We don’t want to use travel agent service since we were afraid that we might be cheated. We heard that some tour agents will bring tourists to some jade marketplaces the whole day, of which jade was no interest to us both and don’t want to waste time on jade viewing. We want to spend more time at locations of our interest. There might even be some tour agents that will close down their businesses after taking your money. All that, at the end of the day would be translated to frustration and unhappy feelings.
I and my wife travelled to Beijing on our own to some of the most attractive locations in Beijing where we will spend the entire day there from dawn until dusk, only then we will go back to hotel. Normally bus and subway service will start operation at 6.30 a.m. We don’t want to take the taxi; they will charge us more. We can make the most out of the buses and subway transportation. We want to be independent and we were not willing to pay extra Yuan to any tourist guide or anything unnecessary.
From KL, we took MAS MH360 flight and arrived in China Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 3 (三号航站楼站sān hào háng zhàn lóu zhàn) at about 1 in the morning. It was still a long queue at the immigration counter with the flights passengers arriving from Moscow and other locations at about the same time as us.
Airport express train and bus service were not in operation in Beijing within 11 p.m. – 6 a.m. There were still taxi services but as I mentioned earlier, we don’t prefer taking taxis.
Even at 2 a.m. there were free shuttles to terminal 2. There were a few cheap hotels around Terminal 2 (二号航站楼站Èr hào háng zhàn lóu zhàn) but I didn’t make any arrangements for this. I should have, because it was Zero celsius freezing cold even at airport lobby, perhaps next time. There were only 2 flights a day from KL to PEK. MAS arriving at 1 a.m. and ASIASIA arriving at 2 a.m. Should check-in at a hotel close to airport or arrange with a tour agency to fetch us up. Capital Airport Hotel was quite near to terminal 2 and the room rate for standard twin was something like 元200 to 元300, it would be OK to spend the night in a hotel close to airport, close to winter the temperature out there was freezing cold. But all the nice things were in the City Centre and wouldn’t want to stay in a hotel that would require us to travel some 30 km back to the hotel every day. Otherwise, take the 1.40 a.m. flight from KLIA to Shanghai and travel by Maglev Super High Speed Train to Beijing that the journey will take some 5 half hours expected to arrive in Beijing, say around 1.20 p.m. By taking 9.20 a.m. China Eastern flight from Shanghai the expected time to arrive in Beijing around 12 noon, single-trip flight fare would be around RM850, otherwise from Shanghai take a train to Beijing. Could also take 9 p.m. Thai Airways flight from KLIA will reach Beijing at 5:40 a.m. the next morning with stopover in Bangkok, but the ticket fare is expensive. Better take MAS or Airasia flight that is much cheaper and its direct flight.
The regular public transport was not in service after 11 pm at night. Taxis were available 24 hours but we avoid taking taxi. Therefore we had to spend the night at the airport. We waited at the seating area nearest to Beijing Metro Train ticket counter.
Anyway, for this trip, it wasn’t that bad waiting all night long at the airport lobby to catch the first train to Beijing city center.
Back in Malaysia, I use Celcom mobile phone network operator and when in China, the international roaming service was China Unicom mobile phone network. It was really useful for communication with family and friends. The last people in the world that I would expect to receive calls and messages were from the boss and clients, out of sight out of mind. We were living in the Information Age or we can say, The Computer Age, therefore having access to internet was very important and very helpful to find our ways and help us to bargain with the seller during shopping, since some places in Beijing you were able to get things really cheap if you negotiate - request the seller to meet your price, not just pay the price on the tag and sometimes you can get the things you want at just 30% of the price tag, say if the price tag shows 元100 if you negotiate you might just only pay something like 元30 or even less in the end, depend on your bargaining skills. Don’t worry, the seller have made enough profit already otherwise they won’t sell it to you.
Well, it’s good to get out see China and do things tourists supposed to do. Let’s get on with the story. We will start with day one.
Wednesday, 2014 (second week of November)
DAY 1, The first day
We took the Beijing Airport Express. The first train was 6.30 a.m. from Terminal 3 Beijing International Airport to Dongzhimen Station. We changed to Beijing subway Line 2 Dongzhimen-Fuxingmen. Beijing subway Line 2 was actually a ring line, the train on this line travels on a circular route, if you don’t get off the train somewhere it will take you round and round. We got off at Beijing Railway Station (Běijīng Zhàn), this station when saying it in Chinese; pronounce similar as “beijing jund”. We went out through Exit C and headed to the hotel.
The hotel entrance was really near, just a few steps away from the subway exit.
THE BEIJING CITY CENTRAL YOUTH HOTEL
We checked-in at Beijing City Central Youth Hotel. We dropped-off our things, freshened up and had bread for breakfast that my wife brought from KL. We were ready to go.
There were lots of KFC and McD outlets around this area. I stepped into one of the McD thinking if I could buy Fillet-o-Fish as our take-away meal. They didn’t sell fillet-o-fish.
I saw a shop owner threw out free packets of tissues on the sidewalk in front of his shop, at the time of opening of his premises in the morning. Majalah 3 had already shown this Chinese local custom on Malaysian TV, if I am not mistaken. Otherwise, I have seen it on some TV channels or read about it somewhere. The Chinese men on the sidewalk seemed to spit wherever they like. Be careful not to step on spit, it's filthy. We boarded Line 2 subway and got off at Tiananmen Dong Station. We headed to Tiananmen Gatehouse and the Forbidden City.
TIANANMEN GATEHOUSE and THE PALACE MUSEUM
The Forbidden City, officially known as the Palace Museum (Gugong), (故宫博物院Gùgōng Bówùyuàn)
The Forbidden City was located directly to the north of Tian'AnMen Square (天安门广场 Tiān'ānmén guǎngchǎng). We entered Tian'AnMen Gate to get to The Forbidden City. This Tiananmen gatehouse has a giant-size passport photo of Mao Zedong hanging in front.
The Tiananmen Gate door, a massive palace door were laced with lots of bulging palm size ornate brass studs sticking on door exterior surface, something that looks like plenty of huge rivet heads fixed onto the door. When I saw this, it came into my mind a riddle, “ Kura-kura panjat dinding ”. No, no, not that, “ Kura-kura dalam perahu, buat-buat tak tahu “.
We passed through Tiananmen gate and we can see another gate that was almost identical to Tian'anmen. This gate was called Duanmen 端门. This building was used to store ceremonial dress for many of the attendants, ministers, and soldiers who would join in processions when the emperor would either host a celebration within the palace or would venture out into the city to perform rites at one of the temples.
Between Duanmen and the Meridian gate has an open area, a courtyard, on the left side of that square was located the admissions ticket booth to the Palace Museum. At that time, our intention was to go to the Forbidden City and we don’t want to go to any Palace Museum. We proceeded to the security check in front of the Forbidden City, the security personnel asked us for tickets and pointed to the booth we saw earlier and requested us to buy tickets. We had to go back to the ticket booth, only then we knew it that The Palace Museum and The Forbidden City was one and the same thing.
The Forbidden City 紫禁城 (Zǐ jìn chéng) was the residence the imperial family during the rule of the Qing Dynasty until the dynasty was overthrown in year 1924. The Forbidden City was then known as The Palace Museum 北京故宫博物院 (Běijīng gùgōng bówùyuàn) and was established in year 1925.
The picture shows the Aerial view of the Forbidden City. Distance front to end of the Forbidden City was something like 1.3 km and having a lot of buildings with the main attraction was the Supreme Harmony Hall located in the Centre of the Forbidden City.
