CHINA The Internet Travel Guide Peter M. Geiser ************************************************************************** COPYRIGHT NOTICE The information provided within this document is the property of the original authors. The author especially reserves the right to the exclusive use of the term "The Internet Travel Guide". This document or parts thereof may NOT be sold for profit or included in any commercial documents (e. g. books, esp. guide books, magazines, WWW-pages, the Microsoft Network or any other form) without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. This permission is valid exactly for the agreed version (or if no version was stated at the published version on the date of the agreement) at the time the permission was granted; it does not cover future or any other versions. However, following the common practice of the Internet, this document may be freely redistributed without any modification whatsoever, especially concerning this copyright notice. (C) 1995, 1996 Please send any questions, suggestions, contributions and comments to Peter.Geiser@student.unisg.ch Visit the Internet Travel Guide Web-site at http://www-students.unisg.ch/~pgeiser Last change: 13. January 1996 ************************************************************************** 3. PLACES BEIJING Beijing is the capital of China. It offers such a wide array of attractions that one can easily spend a whole week without getting bored. Some of the main attractions are: Tiananmen Square 'The Square of The Gate of Heavenly Peace' is reportedly the largest square of the world, with 1 km2. It is framed by the 'Great Hall of the People' on its west side and the 'Museum of Chinese History' and 'Museum of the Chinese Revolution' on the east. On the south part is 'Chairman Mao's Mausoleum'. At the north side is the entrance to the Imperial Palace The palace of the former emperors of the Qing dynasty is also called the 'Forbidden City'. This name is derived from the fact that nobody was allowed inside the city, except the emperor himself, his wifes and concubines and the eunuchs. The entrance is on the north side of the Tienanmen Square. The entrance fee is CNY 60. There are tapes with an audio tour, available in about 30 languages. It is excellent and uses people native to the respective language. It costs you another CNY 20. This tape guides you through a very narrow strip of the Imperial Palace, and if you are not careful you find yourself suddenly at the back and outside the Place, and there is no way back in except buy another ticket. If you would like to explore the more hidden places, make sure you quit the tour before the end. Jinshan Park Just behind the Imperial Palace is the Jinshan Park. On top of the hill is a pagoda where you get a good view over the Imperial Palace and the city. Bei Hai Park Located just west of the Forbidden City, this park is set on the shores of a nice lake. Its bright white pagoda on top of a hill is visible quite far and dominates the park. Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan) The best time to see this park is when it opens at 6:30. It is a good place to see Chinese people doing their numerous morning activities like Taiqi, martial arts, ballroom dancing, playing musical instruments, Mahjiang and Chinese Chess. The entrance is CNY 30. Lama Temple (Yong He Gong) Located in the north of the city is the Lama Temple. Summer Palace (Yu He Yuan) The summer palace has been built be the mother of the last emperor, Xi Qi. It is a pleasant garden with numerous imperial buildings on the whore of a lake. The whole garden has been built out of taxes raised for building a marine for China. o that nobody could accuse her of not building any ships, the Emperor Dowager built one marble ship at a jetty. It takes about an hour from the center to the Summer Palace. The entrance is CNY 35. Hotels The former main tourist hangout, the Qiao Yuan Hotel in the south of the city, just opposite the Taoranting Park is currently undergoing major renovations, and is now closed. So are the tourist services nearby. Another cheap, but good place is the Long Tan Hotel, just opposite the Long Tan Park. Food -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANG CHENG (GREAT WALL) The Chinese Wall or Great wall was built as a protection against the Mongols from the north. It has been built in several stages and was at its prime time more than 8000 km long. Today, most of it is in a state of bad disrepair, and at some stretches even nearly invisible. However, the Chinese government has recognised its value as a tourist attraction and a place of historical