The
Mahnster
Guide to China
The following is a guide that I put together while travelling around China during the summer of 2000. I carried with me all three of the most popular guide books. Of the three, the Rough Guide is the best guide to take with you. But, the Lonely Planet lists the most cities. A good idea would be to take both if you can fit them. And if you do get the Lonely Planet, look for my name in the list of credits!
I found that the guide books left some important things out which I hope to
remedy here. Please note that that all of the information listed here
is from 2000 and therefore many things are likely to have changed. Note that the use of any information which is listed
on this site is done solely at your own risk. Times and prices may have
changed since this information was written. By using this information you
agree not to hold Jeff Mahn liable for any loss, injury or inconvenience
sustained by any traveler as a result of information or advice on this web site.
Enjoy!
Chengdu
Chengdu to Lhasa
Chongqing
Guilin
Hong Kong
Lanzhou
Lixia
Ningbo
Putoshan
Shanghai
Boat Cruise through the Three Gorges
Wuhan
Xiahe
Xi'an
Xiamen
Yangshuo
Overall
Xiahe
- If you rent bikes to ride to the Sangke Grasslands, bike at least 20 km or you will miss some great views. Also, be sure to bring sunblock!
- Bike rental costs Y2/ hour or Y10 for all day from several different places in town. - A restaurant best avoided is Local Mecca. The food we received was undercooked and expensive.
- The tour of the monastery occurs twice a day, the first being at 10AM and costs Y23.
- Do not climb the hill behind the Buddah Screen (across the river from the monastery), also so called the Display Terrace for Buddah Thangka. It is a holy mountain and the monks will call you down if they see you.
- Busses out of Xiahe to Lanzhou: Fast depart at 6:30 AM, 8:30 AM and 2:30PM Slow bus to Lanzhou depart at 7:30 AM and many other busses go to Lixie every half hour or so from where you can catch another bus to Lanzhou.
- Jielin Guest house is a new hotel with rooms for Y180 plus a large Western breakfast.
- Sangke Grasslands cost Y2 to enter.
- If you stop here on the way to Xiahe, the entire trip will take about 8 hours from Lanzhou to Xiahe.
- It may be better to spend the night in Lanzhou than to split the trip overnight as splitting the bus trip takes longer and Lixie is not a very nice place.
- The bus from Lanzhou may not stop at the bus station, but instead on the street leaving you at the mercy of the cab drivers to get to a hotel. If your bus stops by a bridge on the main street, soon after entering town, it is better to get out here and then walk up the street, away from the bridge as the hotels are along this street.
- Busses for Xiahe depart from the bus station.
- Taxis are Y3 at flag fall.
- Mini vans are Y4 at flagfall, taxis are Y6.
- Busses for Lixie and Xiahe do not leave from the West Station, but from another station about 1 mile east. Look for the big red camel stature out front of the station.>
- If you do not have travel insurance, it can be purchased at the bus station for a Y10 commission. As a foreigner, you will be directed to the insurance window as soon as you enter.
- CITS does not sell train tickets.
- The museum was under renovations in July and so the ticket prices were reduced to Y15. However, not all of the museum is open, so some of the displays can not be viewed at this time.
- The train bound for Beijing leaves at 9:45 AM and costs Y390, hard sleeper.
- The Dunkin Donuts by the Friendship Store is no more.
- There is a very good restaurant offering delicious food and low prices near the Drum Tower. The restaurant is opposite the south-east corner of the bell tower and has red lanterns out front. The name and address are:
Da Dong Bei Fandian
352 Gulou Dajie
- There is a great Sichuan restaurant at moderate prices located near Scitech Plaza:
Go Ya Li
24 Jianguomenwai Dajie
Jingtai Dasha
- A hotel that is located near the Temple of Heaven and is very nice, but a little hard to find is:
Shou Fu Hotel
11 Dongsikuaiyunan Lu
(010) 6715 3377
Singles and Doubles: Y380, Triples: Y420 Bargain hard and these prices will come down by Y80 per day.
- The Traffic hotel is closed.
- The cost of Jingsha Park, behind the Forbidden City is Y2.
- Several clocks in the clock museum of the Forbidden City are wound up for display at 11AM and 2PM. If you are in the Forbidden City at these times and have the through pass, it is worth going over to watch the complex clocks in motion.
- If you are heading out to the Summer Palace and intend to take bus 375, beware of the private operators who will try to charge you ten times the normal fare price. From the subway station, take the west exit. Turn left from the exit and ignore the touts. At the fence, turn left and you will see the public bus ahead. The route is currently under construction, so leave a lot of time for the trip to the Summer Palace.
- Great Beijing Duck can be found at a restaurant near Scitech Plaza:
Xiao Wang's Home Restaurant
No 2 Blvd
Guang Hua Dong Li
Chao Yang, Beijing
010 6591 3255
- To get to Simatai on Sunday if the bus from the Jinghua is full, head out early to the Donzhimen bus station, near the Dominoes. The touts there will find you. The ride is Y30 and involves 1 1/2 hours on the bus to a little town on route. There, you will transfer to a minivan which will take you the rest of the way to the wall and will wait for you to take you back to the town. From the town, you will catch the bus back. You do not pay the driver of the minivan for the ride to the wall, but you must pay the driver Y30 for the return trip to the bus. However, you do not pay for the return bus trip. So, the round trip cost is Y60.
