Beijing Summer Olympics: Get Your Seats Quick!

The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing will be an event the world will remember. If you want to get there and see all the action yourself, the good news is that there are still tickets available. It can be quite a challenge getting to watch the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but it is well worth the effort!

Tickets for all the major events went on sale early in 2007. Unlike some events, there are no special buying privileges for anyone. Almost all of the tickets were to be sold directly on the market to consumers. But, they’ve been on the market for a while, and they are running out fast. If you want to see the Summer Olympics this year, now is the time to act!

First of all, check and see which events you want to attend. The official Olympics website lists all the events. You can pick and choose which competitions you would like to attend, and there are also package deals available. The events vary in price, with the opening ceremony and other popular events being much pricier than the regular events.

After you’ve secured your seats, the next step is to take care of the visa situation. If you don’t already have a passport, you should start that process right away. They always tell you that it may take a couple of months to process, but usually it is done in a couple of weeks. Still, the visa and passport are two things you don’t want to leave until the last minute.

Next, you should book your hotel. This will perhaps be the biggest tourist season in Beijing’s history, with people coming from all over the world to the city for the Olympics, so Beijing’s hospitality industry will be falling over itself to offer the best deals and best service possible. Another advantage for travelers from the US and Europe is that the dollar and the Euro are strong against Chinese currency, which means your lodging and food will be as costly!

The best place to make your purchase is with online ticket dealers. Once you get online and look, you’ll find that there are lots to choose from. There is also the option of buying on auction sites. It is generally best to buy from an authorized dealer and not an auction site, because you can expect a speedy delivery, guarantees and better customer service from a serious dealer.

You can make your purchase directly from the official ticketing site for the 2008 Olympic Games, but there are some hassles involved. First off, the time window for buying tickets is very short. Also, to prevent fraud, there have been security features installed that require you to submit your ID and photograph electronically when you buy. If you don’t want to go through all of this, there are plenty of other purchasing options.

When selecting an online ticket seller, customer service is very important. If there is any problem at all with your purchase or delivery, you want a dealer who you can easily contact to resolve the issues. For this reason, you should choose a site that has a toll-free number, and call ahead of time to make sure it leads to something other than an electronic message.

Make sure that the company is legit. One way to do this is to check with the Better Business Bureau. You can also do your own research by using a search engine with the name of the dealer and looking for sites or forums where people have complained about them, or praised them. This can give you an idea of some of the problems you might have, and might tip you off on which sites NOT to buy from.

Finally, shop around. Don’t buy tickets from the first site you look at. Spend a little time looking at what several different sites offer so you know you’re going with the best one.

Get started buying your 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics tickets today! There are still plenty available online, but they will be selling out soon.

How the Great Wall of China was built

The Great Wall of China was built one little section at a time and it went on being built over many centuries. One can well imagine when the first sections were built in four, five, or six hundred BC there was no intent to build for posterity. All they wanted to do was to keep out the Northern invaders. Probably they had pilfered them and ransacked their homes and their fields a few years earlier and were now fearing a reprisal.

When one considers the scope of China and ponders how it got that way, it soon dawns it must have been by conquering their neighbors. If history book are right, that was the most important pastime of the age. Feuding and fighting and land grabbing was the only game in town for aspiring emperors. Someone came up with an idea to block them from bringing their horses and their carts in and making off with what was no longer theirs, therefore they began to build crude walls with dirt and the rocks they found near the location. Therefore lets assume, for this article, at least, that the wall was first built to keep out intruders.

It is possible they needed to clear the land for farming and had a need to do something with the stones that they removed from the soil and some innovative wall builder suggested this method. Anyway, however they built the first wall it was a crude affair and hardly any of it remains today. Only in certain sections around around the vast country of China are there any evidence of walls. The first walls were built out of natural stones with dirt pounded into them.

The parts of this national wonder called The Great Wall of China that does remain is now protected. It is great for their tourist trade. Later, much later probably – how does one know exactly – another wall was needed and it was in an area that had plenty of marble and heavier building materials. The walls continued to be built and since they used better building materials and their knowledge of how to build walls increased their quality of walls increased. The walls that are built around the Beijing area, (Peking then, probably)are kept in good repair and are an important tourist attraction.

Unlike today’s technology that can cut through mountainous terrains to buld roads, the walls that ancient Chinese construction workers built followed the rise and the fall of the land. If a wall was needed up a mountain it was built up mountain. According to the pictures I have seen, at the top of the wall will be a lookout tower and probably a place

Forbidden City of Beijing – A Magical And Overwhelming Place

By: Marc D. Jong

The Forbidden City in Beijing is no longer forbidden territory anymore. And we should be grateful for that. Why? If you have had the honor to visit this extraordinary place, you will understand.

This stunning complex of imperial buildings, right in the heart of the Chinese capital, is one of the most magical sights in the world. It’s so overwhelming that once you’ve been there, you’ll keep talking about it whenever you have the opportunity.

Let’s look at some facts.

The Forbidden City is the former palace of Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was planned and built from 1407 to 1420, and for its design and layout principles of Feng Shui were used. An estimated 200,000 workers helped to construct it.

The numbers explain why so many people were needed: there are 800 buildings with a total of 8,886 rooms. The word ‘city’ is not misused as it measures 961 meters from north to south and 753 meters from east to west.