significance, so it's starting to restore at least part of it. There are several spots to visit it. Ba Da Ling The most famous and best known is Ba Da Ling. It is located 70 km north- west from Beijing and easily reachable by tours. The wall is well restored, but also extremely crowded. Ming Ling Less impressive than Ba Da Ling, but also less crowded. Mu Tian Yu Less crowded than Ba Da Ling, this place is very scenic. There are several tours from Beijing to the Great Wall (mostly Badaling). CITS charges USD 30 for transport, tickets to both theG reat Wall and the Ming Tombs, Lunch and Shopping (they will bring you to a tourist shop where you are supposed to buy overpriced goods, so that the driver gets a commission.) It should be possible to get cheaper tours. Check out the small restaurants near the Qiao Yuan Hotel in Beijing. ANother possibility is to go by subway to Xizhimen station and then by train to Badaling. This should cost about USD 2. It is possible to walk along parts of the wall. You have to get permission if you want to go astray the usual tourist spots. Also, in theory you'd have to get permission to camp outside (but you're probably better off not mentioning your plans.) It is possible to ride a mountain bike over at least parts of the great wall. Getting permission requires a _lot_ of red tape with the government. Since the wall is not too well preserved for most of its lenght you will have to bring more than enough repair material with you. Your tires are likely to get punctured more than 20 or 30 times a day. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHAOLIN MONASTERY The Shaolin monastery is said to have been the home of monks that developed the Shaolin Kung Fu. Nowadays it is one of the big tourist attractions with Chinese spurred on by recent movies set in this monastery. Nowadays, there is a school for martial arts in the surrounding buildings. When I was there, I was astonished at the huge number of classes full of eager students learning martial arts. There must be several hundreds, if not thousands, at any one time. The easiest way to go to this monastery is to use one of the many tour busses from Zhengzhou. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- LUOYANG Founded in 1200 BC, Luoyang is one of the oldest Chinese cities. It was home to 10 dynasties, until the Jin moved their capital to Kaifeng. After being destroyed by Jurchen invaders from the north, it sunk into insignificance. Nowadays, it is a rather glum industrial center. Baima Si (White Horse Temple) 13 km north of the city is the Baima Si. It was founded after two monks sent as early as 67 to India to fetch holy scriptures returned. It is the first Buddhist temple in China, and the first translations of the Holy scripts from Sanskrit into Chinese were don here -------------------------------------------------------------------------- XIAN The region of Xian has been inhabited as far back as 6000 years. At that time the now rather barren plains were much greener and ideally suited for farming. The first emperor of the unified China, Qin Shihuang founded the capital of Xianyang, which is a bit west of Xian. Following the Qin was the Han dynasty that moved the capital further easy, to the plain where Xian now is. In 528 the Sui built the new capital of Changan that was to become the greatest city in the world at that time, with about 2 million people. It was enclosed by a wall stretching 8 km north-south, and nearly 10 km east-west. Nowadays it is only a small part of its former self. As a reminder of the old importance as a center of commerce with many trading partners as far west as Persia and the Arabian world, there are still many Muslim. Bell Tower Originally from the 14th century, this huge tower was relocated in 1739. It is possible to go to the top. Drum Tower Samller than the Bell Tower, it is just near the Great Mosque and marks the entrance to the Muslim quarter. Great Mosque One of the largest mosques in China, this building dates back to the 18th century. The mosque is still regularly used, with several prayer services each day. City Walls Built on the remains of the Tang's Forbidden City during the Ming dynasty, the wall has a total length of 14 km. It is about 12 m high, and about the same width at the top. Big Goose Pagoda A bit south of the city wall is the Big Goose Pagoda. It was built in 652 after the holy monk Xuan Zhang returned from his journey to India where he fetched the holy scriptures. This journey has found its way into the great Chine classic 'The Journey to the West'. Xuan Zhang translated the whole scriptures into 1335 volumes