What to see in Beijing? Beijing Part 2:

If you are a first time visitor to China, you are most likely to land in Beijing first. Beijing has been a capitol to China for roughly 700 years since Kublai Khan’s time, so as you can imagine, there are a lot of things to see here.

The question is, given the limited time that a visitor has, what exactly should he/she see in Beijing? For a quick geographical and historical reference, check my old thread Beijing, Part 1!

A few things before we get started :

1. I am going to assume that you are carrying a guide book of some kind when you get here. While I personally believe guide books can give people a false sense of security when travelling, they are still indispensable when it comes to listings, maps, transportation options, and simple phrases in the local language. Therefore, I won’t list the transportation details when I list the places worth your time.
2. I’ll repeat my mantra about this ancient and Byzantine city, stay by the subway. It’s VERY EASY to get LOST in Beijing. I can’t count the number of times that I have lost people whenever they think they know where they are going. Some old timers/taxi drivers will also uses archaic names/landmarks that no longer in use/exist to describe certain places, all the while completely ignoring/can not understand the modern address that you have in your guide book.
3. Most of the decent attractions can be reached by subways or are probably within the Second Ring Road.
   
4. I’ll only focus on the attraction in this post, so you will have to wait for the shopping or other guides later.

So what should you go see in a city that is a capital of an ancient country for 700 years? Everything else but the shining buildings. I am sure you have seen enough skyscrapers at home, and you aren’t interested in seeing more unless they are just too weird (there are plenty) and you must take a picture.

Here we go:

1. Jingshan Park (景山公园). Here is a little tip. Before you zipped off to the Great Wall or the Forbidden Palace, come here first to this little park. Why? Because this is the ONLY PLACE in Beijing to get a shot for the ENTIRE FORBIDDEN PALACE. Since you can’t build tall buildings inside the Second Ring Road, this is the tallest structure/man made Hill inside the moat. It’s a lesser known secret that a lot of people miss when they come here. You will probably never get more beautiful shots of Beijing than here. From this place, you can clearly see how well planned Beijing was and how structured it was. You can clearly see the Central Way that runs straight North to South splitting the city in half. On a sunny day, it’s a sight to behold. It’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in Beijing. And while you are on top of the hill, pray at the temple for your temporary intrusion, he is been there for a while to look after the place so you can have this view.
2. Beihai Park 北海公园 low through. TheAnother awesome place. There are a lot of places of interest in here, and to really see it all, it’s probably best to give it 4-5 hours. Most places of interest are already well described by various guide books. The Circular Wall (Tuancheng) is a actual left over structure from the Kublai Khan’s times. The entirely Jade statue of Budda is a sight to behold. You might be interested to know that this place showcases ancient Chinese drainage technology with the bricks forming an intricate layer of gaps to let water flow down. The Long Corridor is one of the longest running Chinese style corridors in the world. It’s quite a sight to behold on the opposite of the lake. You might also be interested to know that the “scene” you see across the lake or on the lake from this structure is landscaped/built with the idea of a Chinese calligraphy painting in mind, with the little pagodas and small building roofs peeking through the trees. You will probably find a lot of locals here, especially in Summer time. It’s a great place to take a date in Beijing. You might also find impromptu Chinese opera singing, or dancers around the 5 Dragon Pavilion.
   
