Visit to Qingdao, Capital of Shandong Province and Tsingtao Beer

We stood at the top of the hill with breathtaking views onto the blue sea. On the left a narrow, cobbled street curled through dense tree tops towards a chunky house, one I would imagine as a child when reading the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm.

Looking at the German architecture in its full glory, for a brief moment I had the feeling I am in Central Europe only to be gently awoken by John, our local guide whose real name was Mr Ju Liu, to remind me that we are in China, in the capital city of Shandong Province, Qingdao.

“We are going to visit the guest house.”  he said, pointing towards my fairytale house.

Knowing how much tourism has developed over the last few years in China and thinking that an aggressive entrepreneur had bought the house and turned it into a “guesthouse” I didn’t question Mr Liu’s remark.

After being given entry tickets I guessed that it couldn’t be a hotel but maybe a museum. The entry hall was still stylish even after allthese years since the house was built, in 1934 during the German occupation of Qingdao and for German Ambassador. Straightaway from the entrance door one can see a heavy wooden staircase going up to the next floor to the private quarters.

The whole floor is covered by good quality parquet exported from Germany when the house was built. Behind the stairs there is a conservatory with a glass roof which could be opened during hot summers. The ground floor is still used as the public office even nowadays. The only difference is that among the occasional European furniture you can find heavy chairs lined up against the wall with perhaps a tea table inbetween for bowls of seeds and Chinese tea cups.

According to Mr Liu the house was used by Mao Tze Tung on the eve of the revolution when he wrote his Manifesto. Also this is the place where he would come back to regularly after the revolution and would receive foreign dignitaries.

Upstairs I found photos of the Ambassadors family still on the wall. One room had a wardrobe, bed and piano still in very good condition, all shipped from the Germany. Each room had a spacious balcony where you could feel the breeze coming from the Yellow Sea.

I could imagine a very busy household, with happy kids running around, lots of balls, late dinners with nice food and with local beer. Not far from the “guest house” there are a catholic and a protestant church still standing in their full glory with services taking place every Sunday! It seems the  Communists’ slogan “religion is the opium of the people” passed by this corner of China.

The Germans wanted to feel at home in this place far from home and built a brewery as well. You can have a full day tour with a guide who will take you through the turbulent history of the factory which is a microcosm of the history of Qingdao: exhibits are from Germany, China, England and Japan! At the end of the tour you can relax and try different types of beer in the small bar built for  visitors only. Instead of having nuts with your beer you can order different type of seeds: long, short, dark, brown, salted and sweet!

The beer produced here is the best beer in China according to Mr Liu as the factory in Qingdao uses natural mineral water during production not reprocessed water. And I can’t dispute that! The only problem is that the beer is not strong enough but I am a westerner and used to my beer being at least 4% strong.

The factory has very successful marketing and they organise a beer festival every August which is “the biggest in the world” according to Mr Liu. If you take into account that China is the most populated country in the world and that Chinese people love their beer then common sense would tell you that Qingdao’s Beer Festival must be the biggest one in the world.

The climate in Qingdao is very mild and the air is not polluted as much as in other fast-developed cities in China. You can get to Qingdao by flying from Beijing and the flight takes a mere 45 min or you can take the fast train from Beijing.

Qingdao was host to the sailing competition during the 2008 Olympic Games which means that the infrastructure of the city is very good – the roads are wide and new. There is not as much traffic congestion as in other provincial capitals. From Qingdao you can easily do a day trip to sacred Mt Taoshan, or a day trip to Yantai for wine tasting.

For more information about what to see and experience in Shandong Province, China please email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com

Hong Kong’s Top Museum in Hong Kong district 

Are you flying to South East Asia with a stopover in Hong Kong and you have half a day to kill before your next flight? Or, you’ve been to Hong Kong already and seen the major sights, and want something different? Then read this, and keep an eye out for new blog posts on what to do in Hong Kong, and private day trips off the beaten track 

HONG KONG FILM ARCHIVE

Hong Kong Film Archive opened in 2001 and has a collection of several hundred thousand items. In addition to collecting and conserving film prints and artefacts, from an 1898 documentary to the present day, the archive promotes Hong Kong’s film culture. Highlights include “The Soul of China” (1948) found in the UK’s National Film and Television Archive and “The Orphan” (1960) discovered in the Rank Film Laboratories of the UK. There is a 127-seat cinema showing a wide variety of film programmes on both Hong Kong cinema and international cinema and a 200 square metre exhibition hall which shows various temporary exhibitions related to cinema.

LOCATION – 50 Lei King Road, Sai Wan Ho

OPENING HOURS – 10am to 8pm (or 15 minutes after last screening) Sunday to Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Christmas Eve and Chinese New Year’s Eve 10am to 5pm. Closed on Thursdays.

Resource Centre – Monday to Wednesday and Friday 10am to 7pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sunday and public holidays 1pm to 5pm

Exhibition Hall – opens 10am to 8pm but is closed when no exhibition is taking place.