of Chinese text. It is 64 m high and built out of wood and brick. It is possible to climb to the top. Little Goose Pagoda With 43 m high smaller than it's big brother, the Little Goose Pagoda is not far away. It was built in 707, also to hold holy scriptures brought back by another monk. Although its top has been destroyed by an earthquake in the 16th century, it is still possible to climb to the top. Banpo Neolithic Viallage Discovered in 1953, the remains of a village inhabited at the time of about 4500 BC to 3750 BC by the earliest settlers in the area are beautifully displayed with labels in both, Chinese and English. A trip to this village is often combined with a visit to the Terracotta Warriors. Terracotta Warriors In 1974, some peasants digging a well by chance uncovered one of the greatest archeological sites in the world. During his reign (from 247 BC until July 210 BC), Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of China built himself a mausoleum with more than 8000 terracotta warriors guarding his dead body, not two of them looking the same. There were two walls around the mausoleum, the inner was 1355 m long and 850 m wide, with a circumference of 3870 m. Originally a hill of 150 m, the mausoleum itself is now (2200 years after it has been built) still 50 m high. It covered an area of no less than 350 x 345 m2. There are three main pits with terracotta warriors inside. Pit 1 is 230 m long and 62 m wide, and is the main battle formation. Pit 2 is in the shape of an L, 96 long east-west and 84 m long north-south, making up another battle formation of mixed arms. Pit 3 is U-shaped. It is generally believed that pit 3 is the commando post for the battle formations of pit 1 and 2. A fourth pit has been found during June and July 1978. It is shaped in the fasion of the Chinese character zhong (middle). In December 1980 two bronce chariots with four horses has been found. They are half life size, with one chariot being 3.17 m long and 1.06 m high. It weighs 1241 kg and is made of 3462 components, of which 1742 are of bronce, 988 of silver and 732 of gold, and is beautifully painted. The horses are 91 and 93 cm tall and 110 to 115 cm long.äJThere are four main category of figures, chariot warriors, infantry men, cavalrymen, and horses. There are generals, middle ranking officers, lower ranking officers, ordinary soldiers and armoured warriours. The latter can be further dividede, acording to their headgear into warriors with a square scarf, a cylindrical bun, a flat bun and kneeling warriors (crossbowmen). All in all, there are over 130 battle chariots, more than 500 chariot horses and some 116 cavalry horses. The horses are 2 m long and 1.72 m high. The entrance fee is exorbitantly high (for Chinese prices), but still worth it. It is possible to buy small replica of the figures for a couple of Yuan. Remember to barter. Hotels The main traveller hangout is the Victory Hotel in the south of the city. It is very cheap and dirty. Many hotels offer tours to the Terracotta Warriors and other sights around Xian. However prices differ considerably, as does quality. Ask if the entrance tickets to the sights are included or not. Also, be careful if the guide offers to buy tickets for you, since some try to charge you more than what you would pay at the ticket booth. Of course, you may be lucky, and the guide buying you Chinese tickets saves you some money. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- URUMQI Urumqi is a boom town profiting from the railway. There are no big sights, but the city itself has a unique atmosphere. Apart from the Han Chinese, Urumqi is also home to the Uygurs. There are dorm beds for CNY 30. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- KASHGAR Long time ago the center of the silk road and an important trading point, Kashgar nowadays is a moderate center with some 120000 inhabitants. It makes an excellent starting point for trekking. The bus to Khotan is CNY 54 and can be purchased half an hour before departure of the bus. Take some water with you, this is desert land with 60 km and more without a drop of water! