U China Travel Blog

For the next fifteen days nearly 1/3 of the world’s population will be sharing the phrase “Xīn Nián Kuài Lè” with nearly everyone they meet. Translated from Mandarin to English, the phrase means “happy new year”, welcoming the Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year. While Chinese New Year is the most important and celebrated traditional Chinese holiday in both Mainland China and Hong Kong, it is also celebrated widely throughout Southeast Asia as the Lunar New Year in countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore Taiwan and Thailand.

Still celebrated in traditional fashion, Spring Festival festivities begin on the eve of the first day of the first month according to the traditional Chinese calendar, based on the lunar calendar. The holiday usually falls a month after Western New Year celebrations in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. In preparation for the new year a full spring cleaning takes place, where people clean their homes entirely, including their clothes and all of their eating utensils in eager anticipation to start anew in the coming year. Just like Christmas, decorations are up on doors and storefronts well ahead of time to wish happiness and prosperity to all in the New Year.

On New Year’s Eve Chinese families gather for a final meal of the passing year, indulging in a feast of dishes that are sure to include chicken, fish, and bean curd (tofu). These particular foods aren’t chosen for taste or nutritional value, but because their pronunciation in Mandarin also mean auspiciousness, abundance, and richness, three themes strongly regarded in the New Year celebration. People typically stay up to ring in the New Year at midnight, and if you find yourself in any Chinese city or Chinatown at this grand hour, you will no doubt be welcoming in the holiday with thousands of impromptu fireworks displays, blanketing the city with festive bangs and brilliant lights. Fireworks have long been a staple in Chinese New Year celebrations, for it is believed that the louder the blast, the more likely the gods will hear and grant hopes for a healthy and prosperous year ahead.

Not a far cry from Christmas morning in the west, Chinese families wake to warm greetings with immediate and extended family to welcome the New Year. Children are always given a red envelope by their parents and grand parents usually containing money. In the north of China people will typically eat boiled dumplings, or jiaozi, on New Years Day because the word also means ‘to bid farewell to the old and welcome to the new.’ In southern regions of China people typically eat niangao, a dense cake made of glutinous rice flower.

The Spring Festival comes to an end every year at the fifteenth day of the first lunar month with the Lantern Festival.

Happy Chinese New Year from your friends at U China Travel!

The footprints found date back to the Jurassic period, between 140 and 150 million years ago

It is official, dinosaurs once lived in Beijing. On January 9th Chinese paleontologists have unearthed several hundred fossilized footprints at a geological park in Yanqing County, a suburb of Beijing. Initially discovered by of team of scientists in July 2011 in the Buihuamu Geological Park, notable for its concentration of petrified ancient woods, a team of Paleontologists from China University of Geosciences has since been studying the tracks.  Continue reading →

With China already experiencing a baby boom over the last several years, 2012 is expected to be the busiest year for hospitals and birthing clinics yet. Beijing based Renmin University estimated that 20million babies will be born in the coming year, an increase of 5 percent over last year.

The Chinese zodiac plays no small part in this burst of birthing activity. The expected peak in births is also attributed to the Year of the Dragon traditionally being a very desirable year for children to be born. “Dragon” children are not only supposed the harbor the characteristics of important historical Chinese nobility, but also be confident, artistic, intuitive, beautiful and even lucky.

Since the current baby boom began in 2005, hospitals have been stressed for space. Last year the Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital said it exceeded capacity by nearly 50 percent with a year-end swell of births. This problem is not expected to subside in the coming years. Many hospitals are planning expansions but at the current population growth rates they will still fall short for space when completed.

In 2011, the ‘one-child policy’ strictly followed in urban areas saw an easing up when the government announced the change that all couples who are both products of the single-child rule will now be allowed to have a second child. Naturally, after just having celebrated the 30th year of the ‘one-child policy’, many of these couples decided immediately to produce a second offspring.

A yet unforeseen consequence of the new baby boom is the toll it will take on already overcrowded Chinese schools. The country’s kindergartens are stressed at the moment, only capable of holding just over half of the children coming of kindergarten age. In Beijing alone more than 450,000 babies were born in the previous 3 years. The Beijing Educational Authority, however, states that the city currently only has 200,000 kindergarten spaces within the city.

These stunning numbers in growth have led many to question which drastic measures need to be taken and implemented with lightening speed over the next couple years to make space for this influx of children in the schools. Although 110 kindergartens are currently slated for construction, this falls well below the number necessary to make any significant room for these new children.

Resorts throughout the area welcome skiers of all skill levels

With winter in full swing, ski resorts dotting China’s northeastern region are open for business. Beijing’s surrounding slopes have something to offer skiers from all skill levels and backgrounds. Now lets be honest, it’s not the Rockies or the Alps, but with resorts as close as 34k from the city center and equipment and apparel rentals available at each resort, Beijing is a perfect place to indulge in one of the world’s favorite winter pastimes.

If you are in search of a quick day trip from the city, Jundshan Ski Village offers and array of beginner and intermediate slopes, as well as great views of the city beyond. The slopes are also open to snowboarders, sledders, and tubers, and offers night skiing. If you plan to stay the night, many hotels and resorts offer unique and comfortable accommodations.

Day Passes (Monday – Friday): 140RMB (Half Day), 160RMB (Full Day)

Weekend Passes:  200RMB (Half Day), 240RMB (Full Day)

Equipment rentals available

Established in 2000, Huaibei International Ski Resort remains the largest facility in the area. Ideal for beginners, advanced skiers, and snowboarders, Huaibei Offers four lifts servicing 2 advanced, 2 intermediate, and 4 beginner slopes. Perhaps the best perks about skiing at Huaibei are the stunning views of the Great Wall.