THE HONG KONG RACING MUSEUM

The Hong Kong Racing Museum is owned and operated by The Hong Kong Jockey Club and is dedicated to the history of horse racing in Hong Kong and the Jockey Club’s considerable charitable role in the development of Hong Kong. The museum opened in 1996 within the main stand at Happy Valley Racecourse and has panoramic views over the racecourse. The museum has a four galleries with permanent exhibitions on

1) “The Origin of Our Horses” detailing the origins of horses in northern China and their migration to Hong Kong,

2) “Understanding Horses” which displays the skeleton of three-times Hong Kong Champion Silver Lining with game stations and videos of the day in the life of a Hong Kong trainer.

3) “Shaping Sha Tin” illustrates the development of the Jockey Club’s splendid Sha Tin Racecourse which opened in 1978. 

LOCATION – 2/F, Happy Valley Stand, Happy Valley.

OPENING HOURS – Tuesdays to Sundays (except the first two days of Lunar New Year) 10am to 5pm (to 7-30pm on Wednesday night meeting days). Closed on Mondays and some public holidays. Souvenir shop opens same hours as museum and until 9-30pm on Wednesdays when night race meetings take place at Happy Valley.

UNIVERSITY MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY, THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

The University Museum and Art Gallery is the oldest in Hong Kong, and houses over one thousand items of Chinese antiquities, mainly ceramics, bronzes and paintings with examples dating from the Neolithic period to the Qing dynasty. The bronze collection includes works from the Shang to the Tang dynasties and the largest collection of Yuan dynasty Nestorian crosses in the world. The Museum also has a number of carvings in jade, wood and stone and a collection of Chinese oil paintings.

LOCATION – The University of Hong Kong, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam.

OPENING HOURS – Monday to Saturday 9-30am to 6pm, Sundays 1pm to 6pm. Tea Gallery open Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sundays 2pm to 5pm. Closed on public holidays and university holidays. 

FLAGSTAFF HOUSE MUSEUM OF TEA WARE

The museum is located in Flagstaff House which until 1978 was the former residence of the Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong. This historical building was converted to become the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware in 1984. It is the first specialised museum in the world devoted to the collection, study and display of tea ware.
The museum has a Chinese Teahouse serving Chinese tea and tea snacks. The Teahouse also holds demonstrations and the museum has a gift shop selling all kinds of tea vessels, tea leaves, art books and exhibition catalogues.

LOCATION – 10, Cotton Tree Drive, Central (inside Hong Kong Park)

OPENING HOURS – 10am to 5pm Sunday, Monday and Wednesday to Saturday. Closed every Tuesday and Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day and the first three days of Chinese New Year.  

HONG KONG MUSEUM OF COASTAL DEFENCE

The museum was converted from the 100-year-old Lei Yue Mun Fort and stands on a hill overlooking the eastern approaches to Victoria Harbour with panoramic views. There are two main areas, the Redoubt and the outdoor Historical Trail. The Redoubt was built in 1887 and was regarded as a large-scale fortification of the British Forces.  The Historical Trail preserves various military structures including the Ditch, Torpedo Station, Caponiers, Artillery Barracks, Batteries and Underground Magazines.

The permanent exhibition in the Redoubt comprises eleven small galleries illustrating the history of coastal defence in Hong Kong from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), through the Qing Dynasty, Opium War, British Period (1841-1941), Battle for Hong Kong, Japanese Occupation, return to British control and up to the current day. The outdoor Historical Trail follows various historical military structures of the fort including the Central Battery, West Battery, Torpedo Station, Ruined Structure, Gunpowder Factory, Underground Magazine and ditch. From the trail visitors can enjoy spectacular views of the Lei Yue Mun Channel and Victoria Harbour.

The museum has a café and gift shop.

LOCATION – 175 Tung Hei Road, Shau Kei Wan

OPENING HOURS – 10am to 5pm Sunday to Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
Closed on Thursdays (except public holidays) and the first two days of Lunar New Year.

FIREBOAT ALEXANDER GRANTHAM EXHIBITION GALLERY

The Fireboat Alexander Grantham Exhibition Gallery is a small branch museum of the Hong Kong Museum of History and opened to the public in 2007. When commissioned in 1953 Hong Kong had previously had only small fireboats and fireboat Alexander Grantham was testimony to the ongoing advances in capabilities and size of the fireboat fleet. The fireboat was renovated on Stonecutters Island immediately after its decommissioning and moved to its present location in Quarry Bay Park to form part of the exhibition in 2006.

LOCATION – Quarry Bay Park, Quarry Bay

OPENING HOURS – 9am to 5pm Sunday, Monday and Wednesday to Saturday. Closed on Tuesdays (except public holidays) and the first two days of Chinese New Year.

NOTE – The Exhibition Gallery is within short walking distance of another of Hong Kong’s museums, the Hong Kong Film Archive.

