The Thirteen Ming Tombs are...
by zys1
The Thirteen Ming Tombs are located in the hills 50 kilometres to the northwest of Beijing. Construction of the tombs started in 1409 and ended with the fall of the Ming Dynasty in 1644. In over 200 years tombs were built over an area of 40 square kilometres, which is surrounded by walls totaling 40 kilometres. Each tomb is located at the foot of a separate hill and and is linked with the other tombs by a road called the Sacred Way.
This site was chosen with the greatest of care and the assistance of geomancers. This particular part of the country, one of the most beautiful around Beijing, with its lovely valley, hills, woods and many springs, met the expectations of the emperor and his officials.
Thirteen of the 16 Ming emperors and their wives and second wives are buried here. The thirteen tombs are Dingling Tomb, Zhaoling Tomb, Siling Tomb,Yongling Tomb, Deling Tomb, Jingling Tomb, Changling Tomb, Qingling Tomb, Yuling Tomb, Maoling Tomb, Kangling Tomb,Xianling Tomb and Tailing Tomb.
Peach Drink
by machomikemd
Well what can I say, I love juices and peach juice is one of them. My all time fave is lemon juice but peach is in the top 5 and it was a delight that Peach Drinks are available here in Beijing and are in Tetra Pak Cartons. Again like other drinks, it has different prices depending on where you bought them and since this is a restaurant, it is much expensive at 10 RMB at 500 ml pack. (in supermarkets, it's just 5 rmb a 500 ml pack ok) and still it is dellicious! don''t forget to buy it since it is very good!
Try to get in touch with...
by gorskial
Try to get in touch with Beijing Hiking club and pack your stuff for a getaway to the Yellow sea or Inner Mongolia. It's a non-profit organisation. The only extra expenses of the trip account for the guide, and doesn't amount to a lot of money if you can share that among a small group. (I have their phone number)
The Friendship Store
by mke1963 about The Friendship Store
The Friendship Store is one of those classics that just goes on and on, defyint the critics who suggest it must be due to close soon.
It is worth visiting one of the Friendship Store as much for its historical significance as for buying anything there, but it also has prices that are not unreasonable. Also it remains one of the few places to have a true Western-style deli (Jenny Lou's shops are another).
In the bad old days, there was only the Friendship Store. Period. If it wasn't in the Friendship Store (and usually it wasn't) you basically waited until you left China. The Friendship Store accepted FECs and foreign cash only, not Chinese money, so local people hung around the entrance looking in longingly at the goodies inside, reserved for the oppressed foreigners and the poor unfortunate cadres and government officials who were forced to buy stuff here.
Now, the Friendship Store is an anachronism: the vast numbers of bored, largely useless staff remain sullenly unhelpful and underemployed. A transaction like buying a magazine takes four of these talented individuals to complete the job: one to write down the price laboriously on a sales slip, one to take your money at a distant till, one to check the sales slip, and one to put the magazine in a plastic bag. The small touristy antiques are frequently 'only' found in the Friendship Store, and it is worth searching for handicrafts here. This may seem surprising, but there is rationale here. The Friendship Store is part of the 'tourist merchandise distribution channel' which means that they always get some of the stuff that goes into the wider market-place. As the Friendship Store gets much less shoppers than most places, the stock doesn't move as fast.
The downside is that the prices are almost fixed: not one worker here cares whether you buy or not - they are paid at the end of the week either way. Haggling over the price is utterly pointless.
In a bizarre way, visiting the Friendship Store is like a flashback to the 1970s, if you missed life under old-style Communism. More than average for everything, but not a whole lot more (maybe 10% more). Worth itif you can't find something elsewhere that you really want.
Taxis in Beijing
by MiniMaxi
Taxis are pretty common (and very cheap, at least for western standards) in Beijing.
They are the most convenient way to travel around the city, and are everywhere, so you won't have much trouble finding one.
There are "official" taxis (the ones you should take), and "unofficial ones" (the ones you can take at your own risk).
You recognize the official taxis mostly because of their color: they are either red or blue. Unofficial ones are usually black.
Another important thing to note is that official taxis, unlike other places in the world, have different fares. For short trips this does not matter, but for longer trips, have a look at the fare: it is on the rear-back window, in a blue label. At the time of writing, fares were essentially two: 1.20 or 1.60 (how much you spend every km). Usually a 1.60 cab is a bit bigger than the 1.20, although this is not always true.
In all cases, the max people allowed are four.
Be careful that boots are not very large, so if you have bags (for instance going or coming from the airport) they might not fit, in which case the front seat will also be used as storage (-> max three persons).
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Beautiful!!
Good memories
boat
toothpaste anyone
