Destination: Beijing
Jan Wong: Looking Back at China’s Darker Days
by Eva Holland | 10.02.09 | 5:26 PM ET
In a powerful column, Jan Wong, the author of Red China Blues: My Long March From Mao to Now looks back on her complicated love affair with China—from studying abroad in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution to covering the Tiananmen Square massacre from a hotel room uncomfortably nearby. As the country celebrates its 60th anniversary this week, it’s good to see some thoughtful reflection on the dark times in China’s past, too. (Via @DougSaunders)
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Yahoo! BuzzChina Closes Tibet to Foreign Travelers
by Jim Benning | 09.23.09 | 2:25 PM ET
Why, you ask?
According to the AP, the closure is designed to ensure stability during celebrations of the 60th anniversary of communist rule in China, which will be marked Oct. 1. The closure will remain in effect through Oct. 8.
Officials have also curtailed kite flying in Beijing.
Critics will shake their heads, but I can think of no better way to celebrate authoritarian rule. Nicely done, China.
Is Ikea ‘The Disney World of China’?
by Eva Holland | 08.25.09 | 5:03 PM ET
Gawker is inexplicably bemused by an L.A. Times article about the Beijing Ikea, where—apparently this is a shock—locals go “just to hang out.” What, New Yorkers don’t like to lounge on the dining room sets with no intentions of buying? And here I thought that was something people worldwide could agree on.
Welcome to ‘Queuing Day’ in Beijing
by Eva Holland | 08.12.09 | 11:04 AM ET
The Olympics might be long over, but it seems Beijing isn’t done with its campaign for civic improvement.
In the lead-up to last summer’s Games, we covered the efforts on the part of local officials to tidy up everything from small talk to restaurant menus, and now, one year later, they’re tackling line-ups too—or rather, the lack thereof. The director of Beijing’s Capital Ethic Development Office is implementing monthly “Queuing Days” to encourage waiting in line at subway and bus stops, instead of the standard mad rush. The Globe and Mail’s Mark MacKinnon has the full story.
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Beijing’ by Patrick Watson
by Jim Benning | 07.09.09 | 1:00 PM ET
Photo We Love: Serious Stretching in Beijing
by World Hum | 06.29.09 | 1:45 PM ET
REUTERS/Grace Liang A man stretches during a morning exercise session at a Beijing park.
Michael Jackson: A Global Force in Life and Death
by World Hum | 06.26.09 | 11:07 AM ET
REUTERS/Patrick De Noirmont See the full photo slideshow »
Welcome to Hotel Quarantine
by Julia Ross | 06.18.09 | 12:31 PM ET
American media executive/blogger Mike Su just wrapped up five days in hotel quarantine in Beijing, after flying in from L.A. seated near someone with flu-like symptoms. Bad luck, but at least he used his time in the big house productively, chronicling The Seven People You’ll Meet in Hotel Quarantine. Yep, a few of these characters sound achingly familiar.
Finding Trouble in Asia: Let Us Count the Ways
by Julia Ross | 06.09.09 | 4:31 PM ET
Is it me, or has it been a surreal few months for Americans in Asia? Guidebook writers and State Department travel monitors, take note: a few new travel “don’ts” have entered the lexicon. To recap, here’s what we know not to do next time we journey East.
Returning Home: A Tougher Transition?
by Julia Ross | 03.26.09 | 11:08 AM ET
In a recent Wall Street Journal column, Alan Paul writes that he’s feeling persistent grief, three months after returning to the U.S. following a three-year stint in China. He misses his neighborhood noodle restaurant in Beijing, and his kids miss the friends they made at their international school. It’s been a rougher transition than moving to Beijing in the first place, a sentiment shared by several former expats he interviews about cultural re-entry.
“I have certainly found myself carrying a heavier sense of loss here than I ever did there,” he notes. “During my stay in Beijing, people in the U.S. would ask me about missing home and often didn’t believe me when I said it wasn’t a problem. I longed for specific people or places, sometimes profoundly, but I never had a deep sense of loss, simply because I knew that my old existence wasn’t gone forever; it was on hold and I would be returning to it ...”
Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
by World Hum | 03.26.09 | 9:28 AM ET
REUTERS/David Gray A man walks through a group of works by Chinese artist Yue Minjun, one of which is carrying women's handbags, on display outside the Today Art Museum in central Beijing.
Tiananmen Square, China
by World Hum | 03.12.09 | 11:41 AM ET
REUTERS/Reinhard Krause Hostesses pose for pictures on Tiananmen Square during the closing ceremony of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing.
Video: Jeffrey Tayler on His New Book, ‘Murderers in Mausoleums’
by World Hum | 02.26.09 | 5:27 PM ET
Jeffrey Tayler discusses traveling from Moscow to Beijing, "drink by drink."
Wumen Gate, Forbidden City, China
by World Hum | 02.17.09 | 11:03 AM ET
REUTERS/Jason Lee Snow falls over the Wumen Gate of the Forbidden City at night in Beijing.
Morning Links: Bill to End Cuba Travel Ban Introduced, Facebook ‘Flashmobs’ and More
by Jim Benning | 02.10.09 | 10:27 AM ET
- Nine representatives have introduced a House bill calling for an end to the ban on travel to Cuba. !Suerte!
- A new Mandarin Oriental hotel in Beijing—not yet occupied, thankfully—burned last night.
- The economy of air travel: Demand for international flights is “in freefall.”
- A Facebook “flashmob” organized by “Crazzy Eve” hits a London train station.
- New York Magazine: “Why Sully may be the last of his kind.”
- Travel photographer Peter Guttman has crammed his home with souvenirs.
- Hotels spent more than $9 million lobbying elected officials last year.
- You wanna be a YouTube travel star? Christopher Elliott has tips.
- Travel publishers are feeling the effects of the recession. But sales of Frommer’s “Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World” remain strong. Whew.
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