A 52-meter wide moat (6 meters deep) and an 8-meter high wall around the complex kept intruders (and ordinary people!) away until the fall of the Empire in 1912.

Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the buildings are used as a museum.

Again, the numbers are impressive. The Palace Museum holds no less than 340,000 pieces of ceramics and porcelain as well as 50,000 items of paintings. I regret to say that once you’re there, you won’t have time to see everything, but even a quick review can make you speechless.

The sheer size of the complex is impressive, but a problem at the same time. How can you make the most out of your visit?

If you go there on a guided tour, the guide will likely follow the middle path to save time. In two hours time you’ll see the most important parts of the city, but since there’s so much to pay attention to, you will hardly have time to stop.

If you go there alone, use a full day and come early. Don’t plan to visit any other sights on that day, just the Forbidden City. If you take your time and enjoy what you see, you can spend half a day and still only see half of it.

Another good idea is renting the audio guide at the entrance.

Don’t be intimidated by the crowd at the entrance. Yes, it’s very touristy and it can take a while before you are in, but once people have got their ticket the crowd splits up in several groups.

Take a rest in the imperial gardens. Jingshan Park, with an artifical hill, is the most famous. You’ll feel an emperor for a second when you sit there!

Finally, if you want to get into the mood, you could watch The Last Emperor, the first Hollywood movie for which the government of China allowed to film inside the complex.

Brent Attractions – Going Down Wembley Way

Brent is home to the ‘new’ Wembley Stadium. The stadium in Brent is the largest football stadium in the world that can boast about the fact that every seat is covered, just as well, considering that Brent is hardly a sunny tropical paradise! With 90,000 unrestricted seats offering shelter in the rain, Wembley Stadium really is something that Brent can be proud of. Regardless of the escalated cost in construction and delayed completion, it all seems worth it now.

Before the new stadium was built, Wembley’s twin towers were the icon of English football. You could even say that Wembley was the capital of world football. With a global reputation, somebody in Australia or China would know what you mean if you say ‘Wembley’ to them and for a small town in Brent which cannot boast much else except for the stadium, that’s not bad going!

Wembley Stadium offers tours of the stadium including team changing rooms, manager dugouts, executive boxes and pitch side experiences. Imagine the feeling of standing where the greats of English football will earn their living for decades to come, Beckham, Rooney, Lampard, Terry who are today’s football heroes and the young youth players who aspire to one day walk down the famous Wembley tunnel and set the ground alight for 90,000 spectators.

Wembley Stadium really has put Brent on the map! On a clear night, the Wembley Stadium arch can be seen from 13 miles away. As I travel on the London Underground going past Wembley Park and Northwick Park, the gorgeous lit-up arch of Wembley stands out and I find myself staring at it each day as my train goes past. What a sight!

The new stadium has embedded itself as an icon for tourists and local residents alike.

The old twin-towers were much loved icons of Wembley and soon after they were demolished, left a void in the Wembley skyline. It just wasn’t the same anymore, but many years on the new arch has firmly taken the twin-towers’ place with a modern and attractive presence. It has since become a symbol & image of pride for local residents.

The new Wembley Stadium has some amazing facts. It has over 2,000 toilets (that works out at 45 people per toilet when the stadium is at 90,000 capacity!), 35 miles of power cables, the London Eye could fit under the arch, the arch is 4 times higher than the old twin-towers, the arch weighs as much as 10 jumbo jets, plus many more!

Attending Wembley Market which is placed just outside the stadium and is held on Sunday’s, feels just as authentic as it did 10 years ago, except now instead of seeing the overlooking twin towers, the towering arch of the new stadium provides a magnificent and enchanting view.

Walking down Wembley Way in recent times has been as satisfying as walking down Wembley Way 10 years ago, maybe more. The London Borough of Brent has Wembley Stadium to thank for putting us on the map!

My Unforgettable Tibet Tours

How to describe Tibet? I have heard it called “Shangri La”, and I have heard it called “The Rooftop of the World”, but there is really no accurate way to describe this amazing and mysterious place in a few simple words or even paragraphs. It is an absolutely amazing place that time seems to have forgotten. It features some of the most breathtaking man-made, and natural sites in the world, and as a whole, has the friendliest people I have ever met. They seem to smile and laugh more than any other people in the world. The sky in Tibet is so blue, and seems so low, that if I stood on a chair, I felt like I could have touched. My trip to Tibet with my family, simply put, was a life changing experience.
The first site we visited, and the one which I was most looking forward to visiting, was the Potala Palace. It stands in the center of the city of Lhasa and it took my breath away. I was surprised at how big the whole complex is. The bottom half is painted half, with red buildings on the top. It looks like a giant fortress. It was the home to Tibet’s Dalai Lama. It was packed full of people, but because they limit the amount of tickets sold each day, it was not overwhelming. I’m glad I had a guide, because if one was allowed to wander alone, I’m not sure they could have ever found the way out. It seems to just keep going and going. It is like a huge labyrinth. It is full of unbelievably beautiful treasures. Every square inch seemed to be decorated. Even the ceilings are incredible. Everything seemed to have secret meanings. I’m sure that place could be studied for decades and never be fully understood.