Our tour of Palace Museum ended by going out through the north gate, along a street that was called Jingshan Front Street (Jǐngshān Qián Jiē).
We took bus no. 685 at Gùgōng Zhàn Bus Stop and got off at the 3rd stop at Dōng Sì Lùkǒu Nán Zhàn Bus Stop (故宫站 --> 东四路口南站) and walked to Dongsi Subway Station that was nearby. We got on subway Line 5 at Dongsi Subway Station (东四站) change to subway Line 2 at Chongwenmen Subway Station and got off at Changchunjie Subway Station exit A2.
http://beijing.8684.cn/x_8234e473
A short distance walk to Changchunjie intersection north bus stop and boarded bus no. 88. We got off at the 4th stop, as we have reached Niú Jiē Lǐbàisì bus stop. (长椿街路口北 --> 牛街礼拜寺)
We walked to Niu Jie Muslim Supermarket that was nearby. (牛街清真超市Niú Jiē Qīngzhēn Chāoshì)
NIU JIE MUSLIM SUPERMARKET and NIU JIE MOSQUE
We had only to consume QīngZhēn food (清真). QīngZhēn is to be pronounced as “chingchen” - the phonics i.e. speech sounds to be called out in clear and sharp intonation since the word is high tone. We had our lunch at Niujie Qingzhen Meishi Cheng located upstairs on the second floor of Niujie Qingzhen Chaoshi Supermarket. This was a public food court (美食中心Měishí zhōngxīn) the whole floor having vendors selling food at their stalls.
Niujie Halal Supermarket food court (牛街清真超市美食城Niú jiē qīngzhēn chāoshì měishí chéng) located on the floor above the halal supermarket西城区牛街5号牛街清真超市2楼(近输入胡同) Xī chéngqū niú jiē 5 hào niú jiē qīngzhēn chāoshì 2 lóu (jìn shūrù hútòng).
I had rice with mutton dish, fish and broccoli. My wife had something similar except mutton.
Ordered for take-away meal, two pieces beef wrapped in pancake (门钉肉饼) looked like Murtabak back in KL, even taste similar except here they don’t call it Murtabak, they call it “Mending Roubing”.
Many Muslims food premises can be found around Niu Jie Mosque. The most important was that it displayed QīngZhēn sign and could see the sign in front of Muslim restaurants within this area.
The Niujie Muslim Supermarket was located in the Muslim Niujie area, close-by the famous The Niujie Mosque. It was quite convenient to get to the market for Muslim shopping and enjoy Muslim food. The underground floor, they sell beef, daily fresh food, drinks, snack food, staple food and cooking materials. The ground floor, there were daily necessities and folk customs products for Muslims and there were cakes and traditional snacks were sold.
We went to Niu Jie Mosque to perform Ibadah. Do I need to say more on Niujie Mosque? Watch TV1 Maghrib prayer-call at about 7.20 p.m. everyday, they show that Mosque with Jade coloured pillars and ceiling beams with Chinese pattern, yup that was the mosque. I even saw that very same Chinese Muazzin (Bilal) person.
We returned to hotel at about 9 p.m. Cleaned ourselves-up. The Qibla direction in Beijing is 278.89° N of which I still use the ol’ magnet compass. So take it as 280°.
All the TV channels were in Chinese except for one English speaking TV station that was the China Central Television. Since my wife was unable to understand Chinese language so we watched this TV channel.
Nothing much on TV, we watched a documentary about a mother (from Ningxia? Xinjiang?), her son’s missing Hyundai handphone. Her son died of leukemia and therefore the handphone reminded her of her son. She valued so much some photos and voice messages that were in the handphone. The story was about all the trouble she and the people of the neighborhood went through to retrieve the handphone. We were so tired and soon after, fell asleep.
Thursday, 2014 November
DAY 2, The second day
We took Subway Line 2 and got off at Xizhimen Subway Station (西直门）, exit from Exit A and followed the direction signs until reaching an escalator that took us up to the ground. Tickets for S2 Trains were sold from the ticket counter on the ground level of the main building of Beijing North Railway Station.
On the way, we really enjoyed the total view of the Guan Valley Scenic Area, pass by Juyongguan Great Wall, and train ride of Beijing-Zhangjiakou railway that was hundred-years-old.
BADALING GREAT WALL
We finally got off at Badaling Train Station (八达岭) which was the third train stop, before that, the train made 2 stops that were Qinghuayuan Train Station (清华园) and Nankou Train Station (南口).
After getting off the train at Badaling Station, we walked along the “216 sheng dao road” (216省道) followed the signage on the roadside as our guide. We headed towards Badaling Great Wall. Distance was about 650m and we reached the ticketing counter of the North Cableway. This would be our carriage of choice getting up the Great Wall. We took the cableway to get ascended to one of the watchtowers on the mountain peak.
The cable car will enable us to quickly reaching the peak of Badaling great wall; enjoy the Majestic feeling of the magnificent Great Wall.
The Great wall in Badaling has 43 watchtowers, of which 16 have been restored for public visits. There were two cableways, one leading south to the South 4th watchtower and one leading north to the North 8th watchtower. Addition to these visitors can also ride the pulley slidecar to reach the North 4th watchtower. The sliding car was something like a few units of Alpine Coaster cars, all hooked-up together.
How far to walk from the Train Station to the cableway terminal? Distance from the Train Station to the South Cableway terminal was about 300 meters Cable Car (南线缆车站 八达岭Nán xiàn lǎn chēzhàn bādálǐng). Distance to the North Cableway was about 650 meters. North cable station.(北线缆车站。Běi xiàn lǎn chēzhàn.). Cablecar was also being called Suodao (索道) in Chinese.
The pulley slidecar terminal (滑车 huá chē) was located near the Badaling Bear Paradise (八达岭熊乐园Bādálǐng Xióng Lèyuán) located in front of Bus 877 station.
That means there were 3 types of ride to bring visitors to directly to the towers.
Visitors can of course, choose to walk up to the watchtowers.
Spend two hours on the North 8th watchtower and the surrounding vicinity. The cableway took us back down to ground station. Free shuttle bus.(免费摆渡车。Miǎnfèi bǎidù chē.) Free shuttle service was available which near the parking lot in front of the hill where north cableways ground station was located. We took the shuttlebus and dropped us off in front of Greatwall Tiandi (長城天地Chángchéng tiāndì) where we can take bus no. 919 (919 公交站Gōngjiāo zhàn) .
The earlier plan was to take bus 919, not sure what actually happen, but this bus 880 turned-up and I just sort of asking the driver if the bus was heading to Xiguan Huandao Bus Stop and he said yes. We boarded Bus no. 880 at the back and reiterated our destination to the ticket person standing right next to the door. We paid her the bus fare and were on our way to Xiguan Huandao Bus Stop (昌平西关环岛) Changping District of Beijing.
Be sure to hang on to the tickets, as ticket checks were fairly frequent.
http://bus.mapbar.com/beijing/poi/6OC5vp8b_55p7El5oR8b_
We didn’t have proper lunch, just some pieces of bread, some "Gogood Muesli Bars" and mineral water that we bought in the Niujie supermarket we went yesterday.
Got off the bus and waited for bus no. 357 at Ming Huang La Xiang Gong bus stop (明皇蜡像宫). This bus stop was very near to Xiguan Huandao bus stop (昌平西关环岛). We need to go to another bus stop to board another bus that will take us to The Ming Tombs.
