Thanksgiving is one of the few times in the year when Americans can celebrate family and tradition over a hearty, home-cooked meal. So what happens when you’re traveling in China, far away from home, during the holiday?

(Source: www.bargainblessings.com)

Even in Beijing, visitors can come quite close to the real Thanksgiving experience. After polling a few colleagues and reflecting on personal holiday experiences in China, I’ve come up with a list of a few options for visitors looking for an (almost) authentic Thanksgiving experience in China.

If you are looking for a large Thanksgiving spread… colleague Taylor recommends buffet-style feasts such as The Raffles Hotel Beijing. With a fine array of turkey, stuffing, and other holiday favorites, and the distinct setting of a top luxury hotel, the scene is set for a classic Thanksgiving meal.

She says, “Though stepping into the marble floored lobby at Raffles Beijing Hotel for Thanksgiving Dinner was far from the packed house of family and friends I’m used to, the excitement of Thanksgiving crushed the formalities and shyness that come with meeting new people. Surrounded by a group of Americans starved for family and tradition as much as we were starved for Turkey, I had a great time making new friends over delicious food.”

If you are traveling with a family and children… colleague Nellie suggests the Westin, either in Liangmaqiao or on Financial Street. With a delectable spread for the parents, and a spacious play area for the children, the Westin does family dinner right with options for all ages.

If you would like a meal specially prepared for you… I cast my vote for Culinary Capers, a Beijing-based catering company located in the capital’s 798 art district. I can attest from my own Thanksgiving dinner at Switch!, their new restaurant in the UCCA gallery, that the food is incredibly fresh, delicious, and provides the classics with a unique twist. If you stay somewhere such as the China World serviced apartments, Culinary Capers can deliver your ideal Thanksgiving meal right to your door.

Have you had a memorable Thanksgiving experience in Beijing, or in other Chinese cities? Let us know at info[at]wildchina[dot]com.



Yes, you read that headline correctly.

The China Post today reports, “Chinese tourists may be allowed free travel in Taiwan as early as next July, with residents of Beijing and Shanghai possibly first in line for the opportunity.”

Why the tag-free travel? According to reports, the system would act as a trial run for visitors traveling between Taiwan and Mainland China.

Perk up, Beijing and Shanghai: you’re on the priority list!

Read more about the Taiwan-Mainland travel trial system.

It’s been almost a year since we first spoke with Portrait of an LBX bikers and writers Andy Keller and Evan Villarrubia. We caught up with them this week to talk about their reflections on their trip, which ended on September 13, 2010.

LBX's spectacular campsite in Qinghai province, August 2010 (Photo: Portrait of an LBX)

WildChina Travel: Now that you’ve finished with the trip, how can you define laobaixing? How has your understanding of the term, and the people that define it, expanded, been flipped on its head, morphed, etc.?

Andy Keller: I think laobaixing boils down to a political term, as politics controls so much in China, although it has an economic aspect as well, since politics is so tied to money in China (as with anywhere else). China’s laobaixing make up the vast majority of Chinese people. It’s not just a synonym for “peasant” or “farmer” because it’s not just the people out in the countryside who are laobaixing. Basically, they are the people who have less power in the face of the government.

Evan Villarrubia: All the charm of China has come from individual people, the ones “doing their own thing” in accordance with traditions and their own values — the laobaixing. “New China” has come from outside of the laobaixing.

WCT: Do you still believe that the term laobaixing can define and encompass the people / socioeconomic group that you encountered and interacted with on your trip? Why or why not?

AK: Absolutely. With very few exceptions when we met relatives of friends working in the government or party or big business people, the people we interacted with on the trip were all laobaixing. The number of people without government connections in China is so large that really there’s no way the group of people we interacted with could not almost all be laobaixing.

WCT: What was your greatest surprise on the trip? Your biggest regret?

EV: For me, the biggest surprise was the Tibetan plateau. I had never seen skies like that before, and we never expected how different the people were from anything else we’d encountered. The biggest regret of the trip was not making it to either Hubei or Hunan, two quintessentially Chinese places right in the middle of the country, which our big loop didn’t permit time to visit. This will have to be rectified later.

AK: The biggest surprise for me was discovering just how development and modernity almost always trumped concern for culture, the environment, traditional society, etc. We went into the trip with the impression that with so much good stuff disappearing everyday, people would have to be up in arms about it once we sat down and had honest conversations. By and large though, the people we met were as single-mindedly focused on “development” as the government and were happy to leave tradition, culture and even the natural environment behind for the sake of their concept of modernity.