POLICE MUSEUM

 The Police Museum is at the renovated Wan Chai Gap Police Station on The Peak. This quiet museum aims to provide the public with a better understanding of the history of the Hong Kong Police Force and the various aspects of its work whilst preserving historic artefacts and facilitating historic research. There are four galleries on two floors. Orientation Gallery describes the general history of the Force through photographs, archives, uniforms, equipment, firearms and other artefacts. The head of the “Sheung Shui Tiger” which was shot in 1915 after killing a policeman is displayed in this gallery. The gallery also contains some rather gruesome photographs of a group of decapitated pirates following their execution after capture from having attacked the ship “Naome” in Mirs Bay. Triad Societies and Narcotics Gallery details the history of local Triad Societies and their activities and displays include ceremonial robes. This gallery also highlights the narcotic problem in Hong Kong through the display of replica drugs, drug smoking and trafficking paraphernalia and an example of a heroin manufacturing laboratory. Heroin Factory – this is a gallery displaying a heroin production site which was dismantled by the Police in 1980s. The seized raw materials, utensils, stoves and packaging tools are used to reconstruct the manufacturing of heroin and enable visitors to learn about the menace of drugs.

LOCATION – 27 Coombe Road, The Peak

OPENING HOURS – Sunday and Wednesday to Saturday 9am to 5pm, Tuesday 2pm to 5pm. Closed Monday and public holidays.

HONG KONG MARITIME MUSEUM 

Located on the ground floor of the fine colonial building Murray House on Stanley waterfront this is a small but interesting museum divided into two galleries, Ancient and Modern. The Ancient Gallery shows how the fortunes of Chinese shipping rose and fell in ancient and dynastic times and also illustrates how China’s overseas neighbours and Western trading nations shaped the maritime history of Asia and beyond. The gallery has some impressive replica boats and pottery models. The Modern Gallery explores the evolution of Hong Kong as a major international port and the influence of Chinese entrepreneurship.  

LOCATION – Ground Floor, Murray House, Stanley

OPENING HOURS – Sunday and Tuesday to Saturday and public holidays 10am to 6pm. Closed Mondays and the first two days of Lunar New Year.

LAW UK FOLK MUSEUM

Law Uk (the Law House) is a 200-year old Hakka village house named after the original owner, Law. Law Uk village was founded by in the early eighteenth century by migrant Hakkas from the San On County of Guangdong (today’s Shenzhen). It was one of six Hakka villages established in Chai Wan by the same group of migrants, the village being originally close to the sea with sampan as the main form of transport and the villagers mainly engaged in farming.  The house is about 120 sq metres in area with a central main hall which opens to a light well and is flanked by lofted bedrooms, storeroom and kitchen. There is a display of traditional village furniture and farm tools.

LOCATION – 14 Kut Shing Street, Chai Wan

OPENING HOURS – Monday to Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10am to 6pm.
Sunday and public holidays 1pm to 6pm. On Christmas Eve and Chinese New Year’s Eve the museum closes at 5pm. Closed on Thursdays, Christmas Day, Boxing Day (26 December), New Year’s Day (1 January) and the first three days of Chinese New Year.

HONG KONG MUSEUM OF MEDICAL SCIENCES

The museum is housed in a fine renovated three-storey Edwardian building which originally accommodated the Old Bacteriological Institute, founded in 1906, which later became the Pathological Institute. The museum displays the history of both Traditional Chinese and Western medicine and the development of medical and health sciences in Hong Kong through eleven exhibition galleries displaying equipment, instruments, objects, specimens, reconstructions and information boards.

The museum also has a lecture room named after Professor Gordon King, Head of Department of Obstetrical and Gynaecological Services in Hong Kong from 1938 to 1956 which has a small exhibition of photos and gynaelogical instruments and a herbal garden showing the medical properties of different herbs.

Visitors should note that some of the information displays in some of the galleries are in Chinese only.

LOCATION – 2 Caine Lane, Mid-Levels.

OPENING HOURS – Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm. Sundays and public holidays 1pm to 5pm. Christmas Eve and Lunar New Year’s Eve open 10am to 3pm. Closed Mondays and Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and the first three days of Lunar New Year.

UNESCO Heritage Croatia Sites

Croatia has seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites and four are featured with ReadyClickAndGo:

The ‘Pearl of the Adriatic – Dubrovnik

The Diocletian Palace of Split

Plitvice Lakes National Park

Episcopal Complex of the Euphrasian Basillica, Porec

The Old Core of Trogir

Cathedral of St. James, Sibenik

Stari Grad Plain, Hvar

For more inforamtion about Croatia, Private Day Trips and off shore excursions in Croatia please email info@ReadyClickAndGo.com or check our website at www.ReadyClickAndGo.com

 

 

What and where to eat in China?