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- KHOTAN In Khotan there are still many Uigurs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- NANJING Nanjing was the old capital in the south (hence its name which means 'South Capital'). It is one of the most beautiful cities in China, with wide tree lined avenues. It has an interesting historical museum and an old tomb from one of the Ming emperors. Sun Yatsen Memorial A short way outside the city is the memorial to the father of the modern China. Chang Jiang (Yangtse) River Bridge When the Chinese wanted to build a bridge in the fifties, they naturally looked for help towards the Sowjet Union. But it was about the time that relations became increasingly distorted, so that China instead turned to the Americans. After some studies, they declared it impossible to build a bridge over the Chang Jiang. So the Chinese, stubborn as they were, started to build by themself. Finally, after many years of constructions, the bridge could be opened on 23 December 1968. It is a double-decker, with a 4500 m long road on the upper floor and a 6700 m long railway below. In one of the bridgeposts is a museum, depicting this triumph of Chinese communism over American capitalism. Hotel Both, Nanjing University and Nanjing Normal University have dormitories available for budget travellers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUZHOU Also called 'The Venice of China', this town indeed resembles its counterpart in Italy. There are many canals laid out in checkerboard style throughout the city. Suzhous main attraction are its many beautiful gardens. Some of the biggest and best known are: Zhouzheng Yuan (a humble administrator's garden), Shizilin (Lion's Grove), Changlangting (Surging Wave Pavillion), Yiyuan (Garden of Harmony), Hanshan Si (Cold Mountain North Temple Located in the north of the old part of Suzhou is the North Temple with its nine story pagoda. There is also a museum of traditional handicraft. Silk Factory Suzhou is famous for its silk production. It is possible to visit a factory and see how the silk is processed from the silk worm to the final woven cloth. At the end of the tour you'll be able to buy the final products in the factory shop. Make sure you check the prices, they indeed have special prices as anounced, but especially high for foreigners. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHANGHAI Shanghai is the new rising star in the East. It is a gigantic bustling city with a lot of cunning entrepreneurs. Being the largest city in China, it hosts over 12 million inhabitants. It's famous Nanjing Lu is the best known shopping street in China. The center is dominated by colonial buildings, culminating in 'The Bund'. Nowadays, Shanghai starts to transform itself into a city of modern high-rise glass and steel buildings of the same internationality found all over the world. The old part of the city was the Chinese part during the occupation and during the daytime is transformed into a market selling everything that a tourist might want to buy. The Bund The Bund is the beautiful waterfront dominated by the huge buildings of the banks and former trading houses. Get a view of it in the evening when it is beautifully lighted and the river front bustles with live. Yu Yuan The Yu Yuan is probably the most beautiful and certainly the most famous of all the gardens in China. In front of it is the famous tea house. Jade Buddha Temple House of a 19 meter high white jade Buddha, this temple still is actively used. Interestingly enough, except in the Jade Buddhas room, photography is permitted. Hotels The cheapest hotel in town is the Pujiang Hotel, just across the Wusong River (Suzhou Creek) from the Bund. It is a bit shabby, but they have good dormitories with air conditioning, and also single and double rooms. Another cheap hotel is the Music Conservatorium (Yinyue Xueyuan) in Fenyang Lu. More expensive is the Donghu Binguan at USD 60 for an air-conditioned room. Food When I was in Shanghai, eating became a bit of a problem. I had trouble finding a restaurant that still had open after 8 pm. Of course, I could always have gone to one of the big hotels, but I prefered the normally priced Chinese restaurants. A good place to look for resturants is in the small streets just north of Wusong River. Two bars with lots of live music, food and drinks and both, tourists and locals are the Long Bar and Malone's, both near the Shangri-La Hotel. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- HANGZHOU Hangzhou is a pleasant town with many parks and the beautiful West Lake. Within the lake there are some island connected by causeways. In old China Hangzhou was famous for the beauty of its women. Longjing A short bus ride away from Hangzhou is the tea village Longjing (Dragon Well). When I was there, a nice woman was showing me the tea plantation and how she processed tea in her own house. Of course there was a higher motive to this tour: she wanted to sell me some of her tea. Since the tea was very good and fresh, and the price was ok, this was a good deal. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANG JIANG (YANGTSE) The Chang Jiang is Chinas longest river. Currently, 40 km upstream of Yichang, there is a new dam under construction that will put the Three Gorges between Yichang and Chongqing under water. There are four classes on the regular boats: second to fifth. In communist China there is no first class, as this is consieder bourgois. Second class is a double room and public showers and toilets that are lockable (in contrast to the other showers and toilets that are in one big room with everybody watching everybody else.) Third class is in an eight berth room, while fourth class is in 14 berth rooms. Fifth class is no berth at all and probably not quite official. When I took the boat I was bold enough to use the second class shower and toilet and most of the time stayed in the second class part anyway. Since I was a foreigner nobody dared to say something (or they didn't know that I stayed in third class.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHUNGQING Chongqing is one of the biggest cities in China and also one of the most polluted cities in the world (it made the top ten!). It is situated on a hill at the confluence of the Chang Jiang and the Jialing Jiang. To get a beautiful view you can take the cable car across the Jialing river. Hotels Located conveniently in the center of the town is the Huixian Hotel. It has cheap, but nice dormitories. More expensive is the Three Gorges Hotel (San Xia Bingua) with CNY 240 for a double. Worth a visit even just to look at it is the Renmin Hotel, modelled after the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHENGDU The capital of Sichuan is a beautiful city with some wide streets and some nice old parts. Hotels The place to be is the Traffic Hotel. It is pleasantly located just south of Nanhe River. Restaurants Between the main road Renmin Nanlu and the Traffic Hotel there is a nice footpath along the Nanhe River with many cheap restaurants. These restaurants also offer excursions to various attractions all over Chengdu, like visiting factories, a traditional Chinese hospital and Sichuan Opera (where you can dress up like an actor and sometimes even take part) in the opera.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- JIUZHAIGUO This beautiful nature resort in northern Sichuan closesl resembles Alpine regions with snow covered mountains, beautiful lakes and many waterfalls. There are many Tibetan settlements. The altitude is about 3000 m warranting cold nights and tempertures could drop below zero degrees. Bring along warm clothes! To make the trip, count at least five days, better a week or more. If you have more money than time, you might also consider flying with a helicopter from Chengdu. There is an entrance fee of several USD. Inside the park, cheap accommodation is available. Make sure you bargain! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- EMEI SHAN South of Chengdu, this is one of the four sacred mountains of China. You can be sure that there are scores of tourists, mostly Chinese. The typical tour is to get up one day, spend the night at the monastery on top, view the sun rise on top of the mountain and then get back down again. There are several cheap hotels. You can also try your luck at one of the monasteries, usually the cheapest places, but also the most crowded. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- DALI Wedged between the Erhai Lake and the Cang Shan Mountains at an altitude of 1975 m above sea level, Dali is one of the main tourist hangouts in China. Dali has a mild climate, with an annual mean temperature of 15 C and only about 56 days of frost and an average annual rainfall or 1100 mm. Already inhabited during neolithic times, Dali became an important market place just off the Burma road during the time of the Han dynasty. As early as 109 BC, the Han Emperor Wu Di set up administrative institutions. The King of the Menshe tribe founded the state of Nanzhao (Souther Princedom) in 739. Nearly two centuries later, in 937, Duan Siping, chief of the Bai, overthrew Nanzhao and founded the Dali kingdom, which lasted until Kublai Khan conquered it in 1253 and integrated it into Yunnan province. In the region of Dali live mostly Bai. Especially the women dress in a very colourful style. A good time to visit is when one of the many festivals is due. Festivals The San Yue Jie (Third Moon Street Fair) is held between the 15th and 21st day of the third lunar month (usually April.) Originally a Bhuddist festival, nowadays there are dances, races and singing, and a big market with many goods to trade or buy. During the Rao Shan Lin (Walkabout Festival), from the 23rd to the 25th day of the fourth lunar month, people dance and sing from one temple to another. In the height of the summer, on the 24th day of the sixth lunar month, the Huo Ba Jie (Torch Festival) is held. There are dragon-boat races, and in the evening fireworks are displayed and people carry blazing torches around the town and its surroundings. Zong Sheng San Ta (Three Pagodas) Built in the 9th century, these three pagodas are just outside Dali. Guanyin Tang (Temple of the Goddess of Mercy) Five km south of the city, the Guanyin Temple is built on top of a huge boulder. Legend has it that the Lady Guanyin has placed it there to protect Dali from an invading army. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- KUNMING Situated at an altitude of 1890 meters near the pleasant Lake Dian, the capital of Yunnan offers a mild climate all year round. Stone Forest Some way outside Kunming is the Stone Forest, a collection of stone pillars remotely resembling trees. There are daily tours leaving Kunming sometime around 7 to 8 am. The bus takes about 3 hours one way. Hotels The Kunhu Hotel has cheap rooms. The Jin Long Hotel (Golden Dragon) has a Anglo-American breakfast buffet (for those of you that are starving of Western food.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- GUILIN Guilin is in the middle of one of the world's most stunning landscapes. There are innumerable hills jutting out of the flat earth at random. There are tours on the Li River to Yangshou where you can admire the beautiful landscape. Elephant Rock One of the mountains in the center of the town is aptly named 'Elephant Rock'. It indeed resembles an elephant with its big trunk hanging over a small part of the river. Reed Flute Cave One of Guilins main tourist spots, the Reed Flute Cave appeals perfectly to the Asian taste of Kitsch. It is lit by neon lights in all possible colours. However, it is still worth a visit. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- YANGSHOU Yangshou is located some 90 km south of Guilin. It is a small town located in the midst of one of the world's most stunning landscapes. Whereas Guilin is a big expensive city, Yangshou is the backpacker hangout, with a Western orientation and few rip-offs (people there know that most travellers know the prices and wouldn't buy at their place anymore.) Moon Hill Some km south of the town is a strange mountain with a big hole right through its middle. This shape gave it its name, Moon Hill. There is a footpath to the top, and the view from the top is breathtaking. When I was there, an old woman was selling drinks. Of course, I was thirsty. As soon as I had taken the first couple of gulps, I noticed the sweat pouring out of my pores. I was so occupied by the view that I simply forgot that I was dehydrating. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- GUANGZHOU (CANTON) In former times the foreigners were confined to their trading outpost on Shamian Island where they hung up plates stating that dogs and Chinese were not allowed on it. Nowadays, everything is Chinese and foreigners are welcome everywhere as long as they bring money. Market Cantons market is an experience in itself. There is a saying about the Cantonese that they eat everything that flies, except a plane, everything that swims, except a ship and everything with four legs, except a car. So you'll be likely to find every imaginable kind of food somewhere around. If you consider buying a pet, the market is the place to get it. But do make sure you get it alive. There is a story (nobody knows if it is really true, but it's a nice story anyway.) of a British student who was thinking of buying a puppy to keep her company. After finally agreeing on a price, the Chinese selling it wanted to be nice and helpful and, to the horror of the student, started to prepare it! Yuexiu Park Guangzhou's largest park covers 93 hectares. It includes the Sun Yatsen Memorial Hall, the Zhenhai Tower and the Sculpture of the Five Rams. Orchid Garden This pleasant garden, constructed in 1957, shows over 100 variants of orchids. Hotels The main backpacker hangout is the Guangzhou Youth Hostel, located on Shamian Island. Just opposite is the famous White Swan, one of the best hotels in China, and probably also in the world. Even if you don't stay there, make sure you visit its stunning entrance hall. Food A specialty of Guangzhou are its Dim Sum, little snacks eaten whenever one feels like it. A good place to sample a wide variety is the Taotaoju (Abode of Tao Tao) restaurant. On its three (or were it four?) floors you select the Dim Sums directly from trolleys wheeled about as you are going on with your meal. On Shamian Island there are many small restaurants where you can eat well and quite cheap. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHENZHEN Shenzhen is Chinas boomtown with a growth rate of over 40%. While it had only 30'000 people a few years ago, it boasts of a population of over 2 million! Since there are not many tourists, people are friendly and tend not to cheat Westeners. Hotels There is a Shangri La Hotel. ************************************************************************** 4. LITERATURE This section presents a small extract of the literature about and from China. It is by no means complete, nor does it necessarily present the best books available. Most of the books listed are there because I happen to own them. 4.1 GUIDEBOOKS COUNTRY Lonely Planet. China - A Travel Survivel Kit. Robert Storey, Chris Taylor, Clem Lindenmayer. March 1994. 4th Ed. ISBN 0-86442-207-5. 1064 p, 202 maps Contains many good hints about travelling. Has good lists of hotels, restaurants, etc. It is considered to be the 'Bible' of independent travel in China. Chan, Charis. Imperial China. Architectural Guides for Travellers. This book concentrates on the northern part of China. It seems to have excellent descriptions and explanations of all the sites. Collins Illustrated Guide to All China, Charis Chan (Collins 1988). Many nice pictures, good reading for an accompanied tour or at home. China. Geo Special. October 1987 (German). Contains many beautiful pictures and interesting articles on various topics. CITY GUIDES AND SPECIAL SIGHTS Chengdu Guidebook. 92 p., Sichuan People's Publishing House. For only a couple of yuans, you get an excellent guidebook on Chengdu. Apart from some pictures and a good coverage of the sites, is also contains many ideas for off-the-beaten-track tours and usefuladdresses. It is in English, but has been written and published in China. Beijing. Robert Storey. Lonely Planet. ISBN 0-86442-206-7. 292 p, 24 maps The Great Wall. Cultural Relics Publishing House. 118 p. 1988. ISBN 7-5010-0140-5 A souvenir album about the Great Wall, with many pictures and a good historical account both in Chinese and English. Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Emperor Qin Shi Hunag. Hong Kong Man Hai Language Publication. 1987. ISBN 962-297-0098. A souvenir album of the terracotta army with many pictures and a lot of historical and archeological details. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.2 TRAVELLERS TALES Grigsby, Roger. China by Bike. Mountaineers: Books, Seatle. Theroux, Paul. Riding the Iron Rooster. Starting in Europe, the author includes his experiences on the Transsibirian Railroad as well as the subsequent months travelling by train throughout China. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.3 LANGUAGE LANGUAGE COURSES Practical Chinese Reader. Commercial Press, Beijing. 1981, 6th Ed 1989. An excellent book series consisting of at least 6 volumes. There are also the Chinese Character Excercise Books. Chinesisch. Kessler Verlag. 1988. A Greman translation of the Practical Chinese Reader. This version is used at the University of Zurich. PHRASEBOOKS Cantonese. Kam Lau. Lonely Planet, 2nd Ed. Oct 1995. ISBN 0-86442-340-3. 224 p. Mandarin (Chinese). Chris Taylor. Lonely Planet, 2nd Ed. ISBN 0-86442-086-2. 184 p. DICTIONAIRIES Consise English-Chinese, Chinese-English Dictionary. Oxford University Press 1980. The Commercial Press. ISBN 7-100-00589-2 This small dicionary has still 600 pages. Since the paper is very thin it is the ideal companion for your travels. Buy this book in China; it should cost about CNY 20. Das neue Chinesisch-Deutsche Woerterbuch. 1985. The large, 1162 pages thick book costs an incredible low CNY 14.20 and is probably the most comprehensive dictionary available. Deutsch-Chinesisches Taschenwoerterbuch. 1986. Published in China, this pocket book costs only CNY 1.15. It has only 240 pages and is good for carrying around. Das kleine deutsch-chinesische Neologismenwoerterbuch. ISBN 7-5600-0210-2. 190 p. CNY 1.50. This extremely small dictionary contains mostly new words with Western origin, like Eurovisionssendung, or Wehrdienstverweigerung, etc. Fun with Chinese Characters 1, 2, 3. The Straits Times Collection. Federal Publications. Singapore. 1980, 1982, 1983. ISBN 981-01-3004-X, ISBN 981-01-3005-8, and ISBN 981-01-3006-6. The tree volumes with together about 480 pages presents the origin of the Chinese characters in many humorous cartoons and descriptions. Excellent for students. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.4 HISTORICAL/ POLITICAL Die Krallen der Tiger und Drachen. Wirtschaftsboom und Selbstbewusstsein in Asien. Sabine Stahl/ Ulrich Mihr (Hrsg.). Droemer Verlag 1995. An excellent book about the current political and economical developments in Asia. The People's Republic of China. Reflections on Chinese Political History since 1949. Witold Rodzinski. William Collins 1988. China - Ein politisches Reisebuch. Karl Grobe-Hagel. (German) VSA-Verlag 1987. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.5 (AUTO) BIOGRAPHIES Cheng, Nieh. Live and death in Shanghai. A former director with a big American company, she had to serve several years in prison during the cultural revolution. A gripping account of the time. Jung, Chang. Wild Swans - Three Daughters of China. The story of Chinese family from the beginning of the 20th century until 1978. An excellent book that explains a lot of China's 20th century history. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.6 CHINESE CLASSICS I Ging. More than four thousand years old, the 'Book of Changes' still is in wide use. It is used as a source of wisdom as well as to predict the future. The best translations into Western languages are based on the translation by the German Richard Wilhelm, who, at the beginning of the 20th century used nearly ten years of his life to translate it into German. Sun Tse. The Art of War. The classic account on how to conduct war. Mao studied it extensively and used many of the desribed tactics and strategies to succeed in the Chinese revolution. Wang, Shicheng. Djin Ping Meh. About 400 years old, it describes the life of a rich Chinese with his six wives and his many friends. Wu, Chengen. Journey to the West. Foreign Language Press, Beijing Based on many centuries of traditional mythology, this classical book was put into its present form in the 1570s. It tells the story of the good monk Sanzang who went to the West to fetch the Holy Scriptures. Accompanied by his three disciples, the Monkey King, Brother Pig and Friar Sand, he has to survive many adventures. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.7 NOVELS Buck, Pearl S. Although born in the USA, Pearl S. Buck grew up in China. She went to college in Nanjing and felt more Chinese than American. She has written many books about China. - Imperial Woman. 1956 Ding, Ya. Les Heritiers des Sept Royaumes. Editions Stock, Paris, 1988. Die Erben der Sieben Reiche. Benziger, Zurich. 1990. A history of the beginning of the democratic movement in Beijing at the end of the 80s. Larsen, Jeanne. Silk Road. 1989. ISBN 0-7493-0524-X. A delightful story of a young girl's search for her mother, set during the Tang dynasty. Many Chinese legends and mythologies are artfully woven into the tale. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.8 MOVIES During the last decade, Chinas movie industry has become increasingly well known all over the world. One of the main reasons for that was the work of the actor/ director duo of Gong Li and Zhang Yimou. Their movies are: Red Sorghum (? German title: Das rote Kornfeld), 1988 Ju Dou, 1990 Raise the Red Lantern, 1991 The Story of Qiu Ju, 1992 The Haunted Soul of a Woman Artist, 1993 Lifetimes, 1994 Shanghai Triad, 1994 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.9 INTERNET The newest version of this guide is available on WWW at http://www-students.unisg.ch/~pgeiser/china.htm The archive for this guide is at rtfm.mit.edu in /pub/usenet/news.answers/travel/china-guide/ The FAQ of soc.culture.china can be found on WWW at http://www.seas.ucla.edu/~tcyang/html/China_faq.html ************************************************************************** A. CONTRIBUTORS I have been able to include a lot of information from other people and sources. Where it is necessary to do so, I put the author in front of the paragraph, mostly so when personal experiences/ feelings are important. Whenever possible I tried to contact the author of the information to get permission and I include his/ her e-mail address for reference. Jin Ye Ye01@utsw.swmed.edu Wuchun Wu wuwu@phys.ksu.edu Edmund J. Murphy 102131.1441@compuserve.com ************************************************************************** The homepage of the Internet Travel Guides is at http://www-students.unisg.ch/~pgeiser Please send your comments, suggestions and contributions to the following address: e-mail:peter.geiser@student.unisg.ch Peter M. Geiser Seeblickstr. 10 9010 St. Gallen Switzerland **************************************************************************
This page hosted by
Get your own Free Home Page