China Suggestions

[Gordon B]

My wife and I are going to China on July 1. Everything is planned except for our dinners. Does anybody have any restaurant recommendations? I realize that this is a longshot. We will be staying in Beijing, Xian, Guilin, and Shanghai.

[Cem]

Paging Prof. Lund!

My stepdad worked there for a while. I'll ask him.

[vibes]

I don't have any specific restaurant recommendations, but do try and get some lamb dishes (if you like lamb) in Xi'an's Muslim quarter. Some of the best Chinese food I've ever had was in that area.

Try and get some xiaolongbao (a type of steamed dumpling) while you're in Shanghai. I wish I could remember the name of the place, but there's a famous xiaolongbao shop in a somewhat touristy area of town that has the best xiaolongbao I've ever had. All the locals know it.

Have fun and stay cool. China is very hot (and quite humid in some of those cities) this time of the year.

[Jazzzoline]

China?
No way!
I hate you Gordon B.

From all the cities you mentionned, Guillin is the only one I visited. I never "choose" my meal though ( besides the continental breakfast at the hotel), since i was invited in the rstaurants by family, relatives, acquantaces of a chineese friend (chineese have such networks). I remember I got "some kind of rat" in Guillin, glad I asked too.

Will you take a cruise on the LI river? and visit the caves?

[Pete C]

Originally Posted by Gordon B

My wife and I are going to China on July 1. Everything is planned except for our dinners. Does anybody have any restaurant recommendations? I realize that this is a longshot. We will be staying in Beijing, Xian, Guilin, and Shanghai.

Gordon, of the above I've only been to Beijing & Shanghai.

I can't remember too many specific restaurants, and I was there over 10 years ago, so they surely have changed. However:

In Beijing there are several venerable Beijing Duck restaurants. You should try one of the famous ones (guidebooks should list them). One word of warning: when I dined at one of these I was subjected to the entire CD of Kenny G's "Breathless"!

There is a place in Bei Hai park called Fangshan that specializes in lavish Qing Dynasty banquets--you need to make a reservation, but since the same banquet menu is served for the entire restaurant you don't need a lot of people to get many dishes.

http://asiarecipe.com/chibanquet1.html

Another famous Beijing place is Dong Lai Shun--it's a Muslim place, and all they serve is mutton hot pot.

In Shanghai the Peace Hotel serves good food, but I'm sure there are many newer excellent places.

I don't know how much time you'll be spending in & around Shanghai, but it would be a BIG SHAME to miss Suzhou, one of the most beautiful, charming cities.

[Pete C]

Originally Posted by vibes

Try and get some xiaolongbao (a type of steamed dumpling) while you're in Shanghai. I wish I could remember the name of the place, but there's a famous xiaolongbao shop in a somewhat touristy area of town that has the best xiaolongbao I've ever had. All the locals know it.

Vibes, I went to a place in a park, I think, that had a walk-up stand, and you ate them at outdoor tables, IIRC. Excellent.

Another spelling for xiaolongbao is shao lon bao--literally tiny dragon buns.

[vibes]

Originally Posted by Pete C

Vibes, I went to a place in a park, I think, that had a walk-up stand, and you ate them at outdoor tables, IIRC. Excellent.

Another spelling for xiaolongbao is shao lon bao--literally tiny dragon buns.

Pete, I think you and I are thinking of the same place. You wait in line, and then eat outside.

Xiaolongbao is the only spelling you'll get in China for this item. To pick a nit, it's "small steamer buns." (as in the bamboo steamers used to steam them and many other Chinese foods) This the same that you would use if you were ordering dim sum dishes. For example, if you were ordering two dishes of shaomai, you would ask for two long of shaomai. Same sound as "dragon," different character.

[Gordon B]

Originally Posted by Jazzzoline

China?
No way!
I hate you Gordon B.

From all the cities you mentionned, Guillin is the only one I visited. I never "choose" my meal though ( besides the continental breakfast at the hotel), since i was invited in the rstaurants by family, relatives, acquantaces of a chineese friend (chineese have such networks). I remember I got "some kind of rat" in Guillin, glad I asked too.

Will you take a cruise on the LI river? and visit the caves?

We will be taking a full day Li River cruise downstream to Yangshou on my 50th birthday, July 8. We are going on a guided tour of the Reed Flue Cave on July 7.

[Gordon B]

Originally Posted by Pete C

I don't know how much time you'll be spending in & around Shanghai, but it would be a BIG SHAME to miss Suzhou, one of the most beautiful, charming cities.