3. Houhai/ QianHaii 后海, also 什刹海, also Lotus Market It’s right by the BeiHa park, so I might as well mention it. But it’s almost pointless for me to mention this place, because it’s the hippest part of town since Sanlitun got partially torn down. It’s still worth a walk through, just because of how unique it is. The Hutongs are here, if you walk out of the Lotus Lane’s gates and start to walk around in the neighbourhood, but it’s fairly gentrified and a bit touristy now. It’s up to you to decide on the tricycle or not. The naming of the place is a bit complicated. Qianhai is the connected to the lotus lane, which is what you will see if you enter through the lotus gate in the front by the Beihai park. Qianhai is connected to the more popular bar/pup/club hop joints in the back sea or Houhai through JinDing Qiao which is one of the oldest and shortest bridge in Beijing. Never, I repeat, never take a taxi THROUGH here. And if your host asks, NEVER drive the car through here or try to park here. This place is getting extremely commercialized, with the Starbucks at its head doing very brisk business. I don’t exactly recommend eating here or buying anything here if you are budget conscious. The food go from Not Bad, to Ok, to tourist crap. All the beer/drinks are ridiculously, extravagantly out priced. 40-50 RMB for a 3-5 RMB beer is not unheard of. However, if you have the time(it’s just a 5 minute walk), you should take a peek at Prince Gong’s Mansion/Gong WonFu. That’s just a nicer name for it. This place is better known as HeShen’s Mansion by the Chinese people. Who is HeShen? He is the most corrupt official in Chinese’s 5000 years of history. When he was executed much later by the son of the Emperor that brought him to power, and his estate confiscated, his total net worth was calculated to be worth 10 years of China’s GDP at the time! So it’s quite a sight. And now you know where that skimming culture comes from.
4. Drum & Bell Towers aka GuLou & ZhongLou It’s not a very popular place. But this is where old Beijing is at. When they talk about Hutongs with small alleyways and closed in family/communal court yards this is a good example. Walk around and check out old Beijing for a bit.
5. Tian Tan aka Temple of Heaven aka 天坛 I wanted to briefly mention this place. This is Beijing’s symbol, so it’s unlikely you will miss it. However, a lot of people miss the very interesting Imperial Kitchens exhibit and the Chinese musical instrument museum. Go take a gander.
6. The Imperial College This place was quite interesting for me, because it was hidden and out of the way, so it felt kinda like a secret discovery. This was where the best and brightest of Chinese student came to learn and the only “official” University in the entire country. The Emperor will come here and do a lecture when he feels like it. If you really want to get to know about Chinese culture and see how the Chinese was able to educate its people and build such wonderful things, it’s a interesting little place. It’s not very big or exciting though. My years of teaching probably resulted in my fonder image of this place.
7. Jie Tai Temple, or Jie Tan Temple (the temple of the altar) This is NOT a very well known place, and this place is still a real temple with real monks training and living here. It’s too bad that they are trying to ruin such a spiritual place with more tourism/tourist stuff and the intention to build condos on the huge but used to be tranquil grounds. I still recommend you to go see it. It is situated on Ma’an hillside of the Western Hills in Beijing 25 kilometers from Beijing. First built in the reign of the first emperor of the Sui Dynasty (581- 600) and named as Hui Ju Temple, it has a history of over 1,400 years. I recommend you take the whole day for this place. Try not to buy any incense or Buddhism stuff until you are inside the temple. You can get drinks anywhere though. There are a lot of things to see here. If you are the hiking type, take the road to the back mountains to the dragon pond where one of the area’s river originated. The Tower Forest (my translation) or the place where they place the tomb stones of the famous monks through out Northern Chinese history is quite a sight to behold. It’s a somber but beautiful place. The dignity and tranquillity is quite tingling to the bones for the spiritually inclined. If you are a Buddhist, you MUST Visit this place.

Whew, this post became longer as I go along. This is just scratching the surface though. You can spend a life time in Beijing and still find something new and interesting as long as it hasn’t been torn down and poured over with concrete. There are still a lot of places I haven’t been to but meaning to hit. I’ll update as I get more time to reminisce.

Good luck in your travels.

More books for you to learn more about China:

The Last Days of Old Beijing

Good book, and I haven’t finished all of it yet. I’ll write a review and post it on LibraryThing later.

A bit of description from Amazon:

A fascinating, intimate portrait of Beijing through the lens of its oldest neighborhood, facing destruction as the city, and China, relentlessly modernizes.

Soon we will be able to say about old Beijing that what emperors, warlords, Japanese invaders, and Communist planners couldn’t eradicate, the market economy has. Nobody has been more aware of this than Michael Meyer. A long-time resident, Meyer has, for the past two years, lived as no other Westerner—in a shared courtyard home in Beijing’s oldest neighborhood, Dazhalan, on one of its famed hutong (lanes). There he volunteers to teach English at the local grade school and immerses himself in the community, recording with affection the life stories of the Widow, who shares his courtyard; coteacher Miss Zhu and student Little Liu; and the migrants Recycler Wang and Soldier Liu; among the many others who, despite great differences in age and profession, make up the fabric of this unique neighborhood.

