The Top Four Tourist Cities in China
Do you know that Beijing, Xian, Guilin and Hong Kong are the most visited cities in China?
A lot of people refer it as the 'golden route' or 'presidential route' after Bill Clinton visited these cities in 1998.
Certainly the golden route has a good combination of everything: great historical heritages, beautiful landscape, delicious Chinese food, great shopping and so on.
Best time to visit China is spring and autumn when China has beautiful weather and fewer tourists.
If you are a first-time visitor to China, the golden route is your top pick. You would need at least two weeks to complete the tours.
Beijing – you would need at least four nights to complete what you need to see and do.
Great Wall of China - the longest man-made architecture on earth. This should be your number one destination in Beijing.
Forbidden City - the former palaces and offices of Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is currently a museum with countless treasures.
Summer Palace - the most well preserved royal resort of Qing Dynasty.
Temple of Heaven is the symbol of Beijing. Ming and Qing emperors worshipped Heaven here.
Please do include a hutong tour in order to have an old Beijing feel. After all, don't forget a Beijing duck feast.
Tip: Beijing travel requires a lot of walking. Please be prepared for it.
Xian – everyone should visit Xian at least once in life, Chinese and foreigners alike. Spend three nights here is necessary to cover the most important sightseeing.
Xian has been a capital city for 13 dynasties, totaling 1,100 years. It was the world’s most prosperous city in Tang Dynasty, 1300 years ago.
The Terra Cotta Warriors is a full-scale replication of the Qin Dynasty army. There is no other place in the world you can see a life-size army of over 2,000 years old.
Banpo Neolithic village is a famous site of 6,000 years old which has typical features of a matriarchal society. You’ll also see clues of ancient burial, marriages, creative tools and artifacts.
In Xian, don’t forget to go for a dumpling feast which usually goes with a first class entertainment show of Tang Dynasty music and dance.
Guilin is ranked second on China’s list of top 10 tourists’ destinations. It has beautiful landscape integrated with fabulous countryside. Make sure you won’t miss the Reed Flute Cave, the Crown Cave and some of the beautiful peaks.
Don’t forget to make a day trip to Yangshuo where the best hills and waters are. Go there on a Li River cruise and return by bus. If you choose to stay overnight, you would be able to watch the spectacular ‘Liu Sanjie’ performance, which takes place on the Li River. Yangshuo is truly a place for you to relax and enjoy.
In Guilin, make sure to go for a rice noodle feast. Or you can just eat it as a street food at ¥2 per bowl. They are extremely yummy.
A Guilin tour including Yangshuo would require a minimum stay of three nights.
Hong Kong is very different from any other mainland Chinese cities. In Hong Kong, you can experience one-country-two-systems. I would suggest a minimum stay of three nights here.
Being Asia’s World City nowadays, Hong Kong is an important leg on the China travel golden route.
There are several ‘bests’ of Hong Kong. The world’s best night view, best skyline, best shopping paradise, best gourmet’s paradise and so on. You would be able to buy the trendiest everything here at the lowest prices in the world, including authentic luxury goods.
Cantonese cuisine is one of the yummiest among Chinese foods. Don’t forget to go for a dim sum lunch and a typical Cantonese seafood dinner.
Visit this site for more travel information of the China travel golden route.
About The Author
Anna Yuen
http://www.china-travel-golden-route.com
Anna is a Chinese, born and raised in Hong Kong. She is a headhunter who loves traveling. With her knowledge about her home country, she is proud to present China travel to the world. Visit her website here.
http://www.china-travel-golden-route.com
แสดงบทความที่มีป้ายกำกับ In China แสดงบทความทั้งหมด
แสดงบทความที่มีป้ายกำกับ In China แสดงบทความทั้งหมด
วันเสาร์ที่ 9 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2551
วันอาทิตย์ที่ 3 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2551
Teaching English In China by Tom Carter
Teaching English In China by Tom Carter
Teaching English in China: One Expat's Experience By Tom Carter
Having little luck finding an attractive job offer in the U.S. in 2004, I decided to take my skills where they were wanted -- abroad.
