Destination: China
Wanted in Beijing: Tourists?
by Eva Holland | 07.29.08 | 10:35 AM ET
Not so long ago, as many as 2 million visitors were expected to descend on Beijing for the Olympic Games. But according to the Telegraph, those hordes have yet to appear—thanks in part to tightened visa restrictions, turmoil in Tibet and the state of the U.S. economy—and the capital’s hotels are now cutting prices by as much as 50 percent in an effort to fill up those empty rooms.
Email to friend
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Mixx
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! BuzzBeijing: Eight Olympic ‘Don’t Asks’ of Travelers
by Eva Holland | 07.24.08 | 3:19 PM ET
The latest target in China’s pre-Olympic tidying? Small talk. Concerned that inquiries about income, religion or age—routine in China, but taboo in much of the West—might offend visitors, a district Propaganda Department in Beijing has put up posters advising locals about what not to ask.
Beijing: ‘The Sanitized City’?
by Eva Holland | 07.22.08 | 11:35 AM ET
As we’ve noted, China has been tidying up its restaurant menus—both in terms of ingredients and language—in the lead-up to the Olympics next month. But, says the Globe and Mail’s Geoffrey York, the clean-up is about more than food, and it’s going too far. “China’s capital city is being sanitized and sterilized to within an inch of its life,” he writes in a recent blog post. “It’s being cleaned and tidied and swept up to the point where it feels like an artificial replica of itself.”
Lack of Tourists Hurting China’s Panda Center
by Joanna Kakissis | 07.21.08 | 11:17 AM ET
The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding didn’t suffer physical damage from the deadly earthquake that left 90,000 people dead or missing earlier this year. But spooked tourists cancelled trips to the region, leaving only about 300 people visiting daily—about one-tenth of the normal volume, NPR reports.
Hong Kong International Named World’s Best Airport
by Jim Benning | 07.16.08 | 1:48 PM ET
Pico Iyer once wrote that “Setting foot in Hong Kong’s new airport was the first time I felt I was stepping into the 21st century.” Others clearly agree: Hong Kong International has just been named the world’s best airport—for the seventh time—based on a passenger survey conducted by a U.K. consulting firm that collected a whopping 8 million responses. Coming in second and third: Singapore’s Changi Airport and Seoul’s Incheon Airport.
Related on World Hum:
* Travel Writers Pick Their Favorite Airports
Photo of Hong Kong International Airport by ztij0 via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
Beijing Bans ‘Fragrant Meat’ for 2008 Olympic Games
by Joanna Kakissis | 07.15.08 | 2:29 PM ET
Any Olympics tourists dining at one of the 112 official Olympic restaurants won’t see dog on the menu, the BBC reports.
World’s Worst Tourists?
by Julia Ross | 07.07.08 | 1:55 PM ET
Once again, it’s the French, Indians and Chinese, according to an annual survey of hoteliers by the French version of Expedia. The latest poll of 4,000 hotel employees in Europe and North America calls the French out for being impolite and unwilling to communicate in foreign languages, deems the Japanese most liked and declares the Italians best dressed.
Taiwan Braces for Cross-Strait Tourists
by Julia Ross | 07.03.08 | 11:01 AM ET
Oh, to be on the streets of Taipei this weekend. The first planeloads of Chinese tourists allowed under a new cross-strait travel agreement are set to arrive in Taiwan tomorrow, and the Taiwanese are bracing for culture shock. Reports Reuters: “Taiwan citizens, who are influenced heavily by hyper-polite Japan, fear Chinese will yell, spit or cut in on queues, all of which are an anathema to many Taiwanese.”
The Five-Week Web Workout Plan for the Beijing Olympics
by Jim Benning | 07.01.08 | 11:48 AM ET
UC Irvine history professor and World Hum contributor Jeffrey Wasserstrom is determined to pump you up—intellectually speaking—for the Olympic Games. Last November, we noted his suggested reading list, which included no fewer than 12 books.
‘Good Teachers Make for Good Journeys’
by Julia Ross | 06.30.08 | 10:53 AM ET
In over 30 years as a foreign correspondent, the New York Times’ Howard French has struggled with his fair share of language lessons, taking on everything from Haitian Creole to Japanese. He recalls these sometimes exhausting attempts in his last “Letter from China,” written as he prepares to leave his posting in Shanghai to return to the U.S.
An Official Press Tour in Tibet: ‘Far From the Ideal Way to Gather News’
by Eva Holland | 06.27.08 | 10:31 AM ET
As we noted yesterday, Tibet has just been reopened to foreign visitors for the first time since March. The Globe and Mail’s Beijing bureau chief, Geoffrey York, was one of a select group of journalists invited to the region during the lockdown, and in this grimly humorous blog post he recalls the “unsolicited wake-up calls,” “official minders” and the dreaded “man with the megaphone” who made his official press tour not-so-pleasurable.
Photo by mckaysavage via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Related on World Hum:
* Travel Junkets: On the Way Out or More Popular Than Ever?
Japanese Athletes Train Their Taste Buds at Pre-Olympics ‘Food Camp’
by Joanna Kakissis | 06.27.08 | 10:07 AM ET
The Games are all about cultures coming together, but unity’s hard to come by when it comes to food. Especially when you’re from Michelin-starred Japan, home to some of the choosiest eaters in the world. To prepare for three weeks of food in Beijing, Japanese Olympians are attending food training programs to get used to eating Chinese staples like cold spring rolls, fried catfish and noodles—and not with chopsticks but with the plastic cutlery that will be available at the Olympic village, Reuters reports.
‘Tibet Reopens to Foreign Tourism’
by Michael Yessis | 06.26.08 | 1:50 PM ET
That’s the headline on the BBC story. The AP goes with China Reopens Tibet to Foreign Tourists. And China Daily goes with a little something extra: Tibet Greets First Foreign Tourists After Riot.
Related on World Hum:
* China Blocks Travel to Ethnic Tibetan Regions
China’s Olympic Mascots: Cute or Cursed?
by Julia Ross | 06.23.08 | 12:31 PM ET
Those adorable Beijing Olympic mascots—known in Mandarin as “fuwa,” or good luck dolls—may not be so lucky after all. Superstitious Chinese say the five cartoon animals are responsible for a string of calamities that has befallen their nation this year. Perhaps this means a discount on mascot-laden souvenirs come August?
Photo by Andrew Currie via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Dining in Beijing? Don’t Order the ‘Chicken Without Sexual Life’
by Jim Benning | 06.19.08 | 10:57 AM ET
Yes, it’s hard to resist. Instead, ask for the “steamed pullet.” Don’t worry, it’s the same dish. Reuters explains.
Related on World Hum:
* Spit-Free Trains in China? Say It Ain’t So.
* Twelve Books to Read Before Traveling to China
Related on TravelChannel.com:
* Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods Blog: ‘Beijing Baby’