The 357 bus took us to Changpingdongguan bus stop (昌平东关). Now, we have to take bus 314, the station is just across the street; we went across and waited for bus 314. Changping dongguan was one the stations located along Fu Xue Lu (昌平区府学路)
CHANG LING MING TOMB
Emperor Yongle was buried in the Changling Tomb, the largest mausoleum of the thirteen emperor tombs can be found in Changping District.
It was in the 15th century Nanjing was the capital of China that was until, Emperor Yongle relocated the imperial capital to Beijing within the years of his rule.
The tomb has beautiful garden and buildings as the Chinese belief that the dead will rise again. Therefore the Emperor was buried with jewelries and other valuables for his use for the life after death.
It was written in Sulalatus Salatin (Sejarah Melayu) in the 15th century there was a delegation from Malacca that came to China to strengthen the ties between the two empires. In the old days, people will be beheaded if they were to lift up their eyes to the great Chinese Emperor. It reminded me of a clever way of Tun Perpatih Putih that got away with looking the face of the Chinese Emperor's.
Within this tomb complex, the Hall of Eminent Favour was the main building; it has an exhibition hall that displayed the history of Yongle, the voyage of Admiral Zhenghe (Laksamana Chengho) and other interesting articles. We spent a few hours here.
Whoever wants to go to Badaling can take bus no. 879. Before coming to Beijing, I have already made a searching on this bus timetable, which didn’t seem to be right pertaining the time taken for travelling from Badaling to Changling, this was the reason we didn’t take this bus in the first place. Before coming to Beijing we had made reference to no less than 20 travel blogs. The place of interest opening hours, mode of transportation to get there, time taken for the journey, transportation timetable and also prepared plan B and plan C in case the original plan failed - we don’t take unnecessary risk, all these must first be well planned before making the actual journey.
Waited for bus 872路 to get to Beijing City Centre【长陵(ChangLing) --> 德胜门(DeShengMen)】
We got off the bus 872 at its last stop located at Deshengmen Qiao and walked along the roadside of Deshengmen Xi Dajie towards Jishuitan Subway station. We boarded Beijing subway line 2 at Jishuitan Station and got off at Qianmen Station came out from the subway using Exit C. We walked along Qiánmén Xi Dàjiē前门西大街 towards Zhengyangmen Gatehouse.
ZHENGYANGMEN GATEHOUSE and YI TIAO LONG RESTAURANT at QIANMEN, BEIJING
Zhengyangmen Gatehouse (traditional Chinese Zhengyangmen 正陽門). The construction of the gatehouse was unique; design of a gatehouse’s roof was divided into three storeys. The building had something like multi-tiered umbrellas; that were the eaves. The first storey had upturned eaves on its four sides, and each of the four corners also had four small upturned eaves. The second storey was similar to the first, except that on its four upturned eaves were four triangular ridgepoles (a ridgepole was the horizontal timber located highest in a roof against which the upper ends of the rafters were fixed). Like the second, the third had four triangular ridgepoles. The ridgepoles were four more triangular ridgepoles, and on each of them stood four level ridgepoles. Pagoda shape except it’s rectangular.
Qianmen Street Jiē Biǎn that was actually an ancient archway located at the entrance of Qianmen Street facing Zhengyangmen Gatehouse. You can’t miss it.
It was already dark when we arrived at Qianmen. Qianmen Street was one of Beijing's shopping street that attracted many people, the place reminded me of that stretch of street along Kuala Lumpur Central Market, Dataran Merdeka and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman on Saturday evening back home, lots of people and very happening.
Once we arrived at Qianmen Street the first thing we looked for was something to eat, if we could find Yue Sheng Zhai Restaurant (月盛斋) would be nice.
Before coming to Beijing I often read travel blogs and one of it was the one written by Naramas Aman. Her blog mentioned often visiting restaurants owned by Huizu ethnic. Many thanks to Naramas Aman for her excellent description of Beijing in regards to, the do and don’t, and the what, where and how.
Yue Sheng Zhai Restaurant was closed on that day which left us with no choice - we had to look for other nearby restaurant.
We had our dinner at Yi Tiao Long Restaurant (壹条龍飯庄 Yī Tiáo Lóng Fànzhuāng) located at Qianmen Street. We had beef soup and a vegetable dish [Jicama Dish (Sengkuang Goreng) 炒沙葛丝 Chǎo shā gé sī] and two bowls of rice. This restaurant’s history goes back to the eighteenth century, back then it was known with a different name. The restaurant’s name changing to Yi Tiao Long Restaurant had an interesting story. Yi Tian Long, translated as "the dragon" was an exclusive address for an occasion where a master and a servant had a meal in this restaurant with empty wallet, that the next day an eunuch from the palace came to pay the money to the restaurant owner, and only then the restaurant owner realized that the master was indeed the Emperor himself. The restaurant’s name remained until today.
Typical dishes for Xinjiang restaurants such as Beef Soup, Beef Meatballs, Spiced Lamb Roast, Spiced Beef Sauce, Spiced Lamb, Spiced Beef, Spicy Beef Tendon, Boiled Lamb Meat, just to name a few.
Friday, 2014 November
DAY 3, The third day
We went back to Yi Tiao Long Restaurant, since they told us that they open shop at 7 a.m.
We thought this restaurant would serve eat-in breakfast but they don’t. Only take away food, the only food similar to what we have back in Malaysia was the one similar to our “Bahulu Cake”. I didn’t catch what actually the Beijingers called this food; perhaps this was called Chuantong Hongji Dangao传统烘鸡蛋糕.
They also sold Sesame bread called Matuán 麻团.
SUMMER PALACE
From Line 2 we got onto Subway Line 4 at Xizhimen Station and got off at Beigongmen Station.
We entered the Summer Palace through the north gate. We bought the though ticket that enabled us to go to all locations within this Summer Palace aka Well-nourished Harmony Garden (颐和园 Yíhéyuán). This so called palace was actually a garden (a royal park if you want to describe it) has some interesting buildings.
The Suzhou Street in Summer Palace was a similar resemblance of a town located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, or perhaps a part of it.
We need to pass through the Pine Courtyard before climbing stairs to get to Longevity Hill. There was a cluster of Buddhist buildings designed in accordance with the Tibetan style of architecture. They were called Sida Buzhou (Four Great Regions) having Xiangyan Zongyin Zhi Ge Hall as the centre attraction. This group of Buddhist structures named Sida Buzhou being the symbol for Sumeru Mountain.
We proceeded to the Marble Boat that was located at the Kunming Lake within the Summer Palace. My photo taken at this location was not clear because of time of the day that the sun was located directly in front of the camera. This Marble Boat was very lovely.
We walked along the long corridor that has many paintings being painted on the rafter of the corridor. They said having 14,000 paintings but we never counted them. We entered the Tower of Buddhist Incense at Summer Palace, Garden of Virtue and Harmony and Wenchang Gallery. We arrived at Seventeen Arches Bridge to an island called Nanhu Island (南湖岛). We thought that we could circle the lakeside, but we have limited time and we got other interesting locations to go; otherwise we will be very tired when we reach there.
We left Summer Palace through the exit at Wenchang Gallery with the guide using an app on my wife’s android hand phone. Once we reached outside and turned left. We walked along Tongqing Street (同庆街) until we reached Yiheyuan road where Xiyuan Subway station was located.
We boarded Line 4 subway at Xiyuan Station and changed to line 2 at Xidan Station and got off at Yong’anli Station.
