April 2009 Archives

A tour to Beijing Rear Lake area. visitors will be arranged to visit the old Beijing lanes by rickshaws, Hutong tour lasts for 2 hours, led by local guide, visitors will visit the typical Chinese quadrangles, primary school, many famous old building, like the bell tower, where you can experience the real life of ordinary people in Beijing.

April is an ideal time to see cherry trees blossom in East Asia. The annual Beijing Yuyuantan Park Cherry Blossom Festival is one of the most attractive destinations for nature lovers this season, because it offers travellers a feast for their eyes with its cherry trees in full blossom.

Shichahai means "Ten Temples Sea", but there is no temple now, and it is not sea, it just consisting of three small lakes in the north of central Beijing.

Beijing snacks are delicious, Jiumen is a street name, you can find every Beijing snacks there. In this picture, they are Vinegar Fish, Sugar Cake, Baodu, Aulic Cheese, Paofu.

This taxi is an unusual style in Beijing. I saw this style first, and it likes England Taxi I think.

Jiumen Xiaochi is a famous snack seller in modern Beijing, there are a lot of traditional foods selling. There are 11 old and famous enterprises, you can eat hundreds snacks if you can.

The Prince Gong's Mansion or Gong Wang Fu Museum is located in the western part of central Beijing, China, north of the Shichahai Lake. Consisting of large mansions in the typical siheyuan laylout and gardens, the Pince Gong's Mansion is known as one of the most ornate and extravagant residence compounds in all of Beijing. (Prince Gong's Mansion)

If you are familiar with Beijing at all, you probably know about Tian'anmen Square, the Great Wall, and the Forbidden City. Aside from these world famous wonders of the world, where else can you go to really learn about Chinese culture and history? Beijing has many museums that are essentially unknown to most, yet interesting and informative. These museums allow travelers to make their Beijing experience all the more eclectic and educational. Here is a list of some of the more "under-the-radar" museums existing in Beijing.

Beijing Museum of Tapwater

As you may have guessed from the title, this museum displays the history of tap water in China through pictures, architecture, and tools. The museum is divided into three sections. The first section centers on Beijing's first tap water company, the second section covers the evolution of tap water through the reform period, and the third section covers the progress made since, including a detailed analysis of Beijing's current system. This museum provides an interesting insight on how the 12 million people of Beijing receive water, and how they have done so in the past.

Address: No. 6 Courtyard (Qingshuiyuan Neighborhood), North Street outside Dongzhimen, Beijing.
Hours: 9:00-16:00, Wednesday through Sunday
Cost: 5 Yuan for adults, 2 Yuan for students
Tel: 8610-6465-0787
Bus: No. 44, 106, 117, 800
Subway: to the Dongzhimen station, north on the second ring road, 500 meters east.


China Agriculture Museum

Covering 7,600 square meters, the China Agriculture Museum is split into three separate halls. The first contains the main museum exhibitions, where China's history of Agriculture Science and Technology is displayed, along with other exhibitions about agriculture and water resources. The second and third halls are more interactive, as numerous types of wildlife are housed, including pandas, golden monkeys and spotted bears.

Cost: 8 Yuan
Hours: 9:00-16:00, closed Monday
Tel: 010-65018877-2260
Address: No. 16, Dongsanhuan Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Bus: Bus Nos. 43, 113, 115, 117, 402, 405, 302


China Sports Museum

With sports being such a fundamental part of every culture, the long history of China means a long history of sports. From traditional dragon boat racing to Yao Ming, the China Sports Museum is all-encompassing. Divided into six chronological halls, the exhibits use objects as well as photographs to provide information on all types of recreational activity. There are even exhibits regarding sports arena architecture and sport psychology.

Address: No. A 3, Anding Road, Chaoyang District
Hours: 9:00-16:00
Tel: 8610-64912167
Cost: 10 Yuan, 5 Yuan for students, free for persons that are either disabled or over 70 years of age
Bus: No. 18, 108, 328, 387, 803, 850


The Bee Museum of China

For yet another taste of what China has to offer, check out the Bee Museum of China. With information about the way bees communicate, stories about "killer bees," and ways that bees are beneficial to the world, this is certainly a unique learning experience. The museum even takes things a little bit further than simply stating the facts by providing insight into how bees can be related to our own history and culture!

