Where do Chinese people like to vacation in China? - Part II

Here are the rest of top 10 domestic destinations in China:

5. Guilin city (桂林山水) - During a visit to China former U.S. President Bill Clinton said "No place in China is more evocative of the beauty of your country than Guilin." Two crystal-clear rivers flow through the city, encircled by mountains with unusual and bizarre rock formations and caves. (Previous Post on Guilin)

4. Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟), Sichuan - The place is dotted with more than 100 gorgeous lakes, which differ from others by having a high concentration of calcium carbonate, so that the lakebeds and embankments are all covered with crystals. The water is so clear that the bottom is visible despite depths of several dozen meters. Waterfalls are the essence of the scenery in Jiuzhaigou. They are created between lakes on different levels with water flowing down the cliffs covered with trees.

(Photo courtesy of www.worldinterestingfacts.com)

3. Yellow Mountain (黄山), Anhui - this mountain was listed as one of the World Natural and Cultural Heritages in 1990. Yellow Mountain is characterized by the four wonders: odd-shaped pines, grotesque rock formation, seas of clouds and crystal clear hot springs. Because of its mists and clouds, natural scenery in the area changes beyond prediction. (Previous Post on Yellow Mountain)

(Photo courtesy of www.chinatownconnection.com)

2. Sanya (三亚), Hainan - The city is located at the southern most tip of Hainan Island to the West of Hong Kong. Sanya has 19 bays and over 40 inlets lying along a 209 km coast line. It is often refer to as the "Hawaii of the East". It is China's idyllic island paradise!

(Photo courtesy of www.worldsbestbeachtowns.com)

1. Lijiang (丽江), Yunnan - With the Jade Dragon Mountain as backdrop, the Lijiang Old Town has adapted itself harmoniously to the natural scenery. Lijiang maintains an ancient water-supply system of great complexity and ingenuity that is still functioning effectively. (Previous Post on Lijiang)

Where do Chinese people like to vacation in China? - Part I

China is one of those unique countries that its tourism industry is still largely supported domestically. Here are the top 1o domestic destinations in China:

10. West Lake (西湖), Hangzhou - It is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with an area of around 6.5 square kilometers. The circumference is around 15 kilometers. Ancient Chinese people praised the West Lake area as a land of intoxicating beauty. Su Shi, a poet from the Song Dynasty, likened the lake to Xizi, a Chinese Cleopatra, for its allure.

9. Potala Palace (布达拉宫), Tibet - is on the list of Chinese national key protected cultural relics and most valuable storehouse in Tibet. It is a huge treasure house for materials and articles of Tibetan history, religion, culture and arts. The Palace is widely known for the precious sculptures, murals, scripture, Buddha figures, murals, antiques, and religious jewelry treasured up, they are of great cultural and artistic value.

8. Zhangjiajie (张家界), Hunan - This geopark is a rare natural museum. It has 4 main scenic spots—Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Suoxiyu Valley, Tianzi Mountain and Yangjiajie Nature Reserve—together with Huanglong Cave constitute an integrated ecosystem with a series of geomorphologic landscapes such as mountains, water bodies, bridges, caves and waterfalls.

(Photo courtesy of www.wayfaring.info)

7. Great Wall (长城), Beijing - Everyone on the earth probably heard of this one. It is the symbol of China and pride of all Chinese people (previous post on Great Wall).

6. Gulanyu (鼓浪屿) Island, Xiamen - this island covers an area of 1.78 square kilometers and stands opposite to Xiamen City across the sea. It is a quiet pedestrian only island where you can walk around and enjoy the food and the old western styled buildings. With beautiful scenery, Gulangyu Island is accredited as "garden on the sea", "architecture exhibition of ten thousand nations", "hometown of music" and "island of piano".

(Photo courtesy of www.gly.cn)

Surprised Great Wall is not the top destination? Stay tone for the number 1 destination ...

