Wistful of Jinshanling Great Wall Tour

The wall is situated on the Big and Small Jinshanling, hence its name. Based on huge stone bars, the Wall was then made by huge bricks, each of which weighed about 12 kilograms (26 pounds). It has five main passes and 67 watchtowers. Every 100 meters (328 feet), there is an enemy tower each of which is about ten meters

(33 feet) high. Featuring various structures and having various functions, those watchtowers are either one tiered or two-tiered. On the first floor there are some windows for shooting arrows. The roofs of the towers are many and varied, flat, arched, quadrangular or octagonal. Some are used to store weapons and hay. Others are used as soldiers' bedrooms. Among them, the most celebrated are the Big and Small Jinshan Watchtowers.
Jinshanling Great Wall, Beijing
Jinshanling Great Wall, BeijingThe big Jinshan Watchtower has two tiers which are connected by stone stairs. On the top of the tower is a small room used as the soldiers' retiring room. This small room has a unique structure. The rafters and eaves of the room are all made from polished bricks. The Small Jinshan Watchtower was constructed by soldiers from Zhejiang and Jiangsu Provinces led by Qi Jiguang, a famous general in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). To remind themselves of their hometowns, the tower was named Jinshan which was a pavilion's name in the Jiangxin Island in Zhanjiang.

China National Silk Museum

China National Silk Museum is the first state-level professional silk museum in the country as well as the biggest of its kind throughout the world. It opened to the public in 1992 and since 2004 people can visit it for free.
The museum owns eight exhibition halls, including: the Preface Hall, Relics Hall, Folk-custom Hall, Dyeing and Weaving Hall and Modern Achievements Hall.

The Preface Hall introduces the 5000-year-long history of Chinese silk culture. China is the earliest country that engaged in sericulture, filature and making clothes with silk. This hall provides strong evidence for this fact and shows the history of the Silk Road through which silk was spread abroad.
Relics Hall presents several preserved relics, which cover almost every dynasty of ancient China, and a number of pictures to explain Chinese traditional silk culture. These relics are from various districts of the country, including those excavated along the Silk Road, on the grassland of Northern region of the country, and in the south region. It should be mentioned that tourists can appreciate a piece of fragmentary brocade that dates back 5,630 years. That is the earliest silk that has ever been discovered.
Folk-custom Hall displays some prominent products created by outstanding weavers. Dyeing and Weaving Hall tells people how to dye and weave silk and the scientific theory of it. There are also weavers showing the whole process. Tourists are welcome to participate in the activity and do it themselves. Modern Achievements Hall displays the new achievements in silk production, silk research and silk trade and so on.

Life in Beijing Eating is The First So Try Baikui Laohao

Baikui Laohao is one of the most famous Muslim restaurants in Beijing offering roast mutton. In 1780 (the 45th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign) it was set up by a Muslim named Baikui in a small alley opposite Longfusi Temple, Dongcheng District. Roast mutton of Baikui Laohao has well-chosen materials, delicate processes, unique cooking methods and a marvelous flavor.

The mutton used is from a specific part of the sheep with appropriate muscle and fat and is roasted to perfection. Dozens of seasonings such as cloves, mushrooms and a chosen soy sauce and sugar are mixed in proper proportions. Cooked in several processes such as a dipping in broth, pressing, stacking, braising in broth and frying, the braised mutton has a mellow taste and color, is tender and delicious and the unpleasant smell of the mutton is gone.
After the founding of the PRC, Baikui Laohao Restaurant extended its business space on the original location and increased the food variety to include mutton in soy sauce, beef and mutton entrails in soy sauce and chicken in soy sauce. It has developed into to a grand Muslim restaurant offering Muslim food and banquet service.Featured dishes: Braised Mutton in a Pot, Deep-Fried Mutton, Stewed Mutton in Slices, Braised Mutton Maw, Sliced Mutton Maw Soup, Braised Mutton Head and Roast Pigeon.

English Signs Help You Get Around Beijing

Many people fear traveling overseas where signs and instructions are not in their native language. We native English speakers have a great advantage because most countries post signs in English. However, the English translations are not always clear enough to be understood, and many places have no English at all.
Until recent years, getting around China was not easy for international travelers who couldn't read Chinese. Just before the 2008 Olympics, Beijing made a great leap forward in the improvement of English signs and instructions. You'll still see some signs, like the one below, that will make you laugh and leave you