Address: Beijing Botanical Garden
Cost: 2 Yuan, 1 Yuan for students
Tel: 8610-82594910, 8610-82590094
Bus: Nos. 331, 904, 833, 733, 360, 318.


Beijing Folklore Museum

Although this is a relatively new museum here in Beijing, the content is far from recent. With such a long history, the folklore of Beijing has had centuries upon centuries to develop, making this an interesting place to learn a little more than you may have from your history book.

Cost: 10 Yuan
Hours: 8:30-16:30
Tel: 8610-65510151, 8610-65514148
Address: No. 141 Chaowai Street, Beijing
Bus: Nos. 101, 109, 110, 112, 750, 846, 858, 846, ending at the stop of Shenlu Street


Zhoukoudian Relics Museum (Peking Man)

We all know China has a long history, but exactly how far does it go, and what was happening back then? At the Zhoukoudian Relics Museum, answers to these questions can be found. This Museum showcases the life and times of the Peking Man and the Xindong Man, dating back 600,000 years and 100,000 years respectively. Here you can find astonishing information regarding the evolution of human beings, with hard evidence and artifacts to prove it!

Address: Zhoukoudian, Fangshan District, BeijingCost: 20 Yuan
Hours: 8:30-16:30
Tel: 8610-69301272, 8610-69301287


China Railway Museum

With over 40 trains on site, this is a wonderful museum to really feel the impact of the railroad and see firsthand the evolution of transportation technology. From the first ever steam engine to the Mao Zedong Train, this museum does a great job to cover the vast and revolutionary history of railroads in China. Aside from actual trains, the museum includes numerous exhibits explaining the progression of railroads physically and scientifically.

Address: No.1 Courtyard, Jiuxianqiao North Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Cost: 20 Yuan, 10 Yuan for students and railway workers, free for retired, over 70, and disabled persons
Hours: 9:00-16:00, closed Monday
Tel: 010-64381317, 010-64381517
Bus: Bus No.403, 629, 813 to the terminal, head east.


China Currency Museum

Think about how many times currency has changed size, shape, and color in our own lifetime. Now imagine how many times this has happened since the introduction of currency as a method of trade? The China Currency Museum shows exactly what this has been like, through ancient currencies, foreign currencies, and contemporary currencies.

Address: No. 32 Chengfang Street, Xicheng District, Beijing
Cost: 20 Yuan, 10 Yuan for students
Hours: 9:00-16:00, closed on Monday
Tel: 8610-66081385
Bus: Nos. special 4, 5, 20, 44, 48, 120, 337, 808
Subway: Qianmen Station


China Printing Museum

Printing is arguably the number one most important invention in the history of the world. At the China Printing Museum, you can track the progress of this extraordinary art from wood blocks to modern technology.

Address: 25 Xinghua Beilu, Huangxun Town, Daxing County, Beijing
Cost: 20 Yuan
Hours: 8:00-16:00
Tel: 8610-60261237
Bus: No. 901, get off at Qingyuan Xili


China Red Sandalwood Museum

With its traditional architecture and exquisite furniture, the China Red Sandalwood Museum is a great place to learn about an art form that has proven to be both beautiful and practical.

Cost: 50 Yuan, 30 Yuan for students, senior citizens, and groups
Hours: 8:30-17:00, closed on Monday
Tel: 8610-85767320
Bus: Nos. 312, 728 to Gaobeidian, nos. 115, 718 to Kangjiagou, nos. 342, 382, 846, 859, 908 to Taipingzhuang
Subway: 500 meters from the Sihui station


So there you have it. Ten interesting, cheap, educational ideas for things to do in Beijing away from some of the most popular crowded sites, while still learning about China and its culture. Not to mention a range of knowledge comparable to that of a veteran Jeopardy Champion!