Despite what you see in the media, most laobaixing are not dowsing themselves in gasoline and lighting themselves on fire on the roofs of their homes as the demolition cranes move in. Most are content to take compensation and move out of their homes, away from the fields, away from their communities and into apartment complexes outside of the city, where the communities and social networks that made traditional China so unique no longer exist.

My biggest regret was definitely the places we didn’t get to see – Hubei, Hunan, Xinjiang, Tibet and pretty much all of Dongbei.

WCT: Which area(s) of China ended up being your favorite? Why?

EV: Yunnan, for natural beauty, colors, extreme cultural variations, food, and tea. You can spend days cruising chilly mountaintop villages above endless rice terraces with the Yi and Hani, and the next day drop into the Dai valleys full of pineapples, coconuts, and wooden stilt homes. As long as you stay off the tourist trail, there’s no end to the surprises.

AK: Ditto.

WCT: What is one piece of advice you would give to travelers who want to experience the ‘real’ side of China?

EV: Stick to the mountains, small roads, and small villages where real culture, real beauty and real people still exist.

Read more of Andy and Evan’s reflections and trip accounts at Portrait of an LBX.

Today at WildChina, we received one of the greatest gifts that one can in the travel industry: a beautifully-written, heart-felt, and interesting account by a client of their recent Chinese Treasures journey with WildChina to Beijing, Xi’an, Yunnan province, and Shanghai.

Below is Chuck and Kathie’s story.

“You have to understand, Chuck, economically we are capitalists.  Socially we remain communists.  And, that’s not easy to reconcile.”

We look at our guide as we approach the front gate of our Tibetan hosts for the evening.  It is not the first time we’ve heard sentiments such as this.  During our nearly 10 days in China, multiple WildChina guides have done their best to show us life through indigenous eyes and provide us context to Chinese thinking.  We learned of generational divides – where Mom cannot understand why a 30-something guide prefers to be an entrepreneur rather than wish for the days when Chairman Mao “provided for us and we did not have to worry about anything.”  We heard of collateral fallout from 4-2-1 (4 grandparents, 2 parents and only one child), a result of the one child policy.  We silently chuckled as we listened to concerns about the “younger generation”, this from a 35 year-old, no less.  Being 60+  years ourselves, we wisely kept our mouths shut.

Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an

As we arrive for tonight’s dinner, our focus shifts to the family who will open their home and their hearts to us.  We stand at nearly 11,000 feet in Zhongdian in the Yunnan Provence, surveying the courtyard where in the winter animals are brought from the hills.  There is a small tractor and a barn on the ground floor that in the coldest months helps heat the rooms above.  Our host for the evening, a 14 year-old girl with timid eyes, escorts us to the second floor, where we enter a large room with beautiful lacquered wood corbels and intricate painted details.  A wood-burning cooking area with smoke escaping through the ceiling captures our attention while two bare light bulbs bracket low couches and a table where we will eat.   Standing in the corner is 84 year-old great-grandma.  Her eyes are anything but timid.

After our young host finished showing us additional rooms and a storage area for mounds of yak butter, great-grandma catches Chuck’s eye and she pats a space beside her on a low bench by the fire.  When we sit down she motions with gnarled hands as she speaks to us.  Our guide is in another part of the room.  But it is okay as we smile and great-grandma goes right on talking.

Dinner is accompanied by yak-butter tea and Baijiu [a Chinese rice-based alcohol].  We refuse nothing and enjoy it all.  Chuck shows our young hostess his camera, which immediately breaks down what’s left of her reserve, and she laughs when seeing pictures of friends taken today in the city.   The room has filled with mom, dad, sister and cousins.  Our guide tells them Kathie dances ballet, so a trade is arranged.  They will dance for us if Kathie hoofs her way through a few steps.

And then they dress us.  With rough-skinned hands the women wrap and cinch us while everyone laughs at how we look.  Following more pictures, the women, generations four, three and one (two is not there), perform a line dance that shines with tradition.  Kathie joins them and, along with the youngest, soon matches the footsteps while soft Tibetan words are sung by the elders.  Dad stands to the side with a warm smile as he watches his family with seeming amusement.  Chuck catches the 8 year-old sister, with huge wide-open eyes and lips set in a firm line, as she stares hard at him through the barrel of his camera lens.

On the way back to the hotel, our guide is moved to comment that something unusual happened here tonight.  We are not the first to be brought to this home, but before, our hosts did not dress the guests and great-grandma remained strictly in the background.   There is a message here: what you give can determine what you will receive.