We also checked out Jokhang Temple. The tour guide told us the legend of its creation and I thought it was pretty bizarre. Supposedly the temple was built on a lake. They had tried to build the temple a bunch of times, but each time it collapsed. An educated woman said that the geography of Tibet was like an old woman, with the lake at the heart. In order to build the temple, she suggested that they kill the old woman by filling in the lake. They were supposed to use 1,000 sheep to carry the soil. Those must have been some pretty strong sheep! The temple is really cool though. It is actually a large complex, and it was filled with pilgrims that had come from all parts of Tibet. There is a long passageway that had paintings showing the temple being built. I tried to get some photos of it, but they didn’t turn out too well, too many people. After the temple, the guide took me to visit Barkhor Street. It wasn’t a far walk, because it is a round road that surrounds the temple. I had a lot of fun there. It was packed with tourists, Buddhist monks, and pilgrims. It was a really neat mixture of peoples. Many of the pilgrims were crawling on the ground. Apparently, on their pilgrimage from their homes, they walk two steps, then prostrate themselves on the ground, then walk two more steps, then prostrate themselves on the ground. This is repeated for hundreds of miles, until they reach Lhasa. Talk about dedication. Many others were spinning prayer wheels. The street was lined with stalls selling all sorts of stuff. There were some really beautiful arts and crafts, and of course some touristy things. Most of the objects for sale were Buddhist related. I saw a lot of pottery, and tea shops there. I think my favorite things they had for sale there were the Thangka paintings. These are religious Buddhist paintings. Some of them were really beautiful, and the details on them are amazing. I watched a man painting hair on a creature’s head. He was painting them one by one. I can’t imagine how long these paintings take to complete. My mother and I picked up a couple of these.

On my second day, we went to Norbulingka Park. Apparently it is the biggest garden in Tibet. This place was gorgeous. Even though it was filled with people, it was actually quite peaceful. The park actually isn’t a park, but the summer palace of the Dalai Lama. It was quite large, with a lot of water, and wooded areas. Every wall in every building was covered with murals. After the park, I went to the Sera Monastery. This place was packed too, but it was filled with monks in their red robes. They were having a debate. I was told that monks often gather here to have debates on the Buddhist scriptures. I couldn’t understand them, but it was really fun to watch them, and I could tell they really took it very seriously.
We saw the largest mountain in the world, Everest. It was really beautiful. It was covered with white snow, and seemed to be the pillar that holds up the sky. I took so many photos of it. It could be seen from almost everywhere we went. I don’t think I’d like to attempt climbing it, but I really did enjoy looking at it.

I think my favorite part about visiting Tibet, was the evening we spent with a local family. Ours was a small group, so it was a really nice intimate visit. The family we visited lived in a traditional wooden home, which was beautifully painted. It was very colorful, and had religious decorations everywhere. It didn’t have all modern conveniences, but it was really beautiful, and I felt really comfortable there. They wore traditional Tibetan clothing. I asked if it was just for our visit, but they said that they wore it every day. The family was so sweet. I got the feeling that they were just local folks, and the language barrier didn’t seem to matter. Of course I did have my guide to translate, but I could tell that this was a truly loving family. The father gave us a tour of the home, while the women prepared dinner. It was all local food. At first I wasn’t sure I liked it, but after a few bites, they really seemed to grow on me. We had what they call Tsamba. It is a kind of dough made from barley. They had it plain, but offered some sugar and butter for me to mix with mine. I tried it both ways and defiantly liked it better when I added the extra ingredients. I was told that this was a staple, and was eaten at every meal. We also had beef stew, steamed duck, and beef jerky. I was offered Tibetan vodka, but I am not a big drinker, so I politely declined, and they did not push it. After dinner we had Tibetan butter tea. I had heard about it, and was told that most visitors don’t like it, but I liked it. It really filled me up. I can see why they drink so much of it. It really seemed to instantly warm me up and give me energy. I watched the woman prepare it, and asked her to teach, because I’d never seen anything like it. They put boiling tea, salt, and butter into a thin churn, and then churned it all together. It took some work, but was worth it. After dinner, they showed us some of their local dances. They wanted us to join in. At first, I wasn’t comfortable doing it, but seeing how much fun they were having I decided to give it a go. We were all laughing so hard, that we could hardly dance. I really hated to leave. It was a really wonderful experience.

I had been warned by many people about altitude sickness. I was concerned about it, but didn’t have too much of a problem. I did experience headaches for the first few days, but that was it. My brother on the other hand had it much worse than I, and had to miss our first day of site-seeing. Our guide suggested we drink a lot of water, and that really seemed to help a lot. Something to do with dehydration I think.

