Blogs from Xuanwu District, Beijing, China, Asia
April 3rd 2012
We met at the airport on Sunday morning at 9 am and had a very long day of travelling, it took us about 20 hours altogether. Waiting for us in the arrivals lounge were 5 of the teachers from Honglian primary school, they were all really friendly and very excited to see us. They dropped us off at the hotel and told us we had 30 minutes to get ready and we were going to be taken out for lunch! We checked in to our hotel which is on the 12th floor, had a quick shower and freshen up and then set off for our meal. We arrived at the restaurant which looked like a small temple and were ushered to a private room upstairs, where were greeted by the headteacher and treated to an exquisite ... read more
January 24th 2012
Griff and I arrived in Beijing Saturday afternoon. Getting through customs and everything was quite simple. Like Seoul, Beijing has a subway train within the airport for you to take from customs to luggage pick-up. We exchanged some money, and then headed to the taxi queue. I had meant to see if I could find a Chinese translation of the hotel name online to show the driver ahead of time, but didn't get a chance to. That's unfortunate, considering we then dealt with language barriers trying to get a cab. In hindsight we ended up overpaying by local standards (300¥), but when you consider we were in the taxi for more than an hour, that's close to what I would pay back home. Griff has a nasty cold, which he (and many of the other HAFS ... read more
Niujie Mosque & Guang'an Men Nei Daije
Published: April 14th 2012Asia » China » Beijing » Xuanwu District
December 20th 2011
The Muslim population in Beijing is quite large. There are many mosques around the city, one on Wangfujing street and a whole areas around the Xuanwu district. As a Muslim I read about the Niujie mosque in history books. One of the oldest mosques in Asia, it was built in the year 996 by an Arabian scholar Nasurutan. I was expecting to see s huge domed structure to indicate the mosque. I remember when the taxi dropped us to the mosque I thought were in the wrong place! I walked up to a gate where I saw a series of Chinese style houses. On the gate there was a sign welcoming us to Niujie Mosque. It was a real pleasant surprise. The grounds are quite and calming. A man came out to greet us in limited ... read more
December 17th 2011
When I was at home, my husband and I watched a documentary on Walmart. Part of the documentary was how Walmart launched in China. We were intrigued to see how see for ourselves what this store was like and if it was well received. Just outside the city centre; in the district of Xuanwu there are few huge shopping complexes. This area is more geared for locals, so be prepared if you go there… no English here. If you take the subway you can either come off at Cashi Kou or Xuanwu Men station. Beijing subways are easy to use and very clean and efficient. The subways have big clear signs that point you the major attractions. If you get off at Xuanwu Men station you will see a big sign called Walmart Superstore. Take that ... read more
Beijing hutongs, changes, and The End
Published: October 25th 2011Asia » China » Beijing » Xuanwu District
October 24th 2011
We spent our last full day in Beijing exploring the area near our hostel. This district, between Tiananmen Square and the Temple of Heaven, seems to be one of the last parts of the city to retain the old development pattern wherein low houses with interior courtyards are grouped together into hutongs, forming what are effectively villages within the city. This development plan dates back to the Mongol days when the capital was moved here. In fact hutong is derived from a Mongolian word, and this term is not used for alleys or back streets any place but Beijing. In modern times, and especially since 1949, most of the city's hutongs have been torn down to make way for grand government buildings, tall apartment houses, and, more recently, modern retail development. In the core tourist area ... read more
September 2nd 2010
Date Saturday 28th August 2010 Cities Daegu - Seoul - Hong Kong - Beijing Language Korean - Cantonese - Mandarin Currency Korean Won - 850 = NZ$1, Canadian dollar in Hong Kong and Chinese Yuan Climate airport and plane temperatures all day! The alarm woke us at 5am! A quick shower and we were out the door to meet our cab to the airport. A day of travel was before us and all went really well. Three flights and two cab rides later we were at the hotel in Beijing. What a huge city! Looking forward to exploring it over the next few days Date Sunday 29th August 2010 City Beijing Language Mandarin Currency Chinese Yuan 4.79Y = NZ$1.00 Climate low 21c - high 32c We’re staying at a hotel with a mouthful of a name: ... read more
June 18th 2010
So we have arrived safe and sound (just about! - we were last on the plane from London, kinda held it up oops!) to the coolest and cheapest city ever! It is super warm, people are hilarious and were havin lots of fun already! Stay tuned for more updates and photos...... read more
May 8th 2010
Things worked out in such a way that I was a group leader on the last two days of this trip; the first day, yesterday, we lost our bearings and a few hours of our day, and the second, today, we fly back to the states. I've chosen to turn the last two days into one entry because neither of them really represents a big enough story, in my mind, to turn into its own, single entry, but both are still near and dear to me because they stand for my last day in China and my way back home, and should therefor both be given some attention. Yesterday was the one day on our trip we were meant to recognize the "Wine" portion of this Food, Wine, and (Agri)culture trip, but due to the many ... read more
May 3rd 2010
We're on the last leg of our journey now, we've finally landed in Beijing; it's a bittersweet realization. This morning, we took a short trip to the city wall around Xi'an that once protected it from invading tribes and warring territories. Several of us rode tandem bikes around the eight mile wall, and a few of us got to see a really wonderful, short performance by local citizens about a war and the community's celebration after coming out victorious. After the wall, we walked around the city square and did a bit more shopping and eating before the hour drive to the airport. This evening, we got to Beijing, unloaded our belongings at the Rainbow Hotel, and had dinner at the Yinchun Rice Congee Cafe. So far, our experience with congee has been a mostly unpalatable, ... read more
July 14th 2009
Day one of our trip started well - upgraded on the flight from London is always a bonus. Managed to locate the hostel without too much trouble, caught up on some much needed sleep and walked around the area. Took the plunge and sampled some local food from a street seller in a hutong. Went to a Kung Fu show this evening with some other guys from the hostel and grabbed some noodles in a local place, luckily one of them spoke Chinese, I think we're going to have to go with the point and hope for the best option from now on. Booked on a bike tour of the city in the morning (yes, a push bike) hopefully the wrist will hold up and we'll get to see a lot. Great Wall trip on Thursday. ... read more
