Shanghai and Beijing

I'm heading back to China for the second time this year. For this trip, I opted to go business on United Airlines. UA introduced a new route and offered miles bonus which was enough incentive for me to get the business class fare. Since I wasn't able to get upgraded using miles last time, I was motivated to avoid sitting in economy for twelve hours. United had been revamping the business and first class cabins touting the new seats for this route. I like the new amenities like iPod inputs, USB ports, and fancy seat controls. :) My meal was enjoyable but the braised short ribs was a bit on the dry side. Over the years, I have been able to work on my motion sickness and now able to watch movies for a little bit. So I was able to catch up on movies - Battle: Los Angeles, The Lincoln Lawyer, Win Win, Black Swan, Harry Potter:Deathly Hallows. All enjoyable except for Black Swan, good time to catchup on movies and reduce my Netflix cue!

Arrived in the evening into Shanghai Pudong airport and opted to stay in for the night and grabbed McDonald's for dinner. Chicken wings and fried taro pies! Yum.





The next day, grabbed breakfast in the street around the French Concession area before heading to Hongqiao Airport. At this airport in Shanghai, most flights are domestic and was the primary airport that served Shangai before Pudong. I actually like this airport more, just had a more lived in look. If you are a Citibank customer, there is an ATM in the departures area. I've discovered that Bank of America has a reciprocity agreement with China Construction Bank and able to withdraw cash with no fees. I would advise that you withdraw as much as possible as the exchange rates improve with the larger amounts. For example, 300 rmb was an exchange rate of 6.29 versus 1000 rmb was an exchange rate of 6.49. Not a huge difference but something to keep mind. Hopped on a China Eastern flight and was pleasantly surprised with a hot meal for this two hour flight. I've forgotten that foreign carriers provides meals on their domestic flights. Today was also the opening day of the high speed railway from Shanghai to Beijing. I would have liked to take the train but it wasn't apparent when they were going to be opened when the flight was booked. The local papers indicated a one way started at $63 and takes four hours.



Took the airport express subway to the Hilton Beijing Wangfujing. The airport express train is a dedicated subway line that connects with the city's subway system. Fares are 25 rmb for the airport express. A relatively new hotel in Beijing's cultural area, it rivals my stay at the Conrad Tokyo a couple of years ago. I did noticed was minor things, some questionable construction work in the hotel but I attribute that to the Chinese value on quality. With weather delays arriving into Beijing, opted to stay at the hotel and enjoy the executive lounge. Since all was complimentary, the alcohol and food promptly put me to sleep when I got to the room. Prior to arriving, a tour was arranged through the concierge desk for an all day excursion the next day. In comparison with some of the tour operators, the tour package was a relative bargain. For $300, two people can have a private car, guide for the day and admission to the sites in the itinerary.



After grabbing breakfast at the executive lounge, went to meet the guide at promptly 8:30 am and went off to our first stop, Summer Palace. Unfortunately, the weather in Beijing (and Shanghai) has been thunder stormy, overcast, and humid. The tour around the grounds was pleasant but the limited visibility detracted from the experience of seeing the entire facility in all its glory. Funny thing, there are a lot of fly by night vendors on the grounds. They'll buy a season pass and just show up and randomly set up shop to sell souvenirs and corn on the cob. It was actually interesting that no one really monitored that inside.



The next stop was Sacred Way in Ming Tombs. A memorial park for all the Chinese emperors, only stayed in the pathway that lead up to the tombs. On the road was various statues meant to protect the emperors buried on the mountain. The tour could have included a walk through of the burial grounds but The Great Wall was calling.



Arrived at The Great Wall Badaling section. The guide informed us that this section of the wall most represented the wall back in the day. Restored to its original design, I was uber pooped walking one section to a parapet. The guide informed that Chairman Mao had walked one direction on this section and that was why that direction was packed with people as the Chinese wanted to walk the same path. It was also less steep. So being the foreigner, went the more difficult path. Earlier, I mentioned how overcast it was and visibility was limited. For here, it was great that the sun wasn't shining as the humidity and heat was enough for me to make the climb difficult. I would recommend bringing at least one bottle of water and a towel to wipe your sweat when on the wall. Also, the outhouse is near the parapets so be forewarned of the smell potential.



Returned back to the hotel and went to Quanjude restaurant. A known local chain for its Peking duck, I was not overly impressed. Maybe I'm too Americanized but I thought the States offered better. I think partially that the quality of ingredients (in this case the duck) is better in the States. The cooking techniques is probably very good but since the duck was so skinny it didn't taste as good as home. I feel the same way about beef in Vietnam. There are great beef dishes in Vietnamese cuisine but doesn't taste as good in Vietnam. The other thing I noticed was the duck was served with pancakes instead if bao. I like the baos more in Peking duck.s I also tried the duck buns and instantly couldn't eat it. Hard and chewy, it was not what I expected.

Went back to the hotel to enjoy some happy hour back in the executive lounge. I opted to order dessert from room service and enjoyed a lovely vanilla souffle. The room service here is 24 hours.



The next day, wandered over to the Forbidden City after grabbing breakfast. It is a fifteen minute walk from the hotel. The guide from yesterday recommended going first thing in the morning or during the last hour of business hours. She mentioned that the Forbidden City roughly receives 100,000 per day. It was a nice sunny day which made the 2.5 hour excursion feel like 4. Wandered through the palace and remembered the movie, The Last Emperor. The royal living quarters was the most interesting to me as it had some gardens and living quarters you can look at. The actual city is a fortress with huge courtyards.



