Monday 26 August 2013

Shopping in Guangzhou

Guangzhou has long been acclaimed as a shopping paradise due to its commercial development, especially in import & export industry and electronics industries. Visitors coming to Guangzhou for sightseeing or the biannual Canton Fair usually would like to allow one day or half a day for crazy shopping. In Guangzhou’s seas of shopping centers and malls, as well as the wholesale markets, there are tens of thousands of various products including clothing, toys, IT products and so much more. Most of them are at very low price!



Clothes Wholesales Markets
Baima Market (Add: No.16, Zhannan Rd, Yuexiu District, opposite Guangzhou Railway Station)
Xindadi (famous for woolen sweaters and cardigans; situated opposite Baima)
Zhanxi Garment market (Add: No.1-4, Zhan Xi Rd, Yuexiu District)
Hongmian Clothes Market (famous for women's clothing; at F1, 2 and 3, No.184, Huanshi Xi Rd)



Popular Shopping Centers
Beijing RoadLocated in the city center, it is Guangzhou’s oldest and biggest shopping district, teeming with shops selling trendy clothes, shoes, purses, good food… strolling here, you can have a glance at the ancient lanes of Song and Ming Dynasties.
Shangxia Jiu Lu Pedestrian StreetShangxia Jiu Lu Pedestrian Street at the Liwan District is the city’s No.1 commercial pedestrian street, home to over 200 stores and some brand name restaurants and teahouses. Here, you can see Qilou, an old building style on both sides of the roads.



Zhuangyuan FangFor those young people interested in Japanese or Korean style clothes, go to Zhuangyuan Fang on Renmin Nan Road. It is 200 meters long, but packed with fashionable clothes, ornaments, and small articles.
Add: Zhuangyuan Fang, Renmin Nan Lu
Global International Shoes Trade Center or Bu Yun Tian DiIt is a world of shoes, where you can find all kinds of locally made shoes with low prices. Usually, people can pay about 150 to 200 RMB (about 20 or 30 USD) for a pair of shoes that might be sold for two or three times or more in the US.
Add: No. 26, Zhan Xi Rd, Yuexiu District
China Plaza (Zhonghua Guangchang) and surrounding shopping area
China Plaza attracts locals with a blend of shopping, catering and entertainment. Next to it, Fashion Frontline offers various products from Japan, America and Taiwan. Besides, popular Dynasty Underground Mall is just a block away.
Add: Zhongshan Third Road of Yuexiu District



Hualing Jadeware Street & Wende Calligraphy and Painting Street
Located on Xia Jiu Lu, Hualin Jadeware Street is a place for jade jewelry, while Wende Calligraphy and Painting Street neighboring the Beijing Road is for traditional Chinese style calligraphy,  paintings and other craftworks.
Local Specialty in GuangzhouApart from those inexpensive clothes and shoes, visitors are also suggested to buy some local specialties, such as Canton Sculpture, Canton Embroidery, Canton Bacon and Wang Laoji Herbal Tea, a kind of medicine that is helpful to cool people off after eating spicy food.

Monday 19 August 2013

8 Family-friendly Activities on China Trip

Forbidden City? historical museums? Or Buddha temples? Actually there are few children fond of these when visiting China. If you travel with kids, you’d better try others. For your sake, we have a list of 8 delightful destinations and activities to try in China that should satisfy both you and your “difficult” kids.
1. Riding up and down Great Wall

Given the wonder’s historical significance and magnificent construction, Standing atop the Great Wall is a lifetime experience. To flee from the noisy crowd, Mutianyu Great Wall, 70 km northeast of Beijing is the best choice with kids. Yet it is hard for kids to climb up. Luckily Mutianyu has a 723-meter-long cable car that helps take kids to the top (640 meters above sea level) and a toboggan ride down to the valley via a 1,580-meter track, which will surely bring kids fun.
2. Hug with panda

Animal is a classic theme for family travel. And when touring China, try giant panda – the country’s rare treasure. Sichuan is home to this lovely creature and several Giant Panda Breeding and Research Centers, where you and your kids can observe the animals, or pay extra fee to be a panda volunteer feeding and taking care of them, or even hugging a panda and take a picture with it!

Yangshuo resembles a Chinese landscape painting, a perfect blend of misty mountains and tranquil waters. If you are in Yangshuo with children, go for a lively bamboo rafting along Li River or Yulong River. Encourage your youngster’s imagination to name for the fantastically shaped limestone mountains on both banks, watch the quaint villages along slowly fade out. Why not rent a water gun? Kids are most likely to have fun with it.
4. Acrobatics in Shanghai

Like magic tricks, acrobatics can always fascinate children. While Chinese acrobatics, a gem of China traditional performing arts will amaze even the hard-to-impress teenagers. Shanghai's main show, "Era, Intersection of Time", uses the fantastic acrobatic skills to combine the present and future, the oriental China and the Western World, the fashion and Nostalgia, culminating with motorcyclists zigzagging upside-down and all-around inside an on-stage globe.
5. Learning Chinese Kung-Fu

Children visiting China deserve a Kung-Fu class. Many places in China including some hotels, Hulongs in Beijing can arrange a Kung-Fu class with a large selection of subjects, from Tai Chi to Shaolin Martial Arts. However, if the older children or teenagers want a high-level practice or learning, try the training course taught by master in Shaolin Temple - the cradle of Chinese martial arts.
6. Kites flying