Earthquake Stricken Yushu (玉树) Looking to Rebuild

The 6.9 magnitude earthquake that stuck Yushu in Northwest China's Qinghai province on April 14th has been devastatingly. It has so far killed almost 2000 and over 12,000 injured or missing. This region of China is in a not only remote and very rugged terrain, but also poor. However, this tragedy can give this area an opportunity to rebuild itself or even reinvent itself.

(Photo courtsey of Getty)

An eco-tourism plateau city is expected to be built in the future, even as relief work is still ongoing, Beijing News reports today. An overall plan for the reconstruction is expected to be handed in by the province to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development for approval on April 26. A disaster assessment report for the April 14 earthquake will be done by April 20 to guide the region’s post-disaster reconstruction work, the newspaper said, citing the Qinghai seismological bureau.

Largely inhabited by Tibetans, Yushu is situated on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with most of the region 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) above the sea level. It is the fountainhead of the Yangtze River, the Yellow River and the Lancang River. Ravines and valleys have been cut by the rivers in southeastern Yushu.

Another famous Chinese city has successfully rebuild itself after an earthquake. Situated in the northwest plateau in Yunnan (Heavenly Yunnan), the city of Lijiang ("the Beautiful River") got its name from its position at the middle reaches of the beautiful Jinsha River. In 1996 February 3, a 7.0 Richter scaled earthquake hit Lijiang. It took 200 lives and injured 14,000 more. Surprisingly, the city's oldest treasure, the Old Town mostly remain intact. The provincial government decided not to restore the damaged high rise buildings; instead, they were reconstructed as traditional single family dwellings after the quake. The city was given a urban make over to develop into a major tourist destination. Many say the earthquake gave Lijiang a fresh start and the reconstruction played a major role in the city achieving the designation by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

(Photo courtsey of www.studyincn.com)

We all hope the eco-tourism plan will do the same for the city of Yushu and its people.

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Sichuan Province (四川)

Sichuan (capital city - Chengdu), sometimes referred to as Szechuan, is located in the south central part of China. This province best known for its spicy food and panda bears, was struck by a 8M earthquake just two years ago. This devastating natural disaster killed at least 68,000 people including alarming number of children due to what was believed shoddy school constructions. The resilient Sichuan and its people have been trying to rebuild and it is still an amazing place to visit (and to eat, my favourite!!).

Sichuan is gifted with lush mountains and exquisite waters, and abounds in historical and cultural resources. Here are a few major scenic spots and historical sites:

1. Mount Emei, (峨眉山) - Situated in the southwest of the Sichuan Basin, and with a temperate climate, Emei is luxiously green all the year round full of rare and precious animals and plants. From the foot of the mountain to its summit, the Peak of Ten Thousand Buddhas, 3133 metres above sea level, the trail totals some 60 kilometres in length. It is endowed with unique changeable weather and marvelous natural beauty. Scenic spots and historic sites are found all over the places.
2. Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries (四川大熊猫栖息地) - the sanctuaries is the home to 30% of the world's highly endangered pandas. It is the largest remaining contiguous habitat of giant pandas in the world. It is also the most important site for captive breeding of the species. The sanctuaries are home to other globally endangered animals such as the red panda, snow leopard and clouded leopard. They are among the botanically richest sites of any region in the world, outside the tropical rain forests, with between 5,000 and 6,000 species of flora in over 1,000 genera. Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries was listed as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 2006. You can also hold a real living panda for approximately $100 USD.

3. Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟) - The national park is situated in Nanping county, Sichuan Province, and encompasses an area of 720 square kilometers. Dotted with lakes and pools of various sizes filled with crystal clear waters, the valley is a fairy land gifted by nature. The virgin forests, rare flowers and grasses is home to golden monkeys, white geese, pandas and other rare and precious animals. Parts of the hit movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was filmed here.

4. Leshan Gaint Buddha (乐山大佛) - is the largest stone Buddha statue in the world. The giant buddha is carved out of the cliff face located at the juncture of Minjiang river and Dadu river. Legend has it that a monk named Hai Tong from the Tang Dynasty often saw boats capsize in the turbulent rivers, and desiring to protect the passing boats, he vowed to build a Maitreya Buddha. The Buddha was carved during the period of 713 to 803, lasting 90 years.