ISTANBUL TURKISH RESTAURANT
Istanbul Turkish Restaurant was located along Xiushui Nanjie, Beijing. The landmark to find this restaurant was CITIC building, a really tall building and easily seen from in front of Xiu Shuijie Shopping Centre. We walked towards CITIC building and Xiushui Nanjie was located at the back of CITIC building. Ordered kebab, rice and mineral water Laoshan kuangquan shui (崂山矿泉水)
XIUSHUI JIE (SILK STREET SHOPPING CENTRE)
With one look, they just knew it that we're both Malaysian Malays. They attracted our attention to enter their shops by speaking in Malay,”masuk, masuk, murah, murah”.
I also bumped into some Malaysians; one of them was a familiar face, the Chief of Armed Forces, with his guys. Perhaps they were in Beijing attending some events but today they spend time doing shopping
BEIJING NATIONAL STADIUM (NIAOCHAO) AND BEIJING NATIONAL AQUATICS CENTER (SHUI LIFANG)
Olympic Sports Center Subway Station (Aoti Zhongxin Zhan) walked out from B2 exit. There were some events going on that they put some barricade.
We could only view the buildings from the public square in front of exit B2. We could see Water Cube Building that changed its light colours. We could also see the China Stadium building that looked like as if it was made out of some woven strings.
Saturday, 2014 November
DAY 4, The fourth day
TEMPLE OF HEAVEN
From the hotel we rode the subway and got off at Tiantan Station.
We entered the temple of the Heaven through East gate. Through tickets (联票 Lián piào) enable us to go to all venues within Temple of heaven Park include Divine Music Administration, Hall of Abstinence, Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, the circular mound altar, and the echo wall: low season 30 yuan/person.
KAO ROU JI RESTAURANT
We took the subway and got off at Shichahai Subway Station, out via exit A1. We walked west towards Shichahai.
The first time we had proper lunch in Beijing. Kao Rou Ji Restaurant located at Qianhai Dongyan Street. When I started learning Chinese using Berlitz Audio CD, the audio lesson mentioned a dish called Kung Pao Chicken (腰果鸡丁Yāoguǒ jī ding). Sautéed Diced Chicken and Cashew Nuts. Finally I had this in this premises, and of course, taken with rice.
SHICHAHAI
Shichahai consists of three lakes Qianhai , Xihai and Houhai that are interconnected and the location is in central Beijing. Yinding Bridge is located at Houhai quite close to Shichahai Subway Station. The scenery around here was magnificent and well worth a visit if you’re touring this part of Beijing.
BELL & DRUM TOWERS
We toured Bell & Drum Towers but not able to enter since they were under renovation. We took pictures of ourselves in front of these buildings.
We took the Subway Line 8 at Shichahai Subway Station to Gulaodajie, switched to Line 2 at Gulaodajie and further switched to Line 1 at Jianguomen and got off at Wangfujing Station and use exit B.
WANGFUJING
Wangfujing Oriental Plaza was a blend of shopping malls with high end retail for branded products.
WANGFUJING SNACK STREET
Beijing Wangfujing Snack Street (北京王府井小吃街) was something like Petaling Street back in KL, outdoor market, where antiques, used household goods and souvenirs were sold. The most interesting here, they also sold exotic food such as snakes, scorpions etc. Not sure whether here we could get a bowl of Yong Tau Foo (Nyiong Tiu Fu客家酿豆腐), one of Chinese Hakka dishes made of stuffed bean curd.
We headed back to Xiushui jie shopping centre to do some more shopping. Then we went back to hotel to check-out.
From hotel we boarded Line 2 Subway and change to Line 6 at Chaoyangmen. Subway Line 6 to get to Dongsi Station.
DONGSI MOSQUE
Dongsi Mosque to perform Ibadah. There was nothing to hurry about since Beijing Airport MAS counter only open at 10.30 p.m. for check-in. Stayed in the mosque since we still have a lot of time.
BEIJING CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
We boarded the Beijing Subway Airport Express to reach Beijing Airport. We had coffee in a QīngZhēn restaurant located within Terminal 3. The Muslims prayer room was located in the international departures lounge in Beijing Airport Terminal 3.
After checked-in we proceeded to departure gate. At nearly 12 midnight the perfume shop still has a lot of shoppers since according to my wife the price of branded perfumes were something like 10% cheaper here.
2 o’clock in the morning we boarded the airplane back to KLIA and goodbye Beijing. Really had a wonderful time and wish to come again to Beijing soon, perhaps next year.
What next? Perhaps a visit to Hebei would be nice, The Great Wall called Lao Long Tou in Qinhuangdao is reachable by taking the first train from Beijing Train Station, and the train ride to Shanhaiguan Station in Qinhuangdao would take something like 3 half hours journey. So, will reach there at 8.20 in the morning and could spend something like 2 hours there, then take a train to return to Beijing before 5 in the afternoon.
Plan to spend the next day to visit Qing Tombs in Zunhua District. 1. Take Tourist bus Time: 6:30-8:30. In weekends and holidays, special buses can be found along the roadsides around Xuanwumen Church and Qianmen Xi Dajie (tourism hub).
2. Take regular bus to Zunhua from Sihui Bus Station at 6.30 a.m. Then shift bus from Zunhua Bus Station.
3. Train ride on train no. 1172/1173 from Beijing to reach Tangshan North Station is expected to take two hours, should reach there at 6:36 a.m. (Tangshan North Station is located in Fengrun District) take bus 103 or 111 at bus station in Fengrun to get to Zunhua Town, and finally take another bus to The Qing Tombs, if you have read about Empress Dowager Cixi then you might want to see how most luxurious her tomb would be. Expect to spend a couple of hours there and we were supposedly to be back in Beijing for dinner before 7 p.m.
Perhaps, if we have the chance to go to Heilongjiang Province sometime early January to discover winter in Ning'an County of Mudanjiang, there situated Diaoshuilou Waterfall; a huge waterfall which in winter it freezes into cliff-hanging icicles. Diaoshuilou Waterfall is located close to the Jingpo Lake which is located southwestern part of the Ning’an County. Wait for a tourist bus in front of Mudanjiang railway station to board the bus to Jingpo Lake. The first bus will leave at 07:30 and reaches the lake in about 2 hours from Mudanjiang to Jingpo Hu and departs from the lake at 4.30pm. Expect to reach Mudanjiang around 6.30 p.m. The bus fare is expected around元25 per trip.
Mudanjiang has its own airport. The Airport bus operating time is from 9:00 to 20:30, the bus route is Mudanjiang airport → West Road → railway station → Mudanjiang air ticket, the bus fare is expected around元10.
Worry about food in Mudanjiang? There is a Mosque (牡丹江市清真寺) located East 1st Alley, Dong'an, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang. There are some nearby hotels. I need to check this hotel called Xilong Hotel Mudanjiang Dongmudan, No.1 Shizheng Road, Dong'an District, Mudanjiang. For sure there are many restaurants/ eating places in Mudanjiang, however we can check this eating place called Mudanjiang Qingzhen Gongniu Guan (牡丹江清真公牛馆) located at 56 Xinan West Street. There is also a shopping centre called Hui People Shopping Mall on Xinan East Street that I can look for a meal.
Although Jiamusi and Hegang County in Heilongjiang have the highest snowfall, however, The Xuexiang National Forest ( 雪乡国家森林公园) located not far from Changting Town at Mudanjiang City is the attraction for snow tourism, that the thickness may reach around 2 meters. It due to its location situated at high altitude, plus the influence by the cold fronts from the Lake Baikal.