All the Tea in China

A decent business book, similar to one of my all time favourite Chinese memoirs Mr. China. It’s not a memorable as Mr. China, and the writings are much drier and less consistent. It’s a specific focus on the manufacturing industry and a story on the great US outsourcing machine. He does give excellent advice on when NOT to outsource to China, which should be heeded by all.

And before I forget, I’ll post my review for

Mr. China:

Now, this is how a memoir should be written, especially on a subject like China. He was charmed by the mystery of China, and moved there on a whim and a prayer. (Actually I felt that his Madam Butterfly reference is fairly correct, because that’s almost how China is. )

He moved to Beijing around 1988/89, and tried to learn Mandarin in a Chinese University. He ate cabbage Beijing style, and watched the slow transition of a country’s rise from communist country to that of a quasi captialist one. As Clissold has said in the book, the Chinese are captialists in heart.

In less than 20 years, China has risen from a super poor country to a quasi economical super power. The burning passion from every Chinese to escape poverty, crime, governmental control, and their attempts at building a brighter future for themselves are all presentd here in this book.

This isn’t a sucess story. In fact, this is a story about failures, but the more he “failed”, the more he learned about China in a more fundamental way. The last chapter is especially touching. He decided to travel 1000 kms on his bike through some of the poorest regions of Northern China. And how he felt when he went to Pudon in Shanghai. In his own words, “I felt like I’ve been inside for too long, and when I came out, the sunlight was blinding me.”

His parting wisdom is important to all that players effecting China – China will be China, and it will do things on its own pace, in its own way. You can’t hope that China will change on your behalf, because it won’t. All those people that said that China will eventually see light of reason and play the way everyone plays, well.., read this book.

HIGHLY recommend it!

Working in China (&Teaching English) Part 3:

This is part 3 of a long series on this topic, be prepared for acidity and jadedness:

Take all job offers (especially online) with enough salt to dry the dead sea.

Most westerners are hired for a few reasons in China, and here they are:

1. Mascot. You are the resident parade monkey they use to show off some aspects of his/her company. Be it metropolitan, cool, international, recognition, technology, or trustworthiness; there is something they need to put a foreign face on, and you are IT. Some people hated it, some people love it, and it’s up to you.

2. Technology Transfer. You may have worked in a company that has the technology/or just technical know how that they need. The requirements aren’t that technical in reality, you could have just worked in the industry and they just wanted to know how things were done over “there”.

3. Language/Communication Skills. Quite a few Chinese companies take over jobs from western service companies that works with multi-nationals or mid cap companies who aren’t interested or can’t deal with the complex bureaucracy needed in China to process certain things. They are often run by Chinese American(insert western country)s and staffed by high educated Chinese employees. But most of the time, they still have no clue how the “outside world” works, and they have trouble communicating what they can do, what is done and how the deadline works. Teleconferencing is actually a hell of embarrassment for a lot of highly educated/paid Chinese workers. Go figure.

4. Project Management. A lot of Chinese companies/people have trouble with this. This concept isn’t really very well understood in China. Even though China created the 4 great inventions of the world, when one speaks in terms of actual work, Chinese people are task(single goal), and routine orientated. Some companies or managers will run a project without knowing what the term means or how to take advantage of the available sources this sector has. You probably should speak a bit of Chinese.

5. Teachers. Most foreign ESL/English teachers are hired for a few things, mostly bragging rights and face time. It’s a very old cliche’ now for ESL schools to advertise that they have (in big and bright letters) FOREIGN teachers that teaches how many hours in their course. A few companies hire English teachers to upgrade their staff’s English levels, but most of the time, only the upper tier of service industry/or international company’s Chinese division that will do this. If you are coming here to teach, expect the competition to be fierce.

6. Deal with other Foreigners. A lot of Chinese companies don’t understand what western consumers want, which makes sense. These pampered companies haven’t really had to compete for every customer. Every market they ever entered had been a vacuum to start with. Customer service isn’t their strong suit. So what better way to deal with foreign customers than hiring foreigners? Expect to speak Chinese.