The buddha is 71 meters in height. Its head is 14.7 meters high, 10 meters wide, and has 1,021 hair coils. The Buddha's eye is 3 meters wide, ears measuring 7 meters, nose 5.6 meters long, and the shoulders are 28 meters wide.

Attend a Tradeshow in China

Attending trade shows is a great place to get the latest updates on industry trends or a really fast way to get to know an industry. It is also an important networking opportunity. China has many different trade shows all year round dedicated to industry from clean energy to snacks. Biztradeshows.com offers a very comprehensive show listing in China. Exciting upcoming shows including:

April 8/9 - Green Fules & Vehicles China (Shanghai)
May 25-27 - Snackex Asia (Beijing) - dedicated to snacks
May 30-Jun 1 - Interwine China (Guangzhou) - alcoholic beverages
Jul 8-11 - China International Consumer Electronics Show (Qingdao)
Sep 15-17 - China Paper (Shanghai)

If you are looking to attend tradeshows in China, let us help you get the most out of the shows and your trip!

Canada Pavilion - Shanghai Expo 2010

The Shanghai World Expo is fast approaching! Only less than two months away. Canada is in the midst of finishing up the construction of its "C" shaped pavilion (stands for Canada, communities and creativity).

(Photo credits: Patrick Alleyn/SNC-Lavalin)

Here are some information on the Canada Pavilion:

Mark Rowswell will serve as the Commissioner General for Canada. Mark aka Dashan (大山) is virtually unknown to the rest of the world, but he is an A-lister celebrity and comedian in China. I grew up watching him on television in the 80s.

Shanghai is sister city with Montreal, so it is fitting that Cirque du Soleil has been hired to perform the culture portion for the pavilion.

There is also an Invest in Canada week held from May 31 to June 4. This event is aimed at attracting businesses from life science, automotive, sustainable energy and digital gaming industries to invest in Canada.

Click here for Canada Pavilion official website.
Click here for Shanghai Expo 2010 official website.
Click here for ticket information.
Click here for my previous post on the expo.

If you are interested in visiting Shanghai or China during the expo, contact us to help you design a customised itinerary!

Minimizing Your Risks when Doing Business in China

In my last post I talked about various risks doing business in China. At this point, you must be wondering how can I minimize these risks. You can start with...

1. Educate yourself. In this age of information, there are tons of information on China online and in print. I find Google News a one stop shopping for all my China news since I can customize my news feed to topics such as "China" or "China Business" or "China Widget Industry". The best part is these news are from all different sources to give you a complete perceptive. Also check out China Business Review and this previous blog post I have done on business travel must knows. Click here.

2. Talk to people. There is an old Chinese saying "Three people walking, there must be my teacher(s)" which means when I'm with some other people, there must be something I can learn from them. So talk to people have done or currently doing business in China. They can not only give you insights on their first hand experience, most likely they can provide you with contacts which is very important (see number 8 below).

3. Go to China. This is the best way and fastest way to get to know China. Reading and talking to people are great, but will only get you so far. Actually being in China, will help you dig that much deeper into the country and what it has to offer. Try to plan your first trip in a very comprehensive way, not only see the large cities such as Beijing or Shanghai, but also check our small to medium size cities. Don't stick to one area, try to touch all four corners of the country: north, east, west and south. They can be pretty different.

4. Stay Flexible. Everything is changing rapidly in China. Trend, policy, law and etc. all may effect your business plan a great deal. You and your business thoughts must remain extremely flexible and do non stop research as your develop your business plan.

5. Budget Enough Money. If you want to buy a pair of socks in China, it is going to cost you just pennies. If you want to actually make socks, it might cost you. Doing business in China is not cheap. From initial research to hiring consultants to crossing the red tape, you will need money and lots of it. You also need a solid cash reserve for very probable issues such as surviving cutthroat competition shake downs.