There is a train at 7:59 p.m. at Mudanjiang Train Station and the journey to Harbin will take 5 hour 40 min and expect to reach Harbin at 01:38 morning. Train ticket around 元55. The accommodation available near the train station are 7 Days Inn on Yiman Street and Motel 168 Harbin Dongdazhi Street Qiulin莫泰168 哈尔滨东大直街. These hotels are located close Yidayiyuan Subway Station(医大一院). Among the attraction in Harbin is The Harbin Ice and Snow World (Harbin Bingxue Da Shi Jie) located in Harbin City, has ice sculptures exhibition, at night there will be multicolored lights set to illuminate the sculptures. The exact location is at Taiyangdao Avenue, at the bank of Songhua River in Harbin City.
I read that, the ice sculpture exhibition in Harbin was dated back to the time of Manchu Dynasty, but the first organized show was held sometime in the 1960’s. Most of the sculptures appearing at the snow festival are competitive entries and some of the sculptures are really gigantic. The ice sculptures were made by carvers that came from many countries such as Russia, Japan, Canada and France etc.
There are some restaurants nearby Yidayiyuan Subway Station:
- Qingzhen Yue Yang Ge 清真悦揚閣, 40 Anshan Street, Nangang, Harbin
- Qingzhen Baixing Niuyangrou Pu清真百姓牛羊肉舗, 76 Liaoyang Street, Nangang, Harbin
- Baijin Restaurant, 75 Tieling Street, Nangang, Harbin
If you go to Genting Highlands and happen that you enter Genting Snow World, it is not that bad. But being in a location most north of China, winter would be extremely cold. On top of that, visiting the Harbin Ice and Snow World, the word “Frozen” would definitely give a new meaning for us in Malaysia and we need get use to “will get hungry very quickly”. Similar slogan used by Negeri Sembilan football team to rally their fans, in this case it will be - Harbin Jang Harbin. The eating places around Bingxue to get Harbin Halal food:-
• Tian Shun Yuan Qingzhen Yangrou Pian 天順源清真羊肉片, 22 Hezhou Street, Daoli, Harbin
• Qingzhen baodu Wang 清真爆肚王, 9 Dadao Street, Daoli, Harbin
• Wanfu Qingzhen Xian Niu Yangrou Dian, Heqing Street, 万福清真鲜牛羊肉店, 河清街, Daoli, Harbin
• Qingzhen Xiao Dong Yang Tang Baozi, 清真小東羊湯包子, Heqing Street, Daoli, Harbin
• Huijia Restaurant, Heqing Street, Daoli, Harbin
• Fennel Pavilion, 194 Gongcheng Street 工程街附, Daoli, Harbin
• Qingzhen Baodu Wang 清真爆肚王, 97 Gongcheng Street, Daoli, Harbin
• Liushunyuan Hui Nationality Hotel, 210 Youyi Road, Daoli, Harbin
• Qingzhen Niu Yang Guan, Youyi Road, 清真牛羊馆, 友谊路, Daoli, Harbin
• Dahongmei, 194 Youyi Road, Harbin
• Muslim Tongxiguan, Shangzhi Hutong, Daoli, Harbin
• Qingxiangge, 8 Huapu Street, Daoli, Harbin
• Majiaguan 清真马家馆 , West 14th Street, Daoli, Harbin 黑龙江省哈尔滨市道里区西十四道街
• Jiuhao Sichuan Restaurant, 9 West 14th Street, Daoli, Harbin
• Xinxinge, West 14th Street, Daoli, Harbin
• Qingzhen He Xin Kuaican, Zhongyang Dajie, 清真合鑫快餐, 中央大街Daoli, Harbin
• Qingzhen Sanjiang Yuan Niurou Mian 清真三江源牛肉面, 副39号-3 Dongfeng Street, Daoli, Harbin
• Qingzhen Zhengzong Lanzhou Lamian 清真正宗蘭州拉面, 副77 Hongxia Street, Daoli, Harbin
• Mai xiang Nong Qingzhen Shipin Dian 麦香浓清真食品店, 67, Tongjiang Street 通江街 Daoli, Harbin
• Fennel Pavilion, 副92 Tongjiang Street, Daoli, Harbin
• Lao Dulaishun, Tongjiang Street, Daoli, Harbin
• Zhi Meixiang Qingzhen Niurou Guan 致美香清真牛肉馆, 187 Tongjiang Street, Daoli, Harbin
• Qingzhen Zhi Meixiang 清真致美香, 187号-1 Tongjiang Street, Daoli, Harbin
• Qingzhen Yang Tang Guan 清真羊湯館, 1号-8 Tongjiang Hutong, Daoli, Harbin
Sun island (Tai Yang Dao) is an interesting place in Harbin. The Snow and Ice Festival being held here, there are Harbin Polar Land and among my interest is Harbin Siberia Tiger Park. We can get to this location by bus. The end of Harbin Subway Line 1, a station called Hadongzhan and from a bus stop located on the roadside of Hadongzhan Subway Station we are able to board bus 35 to get to Harbin Siberia Tiger Park.
There is an esplanade located along Songhua River in Harbin, Harbin Stalin Park (Stalin Gongyuan 斯大林公园) is one of the attractions at the esplanade, it is a place to relax and watch some local customs and local folks activities. Not far from Stalin Park, we can walk along Sidalin Street to the east towards Harbin Flood Control Monument. But, we prefer to go to the street-intersection of Sidalin Street and Tongjiang Street where Songhua River Cablecar is located. We plan to ride the cablecar. Near to this cablecar terminal, a building called “Renmin Yinyuejia Zheng Lucheng Chengguozhan Shiting”, where we can wait for a tourist bus called “Luyou Guanguang bashi 1 Hao Huanxian”. This bus will take us to Harbin Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival.
In China, Yabuli Town is well known for its ski resort, Yabuli International Ski Resort has ski trails that exceeds 1 km in length and trail No.5 is the longest trail in Asia with 5 km trail length. This location has the best snow and the longest ski season in China. Average snow fall is 20-50 cm at lower part of the mountain, 100 cm at the top of the mountain.
Board a train to go to Yabuli Windmill Hill, Train K7047 take from Harbin East railway station at 07:20 a.m. and reach Yabuli South railway at 10.30 a.m. Return with Train K7048 from Yabuli South at 5:10 p.m. and reach Harbin East at 8:30 p.m. Ticket per pax is CNY 37.5.
Board a bus to Yabuli Town亚布力 (Yabuli Windmill Hill ), the departure schedule is 7:30, 10:30, 13:20, and 17:30 from Nangang Highway Passenger Transport Terminal (南岗公路客运站 Nángǎng Gōnglù Kèyùn Zhàn), located on the intersection of Jianzhu Street and Haiguan Street. The bus operator is Long Yun Group (龙运集团 Lóng Yùn Jítuán) i.e. quite close to Harbin Railway Station (哈尔滨火车站 Hā'ěrbīn Huǒchē Zhàn). The buses going from Yabuli Town to Harbin, the departure schedule is 6:40, 12:35, 17:02, 17:40 and 23:00. Ticket per pax is CNY 40.
The main business street in Harbin is the Zhongyang Street; this location is one of the attractions for tourist, one of the most happening locations in Harbin City and there are shops that we could buy souvenirs, perhaps we would want to walk along this street at the area close to Golden Sun New World Shopping Plaza and also Zhongyang Street Shopping Centre at the corner of Dongfeng Street and Zhongyang Street. I’m not sure but let’s see when I get there next year.
Harbin has a network of subway system, make sense if we can make reservation in a hotel close to Taipingqiao Subway Station, we can use Subway Line 1, and perhaps we can check-in at Harbin Xin Shun Express Inn. There is a mosque namely Harbin Taipingqiao Mosque 哈尔滨太平桥清真寺 at Tonghe Street / Tai'an Street. 哈尔滨市道外区太安大街. There are a lot of eating places nearby for having a meal. We could buy food at Taiping Mosque Muslim Food Franchise Store in Yanping Toudao Street.