WildChina presents opportunities.  They put you in position to experience something special but if you want it, you have to put a bit of yourself out there; you must be the one to build a platform that supports everybody to open themselves.

Consider this from the host’s perspective.  By sharing a bit of yourself, you become something more than a tourist there to be fed and watch the Native Show.  You interact with them “as people” and that raises the level of how meaningful this is for everyone.

Whether it is a Tibetan night of extending hands of friendship – or listening to a proud father in a Beijing hutong home tell you about his successful martial arts instructor son living in Houston – or two weeks’ worth of cultural immersion with warm and eager guides – if you want to maximize the value of what you paid just to get here, you must go beyond simply seeing what is around you.  You must jump in.  And, as you say goodbye you too can hear, “I’m very western.  We can hug.”

Chuck & Kathie Neuenschwander

On the ‘Roof of the World,’ the sky is the limit when it comes to exploration. Given Tibet’s diverse cultural, historical and religious marvels, it is no wonder that travelers from all over the world flock to this intriguing plateau.

High-altitude autumn landscapes in Lhasa, the region’s capital, provide the perfect backdrop for all-age discovery. After a decade of visiting the area, we have a few favorite sites in the area.

Of particular note are Ganden Monastery and Sera Monastery, two of Tibet’s ‘great three’ university monasteries. After touring the different academic centers within these ancient centers of study, don’t forget to visit Sera’s printing center to create your own prayer flag.

If you’re looking to get out of Lhasa to witness religious life, head to Pabonka Hermitage – now part of Sera Monastery and located northwest of the city.

Feeling a bit lightheaded from the altitude, or simply curious about local remedies? We suggest that you visit a Tibetan Traditional Medicine hospital to hear healing secrets directly from a local Tibetan doctor.

Finally, on your way out of town en route to Shigatse, carve out time to learn how to make incense with a local family.

Exclusive access to USA Pavilion content plus an interactive tour all in the palm of your hand. Sound appealing?

It’s here! We’re excited to announce that we have partnered with the USA Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo to offer users of the iPhone and iPod Touch our Expo Guide Shanghai application, which features exclusive USA Pavilion content that you can’t find anywhere else.

Through the mobile Expo Guide Shanghai application, users can listen to facts about the pavilion, view a video sneak peek of the venue and submit their favorite USA Pavilion photos to the official USA photo contest.

The application uses colorful 3D graphics and GPS navigation to guide visitors through a three-day, customizable tour of the entire Expo site. Navigation features enable visitors to locate themselves on an interactive map, look up bus routes and even call a cab from inside the Expo grounds.

Want to see more? The Expo Guide Shanghai is available for download for US$1.99 from the iTunes store. You can also find more details on our WildChina Touch page.

Is China becoming a ‘Fast Food Nation’?

Just two decades ago, most people in China ate relatively low-fat meals and regularly rode their bicycles to get around. Obesity was extremely rare.

Fast forward to today: more and more people eat greasy street food or fast food such as KFC and McDonald’s and fewer have the time or energy to get some exercise. The result: China now has 19 million clinically obese citizens, with that number growing by 30 to 50 percent each year, according to a recent PBS report (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/06/reporters-notebook-obesity-rising-in-china.html).

Photo: Xinhua / Sadat

A group of food-conscious individuals is hoping to promote the idea of healthier eating habits this weekend in Beijing, with Slow Food Saturday at The Schoolhouse at Mutianyu.

The Schoolhouse at Mutianyu, one of our preferred hotels in Beijing and a winner of our Best of China Awards 2010, has been a local pioneer in championing Slow Food for its clients and local community residents. As a sustainable tourism enterprise that offers dining, lodging, and meeting solutions in unique settings just an hour from downtown Beijing, the boutique hotel has redeployed existing buildings to new uses, created local jobs, supported other local businesses, grown their own vegetables and fruits while procuring other foods locally and made almost everything fresh and homemade on their premises.

This Saturday, September 4, in conjunction with the Slow Food Beijing Convivium, The Schoolhouse will put on a day of food, cooking, biking and more in the neighboring Great Wall International Cultural Villages of Mutianyu, Beigou, Xinying, and Tianxianyu to celebrate cooking, sustainable practices, and local communities. For a full schedule and activities, visit their website (http://www.slowfoodsaturday.org).

Wenchuan County in China’s southwestern Sichuan province has yet again been struck by natural disaster.

Rain-induced flooding and mudslides on August 14 “ravaged” the area, resulting in at least 38 people missing and approximately 10,000 evacuated residents.

