Tiananmen Square has been a symbol of Chinese national power since the 15^th Century. Generally a tourist will approach from the South, passing Mao’s tomb and the People’s Heroes monument, briefly noticing the imposing buildings to either side of them as they approach and enter the Forbidden City.  One of these is the Chinese legislative building, and the other is the National Museum of China, which has recently been reopened to the public. It is well worth a visit, especially you are in Beijing during the summer season, where a hot day can demoralize a visit to the unforgiving Forbidden City.

The front of the National Museum

The museum, as much as the square itself, is a towering monument to Chinese national power. As a guest approaches it looms over them, and on joining waiting groups, enters the large security apparatus. Perhaps these are due to recent thefts from the Palace Museum or simply the recent opening of the museum but regardless they move quickly (TIP: You need some sort of ID to enter the museum, but almost anything will work.)

The inner lobby of the museum is as imposing as the outer colonnade. Barren except for a few snack stalls and signs pointing to the various exhibits, it is hard to determine what exactly the function of the museum is.

A few under-trafficked and unfinished looking sections are probably the most worth seeing. Exhibits by a few 20^th Century painters stand out. Particularly, Pan Tianshou’s work looks like an impressionist rendering of traditional Chinese themes, and Li Keran’s work uses western mediums to render Chinese scenes and Chinese mediums to render western scenes. Both interesting takes on the pervasive idea of maintaining Chinese culture in the face of foreign cultural inundation, those with an interest in Chinese art will very much appreciate these.

The history portion of the museum looks sparsely covered with display objects, reminding the reader that a lot of Chinese history has been lost. However sheer area means that many interesting artifacts are already contained within.  A jade burial suit, large Buddhas, and a huge portrait of the Qianlong emperor make up some of the highlights.

Close to the history section, a grab bag of visiting exhibits requires a special ticket for entry.  Not particularly enriching, a few are tantamount to advertising campaigns (e.g. the current  “Around the World with Louis Vuitton” exhibit.)

A small portion of the lobby, viewed from the second floor

In the northern wing, an area that used to contain the separate “Museum of the Revolution” before it merged with the National Museum, is more a tour of the Chinese psyche than a coherent display of historical material. However for this reason alone it is interesting, and certainly an informative experience to follow behind a tour group of policemen being instructed on government endorsed history from now until the present.

The museum, especially for tourists, has a lot of growing up to do. Exhibits are often spotty in providing English translations, and many areas are unfinished or still under construction.  However over the next few years as collections fill out and people realize it is now open, it will get traffic. A trip to this landmark in the future would not be amiss.

In Mark Graham’s late September South China Morning Post article, “On the inside track,” the author quotes a Chinese couple expressing their changing thoughts on tourism at home: ”We want to explore [China] more and more; it’s something my parents’ generation could not do.”

The couple’s comments are reflective of a generational shift in Chinese travel. As the mystery, grandeur and beauty of China’s many diverse areas becomes increasingly accessible to its own people, the Chinese are choosing domestic travel over international – and at a rapid rate.

Chinese tourists are looking more to inbound tourism, but away from the crowds of popular sights. (Photo from Shanghaiist.com)

However, these tourists aren’t choosing cookie-cutter tour buses and factory shops – wealthy Chinese now want to explore their roots in an authentic, eco-friendly way, with customized ‘green’ travel.

Read what WildChina’s Mei Zhang has to say about the direction of travel for domestic Chinese tourists and how it’s shaping the industry. Download the full article from the WildChina website (listed in ‘WildChina in the News’ under ‘September 2010′), or read it on the South China Morning Post website if you are a subscriber.

I eagerly embraced the iPad 3G, hoping to shed the weight of my laptop when traveling to China. Sadly, my conclusion is that the iPad doesn’t quite replace my laptop, maybe because I haven’t done enough to unleash its power. Here’s what I’ve found:

iPad: useful in China? Mei Zhang shares her thoughts.