Some of the hotels quite near to Taipingqiao Subway Station such as;
- Harbin Xin Shun Express Inn哈尔滨鑫顺快捷旅馆Hā'ěrbīn Xīn Shùn Kuàijié Lǚguǎn, 18 Tonghe Street, Daowai 哈尔滨道外区太平桥通河街18号
- Harbin Baolai Guesthouse哈尔滨宝来家庭旅馆Hā'ěrbīn Bǎolái Jiātíng Lǚguǎn, 6 Tonghe Street, Daowai
- Yanping Express Hotel延平快捷旅店哈尔滨Yánpíng Kuàijié Lǚdiàn Hā'ěrbīn, 8 Yanping Street, Daowai
- Xilong Shizhong Hostel Harbin Taipingqiao (Clock Yotel)
http://hotel.elong.net/harbin/
http://english.ctrip.com/hotels/harbin-hotel-detail-979253/motel-168-harbin-dongdazhi-street-qiulin-branch/
http://www.china-discount-hotels.com/foshan/shun-xin-hotel-harbin.html
http://www.hotel-inchina.com/wanhao-hotel-harbin-haerbin/
Some restaurants in Harbin I picked-up from internet. Let’s check them out:-
1. Laorenyi 老仁义, 243 Taigu Street, Daowai District, Harbin 哈尔滨道外区太古街243号
Tel: 0451-88977949
2. Liushunyuan Muslim Hotel 六顺园回族饭店(友谊路店) Add: 8 Gongcheng Street, Daoli District, Harbin 道里区道里区工程街8号 0451-84655180
3. Baijiaguan 白家馆(红旗路店)
Add: 196 Hongqi Street, Nangang District, Harbin 哈尔滨南岗区红旗大街196号(近闽江路)
0451-82343712
4. Muslim Dahongmei 清真大红梅(北新街)
Add；74 Beixin Street, Harbin 哈尔滨道外区北新街74号
Tel: 0451-88949977
5. Muslim Huihui Restaurant 清真回回头酒店(黄河路店)
Add:188-13, Huanghe Road, Nangang District, Harbin 南岗区黄河路188-13号
Tel: 0451-87115011
6. Baijiaguan 白家馆(哈成路店)
Add: 328 Hacheng Road, Xiangfang District, Harbin 哈尔滨香坊区哈成路328号(近城高子)
0451-55112212
7. Muslim Restaurant 清真楼(黄河路店)
Add: 88 Huanghe Road, Nangang District, Hrbin 哈尔滨南岗区黄河路88号
0451-82292046
A. Ruyizhai, 4 Jianshe Street, Nangang, Harbin
B. Quick-Fried Tripe Zhang, Xuanhe Street, Nangang, Harbin
C. Xinpaixiao Sichuan Restaurant, 105 Huayuan Street, Nangang, Harbin
D. Muslim Food Court, 76 Hegou Street, Nangang, Harbin
E. Fulaishun, 52 Fayuan Street, Nangang, Harbin
F. Majiaguan, Yancao Street, Nangang, Harbin
G. Laohuihui Shun, 8 Kuanqiao Street, Nangang, Harbin
H. Fushunde, Wenjiao Street, Nangang, Harbin
I. Yingxinyuan, 451 Xuanhua Street, Nangang, Harbin
J. Hali Beef Noodles, 31 Xuanqing Street, Nangang, Harbin
There is also a mosque (houmen) near to Arab Square Alabo Guangchang (阿拉伯广场) in Harbin located at South Shisidao Street. This location is also good to find our meals around here. The Gongchengdaxue subway station is the nearest subway station. Dongfang Hotel on Nantong Street is quite close to this area. Some restaurants around Arab Square:-
• Halilai Muslim Meat Franchise Store, South Shi'erdao Street, Daowai, Harbin
• Bailikai Wheaten Food Restaurant, South Shi'erdao Street, Daowai, Harbin
• Laocaijia Noodle Restaurant, South Shi'erdao Street, Daowai, Harbin
• Long Fuqing Zhenshaokaodian龍福清真焼烤店, 227 South Shisidao Street, Daowai, Harbin
• Jiangxiangyuan Hanjia Braised Chicken, South Shi'erdao Street, Daowai, Harbin
• Liji Boiled Chicken With Spices, South Shi'erdao Street, Daowai, Harbin
• Jingdu Lamb Spine Hot Pot Guo, 180 South Shi'erdao Street, Daowai, Harbin
• Qingzhen Sha Ji Sai Suo Shipin 清真沙記賽索食品, South Shi'erdao Street, Daowai, Harbin
• Laoli Muslim Food Shop, South Shi'erdao Street, Daowai, Harbin
• Qingzhen Shipin Gu Xiang Ji, 清真食品骨香鶏, South Shi'erdao Street, Daowai, Harbin
• Yang Ji Qingzhen Shipin Dian 楊記清真食品店, South Shi'erdao Street, Daowai, Harbin
• Hahui Qingxiang Cun, 180 North Shi'erdao Street, Daowai, Harbin
• 1+1 Qingzhen Shijian 清真时间, Daowai, Harbin
Yidayiyuan Subway Station is connected to Harbin Train Station by bus. We can get on board Bus no. 2, 6, 13 and 14 for getting connected Subway Station – Train Station.
We can take the Subway from Yidayiyuan Subway station and get off at Ligongdaxue Subway Station. Ligongdaxue Subway Station using exit 4, walk along Xuefu Road further down, will reach a bus stop called HaLigongdaxue Zhan bus stop (哈理工大学站). Here we could take Bus 87 going to Arab Square that will reach there on the 24th stop.
If we can take the Subway and get off at Heilongjiangdaxue Subway Station. Very close to Heilongjiangdaxue Subway Station at exit 1 there is a Xinjiang Restaurant called Xinjiang Alibaba Kaodachuan 新疆阿里巴巴烤大串 located at No. 294 Xuefu road, Nangang district.
Yidayiyuan Zhan is a bus stop at Dongdazhi Street that is located exactly across the street infront of Jinhe Hotel (very close to Yidayiyuan Subway Station) we can take Bus 74 from this bus stop to get to Wanda Guangchang 万达广场 located at Youyi Road, this bus will reach there on the 6th stop. The bus stop at Youyi Road is called Fánghóng Jìniàn Tǎ (Yǒuyì Lù). Once reaching Wanda Guangchang, we can easily access to cablecar, Harbin Flood Monument, Zhongyang Street, Saint Sophia Cathedral etc. since they are all close by.
If let’s say we didn’t get off at Wanda Guangchang, bus 74 will proceed to Heluo Street 河洛街. The bus stop at Heluo Street is called Gōnglù Dàqiáo (Hézhōujiēkǒu) Zhàn 公路大桥(河洲街口)站 that is located near the bridge that crosses-over Songhua River, to get to Harbin Snow & Ice Festival. This bridge is called Songbei Dadao 松北大道.
For the flight itinerary, Plan A is to take the 1.40 a.m. MAS flight to Shanghai reach there 6.30 a.m., then take 8.10 a.m. Juneyao Airlines from Shanghai and expected to reach Harbin at around 11.10 a.m. Otherwise take a direct flight to Beijing since the flight price from KL to Beijing is about the same as KL to Shanghai. Furthermore, we travel shorter distance to Harbin from Beijing, as compared from Shanghai.