Don’t expect your contract to be sacred or to get paid (on time or at all).

Pay is a complicated issue in China. If you are coming here to teach English, and you are teaching in a private school in gods know where, there is a high chance that you might get cheated on your pay. NEVER tell any of your Chinese friends how much you make. The cultural landmines are surrounded by barb wires, lasers and sharks in moats. Leave it alone.

Is public school better? Well…, at least the promised room and board is real.

If you are coming to work in China, go through your contract VERY carefully. Make sure you have at least 1 copy of both English and Chinese version sign by both parties and possibly authenticated by a translator/lawyer you can trust. If it’s an important job, make sure important people know about it. You might want to give your home country’s business committee in China a heads up. Ask them about a good lawyer that you can trust, so you can double check that thing is kosher.

If you are going to work in a smaller city/town, be prepared to be a rock star.

Meaning, you will get stared at no matter WHERE you go. Most people find the attention flattering at first, until they learned that their friendliness actually have very heavy costs. NO PRIVACY. ZERO. NATA. ZIP. ZILCH. Hangzhou is NOT a small, backwards city. A black friend of mine who is from London can not go anywhere without gossip, pointed fingers, strange invitations to work for free, and other people TAKING his pictures. If you weren’t a private person before, you’ll probably be one after living here for a while. And if you have kids? Gods help you. This is, of course, assuming that you don’t look Asian/Chinese.

By the way, if you actually get to do the real job that you are hired to do, you have just won the lottery.

Exactly what it says. Don’t expect to do what you are hired to do, most of the time, the giddiness of having a (if you are the first or second) foreigner in their midst can be too tempting for all parties involved for any work to be done. And you will be surround with people, pounded with English questions, imitated, watched, and feared. Be on your toes, Chinese politics(people politics, not CCP) can be very nasty.

Of course, I am in no way saying all Chinese schools or companies are like this. But as Genghis Khan once said, “If you are cautious, 10 times aren’t enough to be trouble; if you are careless, 1 time is enough to kill you.”

And let me repeat this one more time for some out there:

China isn’t a place to escape a boring or mediocre life. I just don’t want to see another one going home 3-6 months, heartbroken, dream broken, life broken, bank broken, and drags his/her broken body home filled with menace and venom filled with misunderstood ignorance and hatred without realizing what this place can truly do for them.

I worked in Immigration for 4 years. I know how big cultural shock can be. No matter who you are. If you go on to live in a foreign land with a frivolous reason, you’ll probably regret it(hate yourself) sooner or later. Get your two feet on the ground first before boarding that plane in the air.

I wish you luck in your travels.

Books for you to Learn more about China:

Sorry for the delay, but my grandmother is visiting, so I’ve been kinda busy.  I’ve also been debating on whether or not to go more acidic for this blog, since I know bursting quite a few bubbles already.

Anyway, if you want to learn more about China, here are a few books I’ve found to be “Personally” useful. This isn’t meant as a commercial or advertisements for these books at all, buy them at your own judgment.

Mr. China

Excellent book, I would recommend it even if you goal isn’t to do business in China. Old China hands like him paved the way for us newer expats.

Asian Godfathers

This is not Directly linked to China, but this should give all the potential investors and business owners a quick cold shower before they rush to the next gold rush/big wave.

Beijing at your Door

Old book by Chinese info standards, but a decent guide to start you off with. There are some outdated information, but this should give you a heads up about Beijing and life in China.

There are quite a lot of books you can read about China, but very few honest or decent ones. After scanning quite a few of them on my trips home to Vancouver, I’ve come to realize that most of them are just hype machines written by this business “guru” and that China “expert”.

I’ll be very careful about some of these books, especially the investing ones. Most of the Chinese companies don’t really understand the concept of Fiduciary. Actually, I don’t think this idea exist in the Chinese language or culture per-se until western common law ideas were introduced. You can NOT get any accurate information about anything involving a company unless you are an insider, so you can guess who actually makes money here. And Chinese companies simply DO NOT BELIEVE they own you Anything(including information) just because you happen to be an investor(minority or majority). If you or your fund managers aren’t willing to put in the FACE time required dig through/drill info from the company(homework), don’t bother, you might just as well go buy a dream weaver, because you’ll get better dreams that way( and lose less sleep).