There is something about spices tasting different once they change their country of orgin but it’s the same with people. I don’t recognise most of my friends since I changed my country and I can’t expect my Dim Sum to have the same taste here as in China.
If you are travelling to China on a group tour most meals are included. Seating is different from the usual Western style where 2 maybe 4 people share a table. In China meal times are a time to socialize, to talk, to have a meeting, to do business and as result 8 or 10 people, sometimes even more, share a round table and food. Chinese people don’t just dine, they banquet, which in western countries is done only at weddings. The order of the dishes may come in different ways from how you are used to at home – soup could be served last and the whole banquet could be served without rice. In some places serving rice is regarded as a lower class thing, the rich would eat meat and preferably fish.
Some of the dishes are very tricky to eat with chopsticks such as nicely roasted nuts in unspecified spices, but if you risk huge embarrassment when all the nuts spill over the table you can always pick up a few with your spoon and put them on your plate from where you can pick them up by hand. Don’t serve yourself from the main dishes on the table with your hands or your own chopsticks or cutlery, it’s not hygienic!
Apart from the different seating system and order of food the biggest problem is to recognise the dishes served you. The safest way is to grab your local guide and keep him close to you until all the dishes have been put on the table. This way you can find out which are spicy, vegetarian, cold or hot. On numerous occasions I simply guessed and presumed food was not particularly spicy only to find myself spitting it out under the table.
The tourism industry is still young in China and the government still decides which restaurants can cater for foreigners and of   course which meals should be served. Hence after 14 days travelling on a group tour through China you will find Chinese food somewhat repetitive and often bland. The only solution is not to book an all-inclusive tour and give yourself a break by eating somewhere else – perhaps at the hotel you are staying at. This is of course only valid if the hotel if of a good standard as you may end up with an even worse choice than the restaurant chosen for your group tour. From my experience of travelling around China, I would suggest eating with your local guide: they are resourceful in finding cheap restaurants and home-made meals. I really enjoy dishes I haven’t seen or tasted before. In this type of restaurant of course all the menus are in Chinese and some of them don’t even have a menu: the restaurants are full of local people who decide what to eat on the spot by just shouting their order at the chef. These types of restaurants are basic: some chairs are broken, tables are not cleaned properly, service is non-existent but the food is excellent. If you are worried about ordering chicken feet check what other diners are eat and order by pointing at their plates. If you feel adventurous I would recommend eating with locals at their secret places.
If you are vegetarian these places could be your only solution to the greasy chips or courgette served in government-approved restaurants. China doesn’t cater for vegetarians and is losing a huge amount of people who refuse to come because of it. As I said at the beginning of this article: tourism is still young in China and they are improving and hopefully we, tourists, may soon be able to eat where we want and order what we want.
Etiquette during meals is closely observed especially if you are dining with a Chinese host who sets the seating plan by choosing the most important person to sit next to him at the top of the table (which is opposite the entrance). If he decides to give a speech you must reciprocate by giving a speech yourself too. Chinese people don’t drink alcohol and if they do it’s usually just one glass of rice wine or a glass of beer. If you are lifting glasses to toast, hold the bottom of the glass with your left hand while touching other people’s glasses. This way you show respect to your Chinese host.
If during the banquet the Chinese slurp their soup that means they are enjoying it very much and it’s a tradition to make a noise while eating. Just think of a Western person saying “The soup was delicious.”
After chopsticks the second most important meal prop on the table is the tooth pick. The Chinese love them and use them all the time. On my recent trip to China I actually collected toothpicks and counted 24 different ones from just one province – they are all with carvings on the head rather than just the uniform ones in the West.
Recently some Chinese restaurants have started to put salt and pepper on the table but that is only for the tourists. Most Chinese wouldn’t dare ask for salt and pepper as that would be insulting to the chef.

For Private Day Trips to China please email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com or check our website at www.ReadyClickAndGo.com

 

Chinese New Year in London

 

Chinese New Year with ReadyClickAndGo

 

We went through Christmas here, then New Year here and there with a time difference of one hour, then Christmas there, the one called Orthodox, and now to round the celebrations off we will finish it with Chinese New Year, here in the UK. If you can’t celebrate it in China the best place to experience Chinese New Year is in London and I do apologise to all people in Singapore, Toronto, Sydney who claim their celebration of Chinese New Year is the best. It is not! 

My friend, Jenny Chen, a girl from Beijing, is excited as she is flying home on Friday to spend the holidays with her elderly parents who she hasn’t seen for the last two years. She is in a shopping mood and austerity measures brought on by Mr Osborne don’t apply during Chinese New Year. And why should they? I never thought about spending less on my parents when I was getting them a present for Christmas. And with my background they get two presents for the two Christmasses as well! Jenny’s credit card is redder then the lantern in our office that she put up to mark her contribution to the celebration of the Chinese New Year in London. She is sorry that she is not going to be here but also happy at the prospect of seeing her parents. 

This year celebrations in London are the biggest since they began in London. Apart from celebrations at Trafalgar and Leicester Squares, where colorful Chinese dragons, lions and acrobats will dance followed by loud music, you can mark the Chinese New Year at different establishments around London.  

