanted to learn more English. My time with her was brief, but there was a lovely connection. 

I was amazed by the energy of free enterprise that I saw and felt. Yes, great contrasts and great change. I say, "Invest in China." The younger people have great energy for free enterprise. I hope they--and their elders--will prosper. I hope China will develop a large middle class and I hope trade with the US and other countries will increase. I am glad that China is now in the WTO. I wish China well. 

There must still be great suffering in the countryside where the female babies are so often taken to the "hospitals" and couples try again for a boy. Our guide made it sound very "stoic" but, even though their emotional context be different from ours, it must still be very hard in a human sense for all those Chinese mothers who give their female babies away. I hear about the weekly flights with all the babies going to--I think--Canada and the US. How do you think it is for all the Chinese mothers who give birth and then have no baby to nurse? What is done in the case of twins? One of my daughters asked me this. I saw--understandably--very few pregnant women. 

The street vendors are amazing and sometimes troubling. When our group was fresh off the plane and we went to the Forbidden City they besieged us in a way that none of us had experienced. We were unprepared for this. As we got 
more experience, I guess we changed and they seemed to change too. They became less aggressive and perhaps less persistent as well. I wish I had had more time on my own, but before I went I had no confidence that I could manage on my own. Now, I have more confidence, but I'm still not sure I could handle things by myself. We lived in a somewhat protected "bubble" regarding food, for example. I ate Chinese food even when American was offered. I didn't get sick. Some in my group got diarrhea (not severe), but I stayed well. 

I am still astonished by the speed of change that I saw. All the old one-story houses in Beijing, along the main road will be gone very soon. The new high-rise apartments and condos go up at an amazing rate. The old bikes and carts are still doing their work and more cars are joining the traffic jams (especially in Beijing) all the time. I am afraid that the large cities like Beijing are on a collision course with terrible, health-threatening air pollution problems. I wish someone could warn them,  "Keep your bikes." - Mary Lou Harris, Kirkland, Washington, April 2002. 

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Miscellaneous
People traveling with laptops in China should bring their own surge protectors.
May is now also high season all over China. In Xi'an, high season starts again from the middle of August and goes on until the beginning of November when it gets cold.. -- Roland Grinberg, Sheraton Xian.
* * *
We saw only two beggars during our two weeks in China. This is fewer than I would see in my own neighborhood in Toronto. --L.M, August, 1999.
* * *
In 1998, China was the fifth largest tourist destination for overnight tourists and the seventh largest country for tourism earnings in the world. It had 694 million domestic tourists.

At the end of 1998, China had 5782 tourist hotels of which 64 were rated five stars, 176 four stars, and 1085 three stars. It has 1312 travel agencies authorized to do inbound travel, and 876 air routes of which 119 are international from 33 countries. It now has 54 "Preferred Tourist" cities with such criteria as signs in English and Chinese, tourist shuttle buses, clean toilets, and telephone hotlines in English. It expects to have an additional 127 cities listed soon.

UNESCO has approved 21 natural and/or cultural heritage sites in China.

Note: mobile telephone numbers are now 11 digits. A zero has been added after the first three digits.

If the temperature is over 40C, workers in China are allowed to go home. So the temperature is rarely if ever allowed to go that high. guide in China.

One government official told me he was glad I didn't drink beer because then he didn't have to drink at our banquet. He didn't like alcohol. So you might be doing someone a favor by declining.
--RLM.
* * *

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Food and Drink
You can order handy laminated cards from website: www. SelectWisely.com that says "No Monosodium Glutamate," "I am allergic to Monosodium Glutamate," and "Does this food contain MSG?" in Chinese and English. It also has cards for other food allergies and vegetarians of all varieties. Of course you can do this yourself if you have a friend who writes Chinese and then go to the trouble to laminate. But this is a lot easier and it's only US$8.95 for two identical cards.
* * *

There are no kosher restaurants in mainland China (although there are some in Hong Kong). However, most Jews would feel comfortable in strictlyvegetarian restaurants, and those only exist in Beijing and Shanghai. In Beijing, there's the Tianshi (Heavenly Fare) Restaurant, located just east of the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza in the center of town on the second floor over a health food store. Address: Dongchengqu, 57 Dengshikou Dajie, Tel. 6524-2349.

There's also the Gongdelin, just south of Tiananmen Square. Address: 158 Qianmen Dajie, Tel. 6702-0867.

In Shanghai, there's the Jade Buddha Temple Restaurant (which finally had a renovation job and now looks as good as the food tastes).

There's also the Long Hua Pagoda Temple Restaurant. These are both near or in these famous temples.

There's a Beijing-Jewish website: www.istarnet.com/sinogogue. The gatherings are held every Friday at 7 pm at the Capital Club Athletic Centre of the Capital Mansion (Jinchang Dasha), #6 Xenon Nan Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing.

The mother of Elyse Beth Silverberg retired to Beijing several years ago,and has taught the cooks at the Capital Mansion to make "industrial strength gefilte fish," as they note on the website.(Very cute.) ElyseSilverberg is the co-founder of the US-China Industrial Exchange, and has even been training a group of Chinese musicians in the art of klezmer, which they played at her son's Bar Mitzvah several years ago. Byall accounts the food on Friday nights is terrific.  The Shabbat services are conducted by members of the community, and are more along the lines of
reconstructionist or Reform Judaism, just in case people go there thinking  it's going to be more traditional.

You can learn more about this community by contacting them a bjjcinfo@iname.com

As for Shanghai, Albert Sassoon (yes, of the Sassoon family who came there in the 1800s with the British East India Company and built up the city's architecture and business) is currently the President of "B'nai Yisrael," the Shanghai Jewish community of expatriates
.
Shabbat services are conducted by a Chassidic rabbi, Rabbi Shalom Greenberg
(rabbishalom@yahoo.com) at 6:30, and dinner follows at 7 pm.

Location: the Shanghai Centre (next to the Portman Ritz-Carlton Hotel),
1376 Nanjing West Road, 8th Floor,  West Apartment Complex.  They also have their own website.

In Hong Kong the best place to start is the Jewish Community Centre (see page 728),
e-mail: jvujc@hk.super.net.  This does have a Kosher restaurant which is fabulous. There are some other kosher eateries here and there in Hong Kong, but none have the variety of meals as the JCC. Shalom Grill (a Kosher Israeli-style eatery): 61 Connaught Road Central, 2/F, Fortune House, Central, Hong Kong. Phone: (852)2851-6218.--Wendy Abraham.

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