Tibet is truly an amazing place. We were only there five days, and I hated to leave. I felt I could spend the rest of my life exploring this amazing province. Sadly, with my limited writing ability, I cannot even come close to describing it. It felt so mysterious, yet welcoming. It is a place where ancient religious beliefs mix seamlessly with modern life. People live as they have for thousands of years, and it seemed to me that they do this by choice, not by necessity. Every place we went was packed with people, but it did make for some really cool photographs. The diversity of people there was really kinda cool. It was a wonderful experience, and I really hope I can return one day.
Tibet is a part of my adventure, below is the whole itinerary of my “China Adventure Tour”:
Beijing: Day 1: Arrival in Beijing. Day 2: Beijing city tour to the Forbidden City & Temple of Heaven Day 3: Drive to outskirt of Beijing; hiking the Simatai Great Wall. Day 4: Beijing Hutong tour; half day free.
Lhasa: Day 5: Fly to Lhasa; visit the Tibet Museum. Day 6: Lhasa city tour to the Potala Palace & Barkhor Street. Day 7 : Explore Lhasa Monasteries and visit Tibetan family.
Chengdu: Day 8: Fly to Chengdu; try Sichuan Food Day 9: Chengdu city tour; visit the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base and observe the giant pandas up close.
Lijiang: Day 10: Fly to Lijiang; excursion to the Ancient Town. Day 11: Drive to the Upper Tiger Leaping Gorge; hiking and overnight at guesthouse. Day 12: Continue hiking up to the Middle Tiger Leaping Gorge; overnight at guesthouse. Day 13: Continue hiking up and get across the Yangtze River; drive back to Lijiang. Day 14: Lijiang city tour; half day free.
Guilin: Day 15: Fly to Guilin via Kumming. Day 16: Drive to Longji; walks on rice terraces. Day 17: Li River cruise to Yangshuo; bike ride in the countryside. Day 18: Guilin city tour; final Departure.

Visiting Beijing

People flocked to see the Olympic Games which ended on 24th of August at Beijing and were enthralled by the whole event, from its grand Opening Ceremony, depicting the culture and trations of China, to the Bird’s Nest and all the exciting sporting events that took place. Now the whole Olympic excitement is over, and the most of the tourists still remain to enjoy the beauty of China.

There are many attractions and destinations to be explored in Beijing. The ideal place to learn about the Imperial Chinese court during the height of its power is by visiting the Forbidden City. The gates open at 8.30 am. The famous Tiananmen Square is the largest in the world and is Mao’s mausoleum. A flag raising and lowering ceremony is held there every day at dawn and dusk respectively.

The Summer Palace is known for its gardens and palace ruins, while a public park where locals practice tai chi in the mornings surround the Temple of Heaven. The zoo and the aquarium are also places of tourist interest. The best known attraction in the country is the Great Wall of China, which is located out of the city and takes about an hour and a half to reach. A visitor can climb the steps and go around it or can take a ski lift to go to the top.

Shopping in Beijing is also interesting and fun, with many places available for the shoppers to indulge themselves in. Xi Zhi Men is a clothes market where the Chinese themselves shop. The Silk Street is a five-story air-conditioned building, while the Malls at the Oriental Plaza, east of Tiananmen Square is an expensive shopping area. The Golden Resources Shopping Mall is the largest mall in Asia and is 690,000 square meters in size. Beijing is considered a safe city, but counterfeit currency is rampant and tourists are given prior warnings to check their bills and currencies when purchasing items from Chinese shops, especially street markets.

When it comes to Chinese dining, the Beijing Roast Duck is the specialty in food. Restaurants offer traditional and modern Chinese cuisines, but an abundance of Western food chains such as McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, are also available. Chinese tea is a favorite among tourists. The tea is full of flavor and is considered healthy.

Beijing also offers many accommodation facilities. Staying at a luxury hotel in Beijing will allow tourists to relax in comfort after an exciting day in the city of Beijing. Tourists are also encouraged to stay in a Beijing hotel near the Forbidden City as this will provide easy access to the main attractions and destinations in the city.

Things to know before planning your tour to China

There is something unique about China and that is what travelers are curious about. China is not just a country; it is a different world entirely with a distinctive culture, long history and interesting people.
Patience is truly a virtue when you travel to China; this is because you need a long time to plan out your itinerary to the different provinces and regions to see what this beautiful nation has to offer. From natural
sceneries to historical architectures, great culinary arts, strong defense systems, shopping sprees, high tech modern buildings and local minorities, China is more than what you really expect.
China receives a high number of tourism yearly; this has allowed the country to become one of the most interesting places to visit on a getaway escapade from a different lifestyle.
The best time to plan your travel to China is in spring (March – April) and autumn (September to October). Although highlands like Tibet, Yellow Mountains and Qinghai are best enjoyed during the hot summer period (June – September).
Now your next question would be “Where are the places of interest?”
Being that the entire country has a vast landscape filled with beautiful attractions, I will briefly summarize the most interesting provinces to be visited with a list of things to see.
Beijing – This should be the first city to visit on your tour itinerary. Major tourist attractions include the ever popular and historical symbol of China- the Great Wall of China, The Forbidden City, The Summer Palace, The Ming Tombs and The Tiananmen Square- the largest city square in the world.
Xian – Xian is another popular tourist destination which is always included in many China tour packages. The main highlight in Xian is the Terracotta Warriors – these are thousands of life sized figures of terracotta army buried after the time of the qing dynasty.
Yunnan – Yunnan is an ancient cultural city in China with a high number of foreigners. This is because of its mild climate. It has quite a number of places to see like the Old Town of Lijiang where you can spend some time with local minorities, the Shilin stone forest, Dali Old Town and of course its capital, Kunming.
Guilin and Yangshuo – This is a place in China known for its karsts landscapes. A cruise along the beautiful Li River is one to witness. This river starts and Guilin and winds it way down into Yangshuo providing you with some of the most beautiful landscapes ever seen.
Shanghai – If you want to experience an environment where ancient and modern civilization are entangled, then Shanghai is definitely the place to go. The city boasts of preserved old architecture buildings and skyscrapers which add more beauty to the sights of this area.
Tibet – Tibet is the best province in China for trekking and religious tours. If you want to fly and climb on the roof tops of the world, then a train adventure to Tibet via the Qinghai-Tibet highway would be your best choice.
And just before you leave China, you can explore the beautiful island of Hong Kong – the city which portrays a new modern China.