The Victoria and Albert Museum set the exhibition of Imperial Chinese Robes to coincide with Chinese New Year in London. Among the many garments on show are gowns designed for everyday life as well as rituals, banquets, travelling, hunting and official royal visits. The Imperial Chinese Robes exhibition takes place from 10am – 6pm, Tuesday 7th December 2010 – Sunday 27th February 2011 at Victoria and Albert Museum. Tickets are £5.00 or £3.00 concessions. For more information please click here.

You can celebrate Chinese New Year at the National Maritime Museum with a spectacular evening of stargazing which takes place from 5.25pm, on Saturday 12th February 2011. Tickets cost £16.00 per person. For more information and to book tickets, click on the link below. For more information please click here.

The Wallace Collection contributed to the celebration of the Chinese New Year by arranging a special silk painting workshop hosted by artist Caroline Dorset.

The silk painting workshop for Chinese New Year at the Wallace Collection runs from 11am – 4pm, Saturday 5th February 2011. Tickets cost £25.00. For more information and to book tickets, call the gallery on 0207 563 9500. Fo rmore information please click here.

Find out more about Chinese culture through arts and craft activities as part of the Chinese New Year at the Museum in Docklands celebrations which will take place on the 5th and 6th  February 2011.  For daily activities please click here.  The Grand finale to end the Chinese New Year London celebrations will take place at Leicester Square with a huge (and free!) fireworks display.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

恭禧發財

For Private Day Trips to China email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com or check our website at www.ReadyClickAndGo.com

How to get around Beijing

By Tube

The first time I used the tube in Beijing was in 2001 when I felt very adventurous and went to the ticket desk with a huge map and pointed at Tiananmen Square. The lady behind the counter couldn’t see anything as the letters on the map were too small for her to read, and I couldn’t pass the map to her as the glass partition had just a small hole, just big enough for coins. Someone from the queue which formed behind me, with good English and perfect Chinese stepped in and asked for return tickets to Tiananmen Square Station for me.

The last time I used the tube in Beijing was in 2009 and there were no embarrassing moments as there were ticket machines with clear instructions in English and Chinese, but there is usually a ticket desk too in case of problems.

The tube in Beijing was reborn for Beijing’s Olympic Games in 2008 and is very a efficient, fast, clean and cheap way to get around Beijing.

It costs a flat fare of RMB2 to use the tube, you can buy tickets with cash or buy a Yikatong IC card. means “one card pass” in Chinese. It is similar to the Oyster Card used by TfL in London and is like a credit card for travel that you ‘top up’ as you use it. In order to get a Yiktong card you need to pay a deposit of RMB20 plus RMB100 for the travel itself, and you can top this up at subway stations, railway stations, most post offices in Beijing. When you leave, you get your deposit back.

There are 7 subway lines in Beijing, Lines 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 13 and the Batong line. The longest one is line 1 which runs through the core of Beijing, and below you can find a list of tourist attractions on the line going from east to west, with the main ones between stations 14 and 16:

Station 1: Ping Guo Yuan – Apple Park
This is the starting point
Station 2: Guchenglu – Ancient City
Station 3: Bajiaoyouleyuan – Bajiao Amusement Park
Attractions nearby: Bajiao Amusement Park, Shijingshan Amusement Park, Songlin Park
Station 4: Babaoshan – Babao Mountain
Attractions nearby: Laoshan Cycling Velodrome
Station 5: Yuquanlu – Yuquan Road
Station 6: Wukesong
Station 7: Wanshoulu – Wanshou Road
Station 8: Gong Zhu Fen
Attractions nearby: Cui Wei Tower, Beijing Urban and Rural Trade Center
Station 9: Military Museum
Attractions nearby: Military Museum, CCTV, The China Millenium Monument
Station 10: Muxidi
Attractions nearby: Baiyun White Cloud Taoist Temple
Station 11: Nanlishilu – Nanlishi Road
Attractions nearby: The Ministry of Radio and Television
Station 12: Fuxingmen
This a big transfer station for Lines 1 and 2.
Attractions nearby: Commercial Street – banks and hotels
Station 13: Xidan
Attractions nearby: Xidan commercial street, Xidan Book Store, Beijing Capital Times Square
Station 14: Tiananmen Xi – Western Tiananmen
Attractions nearby: Great Hall of the People, Forbidden City
Station 15: Tiananmen Dong – Eastern Tiananmen
Attractions nearby: Great Hall of the People, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, China Museum,
Station 16: Wangfujing
Attractions nearby: Wangfujing Steet
Station 17: Dongdan
Attractions nearby: Dongdan Commercial Street
Station 18: Jianguomen
Transfer station for Lines 1 and 2.
Attractions nearby: Beijing Ancient Observatory
Station 19: Yonganli
Attractions nearby: Silk Market, Guiyou Mansion
Station 20: Guomao
Attractions nearby: Soho Jianguo,
Station 21: Danglu – Dawan Road
Station 22: Sihui
Transfer station for Line 1 and Batong Line (Tongzhou District).
Station 23: Sihuidong – Eastern Sihui
Transfer station for Line 1 and Batong Line (Tongzhou District)

Little secret tips:

- A ticket entitles an adult to take one child whose height is less than 1.1 meters (3,6 feet) free of charge. Children less than 1.1 meters (3,6 feet) in height are not allowed to take the tube alone.
- The first train is at 05:00, and the last is at about 23:00.
- Wear comfortable shoes when using the tube.
- Take a bottle of water with you
- Stay alert and watch out for pickpockets – as you would do at home. 