1. High roaming charges do not justify the 3G data roaming: I already travel with an iPhone, for which I was paying $50/month for 50MB of data roaming, and this was sufficient to address my basic email needs. So, I decided not to turn on data roaming for the iPad. Now, iPad comes unlocked, so there maybe a cheaper local solution. In China, you can buy a cheap 3G phone card for $30 and have it cut to fit into the iPad. There are professionals at stores like Guomei Electronics who can help cut the phone card for free.

2. Without data roaming, the wireless function is not as easy to use even in 5 star hotels: I tried a few, and surprisingly, the best place to use my iPad was at Songtsam Lodge in Shangri-La, Yunnan. From all 25 rooms of the lodge, you can get strong a wireless signal. One morning, after my jog at an altitude of 10,000 feet, I came back and was pleasantly surprised to find that I was able to make a Skype call to the US from my iPad!

I tried other hotels as well, with varying results:

I upgraded to try out the Songtsam Retreat, which is part of Accor Hotels. The rooms are beautifully done, but each room comes with only a cable for Ethernet connection. I quickly moved back downhill to Songtsam Lodge for the wireless.

Later on, I tested a series of Chinese five-star hotels in Baoshan and Tengchong. Guanfang Hotels are so luxuriously furnished that I couldn’t believe they were located in these remote unknown towns in Yunnan. However, they both came with Ethernet connection, and no wireless. (I am mystified that they don’t have a website either).

Hotel G in Beijing, a hip designer boutique hotel in the Sanlitun area, offers wireless in every room, but my iPad could not pick up the signal, and after 20 minutes I gave up.

Regent Hotel in Beijing is one of the hidden secrets of Beijing. It boasts a great location and the biggest gym within Beijing hotels, and yet still offers fairly affordable prices. There is wireless in the lobby as well as the executive lounge. But, again, I couldn’t make it work either on my iPhone or my iPad. There was one release of liability page the iPad keeps pulling up, but I couldn’t bypass it to access the free wireless internet. As I was about to give up, however, the hotel staff called in an IT specialist to help me. He input the IP address on my iPad, and voila, it worked!

3. Multimedia functions have not been tested: If anyone takes large files of photos and videos, test your iPad’s downloading capabilities at home first. I learned this the hard way. (To be fair, this is more a universal rather than China specific-issue.)

Overall, I’d say the best part of using an iPad in China is the “WOW” effect of using an iPad in public. Other than that, unless I figure out how to fit a local 3G SIM card in the iPad, I won’t travel with it again to China.

Follow WildChina and Mei on Twitter: @WildChina and @yunnangirl.

You’re in China! As part of your off-the-beaten-path, bespoke experience to the Middle Kingdom, you are taking a 12 (or 15, 18, 24, 36…) hour train ride from point A to point B, with children in tow. You’re looking forward to the scenery on the way, experiencing a local and authentic mode of transportation, and the adventure that awaits once you get off at your destination.

But before then, what about the train ride itself? Scenery whizzing by can only keep children occupied for so long. It is only a matter of time before the eternal question “are we there yet?” is asked, children get cranky, bored, or worse, and parents/guardians become exhausted with the prospect of entertaining the young ones for what is already a tiring journey.

WildChina offers the following tips for making your train trip an enjoyable one:

1. Bring a Kindle (or a similar reading device): An electronic reader will not only be lighter in your bag, but also afford you literature options for each member of the family. You can each take turns reading a different book on the train.

2. Make Chinese vocabulary flash cards and practice your survival Chinese on the train: One of the best ways to prepare for your trip is to practice a few key phrases that will make getting around small villagers and remote sites that much easier. Phrases such as “zhe ge duo shao qian?” (How much is this?), “_____ zai na li?” (Where is ____?) and “Ni ke yi bang zhu wo ma?” (Can you help me?) are good ones to learn. Making this into a game will get the kids excited about using their new language skills on the trip.

3. Go for a meal in the dining car: While this might require a translator, a great place to people watch (and get an introduction to Chinese food, if you’ve just arrived in the country) is the dining car. The food won’t be as good as you might get in a famed Chinese restaurant, but it’s a good taste (literally) of staple Chinese dishes. And, who knows – you may make a friend or two along the way. The kids won’t mind being up and about after sitting down, either.

