Memoirs of Beijing

Chinese New Year holiday is a bit quiet for Beijing standards.  My Harbin experience went down the drain as I wasn’t able to get a train ticket back and I’ve been a prat for making plans without taking into consideration my travel buddy who also would like to go there.  Anyway, did you know that…

WIDOW YEAR

As I was having lunch with my friend last month, I was telling her about my friend who’s getting married.  She then mentioned that this year is not a good year to get married. 

The reason?  This year is a Widow Year.

Chinese has a superstition that if the Chinese New Year falls after the start of Spring which happened in early February, the year is considered as a bad year for marriage.  You wouldn’t want to be a widow don’t you?

AIR CHINA FLIES TO MANILA

Starting on 29 March 2010, Air China will be flying direct to Manila, three times a week.  They will complement PAL’s current schedule who flies four times a week.  As an opening promo from 29 March to 29 April, Air China is selling roundtrip tickets from RMB 1430 and up exclusive of taxes.

Schedule:  

• Beijing to Manila – CA179       2000-0055+1      Mon, Wed and Sat
• Manila to Beijing – CA180       0630-1100          Tue, Thu and Sun

For those planning to go home for the Easter holidays, this is a good chance for you to spend the holidays with your family.  Easter Sunday also falls on the Qing Ming festival weekend.

VISIT BEIJING’S TOP TOURIST SPOTS FOR FREE

To boost the top tourist places in Beijing, the Beijing Tourism Bureau recently launched the so called “Visit Beijing during Spring Festival” project.  Visitors from here and abroad who are planning to visit during the holiday are encouraged to register at http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn for a chance to win tickets to Beijing’s top tourist spots.  There will be 300,000 tickets up for grabs and lucky draw winners will be sent a notification on their mobile phone. 

I’ve tried and I didn’t win.  My friend’s sister got a ticket so you know it’s the real deal.  Have fun!  Oh yeah.. don’t restrict yourself for the Spring Festival only.  Tickets are valid till March.

LANTERN FESTIVAL

This year’s Lantern Festival falls on 28 February 2010.  The Lantern festival marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebration.  It’s the 15th day of the 1st month of the lunar calendar.  This festival also marks the last day where fireworks are allowed to be lit in Beijing.

Last year’s lantern festival was quite remarkable as the biggest firework of them all was lit.  Fireworks burned the almost completed Mandarin Oriental which is beside the CCTV building.  The building is still standing and from the rumors circulating around, they’ll be just renovating it as they can’t tear it down due to structural issues.

BACKSTREET BOYS “THIS IS US” CONCERT

Yes.. the Boys are back and they’re coming to Beijing!  I’m not sure if I should be giddy with excitement or just passed it up but in any case, the Backstreet Boys included Beijing on their “This is us” world tour.

Their Beijing pit stop will be on March 17, 2010 at the Wukesong Arena.  Concert starts at 730pm.  Ticket costs RMB 180/280/480/680/880/1080/1280.  You can head to piao.com.cn for ticket inquiries and purchase. 

Oh yeah.. if you plan to watch, don’t buy the RMB 1280.  Concerts in China are not unlike other countries.  People should sit and not stand and dance. 

That’s it for now.. Happy Spring Festival!

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