Sapore di Cina

Learn Chinese, Travel or Work in China

Transsiberian Express – The Complete Guide

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Transiberian Train

Before getting started

The purpose of this article is to share my experience and offer all of the practical information necessary for you to enjoy an unforgettable trip on the Trans-Siberian railway.

If you’re looking for specific information on Trans-Siberian tours,click here to read our guide. You can also fill out this form to get a free budget.

If what you’re interested in is knowing how much Trans-Siberian train tickets cost, click here, select the day, departing city and destination and you will get the prices of tickets (use the city names in English).

Last of all, if you’re looking for a story about the experience of traveling on the Trans-Siberian Railway, I suggest that you read this story.

Transsiberian Train Trip Guide – Index

  1. Trans-Siberian myths and incorrect beliefs.
  2. Why should you take the Trans-Siberian Express?
  3. Where to buy the tickets for the Trans-Siberian Railway
  4. Railcar and train classes
  5. To get a tour or to travel by myself?
  6. Which route should you choose?
  7. Where to stay? Our suggestions for hotels in Moscow, Irkutz, Ulan Bator and Beijing
  8. Russian, Mongolian and Chinese Visa requirements
  9. Things you should bring with you
  10. Essential information and tips

[Read more…]

Transsiberian Railway Tour Guide

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Transsiberian Railway Tours

This article is aimed to provide all the necessary information to organize your tour with the mythical Trans-Siberian and is based on my personal experience as a traveler and resident in Beijing. In this article you will find (you can click below to read directly the section that you are interested):

Transsiberian Tour – Index

  1. How much a Transsiberian trip costs
  2. The most popular routes
  3. When to take a tour to travel the Transsiberian Railway (and when not to)
  4. What type of agency you should choose for the Transsiberian trip
  5. What you need to prepare before your trip
  6. Get a free quotation for your Transsiberian Trip

If you have already decided that you want to travel on the mythical Transsiberian Railway but aren’t sure which travel agency to choose, we can put you in contact with a trustworthy agency. Click here to get budget for your Transsiberian Tour.

[Read more…]

Great Wall of China: A Short Review of The Top 14 Best Sections

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Great Wall of China

I’ve always been fascinated by the Great Wall of China (长城, Chang Cheng in Mandarin). The first time I had enough time and money to afford an intercontinental travel I took a flight from Paris to Beijing and I went straight away to see the Great Wall section of Mutianyu.

This was in February 2008 and since then I’ve visited the Great Wall other four times, once per year.

Great Wall of China – Index

  1. Where to visit the Great Wall of China?
  2. The head of the Great Wall: Badaling, Juyongguan, Mutianyu, Simatai, Jinshanling, Gubeikou, Jankou, Huanghuacheng and Huangyaguan
  3. Where the Great Wall meets the sea: Shanhaiguan
  4. The back of the dragon: Zhenbeitai and Yanmenguan
  5. The tail of the dragon: Jiayuguan and Yumenguan
  6. If you want to know more

[Read more…]

Where to Study Chinese in Beijing – Best Private Schools and Universities

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Study Chinese in BeijingPeking University (Beida)

Before you begin

If you are planning to study Mandarin Chinese in China, you probably thought about coming to Beijing. The goal of this article is to help you to understand whether Beijing is the right destination for you or not. You’ll find out:

  • The pros and cons of studying Chinese in Beijing.
  • The best universities for studying Chinese in Beijing.
  • A short list of well-known agencies and private schools for studying Chinese in Beijing (under construction).

If you’re interested in a more general overview, you can read Studying Chinese in China: What’s the best choice for you?

Study Chinese in Beijing – Index

  1. The pros of studying Mandarin Chinese in Beijing
  2. The cons of studying Mandarin Chinese in Beijing
  3. Private Schools in Beijing
  4. Universities for studying Chinese in Beijing
  5. Find a school and move to Beijing with the help of an agency

[Read more…]

How to Book Your Beijing Tour – The Complete Guide

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Tour in BeijingView of the Forbidden City from the Coil Hill

Beijing Tours and Attractions – Index

  1. When to take a tour to visit Beijing (and and when not to)
  2. How many days you need to visit Beijing
  3. The best time period to visit Beijing
  4. The most popular tours that include Beijing
  5. Featured 1-day tours in Beijing
  6. Things to see and do in Beijing
  7. Frequently asked questions
  8. Need a travel agency? Ask a free quotation

Before you begin

The first time I came to China, I only had one week. I had never left Europe before and I could barely speak English. So, I contacted a travel agency and took a tour. If you are looking for general information about China tours, click here (you’ll learn how to spot an honest travel agency, what you need to come to China and much more).