Harbin Airport to get to Harbin City Centre. We plan to take Harbin Airport Bus Line 3 (jīchǎng bāshì 3 hào xiàn 机场巴士3号线) the bus route is from Harbin Airport to a bus stop near Taipinqiao Subway Station. Perhaps we want to get off at a bus stop along Nantong Street close to Gongcheng Daxue Zhan Subway Station (part of Line 1 subway station in Harbin), since we don’t want to go all the way to the last stop.
If let’s say, we take 2 a.m. Shanghai Airlines flight from KLIA and transit in Shanghai, we could arrive in Beijing around 12 noon, then take 1.45 p.m. China Eastern flight to reach Harbin at 4 p.m. Why bother the hassle since we can take a flight from Shanghai directly to Harbin (instead of going to Beijing and then, Harbin), it would be back to square one, since we could take Juneyao Airlines as mentioned earlier.
Plan B would be to take 8.45 a.m. MAS flight from KLIA and transit in Xiamen Gaoqi International, we can take 4.45 p.m. China Southern flight from Xiamen and expect to arrive in Harbin at 8.30 o’clock at night (RM 1,160 flight cheaper on Wednesday), say, one hour for immigration, baggage collection and custom checking the time already show 9.30 p.m. and after checking-in in the hotel, the plan is to take 12 o’clock midnight train to Mudanjiang. The tour of Mudanjiang will be in the morning. After Harbin tour we can take train to travel to Beijing expected train journey around 8 hours, Train D28 Harbin West departure time 06:50 a.m., the first class train expected around元420 (around RM 250). Spend the time in Beijing and take direct flight from Beijing to KLIA.
Plan C would be to take 8:45 a.m. MAS flight from KLIA and reach Xiamen around 1 p.m. Change to China Southern flight and expect to reach Beijing around 6 p.m. in the afternoon (Flight fare around RM 900). Otherwise we could take 2 a.m. Shanghai Airlines flight with transit in Shanghai and expect to reach Beijing at 12 p.m. noon. (Otherwise we could again take MAS flight KUL-PEK with return ticket only RM 1720 ticket price). We will spend the time to tour Beijing, say 2 days, then from Beijing take 5 p.m. China Southern Flight (Flight fare around RM 600), the flight journey will take about 2 hours and expect to reach Harbin around 7 p.m. Check-in in a hotel in Harbin and take the train to Mudanjiang that very night. Spend the day in Mudanjiang and will be back in Harbin for the night or perhaps spending the night in Mudanjiang. The first train from Harbin Train Station is about 12:10 midnight and will reach Mudanjiang at 5.15 a.m., 5 hours journey, ticket around 元30. There is a train at 5.30 p.m. from Mudanjiang and expect to reach Harbin around 1.30 a.m. The next day will spend the time in Harbin. The advantage of Plan C is that, after reaching Beijing there will be time to tour Beijing after check-in in the hotel since it will still be afternoon when arrive in Beijing. We couldn’t say the same about Plan B. As for Plan A the flight fare will be expensive as compared with other two flight itineraries.
From Harbin, we plan to return by taking 8 p.m. Air China flight with transit in Beijing; expect to arrive in KLIA around 8 a.m. the next morning. If from Beijing, we plan to travel with the cheaper flight between MAS or AIRASIA that would be around RM 700. The total flight fare per pax for the KUL-HRB-PEK-KUL would be around RM 2370 however, it can be RM 2020 if we travel from Harbin to Beijing by train, if we don’t mind the 8 hours journey by train.
Plan D is to take Xiamen Airlines, KUL - DLC - KUL Flight with return ticket --> Four Hundred Ringgit. KLIA at 08:45 , 1 stopover in Xiamen and reach Zhoushuizi Airport in Dalian at 4.45 p.m. We haven't plan for the return flight, but anyway the RM 400 ticket price inclusive price for return flight.
Where can I catch a bus to go to Dalian North Train Station? 我到哪里能坐到去大连北站的巴士呢？Wǒ dào nǎlǐ néng zuò dào qù Dàlián Běi Zhàn de bāshì ne? 请问有巴士前往大连北站的吗？里最近的巴士站在什么地方? Qǐngwèn yǒu bāshì qiánwǎng Dàlián Běi Zhàn de ma? Lǐ zuìjìn de bāshì zhàn zài shénme dìfāng? There should be some signage at the Airport for direction to airport bus terminal/ bus stop. If it doesn’t, then that’s the time you need to ask around.
Take G Train from Dalian North 5.45 pm. and reach Harbin West at 10 p.m. Ticket price single way 元389 (RM 220)
To get from Dalian Airport to Dalian North Railway Station we plan to take bus 908, get off at a bus stop near Dalian Railway Station North Station (the 7th stop). What type of tickets that you want to buy? 你想买什么样的票? Nǐ xiǎng mǎi shénme yàng de piào? ..........That would be, soft and hard, and sleeper seats, including business base and first, second and third-class seat. 那就是软卧和硬卧，卧铺和座位，包括商务座和一、二、三等座。 Nà jiùshì ruǎnwò hé yìngwò, wòpù hé zuòwèi, bāokuò shāngwù zuò hé yī, èr, sān děng zuò.
The conversation at the ticket counter could be something like, I want to buy a second class seat 5.45 p.m. train to Harbin. 我想买一张二等座位下午五点四十五分钟的火车票去哈尔滨。 Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yī zhāng èr děng zuòwèi xiàwǔ wǔ diǎn sìshíwǔ fēnzhōng de huǒchē piào qù Hā'ěrbīn.
Hope everything goes smoothly as plan. But what if the Shou Piao Yuan reply something like, 抱歉，全部满了。Bàoqiàn, quánbù mǎnle...... or .....对不起，票卖光了。 Duìbùqǐ, piào mài guāngle.......or.....票都售完了。Piào dōu shòu wán le.
Then it seems that your response to this could be something like,
I'd like to book a seat to Harbin for tomorrow. 我想预订一张明天去哈尔滨的票。Wǒ xiǎng yùdìng yī zhāng míngtiān qù Hā'ěrbīn de piào.
When will the earliest train to Harbin depart. 最早去哈尔滨的火车何时开出。 Zuìzǎo qù Hā'ěrbīn de huǒchē hé shí kāi chū.
I'd like to take the first available train .我想乘坐第一班车。Wǒ xiǎng chéngzuò dì yī bānchē.
Dalian Express Hotel 大连快捷酒店 No.693 Huabei Road, Ganjingzi District, Dalian, China
Bin Bin Hui Hotel 斌斌回民饭店 Baiyun Quan Street Ganjingzi Dalian Liaoning Province 辽宁省大连市甘井子区白云泉街
Honglin Hotel 大连鸿霖大酒店, No.33 Puzhao Street, Dalian, Double room (for 4 hours) rate 元49, Standard Room rate 元73. This hotel is located quite near to Dalian North Train Station in case not able to catch the train on that day.
Once we reach Harbin West Railway Station, we hope that we can still able to catch Bus 31 to get to Harbin Subway Line at Yidayiyuan Station and perhaps to check-in at a close-by hotel.
We are so excited and couldn’t wait for next year.
