Memoirs of Beijing

November 11 is dubbed as Singles Day in China.  I’ve been here in China for 6 years but I’ve never experienced this day before or maybe I’m not just aware of it.  My colleague received a Chinese message from the telecom company advertising all the events that’s connected to this day.

Apparently they all moved the events in the weekend as nobody usually goes out in the cold and in the middle of the week.  Well.. being single is good and bad.  Good in the sense that you don’t have to answer to anyone except yourself and you can do whatever you want within reason.  Bad in the sense that there are times wherein you feel lonely.

So, what’s significant with Singles Day?  I don’t really know.  I just know it’s one of the numerous working holidays that China has.  :)  

Happy Singles Day everyone!  Oh yeah!  Happy Veteran’s Day as well in the US.

My sisters and mom just left from their vacation two weeks ago and life is back to normal.  Hahahaha!  If you want my sister’s account of her travels in the city, check her commentary on her blog site.  As for myself, I did all that I can do in Beijing on my first year here with Marco.

So.. before we take into consideration as to how many days.. we must consider what kind of trip would you like to have.   Do you want an amazing race adventure or a light and easy trip?   When you’ve decided if you want to kill or relax yourself, decide how many days would you like to stay in the city.  3, 4 or 5 days?

In any case, here’s a 3 day itinerary for you.  When I say 3 days, that’s 3 whole days so make the necessary adjustments.

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Late October last year, I posted a dummies guide to banking in China.  To start the Chinese New Year, I’m posting part 2 on my dummies guide.  Of the banks in China, I’ve banked with Bank of China, Bank of Communications, ICBC, China Construction Bank and China Postal Bank.  Among the services that these banks offered, I’ve only used online banking, credit card, savings account, time deposit account, salary account and bills payment.

Between October and the present, here are some stuff I missed in my previous note:

• ICBC can only provide either a passbook or an ATM account.  Bank of China on the other hand can provide you both passbook and ATM when you open an account.
• You can use your ATM card to withdraw in other countries as long as the ATM machine has the Unionpay logo.  Make sure it’s Unionpay as it also look similar to the JCB logo.  Maximum withdrawal per day is RMB 5,000 worth of whatever currency you’re in and RMB 15 for each withdrawal.  RMB 4 will be charged for balance inquiry.  This is a cheaper alternative than Western Union or Moneygram.          Read the rest of this entry »
  

Starbucks lovers are in for a treat as Starbucks China turns 10.  To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Starbucks rolled out their 10th anniversary tumbler, mugs and gift box.  Also, Starbucks lovers in Beijing and Tianjin will get 20% off this Friday, January 16 and Saturday, January 17 on their merchandise excluding hand crafted beverages, coffee beans and coffee passports.

So that means.. the Starbucks tumbler group lovers on multiply, should tell me to buy your faves this weekend to get 20% off.   Hahahaha!  Hey!  Any discount is always welcome!  Grab your favorite merchandise while it last!

Banking in China is a daunting and painful process for foreigners. In this post, I will be writing 5 years worth of experience in doing business with the local banks. The top 4 banks in China who also has branches in the hinterlands are Bank of China (BOC), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) and China Construction Bank (CCB). There are other banks which are branching out to more provinces such as Bank of Communication, China Merchants Bank, Shanghai Pudong Bank, CITIC Bank and China Post Savings Bank.

Here are some tips and trivia about banks in China:

• Most Chinese Banks are open 7 days a week from 9am to 5pm. Banks in office buildings are usually closed on the weekends.
• Queues are sometimes short but are usually long. Upon entering the bank, make a beeline right away at the number issuer machine. If they call your number and you aren’t there, you will need to take another number.      Read the rest of this entry »
  

Located in the hidden courtyard at the back of Pacific Plaza in Sanlitun. Duck De Chine is one of the new Peking Duck restaurant which opened up in Beijing. Ken, Bianca and I ate there after attending a birthday drinking session.

The area where the restaurant is located is quite nice and perfect for a garden wedding. It has a homey feel and serenity that is hard to find in a bustling city like Beijing. The ambiance inside the restaurant is one of elegance and quiet beauty. Brown bricks, red lamps, champagnes in cabinets and black cloth tables. It’s a good place to impress your friends and enjoy Beijing’s famous duck.

As for the food, it was superb and perfect! A gong sound accompanied the start of the duck cutting. They have several fill-ins to put along with your duck which wasn’t oily and was cooked just right. The sweet and sour pork reminds me of my mom’s cooking. The only downside is the rice we ordered never came out.

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If Shanghai is considered as the financial capital of China, Beijing is considered as the cultural capital.  Beijing is in northern China surrounded by Tianjin and Hebei.  It is the seat of the national government and has been the capital of numerous dynasties.  That’s why, wars were fought in Peking, former name of Beijing and numerous cultural structures abound in this municipality.

Here’s a list of the cultural marvels which you can visit while you’re here in Beijing.  I will be posting the most frequented spots which tourists visit.

1.  Great Wall of China (长城) - “He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man”.  This is one of the famous sayings which is associated with this landmark structure.  This wall is a must-see place and what’s the point of going to Beijing if you don’t visit the Great Wall.  There are 4 parts of the wall which you can visit: Badaling (tourist bus aplenty), Mutianyu (fewer compared to Badaling), Jinshanling/Simatai (hiker’s haven!) and Huanghuacheng (with a lake view).

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Milk is an important source of calcium which is good for our bones.  Babies can consume several bottles of milk a day as it’s their source of food.  So, when the news reported that some of the milk are tainted with melamine, first thing which came into my mind was, here we go again.

Melamine is a chemical used to produce plastic, inks and fertilizers.  If added in food products, it will increase the protein content.  If ingested, melamine may lead to reproductive damage, bladder or kidney stones and bladder cancer.  To date, 4 infants in China already died due to drinking tainted milk.   Over 12,000 children with more than 90% of them younger than 3 years old are hospitalized due to symptoms of drinking milk with melamine.

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Dropped by again at the Starbucks near my home and they have the autumn and the Halloween collection already. I tried taking pictures with my camera-phone but it didn’t look good. So, I just downloaded the ones from their website and will post it here.

Let’s start with this year’s anniversary blend tumbler and mug (picture on the right). The tumbler design is brown in color with a mermaid. I’m not sure if this is available in other countries but my cousin has it already. They’re selling so fast so if you want one, you better grab one already!

Then we have the Autumn flower collection. The mugs on this collection has both painted and embossed flowers. I’m not a fan of the bluegreen color but the red one is ok. Also, it’s not as striking as the anniversary tumbler but if you’re into collecting, might as well buy one. Hehehehe!

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The lead up to the Olympic Games brought a flurry of construction in Beijing.  Buildings sprung up left and right as if everyone’s in a mood to construct.  Here’s a list of the modern marvels which you must see when you’re in town for a visit:

1.  National Stadium aka Bird’s Nest - This 91,000 seating capacity stadium is located north of the 4th ring road at the southern part of the Olympic Green.  It’s the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of both the Olympics and Paralympic Games.  It is also where the athletic events are being held.  Rumors said that it will be the home of Beijing Guo’an after the Games.

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