6. Protect yourself. Always get everything in writing in English and Chinese. Guard your IP through any legal means possible and use common sense such as do not leave your blue prints lying around for everyone's viewing pleasure. However, you don't need to be extremely secretly around your Chinese business partners. Give as much imformation as they are giving you.

7. Reach out to organizations. Canada China Business Council. US China Business Council. US Commercial Service China. These organizations are usually right on top of the latest news and information pertaining to your business.

8. Understand what is Gangxi. I have spoken to many doing business in China veterans. They all have reflected their experience as such: it does take a long time to build relationships or Guanxi (关系 a phrase you will hear a lot) in China; yet without it you can't do business in China. There is no such thing as making a cold call in China, it always has to be a warm call.

9. Learn to negotiate. If you want to negotiate in China, you have to not only understand the way the Chinese negotiate, you better learn it too. Try to find out all you can on who you are dealing with from who is in charge to government ties. Trust me, they are doing the same thing. Also, do not underestimate the quiet ones! You have to be very patient. Don't be surprised when the contract is signed an hour before you get on your plane to head home. There are so much to be said about art of negotiation. It is one of my favourite topics! When it is time for you to enter the negotiation phase of your business, I highly recommend more in depth research and plan out specific strategies and tactics.

Risks of Doing Business in China

In previous blogs I have talked about the tremendous opportunities lay in doing business with China. But I think it is equally important to talk about my thoughts on the risks of doing business in China as well.

1. Bureaucracy and government involvement. If you are going to set up shop in China, it is inevitable you will have to deal with government agencies. You will be bounced back and forth more you like. The worst part is between agencies there will be very little or no cooperative effort. Therefore, the service will be terrible and frustrating and the process could be long and tedious. Getting through this part will be a true testament of your patience.

2. Trust. Trust is a funny thing in China. If you look at Chinese history in the past 200 years, you will discover foreign presence hasn't exactly left a positive impression on the Chinese. Degrading treaties and starting the opium wars to name a few things that the Chinese still may hold a grudge. Therefore, gaining their trust will take time. Ironically, Chinese people often are more distrusting of each other than foreigners. Mainly due to the business culture of cutthroat competition being so wildly accepted and expected practice.

3. Cutthroat Competition. Once you have shown some success in China, be sure there will be competitions. They will not only come at you fast, they will be merciless at reverse engineering your products or relentless price cutting. Survival of fittest rings most true in China.

4. Fast pace changing business scene. Chinese business law, regulations and even trend are changing all the time which can greatly effect your business and business strategy. If you don't find a way to keep up and can't modify your business plan accordingly, you might be left in the dust.

5. IP issue. I think this one is no secret. Here is a joke about how cheap different races can be from Russell Peters, a popular Canadian Indian comedian: A Jewish man will go into a Louis Vitton shop and only buy sales items; an Indian man will go into a Louis Vitton shop and barter with the sales clerk on sales items; a Chinese man will go into a Louis Vitton shop, doesn't buy anything, but as soon as the sales clerk turns around, he pulls out a camera and then sends the pictures to China. Although progress has been made to improve IP laws in China, it is a long long, very long way from North American standards. The Chinese can reverse engineer anything and they take pride in that ability.

6. Expensive to do business. Just to start, you will need money to hire the right consultants, to cross red tap, to build the right kind of relationship, to help you survive cutthroat competition and to anticipate any unanticipated costs (which will happen, trust me!). Not to mention, it is easy to get money into China, but hard to get it out. RMB is heavily controlled by the state, no significant sum can be brought outside of the country without some serious red tap.

China is not for the faint of the heart. But one must keep the eyes on the prize, because the payoff can be huge and long lasting. Stay tune to my next post on how to minimize your risks.

More to Come

The Olympics has finally ended. It was so exciting and the energy was fantastic. I really miss it. Not mention the daily fireworks!

I wanted to do an Olympics wrap up post. But I got sick like many other Vancouerites after the Olympics has ended. Hence, to do a wrap up now seems a little behind the times.