For comments and inquiries about this article visit Great Wall of China Tours.

Is Erotic Massage Legal in all Countries?

In most of the United States, erotic massage is considered a form of prostitution, and is therefore illegal. Massage as a practice in the US is heavily regulated by respective state boards, almost all of which prohibit any act deemed inappropriate for a therapeutic setting. For example, Section 29.1(b)(5) of the Regents regulations on massage practice in New York state prohibits “immoral conduct,” which is defined as massage of genital areas and massage of a client who is not properly draped for massage, or by a massage therapist who is not properly dressed. A licensed massage/bodywork therapist is, in fact, required by law to stop practicing the moment he or she suspects that the client would like something more than a good neck rub, shoulder work, etc. While there are erotic massage services available, they advertise discreetly, and rarely mention the full extent of their services.

However, as these regulations are mandated on a State level, there is an exception. The state of Nevada allows (but seriously restricts) brothels, and thereby, some establishments there are known to offer erotic massage services. In addition to this, local newspapers will advertise the availability of escort services and “sensual massage” which, most likely, mean some sort of erotic contact. In addition to this, Canada, depending on province, allows certain forms of prostitution and erotic massage. One can find any number of “massage parlors” licensed or unlicensed in Canada. The unlicensed parlors, as they typically do not employ licensed therapists, offer specifically erotic massage.

Outside of the American continent, an Array of erotic massage services, are legal to the point of being regulated industries. Amsterdam is famous for its red-light district, which includes not only coffee houses in which one can purchase and consume marijuana, but also legal prostitutes. The Dutch government registers its sex-workers, allows them to join unions, and gives them access to social services. Indeed it goes so far as to require STD testing for the health of the workers and clients. Although recent legislation has put a freeze on the development of any more red-light zones within the country, the sex-industry seems to be alive and well there. One would assume that something like a good old fashioned, and legal, erotic massage would be simple to procure there.

Among other nations, Japan, Thailand, and New Zealand stand out as havens for erotic massage. Because Japanese law is famously lax regarding prostitution, prohibiting only full on coitus, there is quite an Array of erotic services available legally. For instance, one can go to a “soapland” club, in which he or she (for a fee) is lathered in soap and “serviced.” The Japanese government actually regulates these and other (non-coital) sex services. New Zealand also openly allows a regulated sex-trade; wherein one can go to a massage parlour and receive any kind of massage service. Similar to the Dutch model, the country attempts to ensure the health and safety of their sex-workers, and ensures that full on prostitution only occurs in licensed brothels.

Of course there are plenty of nations in which erotic massage is highly illegal. Most notably, Chinese anti-prostitution laws have a zero tolerance approach to any kind of sex-work for money, mandating the death penalty for “organizers” of prostitution rings. Apparently, one will not find his “happy ending” in Beijing.

Survival China Travel Tips And Tricks

These China Travel Tips, Survival Techniques, will help you get around and make your trip to China easier, so you will be able to experience the real China with a little less stress.

China is an odd beast that needs to be respected; the major cities, Beijing, Shanghai, and Xian, all have their own personalities.

Some complex situations that you think would be an organizational disaster turn out to be great and you wonder afterward what all the fuss and worry was about. Then the simplest of tasks can turn out to be a major calamity.

This is when you have what we call here a “China day”.

These days come and go and are part of the experience of everyday travel in China. One needs to have an open mind when travelling China. It is a place with thousands of years of history and culture that is trying overnight to adapt to Western ways of living.

You need to have a very open mind when you Travel in China.

I have listed below a few China Travel Tips that will make life that wee bit more bearable on your Travel China experience.

China Travel Tips – Be Toilet Wise

• Never expect a clean toilet 100% of the time.

• Be prepared; Carry some tissue.

• You may have to use a squat toilet, again if you know this before hand it is not a shock. If you don’t know how to use a squat toilet, try the following experiment at home.

While holding onto something for support with both hands, lower your body down into a low squat position, so that the cheeks of your bottom is almost touching your heels or the back of your calf. Now, let go with your hands. See if you stay in this position for at least 1 minute. If you fall backwards or you cannot get up, then a squat toilet could be a problem for you! Practice, you will be happy you did.

• If you see a clean toilet, Go… it may not come again for a while.

• There are many public toilets around the cities, usually the ones you pay for are OK, (RMB .5), the others best to stay away from if you can. You will soon notice them as you walk around the cities.

• Be warned that public areas like bus and train stations are usually what I class as “tough toilets”, however if gotta go you gotta go.