- The foreigner window at Beijing Zhan is on the first floor, in the back, left corner as you enter the building.
- The flag raising at Tianamen in July occurs at around 4:50 AM and is heavily attended by tour groups.
- The bag check for the Mao Mausoleum is located across the street from the east side of the Mausoleum . The cost is Y8, or Y10 if you have a camera.
- Train tickets can be purchased at the Scitech Travel agent at the Scitech Hotel. However, they charge a Y50 fee and they do not always deliver the tickets when they tell you they will which can be very frustrating.
- The train to Lanzhou departs at 21:40 and costs Y142 for a hard sleeper.
- The public bus is an easy way to get to the Warriors. From Xi'an, take bus 306 from near the train station. The cost for the round trip is Y8 if you buy the rountrip ticket. The trip takes about 1 hour in each direction.
- From the Warriors, don't fall for the touts who will get you aboard their private, mivans that drive the 306 route. They will not leave a stop until they are full. Therefore, the trip takes much longer than the public 306 which leaves on time.
- The museum at Xi'an has a lot of pottery and ceramics which are interesting.
- The metro stations have English and Pinion maps once you have paid to get into the station, but not prior. So, you must know your stop so that you can ask which line to take.
- To get to the Oriental Pearl Tower, take line 2 across the river to the Lujiazui stop.
- Tea at Huxinting Tea House in the Old City is Y10 per pot downstairs, or Y30 per glass upstairs.
- Hard sleeper tickets to and from Beijing are scarce during July. One option is to first go to Suzhou via a train and then catch a sleeper to Beijing.
- The Catholic Church is at the Xujiahui subway station on Line 1. Leave the station by exit #3. Mass on Sunday during the summer is at 6:30, 7:30 and 10AM.
- Be wary of the New Lo Bo Lang Food and Drink Co in the Old City.
10 Wenchang Rd
Old Town God's Temple
You will be charged for the peanuts you find on your table regardless of whether you eat them or not (Y6). You will also be given tea whether you ordered it or not and be charged (Y3 per person). Also, be sure to check how thoroughly your meat dishes are cooked. We ordered a chicken dish that was undercooked and still raw and pink.
- The guide lists Green Willow in the restaurant section for the French Concession. We found the restaurant to be an unpleasant experience as they will try to raise the prices for foreigners. We saw the menu in Chinese by the door with reasonable prices. However, we were given the English menu which had prices that were double what we saw. I asked to see the Chinese menu and then asked why they were so different. I was told that the price hike was due to the English
- Sam's Guest House is a great place. Clean doubles, no A/C Y80.
- Bus from Chengdu to Chongqing is Y74.50
- The Xiaocheng Xiocan restaurant is either no longer open, or it is not where the guide indicates that it is.
- Most places offer Y2500 flights to Lhasa including 3 days accomodation in dorms and shuttles to the airports. You will be very hard pressed to find better deals or differences in the deals that are offered.
- One of the travel agencies by the Traffic Hotel claims to offer an English speaking tour guide.
- CITS offers a three day, Y4000 tour package, departing on Wednesday that includes:
flights to and from Chengdu food lodging in a 3 star hotel Tours to Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery, Norbu Lingka, Potala Palace, Jokhang T emple, Barkhor Street.
- CITS also offers a six day tour that offers the same deal, plus a tour of Gyantse and Shigatse for Y4790.
- None of the travel agents but the Sheraton will take credit cards.
- Most places need at least a one day notice to book you on their tour of Lhasa.
- Huixian Lou Hotel offers worn doubles plus bath and breakfast for Y160 (with little bargaining). Dorms for Y50. A taxi to the hotel from the bus station runs about Y25
- Beware of the agent on the 5th floor of the Huixian Lou Hotel. They offer a great service of booking boats, trains and hotels so that your trip runs smoothly. However, beware of the prices of your tickets and the commissions charged. We found that we were overcharged for train tickets and when we complained in Wuhan we found that our commission prices had doubled. As they already had our money there was little we could do little to get it all back. If I could not speak a little Chinese, we would not have gotten any of it back.
Boat Cruise through the Three Gorges:
The prices for the Chinese ferries are fairly consistent from ticket agent to ticket agent. The prices in August, 2000 from Chongqing to Wuhan were:
1st class: 1370
2nd class: 686
3rd class: 322
4th class: 231
The ticket agents will try to persuade you to also buy their tour packages. The tour package includes Fengdu and Lanruo Dian on the first day, the Lesser Gorges and an additional stop on the third day. The addition of the tour package raises the prices to:
1st class: 1680
2nd class: 996
3rd class: 622
4th class: 521
Despite the pressure to purchase a tour group ticket, you may be better off without for the three stops as these are easy to navigate on your own. However, we found that it was a bit difficult to arrange your own boat to see the Lesser Gorges without at good knowledge of Chinese. Plus, the river ferry will wait for the tour group boats to return, but not for individual travelers who have made their own arrangements. It is possible to purchase a tour ticket just for the Lesser Gorges, although the ticket agents will not like it.