Enticed by the "Teach English in China -- No Experience Necessary" ads saturating the online classifieds, I emailed my resume with one hand and packed my bags with the other. I had no idea what to expect, but then, the great unknown can be what makes a job like teaching English in the People's Republic so appealing.
As the world's largest economy opens to foreign investment, education has become one of China's thriving sectors. Confucius probably wouldn't stand for it, but he wasn't wearing pinstripe suits and driving a shiny black sedan. The country may be Communist in theory, but the renminbi -- Chinese currency -- is emperor.
A Chinese adage says that the best advice is often born from the most challenging experiences. After three years helping the sons and daughters of Han learn English, I've had my share. Westerners looking to teach in China may want to consider the following before packing their bags.
Some foreign English teachers may be shanghaied at least once during their time in China. Baiting unsuspecting Westerners to China with false promises of a high salary, deluxe apartment, airfare reimbursement, visa or other incentives is a common online scam. Blame it on temptation. Often Chinese laws are too fluid and relationships ("guanxi" in Mandarin) with authorities too intimate, leaving some foreigners with little protection against scams.
The moment I arrived in the Middle Kingdom I had what some seasoned expatriates call "the complete Chinese experience." The "school" that had accepted my application turned out to be a nickel-and-dime operation run out of an apartment by a guy in his bathrobe. I'd come half way around the world for a job and found myself out of work.
I was literally lost in translation. Despair and a desire to return home to Mom set in. But I quickly learned that, commensurate with its sizeable population, China has a profusion of kindergarten, primary, middle and high schools and universities in even the most remote cities. In short order, I wound up with a position and salary more attractive than the one I had originally accepted.
Chinese parents may work night and day to pay for pricey English lessons so that their child can get a head start in this competitive society of 1.3 billion. Unfortunately, academics are not an issue to many of China's new educational entrepreneurs who put profit before curriculum and quality. Classroom experience and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification is nice, but in many cases a Western face is all a native English speaker needs to land a teaching job in China.
In more reputable schools, most prospective English teachers don't have it so easy. I endured a weeklong interview process, including a series of teaching demonstrations before 300 stern-looking parents, all while I was still jetlagged and suffering from culture shock. I must have done something right, because I was chosen to teach at a top school in the province.
Being rice-wined and dined by my prospective employer over 30-course banquet dinners did not distract me from negotiating a fair salary. Many foreigners ("laowai") prefer to live in a cosmopolitan city like Beijing or Shanghai than a small town such as the one I had chosen, and I was able to use this preference as leverage during contract discussions. All deals in China, like the price of fruit at the marketplace, can be negotiated.
Most English teachers in China needn't speak Mandarin in the classroom. Instead, we instruct students through a process of language immersion and simulation, which in time invariably leads to proficiency. Diligence and a little creativity are all that are really needed, but like performing on stage five times a day, it takes its toll.
Over the next few years, I would meet a number of disappointed young Westerners who came overseas as English teachers expecting to party all night and spend their free time pursuing adventures in the countryside. That, I would tell them, is a lifestyle for tourists, exchange students and embassy brats, not the hardworking teacher.
As a foreign expert English instructor, I'm scheduled for up to 30 classes a week and spend most of my free time planning lessons. I'm up at dawn with the older folks practicing their Tai Chi and not back home until after 10 p.m., about when the migrant construction workers also are getting off work.
I never thought I'd be an educator. I didn't like most of my teachers when I was a kid. Teachers the world over are typically low paid, overworked and underappreciated. But the fatigue and the hit on my income -- compared to what I might earn in the U.S. -- are what I pay for being part of a rapidly-changing China. As it turned out, I'm not so bad in front of the chalkboard -- I actually like it.
-- Mr. Carter is a business English trainer in Beijing.
###
This article originally appeared in a February 2007 edition of The Wall Street Journal Career Journal.
Tom Carter (http://www.tomcarter.org) of San Francisco is an internationally published freelance photographer and travel writer specializing in the People's Republic of China. Tom has traveled extensively throughout all 33 Chinese provinces and autonomous regions and currently resides in Beijing.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com
Teaching English in China: One Expat's Experience By Tom Carter
Having little luck finding an attractive job offer in the U.S. in 2004, I decided to take my skills where they were wanted -- abroad.
