In 94 trips
Hotel
"A 525-guestroom hotel at incheon international airport, just 39 miles or 62 km west of seoul in south korea. …
Created by Perroud
Location:
Day:
05/22/2006 to 06/03/2006
Category:
Planned Activities
Mon 05/22/06 (day 1) - Incheon
Tue 05/23/06 (day 2) - Beijing
In 181 trips
Hotel
"The Novotel Xin Qiao Beijing is a 4 star hotel ideal for a business trip, holiday or short break in Beijing. …
In 98 trips
Shopping
Oriental Plaza is a "city within a city." The plaza boasts of upscale malls, apartment buildings, stores and restaur …
Wed 05/24/06 (day 3) - Beijing
In 1520 trips
Thing to Do
Tiananmen Square is the largest public square in the world and is considered a symbol of the People's Republic of Ch …
In 2042 trips
Thing to Do
The Forbidden City, also known as the Palace Museum, was the imperial residence of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (16 …
Thu 05/25/06 (day 4) - Beijing
In 2203 trips
Thing to Do
China's Great Wall stretches east-west for more than 5000 kilometers. Its origins can be traced to the 7th Century B …
Thing to Do
Magnificent
Restaurant
Fri 05/26/06 (day 5) - Beijing
Thing to Do
Very popular, so it's crowded. It's closer to Beijing and easy to get there. Lot's of vendors, folks …
Sat 05/27/06 (day 6) - Beijing
In 1666 trips
Thing to Do
Situated in the south of the city, this stunning temple park was built between 1406 and 1420. It was here that the e …
In 116 trips
Thing to Do
Chinese Opera includes more than 300 theatrical forms, among which Beijing Opera is usually regarded as the crème de …
Restaurant
Sun 05/28/06 (day 7) - Beijing
In 430 trips
Shopping
Located opposite the northeastern entrance to the Temple of Heaven, this market is somewhat of an institution in Bei …
Mon 05/29/06 (day 8) - Xi'an
Hotel
3 Star Tourist
Wed 05/31/06 (day 10) - Zhengzhou, Luoyang
Hotel
Could be better
Thing to Do
Founded in AD 496 during the Northern Wei dynasty, the Shaolin Temple was built in honor of an Indian monk called …
Thu 06/01/06 (day 11) - Shanghai
Hotel
3 Star Tourist
In 1419 trips
Thing to Do
The 400-year-old Yu Yuan Gardens were built in the Ming Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Jia Jin. Recognized as a …
In 1191 trips
Thing to Do
One of the two major commercial streets in Shanghai (in addition to Huai Hai Road), Nan Jing Road spans 5.5 kilometr …
Now, I am well trained to be mean or yell back to those drivers or hawkers / beggars at the very first moment when they put an eye on me (even from a certain distance) and of course leave them as soon as I can.
I would recommend you to be cold and mean to those "bad" people as I do to protect yourself, but there are always some exceptions only if you have time and chances to explore. My first trip to Beijing was in 1988 (I'm a Chinese from HK) with my friend from Switzerland during our summer term break, there wasn't anyone tried to bug us to buy, in those days, most people were a lot "friendly", at least they only stared at us curiously and we could just ignore them.
Next time.. try to visit Qingdao (was a German colony for a short while in last certury) and Dalian (the cleanest city I have ever been in China), I hope you can relax a bit in these 2 cities.
I still enjoy traveling around in China for business or vacation, certainly as a Chinese with relatives there in Guangzhou and Jiangmen, I have to go to China at least once or twice a year for family reunion with my mom and aunties.
Let's see how China improve before 2008's summer! 2 more years to go.
I'm sorry to read the uncomfortable part of your trip. You're right that there are lots of annoying people. The worst part of it is that less people understand English. Even they who works in tourism environment.
I actually planned to visit Xi'an. After reading your trip, I'm not sure whether I wanted to go there anymore. It's not worth if there are lots of annoying people.
Thanks for sharing though.
Hope u could hv a more wonderful trip!
Second, your comments on their being rude are not fair. I've seen worse treatment in both the US and UK. American's have no time for tourist who can't speak a word of English and the sentiment is pretty much the same for most countries.
Lastly, when I do go to China, I'll have basic Mandarin skills and I'm sure I'll be more well received than my fellow travellers above. Open those laguage books and give it try! Tai hao le!!!
Zai jian!
But the general comment that Chinese are cold probably is a bit too quick and superficial. paulaphillips67 rightly pointed out the language problem. Most Chinese people can't speak English, and some people can't even speak Mandarin (such as my grandma). And I have to say that many Chinese people are shy and risk-averse, and so tend to stay away from strangers. Those cultural characteristics do not equal to "cold", I would say. You'd have to spend more time, and get much closer, to see what kind of people they really are.
I will be making a brief 5-day visit to Shanghai
for biz meeting near WTC. I will try the "Bund" if
got the chance.
Also, i will fly over to Jinan to meet-up with
some customers over there.
do you think a chinese traveling to western country and they would find a people that speak chinese well in all your hotel?
would you complaint when people in france do not talk in english?
why should you complaint about the language
you were in china and they speak chinese so whats wrong
show some respect
You came to China for experiencing different cultures, scenics and people, right? It is China and she had not have to change to meet some one needs. If she did, the features would be gone. Poeple like you would not come to visit. I am sure you would not go to visit a China with the same features as America.China is on her of improving. but it needs time.
2nd. China has 56 minority nationalities. Each has their own cultures and dialects. Mandarine and Cantonese are the only 2 most populated ones. There are still many people do not know how to speak Mandarine. How can they speak English for you. Fortunately, English has been selected as compulsary subject even in primary school. Things will be better.
3rd, You just selected an unsuitable way of traveling. You stayed in very low standard of hotel and chosed the cheaperest way of traveling. That's the main reason you met so many problems. Do you go to China for traveling or just to show people you've been there for saving money? I personally admired your brave of traveling China with a guide book. You are not a well prepared China traveler. I guessed you must have already traveled to Europe which is totally different with China. Western Backpacker needs get as more information as possible before he gose.
4th, you did not realize the essence of traveling. Be there and enjoy all your experence with a tolerant heart, happy mind and open eyesight. Traveling is a way of education and entertainment. next time, try to adjust your mood,see things with happy eye, you and other all feel better.