Don't worry, I will be back in running in no time! Upcoming blogs include: riskes you should know when doing business in China or my feature destination: Sichuan, home of the Giant Pandas. Stay tune!

Olympics is a Great Business Learning Opportunity

The Olympics is not just about sports. It is also about doing business, business networking and for the younger generation, it is even a great chance to learn about business. I saw this interesting article from the George Washington University Hatchet this morning I thought I share (Click here for full article).

As part of a three-credit course called Behind the Scenes at the 2010 Winter Olympics Games, 28 graduate students are in Vancouver from Feb. 12 to 23, studying sport and event management firsthand.

"It's reinforcing things that they learned in the classroom. Here, it's a living laboratory. So they're hearing from the best of the best in terms of marketing and event management," professor and organizer of the course Lisa Delpy Neirotti said.

How much do Olympians Make?

An Olympian not only can get paid in gold, he or she can also expect a lot of green. According to Forbes.com, the top earning Olympics are (for video click here):

Number 5: Apolo anton Ohno - Speed Skating earn 1.5 million last year. Doing Dancing with the Stars might have helped him!
Number 4: Ted Ligety - Alphine Skiing earn 2 million last year.
Number 3: Lindsey Vonn - Alphine Skiing earn 3 million last year.

The number 1 spot is a tie between Kim Yu-Na (ice skating) from Korea and Shaun White (Snowboarding) from the US.

(photo courtesy of MSN.com)

They both earn 8 million last year. They are heavily sponsored by mega brands such as Hyundai Motors, Proctor & Gamble, Samsung, Nike, Universal Music, Burton, Target, Red Bull, Oakley, Ubisoft and AT&T.

Interesting note, 4 out of the top 5 are from the US! And pro athletes like NHL hockey players are not included in this list.

Millionaire Olympics are very few and far in between. There are still so many Olympic hopefuls are struggling and need our support! Keep their dreams alive!

A Very Gay Friendly Olympics

(photo courtesy of wikipedia.com)

While more than a third of the world is still hostile to gays and lesbians (shame!), west coast Canada is very gay-friendly. It is one of world's top gay wedding destination. When Olympics is going to be hosted here, it is no surprise that BC is going to show the world that we are very proud and want to celebrate of this fun loving culture.

Here are related events that are happening around Olympics period:

• Whistler Pride House's cocktail lounge: located at the Pan Pacific Whistler Village Centre Hotel and features TV monitors to watch events, plush leather couches for relaxing and socializing and art installations.
• The 2010 Whistler Gay Ski Week will be held March 1 to 8, between the Olympic Winter Games and the Paralympic Winter Games.
• Vancouver Pride House, located at the Qmunity centre, 1170 Bute St., will also host events until March 21 and is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• For more information go to: www.pridehouse.ca

Happy Chinese New Year of the Tiger! 新年快乐!

Happy Chinese New Year or Spring Festival! This year is the year of the tiger. This is the most important holiday to all who are ethnically Chinese.

CNY is based on the lunar calendar and the first day always falls on a different date. The best part for me growing up was CNY is actually 14 days long! Yes, you read it right, CNY is two weeks long! Needless to say, it is my favourite part of the year.

The Legend:

Long time ago, there was a beast named "Nian" (Nian 年 means year in Chinese). He terrorised the village every year on the first day. The villagers would leave out food offering for Nian, so he would not eat the livestock, crop and small children. This went on for years and years, the villager grew more scared, but angrier too. Finally, they decided to fight back. They made firecrackers that made really loud noises to scare Nian off. When Nian came to the village, everyone was still very scared. But one brave little boy who wore a red jacket stepped forward and threw the first firecracker at Nian. It worked! Nian ran off with his tail tucked behind his back. Therefore, the villagers every year celebrated the win over the beast with red decorations and firecrackers to keep Nian aka evil spirits away.

The Customs:

• To prepare for CNY, each family would clean the house thoroughly, get a new hair cut and even try to get rid of all debts (that includes library books on loan) to ensure a clean start for the new year.
  