If you’ve already decided to book a China tour but aren’t sure what travel agency to choose, we can suggest a reliable agency to you. Click here to contact us and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

[Read more…]

How to Choose the Best China Tour or Travel Agency – The Complete Guide

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How to book a tour in China

China Tours – Index

  1. What are the most popular China tours
  2. How to spot an honest travel agency
  3. What you should look at before booking a tour to China (visa arrangements, past customers’ referrals and so on)
  4. When you shall book a tour and when you shall travel by yourself
  5. What are the pros and cons of private and group tours
  6. How to prepare your trip and what to bring to China
  7. Frequently asked questions
  8. Get in touch with our recommended travel agency

Before getting started

This article is based on my personal experience taking tours in China, first with a French company, later with a Chinese company to go to Tibet, and last of all, two “free” tours that I was invited on (one by the local Chinese government and another with a local travel agency, both of which were looking for opinions and advice from foreign tourists).

If you’ve already decided to book a China tour but you aren’t sure what travel agency to choose, we can suggest a reliable agency to you. Click here to contact us and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

[Read more…]

The Best Hotels in Beijing, the Capital of China

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best hotels beijing

Beijing is an enormous city with more hotels that you can count, which may make choosing where to stay extremely difficult. This guide is a selection of the best hotels in Beijing, whatever your budget may be.

Best Hotels in Beijing – Index

  1. Things to consider before booking a hotel in Beijing
  2. Best hotels near the airport
  3. Best hotels in the city center
  4. Best hotels near the Great Wall

Things to consider before booking a hotel in Beijing

In Asia, we recommend booking hotels on Agoda because, in our experience, it is the agency with the best prices and a has great selection of hotels. You can click here to see all the hotels in Beijing or here to read our general recommendations on booking hotels in China. [Read more…]

Living and Working in Beijing: The Complete Guide

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living and working in beijing

This guide is a collection of resources and practical advice for living in Beijing. These are the subjects we will cover:

[Read more…]

How to find a job as an English Teacher in China

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Teaching in ChinaTeaching kids in China

This is a complete guide to finding a job as an English teacher in China. It’s around 10,000 words, so take your time to read it. You can also click on one of the links below to jump directly to the sections that most interest you. Here you’ll find:

[Read more…]

Visiting the Forbidden City – The complete guide

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The Forbidden CityThe Forbidden City as seen from Coal to the south.

Introduction

The residences of kings, sovereigns or emperors that we’re used to seeing in Western countries, though being rich and opulent, are the size of a large palace or at most, especially from pre-Renaissance times, a castle.

In China, starting in the late Medieval period, when the darkness of the Holy Inquisition dominated the scene in Europe, and up until the early years of the 20th century, the emperor lived in a true fortified city constructed entirely around him and designed to allow him to carry out his public functions, and at the same time, take care of his human and personal needs.

In this citadel you could come and go only with the permission of the emperor. Those who disobeyed this rule paid with their life.

This is the origin of the name “Forbidden City” (“Zi Jin Chen”, in Chinese), a historic place, perfectly preserved, that hosted the emperor of the Middle Kingdom for about 500 years, from 1420 up until 1912, when the last emperor was forced to abdicate to the forces of the first Chinese revolution.

From that point on the name was changed to what it is called even today on maps and directions: “Palace Museum”.

The term “Museum” is there to underscore the fact that this is a historic relic and no longer the seat of any political power. [Read more…]

The Legend of Kung Fu – Beijing’s Show

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In this article I will review the show “The Legend of Kung Fu” which has as its protagonists the Shaolin monks. The show is performed every night at Beijing’s Red Theater.

The last part of the article is reserved for practical information: ticket prices, and where and when to see the show “The Legend of Kung Fu”.

Introduction

The first to introduce the words “kung fu” into western terminology was Bruce Lee, when asked the question “what do you call what you do?” he responded: “it’s called kung fu”.

Bruce Lee was perfectly aware that what he said was inaccurate but when dealing with the West, which wants things fast and simple, he took this liberty.