• Outside of the major cities, the toilet systems are old or have very narrow plumbing /pipes and get blocked easily. In these cases a small basket is usually beside the toilet, this is for your used toilet paper.

One of the best China Travel toilet Tips I can give you, is use hotel lobby toilets; these are everywhere and are always clean. Still they may not always have toilet paper. It depends on the class of hotel that you are using.

I do not wish to scare you. However, of all the China Travel Tips in all the other web sites I have read, this is a topic not often mentioned, but it is very important to us all.

So outside of the major cities conditions can be tough. But most of the time everything will be fine, especially if you book a tour; everything will have been checked out before hand. However even the best laid plans can go wrong, so be prepared, the toilets in the smaller cities, towns and villages can be scary.

China Travel Tips – The Food

• The food is great and the variety is overwhelming. Most of the time you get to choose what you eat, or you can recognize what you’re eating, however sometimes you do not get a choice. Carry a chocolate bar or something; this will keep you going until some food that you can recognize turns up. Drink bottled or boiled water, as the tap water is NOT safe to drink, this is for the whole of China. Even boiled water, while sterilised can contain a lot of minerals and iron deposits that you probably do not want in your system. The safest bet is to drink bottle water. Tap water in most big cities is OK for brushing teeth.

• Eating habits – Most Chinese people have a great habit of being very noisy when they eat and lunch and dinner times can be a wonderfully noisy celebration, food tends to go in all directions, its just part of being in China.

• People also smoke at the table while everyone is eating, so some restaurants get very loud and smoky.

• If you get stuck what to order as most of the menu’s are in Chinese just look at the table next to you and point to the dish you fancy and ask how much it is, this system works really well and know seems to mind.

• I have a basic menu that will help you order safe food, (no Cats or Dog) this will enable you to visit a larger selection of restaurants, not just the tourist ones with high prices. You can carry it with you and use it in the local restaurants where most will be able to serve what is on it. This way you will know what you are eating.

These local places are very cheap and the food it great. Contact me if you would like me to send it to you.

China Travel Tips – Taxis

• China Travel Tips- Taxis – Taxis are an experience that can have you griping the seat and gasping for breath; however you soon get used to it, after the first few rides, you’re an old hand.

• The taxis in Shanghai are, overall, quite good. Try to get the Blue, Blue’ish Turquoise, Gold and White taxis, these are the best… these are the four major taxi companies and are generally recognised by their single colour paintwork. The others are OK, just older and a rougher ride (the others also may have faulty metres). No drivers will speak English.

• Carry your hotel or accommodation business card with you, written in Chinese, this helps if you get lost walking around town.

• In all the taxis around the country you will see the drivers name and taxi registration number in plain sight. If you have any problem, or if you think you have been over charged etc, just take this number down, make a big fuss about it, and the driver then should wake up and fix whatever problem you have. Even better is to take the receipt. This has all the trip details on it and you can ring the taxi company if you want to take things further or if you’ve left something in the taxi.

• The government takes rip-off drivers in all cities, Beijing and Xian especially, very seriously and if you complain they will lose their license. This is their livelihood. So far I have had not one driver in 3 years that has not backed down and we have then agreed a price for the trip or solved our problem.

• In Shanghai, it is common practice for taxi fare increases after 11pm. However, one can usually bargain for a 20% discount, which will get the fare back to the pre-11pm rate.

Be strong with the taxi drivers, never-the-less, keep your cool, smile and negotiate.

China Travel Tips – Shopping

• China Travel Tips – Shopping – China is a shopper’s paradise, Markets, Bargains; Top labels… anything and everything if you have the time. With clothes, the larger (Western) sizes can be quite hard to find, however in the major cities where you get a lot of tourist traffic, you can find them.

• Electrical gear, DVD’s, Cameras, stuff like this is not worth buying in China, Hong Kong is still the best place for this.

• Store hours in the major cities are from 10am to 10pm, 7 days a week.

• Visa card is still the best card to carry, with ATM’s in good supply all with PLUS access etc.

There is usually a surcharge for use of VISA, MasterCard or other forms of credit card.

• Wait on purchasing if you can, look around to get a feel for the prices. The Chinese are VERY experienced at selling and know that we halve the opening price when bargaining.

In the markets go for 25% of what they first ask; go so low that they let you walk away. This will give you an idea of the bottom price. The resulting end-price will probably be around 40% to 50% of where they started.

Whatever the market people say, they are used to pushing and haggling for best prices. Do not worry about being too hard, they are used to it and will not sell you an item unless they make a profit. Don’t be concerned with the apparently hurt body language when you go low – it is all part of the game. As soon as they have wrapped up your first purchase, they will try to sell you something more. Remember to keep smiling and having fun while bargaining.

China Travel Tips – Medical Treatment and Records

• Most hotels will have a doctor that you can see. In the major hotels English will be spoken.

• Always take a small first aid kit, cold remedy, headache tablets at the very least. WATSONS is a very large chain chemist. Most of the remedies, tablets etc, that you may require should be in these shops. These shops are all over China.

• There is a great network of pharmacy type shops; these are indicated by a Green Cross. There will always be a 24 hr Green Cross pharmacy in the city you are in. It is handy to carry a Phase book, as no one will speak English, however you will end up with something that will help.