• CNY is a family holiday much like Christmas. It is all about eating a large family feast on NY eve.
  
• In northern China, it is customary to make dumplings (饺子) with vegetable and pork fillings. People also like to tuck a coin in one of the dumplings. Whoever is lucky enough to bit into the coin dumpling, it is said he or she is going to have a good year.
• In southern China, people likes to make a sweeter treat called new year rice cake (年糕).
• Children often receive red envelops containing cash from their older and married relatives such as parents, grandparents and etc.
• Chinese people considers themselves a year older on the first day of CNY, not on their actual birthday. Therefore, the Chinese population technically only has one birth date.

Year of the Tiger:

Chinese Zodiac is a series of 12 animals that represents every year. 2010 is the year of the Tiger. For people who was born as a tiger (1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998), it is said :

Tiger people are sensitive, given to deep thinking, capable of great sympathy. They can be extremely short-tempered, however. Other people have great respect for them, but sometimes tiger people come into conflict with older people or those in authority. sometimes Tiger people cannot make up their minds, which can result in a poor, hasty decision or a sound decision arrived at too late. They are suspicious of others, but they are courageous and powerful. Tigers are most compatible with Horses, Dragons, and Dogs

My family and I will be celebrating in Vancouver amongst all the Olympics madness. I will be helping mom make won tons (since we are southerners) and other very yummy goodies. But no more red envelops for the very grown up me :(.

Olympics = $$$$$$ for the host city?

Other than Vancouver, many events are also held outside of the city. Many of the snow related sports are in Whistler. Recently, Whistler has made the news, not good news unfortunately. Whistler Ski Resort is owned by Intrawest who just ran into financial trouble aka missed a major debt payment. After the news broke, there was an air of panic whoever takes over Whistler was going to interfere with the Olympics only weeks away. Drama!

Before this, the construction of the Olympics village went way over budget by more than $100-million and has had to have its financing taken over by the city.

Is this type of controversy that sparks the debate whether the Olympics was a good idea in the first place? It is like a huge jigsaw puzzles with many uncertainties that has to come together and not to mention, it takes up massive amounts of resources. The cost almost always exceeds revenue.

I believe in Olympics is a good idea and a good financial idea. The key is not to expect the Olympics itself bring Vancouver any significant financial gain. The cost of the Olympics should be view as a marketing expense, a 580 million dollar expense. With revenue, the actual expense will not be as scary which we should be happy about.

As a host city of such massive international gathering, Vancouver is betting on the future. Let's use the Olympics in China as an example who viewed their Olympics as a coming out party for the county. It paid off almost right away. China was about to successfully negotiate with the World Trade Organization two months after it won the right to the 2008 Olympics in July 2001. The Olympics ultimately showed the world China's capabilities, infrastructure and resources which boosted trading and investment confidence the world has for her. During this economy recession, China was the first to bounce back while the rest world is still waiting.

I believe the 2010 Winter Olympics will do the same for Vancouver. More trading opportunities and more investment money will come as the world spot light shines on us for the next two weeks.

2010 Olympics! 2010 Olympics! 2010 Olympics!

Today is officially one week to 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver! For the next three weeks, I will mostly be doing blogs on my personal experience with the Olympics and Vancouver. Here it is a prelude.

Vancouver is one of my favourite cities in the world. Here is an amazing time laspe video of Vancouver created by David and Dan Newcomb featuring music by Linda Ganzini.




Many have described Vancouver as a big metropolitan with a small town feel due to its lack of highways and a forest of very tall buildings. Located in the most western province in Canada, Vancouver is the third largest city Canada behind Toronto and Montreal. Here are some quick facts:

Population: 2.6 million
Language: mostly English
Currency: Canadian Dollar (CAD)
Best time to travel: all year around depending on what you want to do
Weather:

• Nov to Feb – high of 8C (46F) to low of 0C (32F)
• Mar to May – high of 16C (61F) to low of 3C (37F)
• Jun to Oct – high of 22C (71F) to low of 10C (50F)

Most famous for:

• Majestic natural beauty. It is surrounded by water (Pacific Ocean) and mountains
• You can ski in the mountains, windsurf in the ocean and play a round of golf all in the same day
• Consistently voted one of the most liveable cities in the world
• Strong Asian presence and influence. Hence, some of the best Asian restaurants outside of Asia are here. Sushi is as fresh as it gets. Click here to follow my Vancouver restaurant reviews on Yelp.com.
  