In fact, to say “I do kung fu” doesn’t specify anything in particular because, to do kung fu in a Chinese sense, just means to have reached a high level in something.

For example, if I have multiple degrees and tenure in a prestigious university, “I do kung fu” in studies. [Read more…]

Jing-Jin-Ji: Birth of a megalopolis with Chinese characteristics

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Jing-Jin-Ji: Birth of a megalopolis with Chinese characteristics

A project to revitalize the economy in the north of China

China’s impressive economic growth in the past 30 years has been amply guided by the development of two enormous urban conglomerates: the Blue River Delta (DFA) around Shanghai and Nanjing in central China, and the Pearl River Delta (DFP) around Canton and Shenzhen in the south.

These two urban realities, made up of one or two metropolises surrounded by a series of satellite cities, have combined to produce 25% of the country’s GDP. Moreover in recent years, these two areas have become the world’s largest testing ground for the study of creating wealth through urbanization.

Both in the area around the Blue River and the area around the Pearl River, the borders and differences between urban realities are slight with the wealth being divided more evenly. The secret of success in these two areas is the consolidation of a series of small realities around a few main economic centers and the usage of the comparative advantage of each of these cities to forge a solid financial and manufacturing center.

In the meantime Beijing, as the only top tier city in northern China, has sought to emulate the success obtained by the areas in the center and south of China. [Read more…]

How to rent an apartment in Beijing

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rent in beijing

After the guide on how to rent an apartment in Shanghai, we release the guide to rent a room or an apartment in Beijing. Keep reading to discover:

  • The best websites to find an apartment in Beijing (both in English and Chinese language).
  • Pros and cons of looking for an apartment in Beijing on the web.
  • A trick to find a cheap room in a shared apartment.
  • Pros and cons of using an agency and the names of best agencies in Beijing.
  • The details of the charges that you’ll have to pay (electricity, water, gas and so on).
  • The reasons for which you should ask for a regular contract.
  • What should be written on your contract.

P.s. Click here if you need an hotel for your first days in Beijing
[Read more…]

Living in Shanghai, Beijing or Hong Kong? Pros and Cons

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living in ShanghaiShanghai’s skyline

People often ask to us what is the best city to live in China, Shanghai or Beijing? And is Hong Kong an option? What about second or third tiers cities?

Obviously there isn’t a right answer: it depends on what you’re looking for. In this article we’ll focus on Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong and look at the most important factors (cost of living, carrier opportunities, quality of life and so on) in order to solve some of the most common doubts.

Before we start…

If you’re looking to move to China and you didn’t read it yet, make you a favor and get our free e-book.

Also, keep in mind that Hong Kong S.A.R. (Special Administrative Region) is a Chinese Province only since 1997 (before it was a British colony). [Read more…]

The Great Wall of Mutianyu – How to plan your trip

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Mutianyu Great Wall

If you find yourself in Beijing and want to visit a section of the Great Wall of China, you’ll only have the burden of choosing: from the most famous and touristy in Badaling to the wall in the water of Huanghuacheng, passing by the wild wall of Gubeikou.

But which section to choose?

Today we’ll speak about the Wall at Mutianyu which, after the section in Badaling, is certainly the most famous.

Reasons to visit the Wall at Mutianyu

I recommend the section at Mutianyu for the following reasons:

  • It is not extremely crowded, especially compared to Badaling. Obviously we recommend avoiding weekends and Chinese vacation periods;
  • It offers numerous tourist services, such as shops, restaurants, cable cars and lifts;
  • It offers the longest stretch of restored wall (more than 2 kilometers);
  • With only a 20 minute walk it connects with different sections of the original wall that still haven’t been restored;
  • It offers what is likely the best conserved stretch of the Great Wall of China. The walls are of granite, 6-7 meters high and 4-5 meters wide. The section has blackbirds on both the outside and inside, which is almost unique to the Wall;
  • Getting there is relatively easy.

[Read more…]

Great Wall: Walking Wild Jiankou

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The panorama from JiankouThe panorama from Jiankou – Photo by Matteo Bosi

Of all the walkable parts of the Great Wall of China, Jiankou is among the wildest: in other words it means that this piece of the Wall has still been left to itself. Restorations are reserved for the more famous Badaling, Mutianyu and Juyongguan, not just for the walkway paved to a shine, but also for the services offered that have made the Wall halfway between an amusement park and walking mall.