Photo: Xinhua / Wen Xin

The county first experienced disaster when about 70,000 residents died in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on May 12, 2008.

Rescue work is already underway. Local county government is housing displaced residents in schools and government buildings, with rescue teams conducting searches for victims and coordinating removal of debris.

The Chinese government has also implemented financial policies to ease rebuilding for affected citizens in both Sichuan and Gansu, which was hit with landslides earlier this month. Xinhua reports, “China’s central bank and banking regulatory commission have ordered the country’s financial institutions to provide preferential loan policies to victims in the mudslide-hit regions of Gansu and Sichuan provinces.”

We at WildChina are heartbroken by this news. After witnessing the aftermath of the 2008 earthquake first-hand, we know how difficult the recovery process has been for the people of Wenchuan. China’s morale has been tried multiple times already this year – in Qinghai, Gansu, and now Sichuan – and our thoughts go out to the affected communities in these areas. We hope that, given the amount of damage done in the past few years, that the government has gained the experience and insight necessary to swiftly and effectively provide aid.

We are following developments closely, and will keep you informed of any updates.

All WildChina itineraries to Sichuan are currently running as planned.

Dining in China is a fantastic experience for the palate, with a myriad of new flavors, textures, and aromas to enjoy.

Don't let allergy fears get in the way of enjoying Chinese cuisines.

However, it can be a horrifying experience for travelers with allergies. If you don’t speak Chinese, cannot understand the menu, and have no one to ask, what can you do? Trying your luck is terribly risky; on the other hand, limiting yourself to, say, hotel restaurants with English-speaking staff is both boring and inauthentic.

We’ve compiled a list of useful tips and tricks for enjoying Chinese cuisine, without the stress of dietary restrictions gnawing at your plate:

1. Keep a multi-lingual allergy card handy. Companies like SelectWisely can easily customize a card with your allergy and dietary restrictions for $7.50 – $9.50 (between ~50 and ~64 RMB) per card. Be sure to specify simplified Mandarin characters when traveling to Mainland China, and traditional characters if you visit Hong Kong or Taiwan.
2. Pack your Benadryl. Be sure to have your medicines and epi-pens on hand when dining out. In addition to the language barrier, there may be some cultural misunderstandings in smaller areas. For example, nut allergies aren’t common in China, so there may be less awareness in smaller cities and towns about how severe reactions can be.
3. Know your local China healthcare information. Your tour operator can provide you with contacts and policies for the nearest hospital, doctor, or other healthcare provider to where you are traveling in China. Keep this information handy, should an emergency arise.
4. Study Chinese cuisines. Chinese cuisines are quite different from American Chinese food, so do a little research on culinary traditions for areas of China that you will visit. Get a sense for what ingredients and flavors are prominent, and brainstorm which dishes would best suit your restrictions. When traveling, you’ll have a better sense of what foods are safe choices.
5. Stock up on your favorite foods (just in case). Coming prepared with your favorite snack foods will ease the stress of a restaurant successfully accommodating your needs. If you begin your China trip in Hong Kong, Shanghai, or Beijing, you can  purchase many popular Western food products from local Western-style grocers. Ask your tour operator for suggestions, and for starters, consult HK Magazine (Hong Kong) and CityWeekend (Shanghai, Beijing).
6. Ask your tour operator to organize special meals in advance. Any good tour operator in China will be able to accommodate your needs and requests with restaurants. Let them know what you prefer to eat, which foods you must avoid, and any additional information they should know.

While the above tips may give you the impression that those with allergies have quite the struggle in China, don’t fret! Finding dishes in China that meet your dietary needs is truly easier than you might think. A young British China economist living in Beijing who is allergic to eggs, seafood and nuts had this to say about dining in the Middle Kingdom:

“Before coming to China, I assumed that Chinese food would be largely off-limits, as I believed that all ingredients were mixed together. In fact, it has been quite easy for me to avoid these foods.

Fish and seafood usually merit their own dishes, and are not mixed in with other foods – the one exception being small shrimp sometimes turning up in zhou [congee].

The worst has been nuts because of their prevalence in many Chinese dishes. However, I was relieved to find that fewer cooks use peanut oil because of the higher price. Most prefer soybean-based oils.

Chinese dishes are generally quite straightforward, and with an allergy card and/or guide to help, you shouldn’t have much problem navigating your meals.”

What Chinese dish do they suggest? Mapo doufu – a Sichuan-style mixture of tofu, spicy chili and bean oil, and minced meat.

Have questions on travel in China? Send us an email or a tweet.