4. Bring lots of snacks: Don’t disregard the previous point of advice, as a solid meal and cultural interactions are always a welcome part of train travel. However, kids often get hungry at any time of day, and Chinese snacks offered on the train – such as dried fish, preserved eggs/meat, and rice crackers – may not be what they’re used to. Additionally, they are usually sold at much higher prices than they would be on the street. Our advice? Stock up on peanut butter, bread, jam, and other family favorites before you board the train. These are quite easily found in larger cities, even in local supermarkets.

Want more travel tips? Email us at info@wildchina.com.

I have now entered my final week of work for Changqing Reserve. Not surprisingly, I am feeling a mixture of emotions leaving the place that has become home for me for some time now: Firstly sadness at leaving behind the Reserve, the community of Huayang that has freely welcomed me, my new Chinese friends, the simple way of life, the fresh air, long walks, local food and rice paddy viewed runs. However, I also leave with excitement about the next chapter in my life and more importantly hope for sections of China’s spectacular environment that have ‘survived’ a history of thousands of years, and are now being managed as reserves.

Huayang Town, Shaanxi Province

Upon reflection of this year it really struck me that the achievements, which have been made were due to successful co-operations. For example, the development of the Eco-tourism Action Plan, my main project, was instigated and funded by WWF China, managed by myself (a volunteer from Australia), developed by a team of local Changqing staff members, and the resultant actions based upon recommendations made by all levels of staff, community members, scientists, international experts, local government and previous volunteers.  Likewise, the Reserve’s infrared cameras (as mentioned in a previous blog) are the result of a co-operation between Changqing National Nature Reserve, Dr Dajun Wang from Peking University, Shan Shui Conservation Centre and Conservation International. However, going back a step, perhaps the most successful example of co-operation that I have heard about here has been the establishment of Changqing Reserve. So, at the risk of finishing my series of blogs with what perhaps I should have started them with, I thought I would share with you the history of Changqing National Nature Reserve (CNNR), as I have heard it, threw local verbal accounts, and bits and pieces of information I have gathered during my time here…

Read the rest of this entry »

Bamboo newly broken by a Giant Panda, Changqing Reserve

It’s happened!! After months of learning about Giant Pandas, seeing videos about them, writing blogs about them, and constructing an Action Plan to minimise the impact of tourism to them – I have seen a Giant Panda in the wild!!!  Even now, nine days after this experience, I am still smiling when I think about it. Being winter and therefore having an increased opportunity to see them, my former manager, Mr Shi Jian, organised a car for me to spend a few days with one of our best trackers, Zhang Yongwen, in Changqing Reserve.

It is estimated that Changqing National Nature Reserve has approximately 100 pandas within our reserve boundaries. During June to September each year, the majority of these live in the high mountains, descending to the valleys for the colder months. According to Zhang Yongwen, due to their need to conserve energy, Pandas in Changqing often meander around existing tracks such as former logging roads, and Takin tracks. This means, that when tracking pandas in Changqing you walk along these valley tracks, and alongside rivers in search of signs that pandas have been nearby recently. Signs include freshly broken bamboo, a trail of fresh scats and if you’re really lucky the sound of bamboo breaking in the distance. However, as pandas meander off the tracks to find nice places to sit, chew bamboo and sleep – once you think you’re close to one, you often find yourself scrambling hand and foot up steep bamboo covered hills. Some may not like this side of tracking, but not me, I love it! It makes me feel alive, every scratch and bruise making me more determined, heart pumping loudly (‘will I see a panda this time’), it makes me feel like David Attenborough or a BBC cameraman!

Fresh Panda scat, Changqing Reserve

Read the rest of this entry »

Photo of Giant Panda taken in Changqing Reserve by one of the infrared cameras

Over the Christmas and New Years period I was blessed to have two of my good friends from back home come to China to visit me, and also see what it was about this country that had me raving. Not surprisingly, as part of the visit, they both wanted to see where I had been living and working for the previous 10 months. I was also keen to share with them a glimpse of rural China, and a chance for them to see the nature reserve. So two days of animal tracking in Changqing National Nature Reserve was included in the itinerary!