Day Passes (Monday – Friday): 240RMB (120RMB with reservation)

Weekend Passes: 380RMB (180RMB with reservation)

Prices include ski rental

Nanshan Ski Village, about 60k from Beijing, not only offers 21 trails, but also is home to the world-class Burton Learn to Ride snowboarding school. One of the country’s most advanced snowboard parks, Nanshan offers two kickers, a half pipe, and six rails. More than 100 certified instructors are onhand for both skiers and snowboarders looking to sharpen their skills. Sledding and toboggan rides are also available within the park.

Day Passes (Monday – Friday):  120RMB

Weekends and Public Holidays:  180RMB

Equipment rentals available

If it’s a European style experience you’re after, look no further than Duolemedi Ski Resort. Situated in Hebei Province about 220km from Beijing, the resort caters to skiers and snowboarders of all levels. The staff at Duolemedi includes skilled Chinese instructors as well as former coaches of the Italian national ski team. Lessons with one of the pros are available at 2,000RMB a day and must be booked in advance. When you’ve had enough of the cold, warm up in one of the resort’s restaurants offering a variety of Chinese and western specialties including fine Italian coffees and pizzas.

Day passes (Monday – Friday):  140RMB (3hrs)

Weekends and Public Holidays:  160RMB – 220RMB

Equipment rentals available

Wanlong Ski Resort stands above the rest, en elevation that is at least. At 2,000m above sea level, Wanlong is the highest resort around, with longer and more challenging runs than other resorts in the area. Because of its height, Wanlong usually has more snow and a longer season than most.

Weeks before and after the Lunar New Year, Chinese train stations experience a regular flood of passengers making their way home to see family.

With SpringFestival kicking off next week on January 23rd, the annual migration of literally billions of people is set to take place throughout the Asian continent, but especially within China. The traditional week-long holiday, in celebration of the Lunar New Year, is a time of rest and reprieve for Chinese citizens and often sees hundreds of millions of migrant workers fighting crowds to make it home to their families by whatever means necessary, be it by rail, road, water or air.

Although China’s transportation infrastructure has improved by leaps and bounds over the last decade, this might be one of the most difficult years yet for those traveling long distances to get home. Typically migrant workers have purchased train tickets and fared several hardships in the process in order to see their families, including waiting in long, exhausting, order-less lines in crowded train stations and then often having to settle for standing room only tickets over great distances.

While the infrastructure has improved it might be at a slight cost to the lower classes who have no cars and cannot afford to travel by boat or plane. The biggest change made recently is to the purchasing of
tickets, which can now be done online. Whereas migrant workers in the past were virtually guaranteed trains tickets home if they endured the frustration of purchasing in a train station, the option of online tickets has greatly cut into the availability of tickets to be purchased in person.

The online system is intended to improve efficiency in the purchase process, while eliminating congestion in train stations, and in large part it works, but mostly for the better educated and technologically savvy members of Chinese society.

There are several reasons this is the new plight of migrant workers. Most importantly is their simple lack of access to computers, especially ones with an internet connection. If computers are available, it is
often unlikely that these migrant workers have any knowledge of how to perform functions as simple as browsing the web or searching a site for the tickets they desire. The final impediment, and possibly the most unreachable for someone openly titled as a ‘migrant’, is having the means to pay via internet, such as with a credit card.

In a recent interview, one migrant said that for many, getting tickets home this year was “like winning the lottery”. While this might be hyperbole, it is also an expression of exasperation with a system that is too overloaded with travelers during these couple weeks surround the Lunar New Year. It is estimated that 3.1 billion one way trips will be made within a 40 day span that includes the Spring Festival.

Leo wish you Merry Christmas at Mutianyu Great Wall

The holiday season is once again just around the corner and at U China Travel we would like to send warm holiday wishes to you and your families.  We hope that this holiday season finds you with the ones you love, creating memories that you will cherish for years to come.   Happy Holidays!

Leo wishes you a Merry Christmas from the Mutianyu Great Wall.

Bird Nest on Dec 3, 2011

I just get a email from my friend from US and talked about the bad weather in Beijing. Actually I want to make the explanation that we did have very unusual bad weather in Beijing but I think the US presses always exaggerate the cases. It was quite foggy days ago but after that the wind blowed way. It is quite unusual here to have fogy weather in Winter in Beijing since the weather is not very good here in Summer that is quite humid. But in the winter, it always windy and make weather always good. By the way, I don’t know where is the source of the pollution in Beijing since there is no industry here in Beijing, the only two possible reasons are cars and the geographical features. The amount of vehicles in Beijing is about 4 or 5 millions and I guess most of the big cities have than many cars. For the geographical features, Beijing is surrounded by mountain on three side (north, east and west), so it makes the air easy to stay in the city if there is no big windy just like LA in US.

here is the weather I took in Dec 3 and 4 at Bird’s Nest, Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City..

Mutianyu Great Wall, Dec 4, 2011

Forbidden City on Dec 4, 2011

Public Officer is considerded Golden Bowl

This past Sunday 970,000 Chinese nationals sat an exam that would bring them one step closer to holding one of 18,000 coveted government jobs opening up in the next calendar year.

According to these numbers, each applicant has a 1 in 54 chance of landing a position in national public service, but for certain seats the competition is stiff. For instance, one position opening up within the State Ethnic Affairs Commission received more than 4,000 applicants. Continue reading →