My China - Welcome to China!
Written: Nov 27 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: the real China is still there- see it while you can
Cons: none unless it is the some day sad disappearance of this China
The Bottom Line: There is nothing like my China- welcome to China!
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| playchina's Full Review: China |
I will do my best here to give you a taste of the China I have experienced in my seven months of living here as an American teaching English. I need a month of your time and the willingness to seek out the "real" China and you can see Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong on your next trip - or after this experience. I think you will enjoy it more that way.
I am going to take you from wherever you want to start in America and get you to a little place called Liaocheng in the province of Shandong that is about 300 miles due south of Beijing. First, we have to get you to Beijing.
Go to yahoo travel and type in your nearest airport and then type in Beijing as the destination. Hopefully, you will be able to book a flight using either Northwest Airlines or Air China or both. I have flown this combination four times and have NEVER been disappointed. This trip will cost you anywhere from $700 to $1500, depending on the amount of time in advance you book the trip and when you go. It may be slightly cheaper if you are already on the US West coast. One note -try to avoid flying during National Day holidays(the first week of October) or lunar New Year spring festival (This varies yearly, but avoiding travel during the months of January and February will guarantee you miss it - and these are not great times for Chinese viewing, anyways.)
You will want to make sure you have contacted the Chinese consulate nearest you(a search at google.com will provide the updated list of Chinese consulates) to make sure all your paperwork is in order. You don't want to be in China without your paperwork in order(and don't bring pets!).
Okay, now we have you landed at Beijing Airport. Follow everyone else getting off the plane as most will be familiar with the airport and everyone's first destination is the same. The signs at the visa and passport checks are in English. Once you get through these, you will be swamped by people wanting to taxi you downtown. Take a mental note of where they are(they won't be hard to find again, believe me!) and go to a currency exchange window. Exchange your currency(You will receive anywhere from 7.5 to 8 yuan in exchange rates - this is a fair price as the Chinese yuan remains a steady government-propped 8.25 yuan to the American dollar.) Now, go find the taxi people again.
You have a choice here. You can go to the bus station or the train station. The taxi driver will either understand English or have a ride-in interpreter that will understand it. If not, get a different taxi driver because there are plenty who do understand English. I would recommend the train station as your chances are better here to get a seat and to arrive at the right place. I once had a nightmare with the bus service in China. The trains are much better. The best bet is to try to get in a dining car followed by the soft seat plan. Anything with soft in the name is better than anything with hard in it. Ask the interpreter to write out what you will need at the train station and you can also offer her some money to accompany you there.
Once you are at the train station, you will board the train upon its arrival. Trains run fairly frequently in China and you should try and find out the number of stops before you get off. To be sure, I would look at the nearest Chinese person at each stop and say to them Liaocheng( LEE-OW-CHUNG) and point to the station. If he/she says boo, they are not trying to scare you - boo is Chinese for no. When you get a smile, repeat LEE_OW_CHUNG again. Make sure you get off at the right stop- this is the trickiest part of your whole experience.
Once in Liaocheng, simply say University. If this doesn't work, then you hand then the paper(I forgot to mention this paper earlier) that you got at the lctu.com.cn website. This is a picture of Liaocheng Teachers' University and your destination. The taxi driver will take you to the hotel.
The hotel check-in is simple. They know why you are there and will tell you how much it is. Last year, it was 60 yuan(less than 8 dollars) a night. One thing you might want to pay careful attention to is bathing hours. In Liaocheng, water is not available 24 hours a day(usually it is off from around 10 pm to around 6 am). And bathing hours are further restricted. Still, there are at least two hours of bathing time a day and may be as many as four.
I will now turn you over to the man who guided me through so many rough spots during my stay at this college last year while I was teaching at a Chinese middle school. His name is Mr. Gu and, if you go out the hotel entrance and turn to your left - and then left again at the bamboo gate next to the hotel, you can find him - or someone else nearly as helpful, in the building nearest you. Go in the first entrance and go to the second floor. Turn right and then the first door on your left. Ask for Mr. Gu Yufei. (Simply Mr. Gu will be enough.) If he is not there,ask if they can give you some ideas on where to travel. If he is there, ask him that same question and tell him Michael sent you.
They can give you the guided tour ideas at the season you are there. I will proceed to give you four of my own ideas for touring.
1) The campus tour - Simply go in any direction and do not pass through a gate and you will have remained on campus. The campus is very beautiful and is worth a tour. Do not be surprised if you become an attraction yourself. While foreigners are more common here in the last few years, any new foreigners will gather attention. Many of the students here are studying to be English teachers and will be happy to help you. You can get all the basic needs you want and never leave the campus.
2) OK. You decide to go out the main gate. This is the same gate the taxi brought you in. I recommend you cross the first street and try the food from the street vendors set up in what looks like a parking lot. The food there is delicious and you can watch them prepare it. I am not of the adventurous bent when it comes to food, but I found plenty to eat during my stay in Liaocheng during the spring 2001 school term.
A) After you eat(or take it with you!), then turn left and I will take you on the almost certainly you won't get lost beautiful canal tour of Liaocheng. Just keep walking straight(what could be easier?) and feel free to stop and browse in any shop. These are real Chinese people and they will charge you only fair prices - you will be amazed at how inexpensive everything is(I once got an elaborate piece of glassware that would have easily cost fifty dollars stateside for the equivalent of less than five dollars - and such bargains are not atypical!). The best thing to do here is keep on the main road as there are many shops along them. If you keep walking you will eventually come to the T road. Turn right here. When you get to another larger road, turn left. This will bring you to the most beautiful part of Liaocheng - the canals. Walk alongside the canal - pick out a landmark to find the T road again. There is a temple along here and, if the weather is nice, you will see retired people flying kites. There are also actual Chinese villages here and the people are very friendly.
B) After you eat, turn right, and then a left at the first light. This will take you past several fruit vendors, a clothing vendor or three ,and towards the downtown area of Liaocheng, where the stores are more modern, but still delightfully charming. There are some wonderful places along here and the stores are worth checking out.
C) This is tour four and is the nature tour. Turn right after eating and then right at the first light. It may be very different along here this year as much construction was being done when I was there last year. But you will still have the same main road to follow and, when you reach the T here - take a left turn. This will take you out into the countryside and you can look around and see what the farms and natural scenery of Liaocheng looks like.
This is my China - and you can see it for less than 20 dollars a day(plus airfare, of course). It is a beautiful place and one that I hope to go back to again some day.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Mar - May
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Epinions.com ID:
playchina
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Reviews written: 45
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