We had a fabulous time following one of our most experienced guides here Mr Xiang, a known panda expert – who has eyes like a hawk. As mentioned in one of my previous blogs, while very cold, winter here is also a great time to visit our reserve due to an increased chance to see some animals who have come further down the mountain for the cold weather. Mr Xiang picked up the slightest movements from hundreds of meters away, and through following animal scats, footprints in the snow, sound and movements we ended up seeing numerous animals, including two Internationally Endangered animals: the Golden Takin (Budorcas taxicolor bedfordi) and Golden Monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana qinlingenis) and one Internationally Critically Endangered bird, the Crested Ibis (Nipponia nippon).

Read the rest of this entry »

Entrance to Shaolin Temple tourist site, Henan

Kung fu is synonymous with China. Not unlike giant pandas, dumplings, Mao, The Great Wall and Qingdao beer … eventually, it will creep into conversation. Perhaps this has become even more the case since 2008, when the DreamWorks animation ‘Kung Fu Panda’ was released (which I confess to seeing at the movies and also watching numerous times on DVD after receiving it as a birthday present!).

With only a few days to travel on my recent holiday break, and having already travelled extensively throughout China, I decided to head northwest into Henan Province, to explore the home of Kung Fu.

Almost immediately after my arrival, I felt that Henan was different from some of its richer coastal neighbours. As I only spent a few short days in Henan I don’t want to make too many assumptions, however living here appeared to be ‘harder’. Signs of this could be seen from my bus and train windows, with heavy industry causing significant air pollution, agriculture (in sometimes difficult conditions) being the main form of employment and a visible poverty. I do want to be quick to point out though, that the people, just like the rest of China, were really lovely and friendly, and the food – just as delicious!

Read the rest of this entry »

Pandas and dragons are the creatures most commonly associated with China, and yet this vast and fascinating country was also once home to yet another legendary creature: dinosaurs. With paleontological digs happening in Zhucheng, Gobi and Liaoning, we often hear about new discoveries of fossils. Only recently, huge dinosaur footprints were found in Gansu and a small T-Rex was found in Inner Mongolia.

On a recent WildChina educational trip to Gansu, high school students from Shanghai were lucky enough to make a discovery of their own. WildChina’s Director of Educational and Non-Profit Travel, David Fundingsland, accompanied students on the trip, and reported seeing fossilized ribs and other bones in the hillside at the dig site. Running educational trips has remained his passion since his start at WildChina in 2007.

While helping to excavate a dig site at Gansu, they were able to get first-hand knowledge of searching for dinosaur fossils. Under the tutelage of renowned paleontologist Hai-Lu You, the students helped remove rocks and stones from the site. With their help, the on-site paleontologists were able to identify ribs and vertebrae from a Sauropod dinosaur from the cretaceous period.

First snow for the season, Huayang

Winter has arrived! Well… according to the Chinese calendar that is. If following our Gregorian Calender we still have another 13 days to go…however, here in the Qinling Mountains, I have no doubt the weather has chosen to go by the Chinese calendar!! Last Wednesday it started snowing here for the first time this season and continued throughout the night. As mentioned below in Alex’s article ‘North China is Hit by Blizzard’ (Nov 11), snow that heavy is apparently an unusual occurrence this early in the year. I awoke to find a winter wonderland – everything covered in a few inches of snow. Just spectacular!

The giant pandas in Changqing have obviously noticed the change in seasons also. There have been sightings of two different giant pandas by our staff in the last couple of weeks, signalling that they have started to descend to the valleys for the cold weather. During June to September each year, the majority of our 100 strong panda population live in the high mountains. In the high mountains of Changqing Reserve, a small type of arrow bamboo is present, Fargesia qinlingensis. The pandas feed on the shoots of this species, occasionally having some cane and leaf also. Seeing giant pandas during this time is very difficult for both staff and visitors to the Reserve. This is not only because they are located high in the mountains, but also because the arrow bamboo leaves are very small and dense, making visibility difficult. Even if a panda was happily eating or sleeping only 10 meters away, it may be difficult to find!

Giant Panda, Changqing National Nature Reserve (photo taken by Zhao Naxun)

Read the rest of this entry »