Suzhou did not make our itinerary. We are flying from Guilin to Shanghai on July 9, spending two nights in Shanghai and then flying home on the 11th. We are going to the Shanghai Museum on the ninth. The following day we are going on tour of the Bund, Yu Garden, and the Jewish Neighborhood. That evening, we'll see an acrobatic show.

In Beijing, we are seeing the Great Wall and Ming Tombs, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. In Xian, we are going to the Shaanxi History Museum and the ancient City Wall. In Xian, we see the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horse, and the WIld Goose Pagoda. On July 6, we go to the Tang Dinner Show.

The vacation was booked with the China International Travel Service (NY office). I was stunned when quoted the price for this vacation. It was much less than I imagined. We will have an English speaking tour guide, everywhere we go.

[vibes]

Gordon, you might be able to squeeze Suzhou in while you're in Shanghai, if I read your itinerary correctly. It's an hour or less away from Shanghai, and it's well worth the trip. The gardens are beautiful, and there's a lot of history in town.

While you're in Xi'an, if you have time, ask your tour guide to take you to the Tang tombs on top of the mountains and the Han burial mounds outside of town. The Tang tombs were especially interesting. I rented a horse and rode around the mountain. Sha'anxi province is pretty polluted, but you can still see quite a bit from on top of the mountain. Also of interest in Xi'an, if you have the time, is the Muslim Mosque.

With the exception of Guilin/Yangshuo, I've been everywhere that you have on your itinerary. You're going to see a lot of great stuff.

[Monte Smith]

No recommendations, never been there, but it sounds like a great trip. Better than Baltimore, I should think. Hope you have an extraordinary time and learn a lot. When you get back, maybe there can be a Midatlantic Hang and I can debrief your Chinese-d brain.

[Gordon B]

Originally Posted by Monte Smith

No recommendations, never been there, but it sounds like a great trip. Better than Baltimore, I should think. Hope you have an extraordinary time and learn a lot. When you get back, maybe there can be a Midatlantic Hang and I can debrief your Chinese-d brain.

I'll be up for that. FYI, Baltimore is a great place to raise a family,IMO.

[Pete C]

Originally Posted by Gordon B

The vacation was booked with the China International Travel Service (NY office). I was stunned when quoted the price for this vacation. It was much less than I imagined. We will have an English speaking tour guide, everywhere we go.

I also booked with CITS, because it's the only way to get advance internal travel arrangements. I had them book hotels & trains, but otherwise we did everything on our own--I don't like being locked into a schedule, and I don't like tour guides--they limit one's spontaneity & mobility.

[vibes]

If you dig around while you're there, you'll be shocked at how much cheaper it is to book things yourself, rather than booking them through a travel agency. My parents used CITS the first time I went to the mainland, and I about had a heart attack when I found out how much everything cost. The next time I went, I just called up friends in the mainland and had them book things for me. It's much, much cheaper that way.

[Pete C]

But if you don't have contacts over there you can't pre-arrange train travel. If you're working in a limited time frame you don't want to leave arrangements to chance.

[Clay Fink]

There's a place called Tu Hung Lo in Guilin.

[john williams]

I suggest the Langley.


Or perhaps the Challinor.

[Gordon B]

Originally Posted by Pete C

I also booked with CITS, because it's the only way to get advance internal travel arrangements. I had them book hotels & trains, but otherwise we did everything on our own--I don't like being locked into a schedule, and I don't like tour guides--they limit one's spontaneity & mobility.

I like the fact that we will have an English and Chinese speaking tour guide, just for the two of us. We will have a different guide in each city. The domestic travel, hotels, tickets, breakfasts and lunches are included in the price.

We will be in China for eight full days. A Chinese colleague is going there with his family but we will just miss overlapping in Beijing. He may email me some restaurant suggestions if he dines at any worthwhile ones in Beijing. He's there now.

Pete, have you ever considered writing travel guides or restaurant reviews for a living or even supplemental pay? You'd be a natural at either one.

[vibes]

Originally Posted by Gordon B

I like the fact that we will have an English and Chinese speaking tour guide, just for the two of us. We will have a different guide in each city. The domestic travel, hotels, tickets, breakfasts and lunches are included in the price.

This is exactly what my parents had arranged, and your itinerary is almost exactly the same as the one we had, too. A word of warning: often times, these tour guides are required to take you to state-run/owned jade/pearl/pottery shops as a part of the tour. If you are interested in buying those kinds of things, ask your guide if they can take you to buy them someplace cheaper - the state-run shops are always more expensive.