• INPORTANT POINT – for most of the mass produced packet type medicines, the packaging will be written in Chinese on one side, English on the other. However in the shops you only see the Chinese side. Have a good look, turn the packs over, it gives you a lot more confidence knowing you can read the package.

• If you have a specific medical issue, take records, most of the Doctors will have OK written / reading English, even though their oral English will be poor.

China Travel Tips – Telephone

• Using the phone is as easy as at home. However the person picking it up will not speak English or have very broken English… the Major 4- or 5-Star Hotels will all be OK.

• What is worth doing is buying a Chinese Telecom SIM card, they are about RMB100 and with this you get RMB50 in calls, the other 50 is for the price of the SIM card; this SIM card will go into all major brand phones and work OK.

By doing this, people can reach you within and out of China if there is an emergency. If you have a couple of phones, you can short (txt) message each other (SMS). Also you are able to call your tourist guide, hotel etc if you have any major problems. It is a cheap way to keep in touch.

NB.Before you buy a Chinese SIM card, check that it will work in your Cell / Mobile phone. There are plenty of China Telecom shops that can help.

China Travel Tips on when NOT to move around China.

• Spring Festival, this would be the Chinese New Year time, around the end of January / Early February

• Early May; Labour day Holidays

• Early October; National Day Holidays

Of all the China Travel Tips National Day is the biggest one. Millions of Chinese travel at these holiday times of the year. Most are travelling back to home towns or visiting family. Hotels, trains, planes, cars, buses, and roads are all crowded to the maximum. Major congestion, everywhere.

Also travel fares are at their full price. No discounts are offered!

Stay in one place and enjoy where you are. It’s best and causes fewer hassles.

China Travel Tips – TV

• If you want to watch TV, most of the major hotels will have cable and if you are in the smaller places, the national channel, CCTV9 is in English. Over the last couple of years it has got a lot better, with some great China Travel Tips programs, news and views on people and places around China.

China Travel Tips – Airport Tax

• There is a “construction fee” at almost all airports.

Domestic flights RMB 50

International flights RMB 90 – which is to be paid in local currency.

Just recently, tickets are being tissued with the Construction Tax included; however make sure you have the Tax money with you just to make sure.

I hope some of these China Travel Tips will come in handy and will make your trip to China that little bit easier.

If you have been to China and wish to share your China Travel Tips, please feel free to contact me anytime.

John Mckenna

http://www.Travel-the-Real-China.com

Strong Base Builds Chinese Champions

China has several world-class sports training facilities around the nation, many of which have helped lay the foundation for China’s Olympic success.

The following eight facilities are some of the best-known training bases in China and have produced some of the country’s most talented and decorated athletes:

Duoba

Duoba, China’s best high-altitude training base and one of the best in the world, is known both as the “Cradle of World Champions” and a “Factory of Gold Medalists”.

Located in Huangzhong county on the Qingzang Plateau in China’s northwestern Qinghai province, it sits 2,365m above sea level where the annual average temperature is 6.5 C above zero. It has been the training ground for China’s national swimming team, shooting team and track and field team since the 1990s.

The Duoba training base has spawned a large arsenal of Chinese world champions and Olympic stars over the past two decades. The best known bunch is the legendary Chinese long-distance running group “Ma’s Team”, which won four gold medals, two silvers and two bronzes at the 1993 Stuttgart World Championships.

Lin Dan

 

Xing Huina, the 2004 Athens Games women’s 10,000m gold winner, also attributes her triumph four years ago to Duoba’s unique geological position.

Duoba used to be a military factory warehouse. In 1982, The Qinghai Sports Bureau acquired the base and transformed it into a state-of-the-art training complex. The Beijing and Qinghai governments have invested more than 2 billion yuan ($291 million) in reconstructing the facility over the past 20 years.

Other sports that train at Duoba include archery, soccer, basketball, badminton, volleyball, table tennis, judo, wrestling, and taekwondo.

Qiandao Lake

The name of Qiandao Lake, which translates to “Thousand-Islands Lake”, explains its unique charm.

The training base lies deep in the heart of the world-famous Qiandao Lake tourism resort. It is 129km from the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. The resort’s name comes from the 1,078 islands sprinkled across the area’s 573 sq km of water surface.

The water region is not a natural creation, however. It was formed by the construction of a hydropower station in 1959.

The surrounding forest keeps the region’s weather warm and humid all year long. The average temperature is a stable 17 C.

Rowing coach Zhang Guiting discovered the secluded water area. He was impressed by the tranquility of the area and its wide variation of water conditions, making it ideal for rowing and canoe training.

In 2000, the national rowing team was looking for an appropriate place to train athletes for the 2004 Athens Games. The team was informed of the training base, which the Zhejiang sports bureau had bought for 1.64 million yuan in 1999.

The General Administration of Sport invested another 50 million yuan to overhaul Qiandao Lake, adding world-class canoeing and rowing apparatuses for the team’s training.

As athletes sweat during practice, the training base’s natural beauty helps relieve some of the psychological pressure brought on by the repetitive and sometimes tedious training.

In 2004, Meng Guanliang and Yang Wenjun, both coached and trained in Qiandao Lake, won China’s first-ever Olympic canoeing gold.

