Blog

As elsewhere, there are several ways to get your air tickets in China. No matter if you are booking international or domestic, you can either go straight to the airline, to a travel agent or through a travel website. The necessity for any person to person contact is gradually being reduced however, so that you better be prepared to book online using a credit card.

Beijing is hot. Great people, great food and a cultural mix that has long been underestimated. No matter if you are just visiting short term or in it for the long run. I guarantee you will fall in love with the city and the people.

Many of the words in this song are for more advanced students (HSK 5), however it is a simple song, and the speed and flow of words makes it very easy to sing out without stumbling. For those in China, it's a great song to sing to impress your Chinese friends at KTV.

There may be many reasons to avoid walking in Beijing: the pollution, the traffic, the convenience of taking a cab (although less and less so). But there are perhaps just as many reasons to take a walk, if not more. After all, it’s city planning, man.

Unless you are strolling down the Houhai Hutongs with the love of your life by your side, a perfect Beijing summer night always involves riding a bicycle. Let’s also get the scenario straight: We are not talking about going to the club or getting wasted in 三里屯. Neither are we talking about eating a fancy meal (perhaps, God forbid, even western) and watching a movie. This is about enjoying the real Beijing, perhaps as real as it will ever get for someone who was not born here.

The Korean (always in reference to South Koreans) districts of Beijing are situated to the north east (望京) and north west (五道口) of the city. This is due to two very pragmatic reasons: the north east features most of the Beijing universities, such as Beijing University, Beijing Language and Culture University, Qinghua University etc. The north west features the airport.

If you have ever had any doubt about the Chinese not being fully in love with things western, just visit the Ikea in Beijing on a weekend and you will believe. It also gives you final confirmation on the question about China being the most populated country in the world. It seems as if all of China descends on the Beijing outlet of this Swedish furniture house every single weekend taking no prisoners. 

The area east of Tian’anmen has been known as the Legation Quarter for housing the diplomatic representations of many a nation from the mid 19th to the mid 20th century. It was a tumultuous time for China as it was engaged in the Opium Wars, the Boxer Rebellion and the Japanese Invasion and went from monarchy to a republic and finally to the PR China we know today.

A first class tourist magnet, Wangfujing tries to cater to the casual visitor's needs by trying to be everything one may imagine when thinking of China: pungent and exotic street foods, loads of people, historic architecture, tourist memorabilia and guys and gals running around in traditional attire for tourist bemusement.

This book by British writer Paul French tells the story of the mysterious murder of young English woman Pamela Werner in Beijing of the 1930s. It draws most of its dynamics from its historical circumstances; a time when Westerners in Beijing still led privileged albeit doomed lives with the Japanese invasion armies knocking on the door of the city.

What used to be a military factory complex during the Cold War has been turned into an art community that has gained worldwide acclaim. The pure size of the area is impressive by any standard but it must be said that PR genius and the rise of China have played into the hands of the local artists, dealers and other stakeholders that are pulling the strings.

East of the Drum and Bell Towers and Houhai you can find Nanluoguxiang (NLGX), which is one of the new favorite streets of tourist interest, a bit similar to Sanlitun. What used to be a run down alley of hutongs and some bars catering to foreigners has become a shiny street pulling in foreign and Chinese tourists alike.