Window Shopping Wangfujing (王府井) Street

Sunday, 20 September

We arrived at Wangfujing Street past 7.00pm. We were told before our arrival that we will see many branded foreign retailers along one side of Wangfujing Street and...


...find exotic snacks and food further down.

Shoppers can walk freely on the road as it is off-limits to motor vehicles.

Bag packs to the front. We were warned to be aware of snatch thieves.
We were told by our guide that all imported goods sold in China have been taxed 300%. So, shopping there is not a good idea if you are looking for a good bargain.

You can't bargain when you shop at departmental stores...

...but you can try at shops selling local product, like this one...

...and small independent stores selling souvenirs.

What is the best advice for shopping at stores in China where you can bargain? Just indicate your interest and then walk away. Don't turn back till the shop assistant runs after you with the item crying out the price you are willing to pay for. If you are lucky, you can get it at 100% lower than the offered price!

The Forbidden City 紫禁城/故宫

Sunday 20 September 2009

Shenwumen which means "Gate of Divine Prowess" is one of the entrances to the The Forbidden City.

Right across this entrance is a man made hill, "Jing Shan or Coal Hill". It was built up with soil excavated from the construction site of the Imperial Palace.

We did not visit "Jing Shan Park" but Christy, our local guide told us that the last of the Ming emperors, Chongzheng, hanged himself on a tree in that park during a peasant revolt in 1644.

You can read about its history and view images of the park and the said tree at BeijingGuide2008.

What's inside "The Forbidden City"?

A clearer view of the floor plan of The Forbidden City seen in the above photograph.

You can read its history on Wikipedia and find out the name and the function of each area on World Visit Guide.

The communication room.

Empress Dowager Cixi was the first woman in China to own a telephone.


The emperor's sitting room. A place to read and write?

And many many fengshui enhancing artifacts.This huge crystal is placed outside the emperor’s room. Possibly to enhance love and harmony in his life?


Look at this copper urn. What do you think it was once used for?

You can see many smaller ones placed along its corridors.

The answer: They were used for storing water for fighting fire, just in case of a breakout. During winter, fire were lighted up below the urns to thaw the ice.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony

You can see many fengshui enhancing artifacts in The Forbidden City.





Following are slideshows my friend created with photos of his visit to The Forbidden City.
The Forbidden City 故宫/紫禁城

View more documents from teh K K.

They Are Beautiful (The Forbidden City/紫禁城/故宫 pt2)

View more documents from teh K K.

A visit to Dr Tea

Sunday, 20 September

We were brought to a government-sponsored teashop, "Dr Tea" at this address:

No. 1 Min zu yuan Road
Chao yang District
Beijing
Fax: 010-82077030

There we were seated like little children for a lesson in tea making by a young lady.

We also sampled the different variety of tea they carry in their shop. There is the Jasmine, Golden Green Tea, Oolong tea called, Litchi Tea, and Pu’er tea. The Pu'er was shown to us in cake form and they claimed that it has been aged for 18 years.

And that is why I had the address of Dr Tea posted here. Purchasers of a box of Pu'er which consist of 8 pieces can return one piece 3 years later for a box of 8 of the same. It seems that because of the humidity in Malaysia, 3 years of storage is equivalent to 5 years in China.

That sounds like a good investment if you are willing to part with RMB4000 for a box which comes with a certificate of authenticity.

The Beijing Tiandi Theatre Acrobatic Show

Friday, 18 September, 2009
The Beijing Tiandi Theater Acrobatic Show

We went to The Beijing Tiandi Theater to catch the 5.30pm acrobatic show before our dinner.


According to Beijing Guide, the performers are from the China National Acrobatic Troupe which was the first national performing arts troupe established by the Central Government of China. This troupe is one of the best in China and it has won 18 gold medals on various international acrobatic competitions.

We were allocated "green" seats on the left hand side of the theater for the 1.5 hours show.


Photographs are not allowed to be taken during the performance...


...but you can view photos of the programme from website of Tiandi Theatre and at The China Guide.

After the show, some members of the troupe went around the theater to sell recordings of their performances at RMB10.00 a piece.

Bird‘s Nest, Beijing 北京鸟巢

Saturday, 19 September 2009
Bird‘s Nest, Beijing 北京鸟巢

The opera house in Beijing, "National Grand Theater Centre for the Performing Arts" (NCPA) was designed by Paris architect, Paul Andreu.


The building was completed on July 2007 and colloquially described as "The Egg" as it does look like one.



We did not take time to go inside the building but you can view a video clip of the inside and surrounding area I discovered on YouTube.

Following is a slideshow shared by my friend, K K Teh on SlideShare
Bird‘s Nest, Beijing 北京鸟巢

View more documents from teh K K.

Tiananmen Square

Saturday, 19 September 2009

Along our way to "Tiananmen Square" which means "The Gate of Heavenly Peace"...

...this ducky caught our attention...


At "Tiananmen Square", you can see the "Monument to the People's Heroes"...

... and "Chairman Mao Memorial Hall".

According to our local guide, Christy Chu...

(Photo of Christy taken at Chengde)

..."Tiananmen Square" is the original gate of the Imperial Palace, commonly known as the Forbidden City.

You can see a huge image of Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung) above the entrance to the Forbidden City.


China is making preparation for its 60th National Day on 1st October. These are some of the displays put up there.



You can take a 360-degree Virtual Tour of Tiananmen Square and read about its history at The Beijing Guide.

China in September

China celebrates its National Day on 1st October. This year is its 60th. So, September is the best time to visit the country before the 7 days public holiday starts.

Everywhere you go, you can see decorative display to celebrate the occasion.

At the National Stadium.

Work in progress.

The Supervisor...

...who stopped us from going near the display to take pictures.

At the Summer Palace.

At Tienanmen Square

According to About.com, the weather is cooling off and drying in September as autumn starts so it is a great time to visit Beijing.

While we were there, the temperature varied from 22C to 26C and though it was expected, we were lucky that it did not rain a drop. You can go sleeveless as long as you have a jacket or sweater with you.

At the Summer Palace.

Moisturizer is definitely required or your face will start flaking. As proven by fellow traveling mates, a bottle of Vaseline Petroleum Jelly will do just fine.