There are 2 more books that I am reluctant to post, because they are more political or less informative. And one of them might get you in trouble because it talks about a No. 1 Chinese fugitive. So let me brew on that one.

Have fun reading.

Food in China Part 3, Part B:

Continued from Part A:

4. Know your palette. Most westerners(especially North Americans) are used to westernized Chinese food. I recently heard from an Athlete in an interview saying how sucky Chinese food is in China and how she has eaten better Chinese food at home. Let me put this to you straight, whatever you are eating in the Chinese restaurant back home is most likely not “real” Chinese food. There has been a book published recently by a Chinese American addressing this issue. Chinese food in the US has sort of become a comfort food that is as American as the apple pie. There is nothing wrong with that and I am not going to snub your palette/taste just because it wasn’t ethnically authentic. If you like, you could try some “real” Chinese food in China. Don’t give up too early and learn to have an open mind. Chinese spent 5000 years developing their cuisine, I think there is bound to be something you like. If you need that fix from home, try some Cantonese food, because that is what a lot of American style Chinese food is based on.

5. The parts. Yes, the parts. The parts that most North Americans find “disagreeable” to their palette. Nothing is wasted in China, and you can just bet that some parts have became a delicacy some where in China. Don’t make a disgusting face about it, and don’t snub it. Quite a few cultures have been poor for long periods in history, and it has been survival of the fittest for those times. I don’t snub my American friends for eating “fake” and “overly westernized” Chinese food, and people shouldn’t do it here either.

Don’t knock something until you have tried it at least 3 times. That is my motto concerning food. I have tried all the crazy food they have here. I like some, and I dislike some. It’s just my taste. Food safety has Absolutely nothing to do with eating perfectly cooked meats or veggies. It’s very impolite to refuse to eat things the host has ordered in a Chinese banquet. If you have a business deal, kiss that deal good bye.

6. If you have allergies or a health issue, let them know. Surprisingly, almost all waiters or waitresses in a half decent restaurant in China will ask you if you have allergies or not after you order. Make sure you are specific.

7. Expect Carbs. If you are watching your carbs, be careful in China. The main stay of the Chinese foods to provide the necessary calories and energy has always been noodles and rice. Go bonkers on those cheap, good and plenty comfort foods can have your weight exploding. Typical Chinese fare actually have less calories/portions and fat compared to the North American fare. So if you go too chopstick happy on those awesome dim sums, get ready to buy some new jeans. Whether you eat balanced meal or not is up to you, but this is just a heads up.

8. If you follow a very particular diet, you need to know if you are really suitable for China. It’s very tough to follow vegan or kosher in China. The stress of using up so much time on a daily necessity can be really difficult. Be prepared.

9. When all else fails, MacDs, Pizza Hut, KFC, Sizzler and etc, all have a large presence in China.

10. Be adventurous, have fun and enjoy it. Food is one of the most profound pleasures in life. If you are staying here long term and you don’t enjoy the food here, you really should reconsider. As for visitors, try the local fare, because no “western” food they can make in China can be as good as your grandmas’. The fun part is finding that special something that you have never tried but love it at first bite. Bring an open mind. This is one area where you won’t get in trouble for being adventurous.

What to pack for a trip to China?

Sorry for the delay, minor family problems kept me from writing.

I can’t believe I had forgotten this section, seeing how important this is.

1. Lotion. No matter where you are in China, it can be quite dry even if there is a lot of water around. An expat friend of mine who used to work in Hangzhou, one of the few cities in China with lots of fresh water and a half decent weather complained that the place is too dry. Bring a really big bottle of your favourite lotion.