Another delightful family activity when touring China is kite flying. People usually fly kites in the central parks, where children can run and play with their peers, while the parents will have an opportunity to meet local people, watching them dancing, playing cards and chess. Recommended parks for kites flying are Temple of Heaven or Ritan Park in Beijing, and Fuxing Park in Shanghai.
7. Playing with funny street food

Whet your appetite with tasty, interesting street food in China. It is also a quick source of entertainment for children. The snack street is never shortage of bizarre patents, such as scorpions, centipedes and even sea horses, apart from “plain-looking” Baozi, dumplings and noodles. In Beijing’s temple fair, you can see another funny food - Sugar Painting, a traditional street food made of sucrose and maltose into figures, animals, flowers and other shapes. Take photos with these cute things!
8. Riding a bike to the countryside

If you're in China with children and looking an opportunity to burn off kids' energy, go for a bike ride. Tourists in Yangshuo of Guilin can cycle to explore the countryside, watching the farmers plowing by hand, which is something children won’t forget. Or ride around Xian’s Old City Wall to enjoy a good view of this ancient capital, comparing its past and nowadays.
Contact us for more info on family-friendly activities in China.

Monday 12 August 2013

Top Ideas for Weekend Excursions outside Shanghai

Standing on the estuary of Yangtze River, Shanghai is the economic, international trade, cultural, science and technology center of East China and a top tourist destination, hence attracting various talents and countless tourists abroad. And yet, many of them desire to explore some areas close to Shanghai as well. Here are seven choices within half a day (except Mountain Huangshan) from Shanghai for best weekend getaways.

Click here for the best Shanghai tours.


(Night Shanghai)

Zhujiajiao Water town

About 50 kilometers away from the city center, Zhujiajiao is the closest water town to Shanghai, featuring both historic sites and natural scenery. Take a fantastic cruise down through the rivers to glimpse at its 36 ancient bridges and more than 1000 ancient houses dating back to Ming and Qing Dynasties on the banks. Some time-honored temples are also worth a visit.

(Zhujiajiao Water town)

Xitang Ancient Town

Xitang finds itself about 90 kilometers from Shanghai, but looks like a completely different world: cobbled streets, old buildings, arching bridges, crisscrossed rivers, rowing boats and overall slow-paced lifestyle. It maintains many well-preserved architectural structures from the Ming and Qing dynasties and is known as one of the six ancient towns in southern China.

(Xitang Ancient Town)

Suzhou City

The high speed train takes only half an hour from Shanghai to Suzhou (100 km apart), which is well known for resplendent gardens and beautiful scenery. Among the over 100 surviving ancient gardens, Humble Administrator's Garden, Garden of the Net Master, Lingering Garden and Lion Grove are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Grand Canal passes through the city and make it "Venice of Orient".

(Garden of the Net Master in Suzhou)

Hanghzou City

About 200 km away from Shanghai, Hangzhou is also a metropolis reputed as "paradise on earth". Marco Polo described it as “the most beautiful and elegant city in the world” in 13th century. West Lake ranks the top among all attractions in Hangzhou. Besides, it is also famous for the production of tea and silk.

(West Lake in winter)

Nanjing City

Nanjing finds itself 300 Km or so from Shanghai. It is a nice and modern city yet teeming with amazing historic sites, as it ever served as the capital of 6 dynasties.

(Ancient Gate in Nanjing)

Wuzhen Water Town

Ancient docks, waterside pavilions and corridors, stone railings and bridges, arched gates across the street, imposing dwellings and spacious courtyards typify the elegant water town of Wuzhen. It is located at the center of the triangle formed by Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing.

(Wuzhen)

Mountain Huangshan

It will take a 6-hour driving from the city center of Shanghai to Mountain Huangshan, as they are 672 km apart. Mountain Huangshan is widely recognized as the most beautiful mountain in China with breathtaking landscape. Hiking up the mountain by different trails. Besides, the two traditional villages of Xidi and Hongcun nearby are also worth a visit.

(Mountain Huangshan)

Monday 5 August 2013

Our Weekend Getaway in Huangmei Village in July, 2013

What’s your plan for this hot summer time? As for Easy Tour China team, we took a delightful weekend getaway to a small COOL village named Huangmei near Guilin in mid-July. In Huangmei, which was seemingly a world away, we had so much fun and were so relaxed, by swimming, dabbling in water and water fighting with all green mountains surrounding. It was just great to have such a break after one week of intense work schedules. 



(Water fighting to cool off)

Huangmei Village is located in the valley of Dongjiang River in Lingchuan Country, about 50 km away from downtown Guilin. The Dongjiang River is actually a cool stream that twists through rolling mountains and dense forests. Residential houses and wood bridges scatter here and there. Given its advantageous landscape, many people from the nearby areas also like to drift here along the stream. After escaping the crowds, we were quickly revived by the fresh air, tranquil ambience, as well as the singing birds and the pleasant murmur of creeks.



(This place is sheer beautiful.)

Moreover, for such an enthusiastic group like us, it's no surprise that we took a series of exciting outdoor activities, such as swimming competition, hiking, reflex games and so forth, which offered so much joy and attracted everyone of us to participate. It’s also worth mentioning that the food we had in the local restaurant was so good! All those cuisine materials and ingredients were virtually home grown, fresh and delicious!


(Have a rest on the suspension bridge after hiking)


(Exciting activities)


(Cheers!)


(Let's take a picture!)


(Look at the clear green water)