• Rain, a lot of rain from November through March. But when the sun comes out, the city just shines.
• Host of Expo 86 and 2010 Winter Olympics
• One of the gateways to Asia Pacific. Shanghai is 9 hours away.

Surrounding Destinations:

• Whistler (2hr drive) - one of best snow resort towns in the world
• Victoria (2hr drive + ferry) – the capital of British Columbia province
• Tofino (2hr drive + ferry) – surfer paradise and rain forest
• Seattle, USA (3.5 hr drive)

I live in the heart of Vancouver and the Olympics, literally 10 feet away from BC Place which is where the opening ceremony is going to be held on February 12th at 6PM. Here are a few pictures of the area I overlook. It use to be an parking lot. Now it is tent city! The area is also heavily blocked off and surveillanced with CCTVs and a lot of police patrol. Now I only have one way in and out of my street. It is a bit, actually a lot of pain in my rear. But the Olympics hype is totally overriding that feeling.

To my back, is the Olympic Village. It is a beautiful area by Falls Creek and Science World (the big lit sphere). It is a fantastic area to go for a run. The athletics have already hung their country's flag proudly on the balconies. Very cool site!

Finding Pandora in China

Breaking all kinds of movie records, Avatar is a certified international mega hit. Being a travel buff, I left the movie wanting to visit Pandora. To my surprise, Pandora might not be that far.

MSNBC.com reports the floating "Hallelujah Mountains" was inspired by karst limestone formations in China. (click here for full article) James Cameron himself didn't not visit the locations. The Avatar designers and photographers visited Zhangjiajie and Yellow Mountain a few years ago and based the floating mountains these two locations.

China is now quick to capitalize on the enormous popularity of the movie and want to rename Zhangjiajie's "Southern Sky Column" to ""Hallelujah Mountain".

Check out blogs on my last trip to Yellow Mountain:
1. The Peaks of Yellow Mountain
2. Beyond Yellow Mountain

If you are interested in getting a glimpse of "Pandora", you are in luck, Ruby Roads Premium Travel and Events is offering a 12 day China tour package special at 50% OFF which includes 3 days in Yellow Mountain. Click here for full detail.

(Photo courtesy of www.news.cn)

What you don't know about the Great Wall of China (长城)

Everyone on the earth probably heard of the Great Wall of China. It is the symbol of China and pride of all Chinese people. How much do you know really know about the Great Wall. Do you know the wall was never a single continuous wall? Let's start from the beginning:

Who built it? The building of the wall started under the leadership of Qin Shi Emperor, the first emperor of China.

When was it built? It started approximately 2000 years ago during the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206BC). Later emperors kept on building and restoring. Majority of the wall you see today was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Why such a long wall? To protect the Northern borders of China and to keep the Mongols out.

How does it work? Soliders were stationed at each watch tower. If one of the towers spots the enemy movement towards the border, the soliders will light a huge fire in their tower. The next tower over sees the fire will proceed to light a fire in its tower and so on so forth. This is a way to quickly inform everyon along the border to be on high alert and prepare for battle.

How long is it really? The Chinese refers to the Great Wall as "The long wall of 10,000 li" (万里长城). Li is a traditional Chinese unit of distance. It is equal to 500 meters or 1640 feet. However, the actual length including all of its branches of the wall is 8851.8 km.

What major cities does it stretches through? From east to west, Beijing, Hebei, Tianjin, Liaoning, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia and Gansu.