A. Don’t forget Sunblock, SP30.

2. Medications. There is absolutely no guarantee that China has/sells the medication you need to function, especially newer drugs (psychotropic drugs are especially rare) that hasn’t lost their rights license, and Chinese companies can’t rip it off yet. The pharmaceutical industry in China is one of the worst industries that is constantly plagued by scandals and corruptions. (In fact, the Chinese equivalent of Head of FDA was executed last year for corruption charges) Unless you know the doctor really, really well, there is no telling what snake oil he/she is bribed to sell you. I’d also recommend you to memorize the active ingredients of some of the most common(therefore available) meds that you are used to taking, because none of the brands that you are familiar with are actually sold in Chinese pharmacies. Please don’t forget to bring your prescriptions.

A. Common meds that you should pack, just in case. Ibuprofen or Motrin/Advil. Alka-Seltzer. Tums. Meds for the common flu and cold symptoms, especially ones for coughing. Meds that help you sleep and meds to help diarrhea symptoms.

3. Deodorant. This is VERY Important. I have not been able to buy ANY deodorant in China at all. Suffice to say that most Chinese people don’t use it and probably don’t have the need. Some of my expat friends have been known to ration these fresh scented blessed sticks of gold. I’ve been called at early mornings for deodorant emergencies. Bring your OWN. And if you are planning to stay a long time, lots of it.

Athletes! Remember your country’s image, bring one for the team!!

4. Shaving Razors/Shavers. This is somewhat related to the topic above. Let me put this to you straight, a lot of Chinese people don’t need to shave, so except for the really expensive electric shavers in the malls, all they sell in supermarkets are disposables. You might get lucky at see a few surplus razors on sale in a few places. Therefore, if you have a favourite type of knife, say fusion or venus, bring your own.

5. High End Electronics. Laptops/Notebook Computers in particular. The selection, quality and price isn’t the same as home. It’s MORE Expensive. You heard that right. Even though China makes everything from soap to houses, it still can’t make/assemble some of the high end electronics with required quality requirements and price. Don’t expect to buy cheap and GOOD electronics in China. If you can tolerate Chinese standards, buy what you need here. If not, bring your own.

Mini story: A Dell with the same setup is more expensive in China than the US.

6. Sizes. This will get a little personal. Please don’t be offended. Ladies, if you are/have bigger than a D cup, taller than 185cms, bigger jean size than say 35, and a shoe size bigger than 10? Choose your wardrobe VERY wisely. Most stores won’t carry/stock those sizes. There is just not enough demand. Northern China is probably better than Southern China is this regard since they are taller/bigger here. Gentlemen, don’t feel left out. If you are/have taller than 195cm, jeans size bigger than say 42, a shoe size bigger than 12 and/or a broad chest/shoulder? You are probably in the same boat. And please remember, China doesn’t use US sizes, it uses mostly an ad hoc size system that combines European and Chinese. Try everything on!

Bra is a big issue for quite a few female expats. Lingerie shopping isn’t exactly sophisticated in China due to governmental regulation of its advertising and sales. You won’t find Victoria Secret or La Senza in China. You can always try the more expensive international malls that are catered to the foreigners for your luck for any of the clothes that you lack. Otherwise, you’ll have to do HK shopping runs like a lot of expats.

If you are an discerning shoppers with a Chinese sized body, you’ll love the clothing shopping in China. The selection is quite varied, and if you know how to find them, you’ll be able to find some awesome clothes for the fractions of the price you pay back home. Provided that you know what you are doing.

7. A phrase book or an electronic dictionary has been proven useful for certain people. This is entirely up to you. Most of the time, you probably won’t find what you are looking for at the time when you most need it. Something (like an electronic dictionary/translator) that will sound out the words might help more/be better, provided it doesn’t become a crutch that hinders your Chinese learning.

8. Some gifts that represent your home country or culture. Something a little cultural, a little unique to your homeland provided it’s legal to enter the customs is always nice to have on hand no matter who you meet.

Food in China Part 3, part A:

Ok, besides all the scary pictures and disgusting stories, how about some realistic expectation what’s good to eat and what’s bad to eat?

I am the bad news first person, so I’d like to prepare you for the worst before presenting any of the good stuff. But, I don’t really think people need help spotting something they like, and recommendations are hard to give due to personal palettes can be so different.