Located in a hutong at Shichahai, Jiumen Xiaochi (Beijing 9DTraditional Snack) opened at the end of June 2006, featuring traditional Beijing snacks. Twelve vendors, each with a tidy stall, offer brand-name Beijing snacks in a traditional courtyard setting. Every stall sells 10 kinds of snacks. The most popular ones are douzhi (a favourite drink of old Beijingers and good for one's stomach), rice cakes and almond soup.

It got the name Beijing 9DTraditional Snack from the nine gates in the wall that surrounded Beijing, including Chongwenmen, Xizhimen, Deshengmen, Andingmen and more. Its Chinese name jiumen refers to these nine gates, and in ancient Beijing the name Nine Gates was synonymous with the city. So its name bears the connotation of a place with all the Beijing snacks. Handed down generation by generation, many of these Beijing snacks have a history of 100D200 years. Almost every day, it is easy to find an elderly person behind each stall making or instructing others how to make the snacks. They are the inheritors of these Beijing snack brand names.

Walking through its stalls, customers will happen upon a public dining space. For even more peace and quiet, 16 separate rooms have been prepared, each bearing the name of a city gate, such as Fuchengmen or Fuxingmen. One room is especially reserved for Muslims.

Hou Jia, the general manager of Beijing 9DTraditional Snack and president of the Old Beijing Traditional Snack Association, said: Beijing has numerous hutong, and it also has numerous traditional snacks worth exploring. After three years'preparation, we are eager to maintain and develop these authentic traditional snacks, which are signs of Beijing in our eyes.

Address: 1 Xiaoyou Hutong, west of the Former Residence of Soong Qingling, Shichahai, Xicheng District
Cost: 30 yuanD40 yuan/per person, US$4-$5 (lunch or dinner)
Transportation and parking: a bit difficult to find and park, better take pedicabs or walk
Tel: 010-64025858, 64026868

Donghuamen evening snack market may be famous among tourists for its kooky cuisine - everything from fried scorpions to cicadas - but the truth is, average Chinese people find such foods pretty strange as well.

For a better example of Beijing's traditional snacks, or xiaochi, visit Jiumen Xiaochi (Nine-gate Traditional Snack Restaurant), a restaurant adapted from a courtyard house along the north bank of Houhai Lake. That's where you'll find a truer taste of Beijing.

Some popular city snacks include Qian's glutinous rice cake, Wei's cheese juice, Li's flour tea, pouch-shaped baked wheaten cake, Yue Sheng Zhai's stewed marinated beef, Ma's water-boiled sheep head mutton and Bai's jellied bean curd.

The oldest Beijing traditional xiaochi has a history stretching back more than 600 years. And the chefs making your fresh goodies today are descended from the family that perfected the original recipes.

The restaurant also offers some traditional Beijing desserts, such as strings of candied hawthorn fruit and dried fruits. Some traditional snacks have interesting names. Ludagun (donkey roll over) is a glutinous yellow rice cake roll, with fried bean flour sprayed onto the surface. Wandouhuang (pea yellow) is a mashed pea cake made from boiled and mashed peas and small Chinese jujubes. Aiwowo is a snow-white glutinous rice ball with sweet stuffing. Average cost is 70 yuan ($10) per person.

Other places to tempt your senses include Di'anmen snack restaurant and Huguosi snack restaurant, which both offer a variety of old Beijing snacks. The restaurants are small, with food samples offered in window counters and simple tables and benches to sit on. One can try 3-5 kinds of snacks for 20 yuan ($2.9).

Beijing has more than a hundred large and middle-sized shopping complexes. Wangfujin Street, Qianmen Dashilan and Xidan Commercial Street are the traditional shopping centres; whereas Guomao Shopping Centre, Oriental Plaza and Zhongguancun Square are new commercial hubs developed recently.

These shopping centres will give you the greatest joy of shopping.

If you have an interest in antiques, you might want to visit Liulichang or Panjiayuan Antique City. If you are looking for export clothing, then you must not miss Xiushui Street and Yaxiu Clothing Wholesale Market.

Buying some special local product and souvenir will enhance the joy of traveling too. Jingtailan cloisonne, jade, silk embroidery etc are very ancient; and native handicrafts such as clay figurine, Peking opera mask, kites, paper-cuttings etc are inexpensive and make excellent gifts for family and friends.