Jinjiang

For many Chinese, the image of Jinjiang, a small town in southern China’s Fujian province, is more associated with the sports footwear industry than the badminton team’s training base. The national team has trained at Jinjiang for the past six years. It was built on donations from expatriate Chinese from the town.

Jinjiang Sports Traning Base was built in 2002, a historic low point for Chinese shuttlers. China’s head coach, Li Yongbo, was desperate to get the team back in top form and came upon Jinjiang by chance. He liked the base’s existing facilities, and brought the team there for a trial training. It was the beginning of a new age for Chinese badminton.

That year’s horrifying SARS epidemic entrenched the province and trapped the entire shuttle team in the base. The original training schedule was stretched from 40 days to 100 days. Some say it was those extra days that helped transform the team – China won titles in men’s singles, women’s singles and women’s doubles at the 2003 World Championships.

The training compound is guarded round the clock in order to ensure undisrupted training for the team.

The Jingjiang facility has a secret weapon – a huge pool full of quartz sand. Shuttlers practice in the pool, battling against the drag of the sand under foot, helping improve their movement and flexibility.

Hongta

Despite the disappointment of China men’s Olympics soccer team, its training base in Hongta, Yunnan province, is still considered China’s most comprehensive and well-equipped soccer training complex.

Hongta Group, which owns the Chinese cigarette brand of the same name, built and financed the training base. It was originally home to the province’s first soccer club, also named Hongta, in the 1990s, the first-ever in the history of the province in 1990s. When the club’s popularity fell, Hongta Group decided to turn it into a top-notch training base.

The base covers an area of 334,300 sq m. Hongta Croup spent a total of 690 million yuan on the construction, which was completed in 2001.

The training base borders the picturesque Dianchi Lake, one of the most famous tourism resorts in Yunnan. The base has 11 full-size outdoor soccer pitches, 11 tennis courts, and four indoor training centers for winter sports, badminton, bowling and swimming.

China’s men’s team has used the base to prepare for almost every important international tournament since 2001.

Women’s field hockey team. [Agencies]

 

Zhangzhou

With a price tag of 5 million yuan, the training base for China’s women’s volleyball team is the most expensive volleyball stadium built in China’s history.

Each citizen in Zhangzhou, Fujian province, donated one yuan to build the stadium, a move aimed at raising the team’s morale after its worst-ever Olympic result in Barcelona 1992.

It was the second time the people in Zhangzhou showed their steadfast support for the volleyball team – in 1972, Zhangzhou authorities mobilized local volunteers to build a “bamboo-framed stadium” for the national women’s team.

The foreign press once described the base as the “secret foundation” of the Chinese volleyball team. As time went on, the real secret of the team’s success was unveiled: the love, affection and heart-felt support of the the Zhangzhou people.

Lang Ping, the world-acclaimed Chinese spiker and head coach of the US team, once wrote: “We (the Chinese team as a whole) will forever remember the Zhangzhou people’s dedicated emotion, understanding and support!”

Apart from Zhangzhou, Beilun, in Zhejiang province, will become another home of China’s women’s volleyball team once the 127,000 sq m facility finishes construction.

Zhengding

The Zhengding National Table Tennis Training Base was built on the generous contributions of Wang Guangqing, the man who created the prototype of a sports training base 16 years ago.

The 70-year-old physical education teacher has seen his brainchild pump out top-level table tennis players ever since.

In August 1970, Wang was transferred to Zhengding county to work as a primary school physical education teacher. Driven by his fervent passion for table tennis, Wang organized a school-wide training team. He spent all his earnings on table tennis books, and led his players in an after-school work program, trying to raise money for training.

Wang’s perseverance paid off eight years later. His 12-member table tennis school received long-awaited support from the city’s sports authority and it became “China’s key table tennis sports school”. The success inspired Wang to turn the school into a nation-wide table tennis training base.

Phase by phase, the school evolved into a modern comprehensive table tennis training compound, providing cutting-edge equipment, facilities and training methods.

The training base is located 260km from Beijing in Hebei province. The proximity to the capital enabled the base to train the Chinese women’s team before the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. The team went on to clinch both women’s gold medals.

Since then, the 21,000 sq m training base has been designated as the official training venue for the national teams. Cai Zhenhua, former head coach of the national table tennis team, described Zhengding as “the best training base on the planet”.

Jiangmen

When Li Ting and Sun Tiantian won China’s first-ever Olympic tennis gold, it was a turning point in Chinese sports history. The China Tennis Association subsequently designated Jiangmen, a coastal city to the west of the Pearl River Delta, the home of the national tennis training base.

It was not entirely a surprise – Jiangmen city had long boasted a tradition of tennis. The city was home to more than 80 tennis courts and tennis was the most widely played local sport.

Huayuan Hotel, where the training center is located, sits on a beautiful island. There are eight standard tennis courts used for training. Another 12 courts and a central tennis center are scheduled to be built with an investment of 15 million yuan.

Jiangmen has become a magnet for tennis fans all over China. Tennis is also the core industry of the region.

Tennis chief Sun Jinfang said the reason the administration designated Jiangmen the permanent training base for the national teams is because “there is no parallel contender to Jiangmen, which has all the desirable conditions of weather, location, equipment and local support.”

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