See Beijing by tube. Or email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com for more information. More Private Day Trips are available at our site www.ReadyClickAndGo.com

Explore Beijing on tube

How to get around Beijing?

by Bus

Until recently you had to speak Chinese in order to use a bus in Beijing, but Chinese Tourism have introduced a Yiktong Card which means “one card pass” in Chinese. It is similar to the Oyster Card used by TfL in London, Singapore’s EZ-Link, and Hong Kong’s Octopus card, and is like a credit card for travel that you ‘top up’ as you use it. In order to get a Yiktong card you need to pay a deposit of RMB20 plus RMB100 for the travel itself and you can top this up at subway stations, railway stations, most post offices and big supermarkets in Beijing. When you leave, you get your deposit back. 

Bus fares range from RMB1-5 according to the route and whether the bus has air conditioning or not.

There are  many different bus lines and they are categorised by number: the city lines are buses 1 to 122, night buses are 201 to 212, suburban lines are 300 to 949, air-conditioned buses begin with number 8, double-decker buses begin with the Chinese letter – Te which means special.

Little secret tips:

• If you decide to use public transport to visit the Great Wall of China look for  buses which start with the number 9. For example, to go to the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu go to Dongzhimen Bus Terminal and get bus 916 which takes you directly there

There four main bus terminals in Beijing:

Deshengmen Bus Terminal  – buses to the Juyongguan and Badaling sections of the Great Wall, and Kangxi Grassland. The fare is RMB8-12. 

Dongzhimen Bus Terminal – buses for the Mutianyu, Simitai and Jinshaling sections of the Great Wall. Only bus 936 which operates during the peak tourist season runs directly to the Mutianyu Great Wall, buses for the other sections, 916, 980, 918Z, stop before there and you need to transfer to a minibus. The bus fare is RMB10-16. 

Pingguoyuan Bus Terminal – buses 929 and 931 go to the Jietaisi, Tanzhesi and Chuandixiacun Temples, and the fares are RMB15-20. 

Beijing Railway Station Bus Terminal – 938 bus to Epoch City in Xianghe, fare RMB10. 

Tianqiao Bus Terminal – bus 917 to Hancunhe village, fare RMB10

For more information how to book a Private Day Trip in Beijing on foot, by bus, tube, or by bycle with local guide  please check our website at www.ReadyClickAndGo.com or email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com

TEMPLES OF CHINA

 