Anyway, here goes:

1. Avoid the Street Stall foods like a plague. Fruit on a stick, fruits, sausage, egg rolls, spring rolls, Chinese pancakes, grilled meat on a stick, roasted yams in drums, meat and veggies dipped in hot broth and etc. You will see this all over the place in China. They are cheap and plentiful, so, good eats, right? WRONG! Chinese news reports (whenever it’s not political, they have no problem reporting idiots) have found people spray painting (industrial paint) their fruits to make it look better and shinier. The tin/steel drums they roast yams with are usually pilfered off industrial waste sites that were used to contain industrial solvents, glues and really nasty chemicals. What about stuff made on the spot? Have you ever paid any attention why something is so cheap, how they make a profit and where they get their ingredients? Home made sausages made using meat scraps recycled from farms and butchers. Recycle the sticks they cook BBQ meats or Mai La Ton with.

Some might argue that millions of Chinese eat/buy this without problems. But you as a new comer don’t really have the skills and literally don’t have the stomach to actually deal with problems should they arise. I don’t know how skilled you are at picking grocery at home, but you ain’t prepare for what’s here. And should you fail in your choosing, your body will not be ready to deal with the disaster.

2. You will get sick/stomach pains at the beginning. Deal with it. I go through this almost every year. No matter how careful you are, you are bound to find that one rotten apple and eat it without realizing until it’s too late. Just remember to keep hydrated and plenty of rest. As a new comer, you will eventually get bowel pains. That means your body is adjusting to the food here. A doctor once told me that most westerners just don’t have the enough E Coli in their bodies to digest the food in China, therefore, they need to go through that first 2 weeks to get more.

3. Picking restaurants is an Art. China has 8 big regional cuisine influences. i won’t go into what they are. The Chinese idea of “western” food usually leaves a lot to be desired. Combine this with the difficulty of finding good staff and lack of decent local produce, you have an extremely competitive industry running in its hamster wheels. A lot of media sources would like you to believe that there are a lot of hip and happening restaurants that are just like home in Beijing or Shanghai. Take that with the same attitude that you take everything that comes out of this country, with a salt lake. So how do you find a good restaurant that suits your delicate taste buds? Make some expat friends that speaks fluent Chinese. There are very few decent media sources that are trust worthy (most of them start with good intentions but usually ends up being a advertising platform). Quite a few expats have gone through what you are experiencing, and most of them usually have an unpublished mental list of decent restaurants, Western or Chinese.

Outside of that, here are some ground rules:

A. Is it busy? MOST of the time, this rule, well…, rules! The Chinese logic is thus: If a place is busy, that means some of the food is decent, and since they are churning out lots of dishes, most of the stuff is fresh. I’ll be frank, this rule HAS failed me before, and a touristy place with lots of tourists usually doesn’t a great restaurant make. You might want to watch the demographic that walks in, and judge for yourself.

B. Is it a Chain? Chain style restaurants, despite the bad press they get at home, are usually held to a higher standard in China. After all, they are trying to make or sustain a brand in a very competitive industry. They usually face greater scrutiny in terms of food safety and health inspections. My black Chinese joke goes like this: If there is something wrong, I can scream murder and claim in western media that they are trying to poison a westerner. Then I’ll sue them. *wink* By the way, a lot of Chains that you are used to may not be the same as back home due to Chinese ownership laws. Starbucks is an notorious example of not holding up their image and service in Beijing compared to home. Pizza Hut is a interesting example of turning a humble pie into an high class restaurant and succeeding.

C. Is it brightly lit, clean, and do the waiters waitresses look like they will have a job tomorrow? This is self explanatory.

D. How long has it been in business? Longer doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better . (ouch, I made a funny) But if the place has survived for at least 1-2 years, that means it has something going for it.

4. Know your palette. Most westerners(especially North Americans) are used to westernized Chinese food.

Sorry to cut this short, but there are more fires to put out, so I’ll be back to finish this.

I am going to update this section with a new post to avoid confusion.

Chinese Food/Street Stall Pictures:

Courtesy of my man Jack, if you are weak of constitution, do NOT click on link.

BBQ!

Sheep Head!

Scorpions!

Silkworm Cocoons!

Are you a leg man/woman?

Giddy UP!

And last but not least, the Itsy Bitsy!