(Image from www.enchantedlearning.com)

There are many sections of the wall that are well restored and popular amongst tourists from all over the world. Notable sections are:

Badaling (八达岭长城) - It is closest to city of Beijing and most popular section of the wall. It is where Nixon visited and was the finish site of a cycling course in the 2008 Summer Olympics. It has very steep inclines and has the highest point along the entire length of the wall.

Mutianyu (慕田峪长城) - Also very close to Beijing, but less crowded and less work to hike than Badaling.

Simatai (司马台长城) - A bit farther out of Beijing, however it has the most authentic part of the wall. It is of the original construction unlike Badaling which was built during the Ming Dynasty.

Jinshanling (金山岭长城) - It connects to section of Simatai.

Shanhaiguan (山海关长城) - this section is actually located in Hebei and Tianjin. It is about 3 hours of train from Beijing. The wall ends into the sea.

Interesting facts you might not know:

• The wall is not a single continuous wall.
  
• Since the wall was discontinuous, the Mogol found a way to go around and eventually conquered most of northern China. They started the Yuan Dynasty and ruled all of China until 1368 when the Ming defeated them. It was said the Mongols were greatest warriors, but lacked management skills.
• Over the 2000 years, approximately 50,000km of the wall were built. The earth's circumference is about 40,000km.
• There are more than 10,000 watchtowers and beacon towers on the wall

Travel Tips about the Wall

The Great Wall offers scenery that varies with seasons. But the winter months can be bitterly cold. Spring and fall are still the best time to go. Wearing good shoes is important unless hiking up is not your cup of tea. Then there are cable cart to take you to the notable peaks. If hiking down is not to your liking either, you can luge down!

There are vendors all along the major sections of the wall. No need to panic and pack tons of food and water for the hike. In fact, don't be surprised to see an old lady vendor carrying 50 pounds of stuff on her back passing you.

Majority of the Great Wall is not restored which the locals refer to as "Wild Walls". These sections can be pretty dangerous due to loose bricks, rocks and unruly vegetation. In addtion, China has no system of mountain and wilderness rescue. However, it is still becoming very popular to hike and camp in these areas despite the potential danger of completely being on your own.

The Winter Olympics is Almost Here!!

Only 28 days to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics!! The city is already hooping despite the unpredictable weather (usually rain dump and high wind in the morning, followed by sun in the afternoon).

From Bombardier Streetcar to Heineken House, here is a list of free events happening during this big international event.

If you are a business and want an opportunity to be invited to exclusive networking events during the games, register your company with 2010 Commerce Centre.

Now we just need to pray the weather will hold up and we get a lot of snow (only in the mountains) and sunny!

Faye's List of Articles, Websites and Social Networks to Follow for China Bound Leisure Travellers

After I compiling a list of article, website and social networks for China bound business travellers, now it is leisure travellers' term:

• China National Tourism Office Website - This should be your first stop before you plan for your trip. The comprehensive website gives you straightforward information about China and its major cities.
• Before heading to China, do you need a visa? what to pack? worried about SARS? This article (click here for full article) should answer all these questions and more.
• China Trip Videos (YouTube) - A little self promotion here. This is a Beijing video from the last group I led. More China related videos in production. Stay tune.
• One of China's biggest attraction is shopping! My favourite! But shopping in China is an art form. Here are some rules and myths you should know.
  
• Learn a little Chinese - English is not very wild spoken in China. It will definitely help to learn a little basic Chinese. If you are lazy or too busy and have an iPhone, be sure to download the free app called iTranslator to take on the road. This translator translates other languages too. It is best free language app I have found so far. There is also a paid option for voice service.
• HongLaoWei (YouTube) - This one is just for fun! HongLaoWei is a Caucasian man who enjoys making videos about China (especially the Communist aspect of China) in Chinese. China is a great country to travel to and explore, but you will encounter aspects of it that are unfamiliar to you, just keep an open mind. After all, this is why we travel.
  

For a list of Articles, Websites and Social Networks to Follow for China Bound Business Travellers - click here.

To book your customized leisure or business travel to China, please contact me at faye@rubyroads.com or visit us at www.rubyroads.com.