confused. In the past these hilarious translations were everywhere, but today most of Beijing's English signs are easy to understand even if you haven't been around long enough to get used to reading "Chinglish."
Today you can easily go almost anywhere in Beijing, guided by English signs and directions. Though some private businesses and a few government agencies still lack professional translation help, most of the English signs you see in Beijing are clear enough to point you in the direction you need to go. The sign below, for example, displays the price for a river boat ride from Xizhimen to the Summer Palace. The English translation is correct and explicable, making it easy for anyone from an English speaking country to understand the cost of a ride.
Some places are better than others at displaying readable English. The airport, subways, public busses and four and five star hotels have reasonably normal English. But if you stay in cheaper hotels or shop in small grocery stores you can expect to see signs and package labels displaying pretty strange English. Regardless of the translation quality, we must give the Chinese credit for an extraordinary effort to accommodate English speaking guests.  Back home very few venues care enough to display signs in Chinese.
It's the irony of English speakers traveling anywhere in the world. We make jokes about hilariously mistaken English. We complain when things aren't explained clearly in English. And we look down our long noses at establishments we think are unsophisticated because they can't perfectly imitate the English we're used to seeing and hearing in our own countries. However, back home very little, if any, effort is made to accommodate non-English speaking Chinese. At home and abroad we seem to think everyone in the world ought to speak and write English.
Chinese are among the most hospitable and forgiving people in the world. If we say so much as "nihao" (Chinese for "hello") they applaud our effort. Although many visitors refuse to learn Chinese, local people try hard to communicate with us in English. So, when someone in Beijing speaks to us with broken English, or when a few "Chinglish" signs make us laugh, we must remind ourselves that the English we hear and see here is far superior to the Chinese back home.
If I spot a sign with bad English in a little shop, I can still say, "Thank God for the excellent English signs that helped me get here in the first place." An English speaking person at the front desk pointed me in the direction of the nearest subway station, where I found clearly translated English signs. A website or other advertisement told me which station to get off at and where to walk from there. Excellent English is one of Beijing's features that makes it a convenient and welcoming city for people from all over the world to enjoy!

Tianjian a City of Taste and Joy China Landscapes

By high-speed train, it takes only 32 minutes to reach Tianjin from Beijing. The large coastal city in North China is endowed with a rich historical and cultural legacy. Tianjin also has abundant natural scenery, including mountains, rivers, lakes and wetlands, making it an ideal place for travel.

To capitalize on these assets, the city has rolled out six themed tours in an effort to transform itself into an international tourist destination and a base for the travel equipment industry.
Culture &history tour
Tianjin was one of first points of contact between China and the West and it was home to various Western-styled buildings after it became a trading port in 1860.
Early German-styled residential buildings, among the only ones left in Asia, sit on Jiefang South Road. The Italian district has a history of more than 100 years and is one of the largest and best preserved of all in Asia.
Tourists are strongly recommended to visit Wudadao, the famous Five Big Avenues area, which comprises 23 streets in total, hosting approximately 2,000 villas in various styles. It is widely known as a showcase for international architecture.
In fact, there is a story behind every Western building in Tianjin, and together they form an abundant cultural resource for the tourism industry.
City tour
Tianjin has been an industrial and commercial center for much of modern history. The Tianjin Museum and Tianjin Natural History Museum, for example, are ideal places to catch glimpses of the city's heritage.
Its financial, shoe and wine museums help demonstrate the industrial development. The Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao Monument and Jintang Bridge are popular places for "Red tourism," which
refers to sites that house important landmarks in China's revolutionary history.
Tianjin also has time-honored food streets and European-styled shopping streets. The Tianjin Culture Center is by far the largest public facility for cultural and leisure activities.
It covers a total floor area of 900,000 square meters and consists of museums, art galleries, libraries, theaters, and shopping malls.

Northern Church

The Xishiku Catholic Church, also called Xishiku Church (or Salvador Church, meaning Christ Church), is located west of Zhongnanhai, at Canchikou and west of the Ziguang Pavilion, so it is also called the Canchikou Church. The sanctuary was later moved to Xishiku Street as the Catholic North Church.
The Xishiku Church is now the largest Catholic Church in Beijing and the
Beijing Cardinal Bishop's office is also located here. The style of the building is in typical Gothic style and it is famous for its grand architecture. Originally, it was land bestowed by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty who also hand-wrote the calligraphic plaque and couplets for the building. Two pavilions with green glazed tile roofs were built on each side in front of the church with stone columns and stone lions surrounding and guarding the place of worship resulting in the architectural style of Chinese gardens.
Built in 1890 by a French mission, the church was formerly the centre of a great complex of schools, orphanages and hospitals. The building has a tall, wide nave with side aisles, octagonal transepts and a huge sanctuary. There are many chandeliers and large, painted Stations of the Cross, antique stained glass and the remains of old wall decorations.

Huguang Guild Hall

Founded by Beijing residents coming from Hunan and Hubei Provinces, Huguang Guild Hall provides a place for lodging and gathering of fellow townsmen. It has a history of over 190 years traced back to 1807 when investments were gathering for its foundation. At that time, its premier role was to host students who came to Beijing to attend the Royal Exam and officials who were waiting for their

nomination. Located at the commercial area in the south of Xuanwu District, it had convenient traffic and was thus selected to host weddings and banquets. It was one of centers of political and social life in the Late Qing Dynasty, where authoritative officials and average persons had fun together, dining, chatting and watching Beijing Opera staged by famous actors.
It had been renewed in 1990 and the Grand Theater opened to the public on May 8 1996. Some top actors like Mei Baojiu and Zhang Xuejin attended its debut. From then on, it has been a major stage of Beijing Opera. In 1997, Huguang Guild Hall was opened to the public as a whole and renamed Beijing Museum of Traditional Opera.