Enticed by the "Teach English in China -- No Experience Necessary" ads saturating the online classifieds, I emailed my resume with one hand and packed my bags with the other. I had no idea what to expect, but then, the great unknown can be what makes a job like teaching English in the People's Republic so appealing.
As the world's largest economy opens to foreign investment, education has become one of China's thriving sectors. Confucius probably wouldn't stand for it, but he wasn't wearing pinstripe suits and driving a shiny black sedan. The country may be Communist in theory, but the renminbi -- Chinese currency -- is emperor.
A Chinese adage says that the best advice is often born from the most challenging experiences. After three years helping the sons and daughters of Han learn English, I've had my share. Westerners looking to teach in China may want to consider the following before packing their bags.
Some foreign English teachers may be shanghaied at least once during their time in China. Baiting unsuspecting Westerners to China with false promises of a high salary, deluxe apartment, airfare reimbursement, visa or other incentives is a common online scam. Blame it on temptation. Often Chinese laws are too fluid and relationships ("guanxi" in Mandarin) with authorities too intimate, leaving some foreigners with little protection against scams.
The moment I arrived in the Middle Kingdom I had what some seasoned expatriates call "the complete Chinese experience." The "school" that had accepted my application turned out to be a nickel-and-dime operation run out of an apartment by a guy in his bathrobe. I'd come half way around the world for a job and found myself out of work.
I was literally lost in translation. Despair and a desire to return home to Mom set in. But I quickly learned that, commensurate with its sizeable population, China has a profusion of kindergarten, primary, middle and high schools and universities in even the most remote cities. In short order, I wound up with a position and salary more attractive than the one I had originally accepted.
Chinese parents may work night and day to pay for pricey English lessons so that their child can get a head start in this competitive society of 1.3 billion. Unfortunately, academics are not an issue to many of China's new educational entrepreneurs who put profit before curriculum and quality. Classroom experience and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification is nice, but in many cases a Western face is all a native English speaker needs to land a teaching job in China.
In more reputable schools, most prospective English teachers don't have it so easy. I endured a weeklong interview process, including a series of teaching demonstrations before 300 stern-looking parents, all while I was still jetlagged and suffering from culture shock. I must have done something right, because I was chosen to teach at a top school in the province.
Being rice-wined and dined by my prospective employer over 30-course banquet dinners did not distract me from negotiating a fair salary. Many foreigners ("laowai") prefer to live in a cosmopolitan city like Beijing or Shanghai than a small town such as the one I had chosen, and I was able to use this preference as leverage during contract discussions. All deals in China, like the price of fruit at the marketplace, can be negotiated.
Most English teachers in China needn't speak Mandarin in the classroom. Instead, we instruct students through a process of language immersion and simulation, which in time invariably leads to proficiency. Diligence and a little creativity are all that are really needed, but like performing on stage five times a day, it takes its toll.
Over the next few years, I would meet a number of disappointed young Westerners who came overseas as English teachers expecting to party all night and spend their free time pursuing adventures in the countryside. That, I would tell them, is a lifestyle for tourists, exchange students and embassy brats, not the hardworking teacher.
As a foreign expert English instructor, I'm scheduled for up to 30 classes a week and spend most of my free time planning lessons. I'm up at dawn with the older folks practicing their Tai Chi and not back home until after 10 p.m., about when the migrant construction workers also are getting off work.
I never thought I'd be an educator. I didn't like most of my teachers when I was a kid. Teachers the world over are typically low paid, overworked and underappreciated. But the fatigue and the hit on my income -- compared to what I might earn in the U.S. -- are what I pay for being part of a rapidly-changing China. As it turned out, I'm not so bad in front of the chalkboard -- I actually like it.
-- Mr. Carter is a business English trainer in Beijing.
###
This article originally appeared in a February 2007 edition of The Wall Street Journal Career Journal.
Tom Carter (http://www.tomcarter.org) of San Francisco is an internationally published freelance photographer and travel writer specializing in the People's Republic of China. Tom has traveled extensively throughout all 33 Chinese provinces and autonomous regions and currently resides in Beijing.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com
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