Temples are not just places for tourists, or places or worship – they are the embodiment of Chinese history, culture, tradition, art…
My favourite temple in China is the Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai not because it’s the most famous temple but because I had a personal welcome there on my first visit to China twenty years ago. I had a welcome kiss from a Chinese grandpa who looked the epitome of harmony with his grey hair and goatee beard with a big smile and very happy eyes. We didn’t understand each other, we smiled and then inspired by the celebration around us he looked at me and just kissed me on the cheek. My local guide ran up to explain that I had been welcomed to China. The whole experience was the more significant as it happened in the Grand Hall just in front of the Buddha statues representing the past, present and future. Since then I believe that my past life was well spent in China!
The Jade Buddha Temple was founded in 1882 with two jade Buddha statues brought to Shanghai from Burma by sea, a sitting Buddha (1.95 meters tall, 3 tons), and a smaller reclining Buddha representing his own death. These statues are the centrepiece of the small temple, but there are several halls such as the Hall of Heavenly Kings, Great Treasure Hall and the Hall of the 10,000 Buddhas. Its Chinese name is Yu Fo Si, and it’s situated in the northwest of the city near the intersection of Anyuan Lu and Jiangning Lu – take Subway Line 6 at Wulian Road Station, get off at Shiji Dadao Station then take Subway Line 2 and get off at Nanjing Road West Station, take bus no.112 and get off at Haifang Road, and walk about 350 meters and you will find the Jade Buddha Temple.
Shanghai has always been a cosmopolitan city and as result you have several active Christian churches and an Islamic mosque where foreign visitors may worship or visit. But what really sets religious Shanghai apart, at least in China, is its Jewish legacy, most powerfully evoked by the reopening of the Ohel Moshe Synagogue as a museum and study centre. A word of advice – before you set off check with the locals if it still exists – a church I headed to one day had actually been transformed into a nice trendy bar with a cross on the top of one of the cupolas!
Less known is the Palace of Peace and Harmony or Lama Temple or Yonghegong Lamasery which is a monastery of the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism in Beijing. Building work on the Lama Temple started in 1694 and originally it served as an official residence for court eunuchs. It was then converted into the court of Prince Yong (Yin Zhen). After the Prince’s ascension to the throne in 1722, half of the building was converted into a lamasery, a monastery for monks of the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism. The other half remained an imperial palace. There are five main halls which are separated by courtyards, the Hall of the Heavenly Kings, the Hall of Harmony and Peace, the Hall of Everlasting Protection, the Hall of the Wheel of the Law and the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happiness’s.
The inside of the temple is decorated with yellow tiles which was a colour reserved exclusively for the emperors, but it survived the destruction of the Cultural Revolution thanks to the intervention of Prime Minister Zhou Enlai and was reopened to the public in 1981. The Lama Temple is located in Beijing’s Dongcheng District, near the northeastern corner of the Second Ring Road. Lines 2 and 5 of the Beijing Subway both stop at Yonghegong.
If you are visiting the Lama Temple it would be a waste not to cross the road and visit the Confucius Temple too – although the temple is run down and seemingly forgotten by the Chinese Tourist Board. It covers some 20,000 square metres but it’s not the largest Confucius temple, that is in his birth place, Qufu. This temple was built in 1302 when the Chinese people used it to pay their respects to Confucius. Today it’s almost empty except for the occasional lost tourist clutching a guide book and looking bemused that no one else is there. This temple consists of four courtyards, with the Gate of the First Teacher, the Gate of Great Accomplishment, the Hall of Great Accomplishment and Worship Hall. It’s a very tranquil place to spend an afternoon away from busy and noisy Beijing.
The Hanging Temple in Datong is situated more than 50 meters above the ground and is a unique piece of architecture. It was built in 491 by half-inserting the crossbeams of the foundations into the side of a mountain, and for Westerners it may have seemed a miracle but this system of inserting crossbeams into rocks was developed in other parts of China especially on the Yangzte River – when sailors couldn’t use the river for transferring goods they would build wooden rails along the gorge sides and use them to transfer the goods up and down the river when water levels were too high. Today you can only see square holes in some of the gorges and the only remaining building constructed like this is the so-called ‘Hanging Temple’ in Datong – and it is a masterpiece.
The temple was built by a monk who travelled all over China and needed somewhere to rest and pray, and the location he chose was sheltered from flood, snow, rain or sunshine. It’s full of inscriptions, poems and statues of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism made of copper, iron, clay and stone, which are valuable cultural craftworks. Shanxi Province where the Hanging Temple is situated has many others and if you have time you should visit Jinci Temple in Taiyuan, better known as an ‘ancestral temple’ where Chinese people pay tribute to their ancestors. Another worth mentioning in Shanxi Province is the Guandi Temple in Yuncheng.
One very popular temple is the Shaolin Monastery founded in the 5th century, long famous for its association with Chinese martial arts and particularly with Shaolin Kung Fu. It’s situated in Denfang in Henan Province. The temple takes students from all around the world for courses in marital arts, and as a result you find monks sitting under trees and having debates next to students having their training. The most impressive part is the Shanmen Hall above which hangs a tablet simply saying ‘Shaolin Temple’. What impressed me were the stones worn away by Kung Fu teachers sitting and meditating. Another impressive part of Shaolin Temple is the Pagoda Forest where old Kung Fu teachers are buried, and the higher the pagoda, the more important was their status within the temple. The school observes strict rules based on training, training and even more training. They have different levels of students who can easily be recognised by the different colours of their track suits. It’s a memorable scene in the training hall when hundreds of students make the same move at the exactly the same time! During the day you can watch performances of Kung Fu students which are punctuated by cries of “Oh my God, UH, Ouch, NOOOOOOOOOO” from the excited audience. At the end you can spend some money in the shop on swords or knives, even bows and spears. But be careful when you buy them – you might not be able to get them into your own country!

Beer Festivals Tour

                                                                                                                   

On  the rare times when I meet up with my friends to discuss boring chores , husbands ex and present, boyfriends, his kids, our kids,  pets, mothers in law, George Osborne’s  austerity (is that the new in-word?) budget and England’s shameful defeat by the Germans, of course we get drunk. My friends get drunk mostly on ladies’ drinks: wine, G&T, occasional cocktails, very rarely on plain spirits. I get drunk on beer. I am a simple soul in love with the hop. All my relationships, marriages, divorces, bad decisions and occasional good ones were witnessed by hops. Not hopes but hops!

I imagine I suddenly win the lottery - not all six numbers but five  -  or I get made redundant and get redundancy pay – and am suddenly flush with money. What would I do?

I would go on a beer tour. 

My first beer festival could only start after 20^th January. After celebrating a Catholic Christmas, (25^th December), New Year (31^st December), Serbian Orthodox Christmas (7^th January), Serbian New Year (14^th January) and my mum’s family’s Saint Day, St  Jovan, (20^th January), I would be ready to begin my beer odyssey. 

The first one I would visit would be near my current adobe which is in the UK, in Buckinghamshire,  and the closest beer festival is one which takes place in Cambridge between 21 and 23 January.  They are even asking for volunteers which is tempting. If you’re not totally incapacitated you can do some sightseeing, as Cambridge is a well known University City.