Look, if you’re looking for parts of this mammoth construction where you can perceive a bit of the fascinating war history that surrounds it, Jiankou is what you want (together with Gubeikou).

But, be careful dear nostalgic one ready to dive into the past: as you’ve already guessed and have read the rest of the Great Wall guide, Jiankou is a piece of purity from the Imperial Ming epoch because it hasn’t been restored since the day of its birth, and hasn’t had any maintenance. The walls are dangerous and the route is hazardous, not to mention “officially closed to the public” (the quotation marks have been inserted because, just as in the best Chinese traditions, this prohibition is easily bypassed, rather, a source of business).

This is not at all suitable for those who suffer from vertigo or difficulty walking (though along the route I also saw poorly-equipped and unprepared tourists taking on the unexpected slopes that it offers). Moreover, I strongly discourage going under anything but perfect weather conditions: those same slopes can easily become full-blown sand-dunes, or worse, sledding slopes with a final dip(!). [Read more…]

If You Want to Name a Building, Check First With Beijing

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building names in beijing

If You Want to Name a Building, Check First With Beijing

China is known for a lot of great things. The Great Wall. Great take-out. And great deals on cheaply manufactured goods. But it is a little-known and rarely heralded fact that is my favorite of all Chinese contributions to our world heritage.

Their buildings have the coolest names.

While most Western buildings are named after architects, politicians – or even worse – corporations, ancient edifices in China retain majestic sounding monikers like Earth Tranquility Palace or Hall of Supreme Harmony. Even the Flatiron Building would have to admit that their names are way cooler than ours.

Granted, most people aren’t going to visit someplace just because it has a cool name. It would also have to have sites worthy of making a voyage halfway around the world. So of all the places that there are to see in China, the spot that gives you both some from Column A and some from Column B (you had to expect there was going to be a Chinese menu crack in here somewhere) is the capital Beijing.  [Read more…]

798 Beijing Art District (Photo Essays)

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798 beijing art district

Continuing our series of articles on Beijing, in today’s article, I want to talk about a place which, even though it is no longer an alternative plan, remains one of my favorite parts of the city.

What is District 798?

District 798 is a former industrial area created in the 1950s which reached its peak during the period of the Great Leap Forward. However, since the opening up of the Chinese economy by Deng Xiaoping, it started to decline bit by bit until becoming almost completely abandoned at the beginning of the 1990s. [Read more…]

Studying in China with a scholarship from the Confucius Institute: An interview with Chiara Romano

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Confucio ScholarshipThe beachfront of Qinhuangdao

In today’s interview we’ll be talking with Chiara Romano, who is 22 years old and since last August has lived in Qinhuangdao, where she is studying Chinese thanks to a scholarship from the Confucius Institute.

What is necessary to obtain a scholarship

Chiara, what are the minimum requirements to obtain a scholarship from the Confucius Institute?

Hi Furio! Getting a scholarship from the Confucius Institute (which is actually promoted by Hanban, the “head office” of the Confucius Institutes worldwide) isn’t too difficult. First of all you have to choose what sort of experience you’re looking for: there are various scholarships, offering periods of study between six months and a year, as well as scholarships to graduate both with a three year degree or teaching degree in China, or still other scholarships centered on the teaching of Chinese.

All in all there are a lot of possibilities! To apply for any of these scholarships you must be between the ages of 16 and 35 and must pass the HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi, Knowledge of Chinese Language for Foreginers Test) exam and the HSKK (similar to the first one, without having to write Chinese characters).

Each scholarship requires different levels of mastery over the language, but as for the annual scholarship, the one that I received, you must as a minimum pass the HSK3 exam with at least 180 points and the HSKK成绩 (in other words the elementery level) with at least 60 points. [Read more…]

The Best Restaurants in West Beijing

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best restaurants in beijing

This article is the third part in the series dedicated to share my “knowledge” about the city of Beijing. After suggesting 10 alternative plans and indicating the things you should avoid doing in Beijing, today, I wanted to do a review of, in my opinion, the best restaurants in the west part of the city, that is, the Haidan district (or university district).

This area is excellent for tasting ethnic Asian food and since I have lived here more than four years, I’m quite familiar with the district. So, just enjoy! [Read more…]