Tickets from Chongqing to Yichang cost as follows for just the boat and for the tour package (in parenthesis):
1st class: 930 (1202)
2nd class: 466 (738)
3rd class: 220 (482)
4th class: 157 (409)
If you are debating between 2nd and 3rd class, there are a few things to bear in mind. The third class cabins house twelve people and have hard, wooden bunks without mattresses. The 2nd class cabins house four people, have mattresses and a private bath. The boats do not offer many places to sit on deck, so most of your time will be spent standing on deck or sitting in your room for three days. Therefore, it is really worth the extra money to get a 2nd class cabin.
- Email can be found at China Telecom on Tianjin Lu. Fast and only Y3 per hour, with over 30 terminals you will not need to wait long.
- The usual scam of the bus costing more than Y5. We got our tickets down to Y5, but we had to pay a Y2 bag fee.
- A taxi to the airport from the train station will cost about Y65. The driver will want you to pay the tolls in both directions (Y8 each way) We argued that we should not pay from the airport and won with the support of the airport staff.
- A flight from Guilin to Xiamen is Y690.
- You can get a credit card advance at the Bank of China for a 3% fee.
- Many new internet bars have opened which has dropped the cost of connecting to Y8 to Y10.>
- Bamboo Gardens Hotel behind Meiyou has great doubles with balconies and A/C for Y120. They are very eager to arrange your tours or cook your food but, they are not very big on providing things like bedding unless you ask.
- California Hotel has double with A/C for Y100.
- There are more foreigners than Chinese on West St. which can be a little odd at first.
- There is a great breakfast available at the Blue Lotus at #62 West St.
- CITS will charge Y10 extra for booking flights.
- Lisa's All American shake sounds great, but is very disappointing.
- The French Bakery on West St offers rolls and pastries in a display case out front of the restaurant which are delicious and a great value.
- Loves Tour Travel Agency at #70 West St can buy plane tickets with no commission.
- There are several internet places available around Xiamen University. Friday Internet Bar has over 30 fast computers for Y4 per hour plus a Y100 deposit. Telephone: 0592 2080891
- The ferry to Gulangyu Island is free. However, the return ferry costs Y3.
- Banks take ATM cards and credit cards at their ATMs.
- Taking bus #27 from the airport to the ferry will save you around Y45. However, the bus does not stop at the airport terminal, but about 1km away.
From the airport: exit the airport terminal and go to your left, towards the China Post Building. The stop for bus #27 is located between the Xiamen Airlines building and the TRW/ Honeywell building.
From the ferry: the terminus / start of #27 bus route is to the left and across the street as you exit the ferry dock. Or, there is an unmarked stop to the left of the ferry dock where the #28 bus stops.
- Ferries to Putoshan leave early in the day. If you arrive in Ningbo in the afternoon you will have to wait until the next day to depart.>
- The first fast boat to Putoshan departs at 6:40AM.>
- You can purchase tickets for the ferries to Putoshan one day in advance.>
- Internet is available at 76 Hualou Jie. From Zhongshan Xi Lu turn south onto Jiefang Bei Lu. Hualou Jie is on the right about 100 m down, across from the Guandong Bank. Y3/ hour.
- Everything is more expensive than the guides indicate in August. Entry to the island was Y60. The 1000 step beach costs Y12, Y6 after 5PM and free after 7:30 PM. Chaoyang Dong costs Y12. The cable car costs Y30 up and Y15 down.
Beware if you are looking for a hotel in Hong Kong. In October 00, every budget hotel in the area was full. You may want to call around before you arrive to be sure thatt you can get a room.
A great plaace to stay in Kowloon is the YMCA International House. The hotel is very nice and is conveniently located near a subway stop so you aren’t dependant on cabs. Single rooms were going for HK$550 in October 00.
YMCA International House
23 Waterloo Rd
Kowloon, Hong Kong
(852) 2771 9111
[email protected]
On Hong Kong Island there is a YWCA which is not right in the action, but is not a bad price for where it is (~HK$800)
Garden View International House (YWCA)
1 Macdonnel Rd
Hong Kong
(852) 2977 3737
[email protected]
There are new internet bars opening up in most Chinese cities every day. Even the small city that I live in had 10 new bars open in a six month interval. The proliferation of connections is driving down costs. Overall, the best places to connect are at the China Telecom buildings in various cities. The fee is generally Y3 / hour and the connection is very fast since China Telecom provides the service.
A lot of restaurants in China try the English menu price hike where you will be charged upwards to double to triple the normal price for the convenience of an English menu. A good idea is to ask around to see what are the local specialties or to consult your guide book and order from it rather than the English menu. And, always determine the of a dish before you order so that you will not be surprised by a monstrous bill at the end of your meal.
jeffmahn@hotmail.com
The China Adventure website, pictures and text are Copyright 2003 by Jeffrey Mahn