Then I would make a little break to get my liver back to normal. Between 4^th and 6^th February I would attend the Pendle beer festival in Colne, Lancashire. Still England. They like their beer and I knew which country to choose when decided to move out of mine! The Pendle Beer Festival is very interesting because this year the theme was “Down on the Farm” with all the beer given the name of animals and birds. This festival is held for the benefit for the local hospital! There is not much to see beyond the festival but your money spent on beer is going to good causes. 

As March approaches I would like to get some spring sunshine and would go to Florida for their annual Beer Festival which takes place in Tampa on the 6^th March.  If you don’t want to do any sightseeing or make any contributions to society you can go for a swim. Make sure you are not drunk! 

April is Easter and that’s a very good reason to attend a beer festival. This month you can continue from Tampa in Florida to Chicago and attend a beer festival with a very posh title: Craft Brewers Conference and Brewexpo of America.  Among the drinking activities this beer festival includes a World Beer Cup competition!

If you are in the USA during May you should head for the American Craft Beer Week   This Festival is a chance to sign a Declaration of Beer Independence. 

After two long months in the USA I would move to Japan and instead of drinking sake I would go to the Great Beer Festival in Tokyo which took place 5-6^th June this year.  Also try to visit the Meiji shrine, you won’t regret it. You can take a bullet train from Tokyo and continue to Osaka for the Beer Festival there which takes place in July.

Summer months are beer festival months and there are so many of them.  I think we, beer lovers, should have July as World Beer Month, WBM! From Japan you can go back to the UK and pick one of the zillions of beer festivals which take place during this month or head to a new, recently independent country in Eastern Europe, MACEDONIA, for a beer festival which takes place in Prilep. Or try one of the biggest Nordic BEER Festivals which takes place in Estonia.  The website is in Estonian only but I am sure you can recognise word ber in Estonian which means beer.

You can head to Malta for the Farson Great Beer Festival and local Cisk beer.

During August I would go to the BELGRADE Beer Festival   not just because they have the best beer in the world but purely for sentimental reasons, as I was born in Belgrade. The local brew called Jelen is cheap but recommended for hard core labourers.  The word for beer in Serbian is pivo but is the same in all the ex-republics of the former Yugoslavia. Saying pivo, you actually speak six different languages!

 After Belgrade I would fly to Beijing and get a train to  Qingdao for the  famous Beer Festival in CHINA which takes place in August.  The factory was set up in 1903 by German settlers in this part of China. The beer which they produce is called Tsingdao which tastes  very good and it’s widely available in China. Next to the factory there is a museum which is well worth a  visit. Qingdao is a very interesting city to visit as there is a lot of German architecture still standing, such as the residence of the German ambassador and the Catholic Church.

September I would spend in Brussels not because there is much to see in Brussels but to attend the Belgian Beer Festival, and get connected to Stella , my favourite beer.

October I would spend in Germany for the world’s largest beer festival. But I heard the same expression (world’s largest) in China as well.

November would be reserved for a Beer festival closer to home, Manchester

And December I would relax at home getting ready for Christmas. Of course with a few Stellas.

Dazu Rock Carvings, China

The Dazu rock carvings, one of China’s most impressive UNESCO World Heritage Sites, are situated between Chengdu and Chongqing in the southern part of China, in Sichuan Province, and they are as famous as the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, the Yungang Grottoes and Longmen Grottoes.

There are two ways to reach Dazu, either from Chengdu or from Chongqing. The route is much longer from Chengdu, about 271 km which takes around 5 hours but if you are travelling from Chongqing then it’s only around 3 hours.

The carvings at Dazu are a most beautiful form of rock art and symbolise the integration of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, the 3 main religions of China. Besides images of the Buddha, the carvings show different people including ministers, military officers, executioners, monks, rich and poor people, and performers.  The carvings date from the 9^th to 13th centuries. 

There are four places to see Dazu rock carvings – the most popular is at Baodingshan, but you can also see them at Beishan, Nanshan and Shizhuanshuan.

Baodingshan is the most visited grotto in Dazu. At the entrance there are nine Dharmapalas (Protectors of the Law) which guard the entrance, carrying swords, spears and fans. To the left you will come across servants with human bodies and animal heads, and they represent humans who have been reincrinated as animals in order to pay off a karmic debt. The most significant carving is the wheel of reincarnation which summarises the Buddhist teaching of reincarnation. The demon Mara who personifies existance holds the wheel in his jaws and arms, and the wheel is also supported by the personification of greed, (an official), evil (a solider), foolishness (a monkey), and lust (a woman). Six Buddha-rays on the wheel illustrate that enlightenment, the goal of all Buddhist practice, will allow the seeker to escape from the eternal cycle of birth and death. 
Among other rock carvings, the most imposing one is the Parinirvana, a 31m long reclining statue which illustrates the death of Shakyamuni. 

For more information please email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com or check our webiste at www.ReadyClickAndGo.com

Tara