Tromped back to the hotel to cool down in the indoor pool. The heat and humidity has taken its toll and I was looking forward to some relaxation. The pool is indoors in the hotel and is part of the spa facilities. Probably because it is easier to maintain cleanliness inside rather than having it exposed to the elements. Surprisingly, the pool didn't feel like an indoor pool. Very spacious with high ceilings, the room lacked humidity. I also noticed looking out the windows that a Waldorf Astoria was being built. I guess hotel demand is high enough to warrant another luxury hotel. Will have to check it out next time. :) Since I was using points for this two night hotel stay, I opted to move to the Hilton Beijing on my last night here. Grabbed some pastries from the Library Bar and headed via taxi to the Hilton Beijing.



This Hilton is located more in the business district of the city and next to the US Embassy. I guess if I needed something, I can run to "America." :) I definitely felt welcomed here. There is a dedicated executive tower where I was directed to check in. The front desk is actually a lobby/lounge area for the entire tower. When I walked into the room, there was a bottle of wine and plate of fruit/chocolate waiting for me. I haven't seen this kind of welcome gift since HHonors revamped their program a few years back. Between the wine and free bar in the lounge, I had plenty of alcohol. The mini bar was impressive but I had no need. :) I later forgot my electric toothbrush and I was impressed with the speed and care they put to returning the item to me in Shanghai. No where else can a courier service be done between two major cities for $3.

On a side note, I don't know if this is typical for American based hotel chains but my hotel bill was converted to US dollars instead of in RMB. It isn't a good conversion rate so I would advise to check the bill to make sure it is charged in the currency you want. It isn't clear on the credit slip either so a verbal confirmation is recommended.



Grabbed a late lunch at Din Tai Fung. With so many restaurants advertising roast duck, I was interested in getting something else to eat. Interestingly, at this DTF you can order dumplings half plate (5) or full plate (10). Afterwards, walked back to the hotel and munched on some snacks and drinks before retiring for the night. On a side note, after 7 pm the cafe bakery in the lobby offers sandwiches, salads, and bakery goods for half price. I did go a little crazy and ordered the strawberry charlotte (mousse concoction), nameless other mousse thing with coconut and passionfruit, opera, and a blueberry parfait of some sort. I found the strawberry and the coconut/passion fruit the tastiest. I didn't want to venture outside anymore but I did find it funny to see a sign for Fatburger down the street from the hotel. This location is the only one in mainland China. Had I not had Fatburger for lunch before coming out to China, I might have been tempted to check the place out.

Since the Hilton was somewhat close to the airport, opted to take the taxi instead of subway. The taxi at about 60 rmb (10 for the toll) was pretty reasonable in comparison to public transport.

Returned back to Shanghai in the afternoon without any delays and grabbed dinner at Crystal Jade restaurant in Xintiandi before calling it a night.



The next morning, wandered around the edges of the French Concession and JingAn areas for breakfast. I found 85C bakery and had some sweet toast. This location isn't the same as the one in the States, smaller and less "hip." Also found some sesame balls from local street vendors, picked up a couple of packages of Chinese sausage from a butcher, and some mangoes from a grocer.



Escaped the humidity on the streets of Shanghai and enjoyed some air conditioning back in the apartment. Ventured out again late afternoon for a late lunch at McDonald's and to the Jing'An temple in the French Concession area. I'm not sure why Buddhist temples have larger than building statues built but it was cool to see. There was also smaller rooms on the side to pray in. After burning incense and throwing coins in the metal vase, strolled to another 85C bakery (this one was larger) and went back to the apartment to cool down again.

That evening, went to meet some people for dinner. They suggested Din Tai Fung in the Ritz Carlton plaza and I chuckled to being at this chain restaurant twice in one week while in two of China's cities. They were hoping to show a good dumpling place and didn't realize that it was a Taiwanese chain. Since I have two places to compare, I will say that the Shanghai location does a better job than the Beijing location. It also seemed that the menu was a little bit more extensive than in Beijing. After dinner, ventured to a wine bar, Enoterra, and enjoyed some Reisling wine before calling it a night on my last night in Shanghai.

The next day spent time packing up and ordered in at FCC. A Vietnamese restaurant nearby lodged in a foreign correspondence club. I had my reservations and I was right to have them. For now, I'm going to say that Chinese can't make Vietnamese food.

I left for the Shanghai Pudong airport in the evening and the airport was relatively empty. It would seem that there aren't many flights at 8 pm. I opted to upgrade my seat to first class for the trip home. There aren't many opportunities for me to fly first in international flights and I decided to splurge. :) First class has their own security lines which was nice. I would say though that the Chinese are pretty efficient in getting people through customs and security. In looking at the seat, the controls are fancy. I saw an Ethernet jack and had hoped for Internet on the flight but it wasn't active. Enjoyed the lovely meal offered. Appetizers was a potsticker and quesodilla, pumpkin soup and salad, entree consisted of filet mignon (mashed potatoes was ok) and ice cream. I was kind of surprised the dessert would be ice cream but I guess that is easiest on this kind of flight. I noticed that I was the youngest person and that everyone was old enough to be my parent. I was surprised to see that the single travelers were all women, I would have pegged more men in this section. Of course, everyone was asian. :p