Proposed Itinerary
• Tuesday 2:10 a.m. KUL China Eastern Flight, 1 stop Shanghai 3h 30m, HRB 1:40 p.m. Harbin, (RM 1070)
• Tuesday 3.00 p.m. Check-in Hotel for 3 days stay, 元534 (RM 300 + yet to include overstay charge 元20 per hour)
• Tuesday 4.00 p.m Harbin Arab Square in Daowai, Harbin - find restaurant & supermarket for meal & food 元178 (RM 100)
• Tuesday 7.00 p.m. Taipingqiao Mosque in Daowai (solat)
• Tuesday 11.00 p.m. Buy train Ticket for 12 a.m. Train to Mudanjiang 元44 (RM 25)
• Tuesday 12 a.m. midnight. Onboard the train
• Wednesday 6.30 a.m. Arrive at Mudanjiang and buy bus ticket to Jingpo Hu 元25 (RM 15)
• Wednesday 7.30 a.m. Onboard the tour bus
• Wednesday 9.30 a.m. Arrive at Jinpo Hu and tour this location. Admission ticket 元80 (RM 45)
• Wednesday 3.30 p.m. Buy bus ticket from Jinpo Lake to Mudanjiang 元25 (RM 15)
• Wednesday 4.30 p.m. Onboard the tour bus to return
• Wednesday 6.30 p.m. Arrive at Mudanjiang and buy train ticket to Harbin City 元55 (RM 31)
• Wednesday 7.50 p.m. Onboard the train
• Wednesday 12 a.m. midnight. Arrive in Harbin
• Thursday 8.00 a.m. Breakfast and start tour Harbin City - Zhongyang Dajie
• Thursday 4.00 p.m. Harbin Ice and Snow Festival (ticket for 12:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Afternoon and Evening Tickets 元300 (RM 168)
• Thursday 8.00 p.m. Check-out Hotel and buy train ticket to Beijing 元420 (RM 250)
• Thursday 10:00 p.m. Onboard the train
• Friday 9:20 a.m. Arrive Beijing and buy train ticket to Qinhuangdao for 11.00 a.m. train 元100 (RM 56)
• Friday 10:00 a.m. Hotel Check-in for 2 days stay 元534 (RM 300 + yet to include overstay charge 元20 per hour)
• Friday 11:00 a.m. Onboard the train
• Friday 2.10 p.m. Arrive Qinhuangdao
• Friday 2.30 p.m. Tour Qinhuangdao Greatwall 元35 (RM 20)
• Friday 4.30 p.m. Buy train ticket to Beijing 元100 (RM 56)
• Friday 5.10 p.m. Onboard the train
• Friday 8.00 p.m. Arrive in Beijing and buy ticket for tomorrow 03:10 a.m. train ticket to (Tángshān Běi唐山北) Tangshan North 元21 (RM 12)
• Saturday 03:10 a.m. Onboard the Train No. 1172/1173
• Saturday 05:11 a.m. Arrive in Tangshan North and buy bus ticket to Zunhua 元3 (RM 2)
• Saturday 07.00 a.m. Arrive in Zunhua and get on Line E tour bus to Eastern Qing Tombs. Bus + Admission ticket + sight-seeing battery car to get around + inclusive price return ticket to Zunhua town 元160 (RM 90)
• Saturday 07.30 a.m. Arrive at Eastern Qing Tombs and tour this location
• Saturday 01.30 a.m. Leave Eastern Qing Tombs / Arrive at Zunhua and get on a bus to Tangshan North. 元3 (RM 2)
• Saturday 2:30 p.m. Buy ticket for 3.30 p.m. train D35/D38 to get to Beijing. 元55 (RM 31)
• Saturday 3:30 p.m. Onboard the train
• Saturday 5.00 p.m. Arrive in Beijing and check-out from Hotel
• Sunday 2.00 a.m. Onboard the flight back to KL (RM 700)
• Sunday 8.30 a.m. Arrive at KLIA
Chinese Food Menu and Price (for reference)
主食 Common Dishes…..(Zhǔshí)
牛肉拉面 Beef noodle soup 元 5…..(Niúròu lāmiàn)
加肉拉面 Hand-pulled noodles with 元 8…..(Jiā ròu lāmiàn)
碎肉拌面 Minced meat noodles 元 12…..(Suì ròu bàn miàn)
过油肉拌面 Boiled Meat noodles 元 12…..(Guò yóu ròu bàn miàn)
大盘鸡拌面 Big plate of chicken 元 12…..(Dàpán jī bàn miàn)
爆炒面 Fried noodles 元 10…..(Bào chǎomiàn)
干煸炒面 Dry-fried Chow Mein 元 12…..(Gān biān chǎomiàn)
炒面片 Chow Mein 元 8…..(Chǎomiàn piàn)
拉条子 Pull the blade 元 8…..(Lā tiáozi)
丁丁炒面 Tintin fried noodles 元 8…..( Dīngdīng chǎomiàn)
汤面片 Soup tablets 元 8…..(Tāngmiàn piàn)
西红柿鸡蛋面 Tomato Egg noodles 元 8…..(Xīhóngshì jīdàn miàn)
肉炒饼 Meat with bread 元 8…..(Ròu chǎo bǐng)
素炒饼 Fried cake 元 8…..(Sù chǎo bǐng)
蛋炒饭 Fried rice with egg 元 6…..(Dàn chǎofàn)
凉面 Cold noodle 元 6…..(Liáng miàn)
凉菜 Cold dishes…..(Liángcài)
松花蛋 Century egg 元 6…..( Sōnghuā dàn)
皮蛋豆腐 Preserved bean curd 元 6…..( Pídàn dòufu)
芹菜腐竹 Celery Yuba 元 6…..(Qíncài fǔzhú)
五香花生米 Spiced peanuts 元 6…..(Wǔxiāng huāshēng mǐ)
拌三丝 Mixed with three shredded 元 6…..(Bàn sān sī)
糖拌西红柿 Sugar tomato 元 6…..(Táng bàn xīhóngshì)
萝卜皮 Turnip Peel 元 6…..(Luóbo pí)
五香豆腐丝 Shredded spice tofu 元 6…..(Wǔxiāng dòufu sī)
酸辣瓜条 Cucumber with Hot and Sour Sauce元 6…..(Suān là guā tiáo)
拍黄瓜 Cucumber 元 6…..(Xiǎocōng bàn dòufu)
小葱拌豆腐 Green Onion Tofu 元 6…..(Xiǎocōng bàn dòufu)
炸花生米 Fried peanuts 元 7…..(Zhà huāshēng mǐ)
老醋花生 Vinegar spent 元 7…..(Lǎo cù huāshēng)
拌金针菇 Mix mushroom 元 8…..(Bàn jīnzhēngū)
凉拌牛肉 Shredded beef 元 18…..(Liángbàn niúròu)
家常菜 Home cooking…..(Jiācháng cài)
鱼香肉丝 Shredded Meat 元 12…..(Yú xiāng ròu sī)
宫爆鸡丁 Kung Pao 元 12…..(Gōng bào jī dīng)
酱爆鸡丁 Diced Chicken in bean 元 12…..(Jiàng bào jī dīng)
芹菜炒肉 Fried meat with celery 元 14…..(Qíncài chǎo ròu)
干煸豆角 Dry-fried green beans 元 14…..(Gān biān dòujiǎo)
尖椒肉片 Sliced meat with pepper 元 18…..(Jiān jiāo ròupiàn)
木须肉 Mu Shu meat 元 20…..(Mù xū ròu)
醋溜木须 Wood vinegar元 22…..(Cù liū mù xū)
土豆烧牛肉 Stewed beef and potatoes 元 25…..(Tǔdòu shāo niúròu)
水煮肉片 Boiled meat slices 元 25…..(Shuǐ zhǔ ròupiàn)
葱爆羊肉 Lamb with scallion 元 26…..(Cōng bào yángròu)
红烧牛肉 Beef braised in soy sauce 元 28…..(Hóngshāo niúròu)
新疆特色菜 Xinjiang cuisine…..(Xīnjiāng tèsè cài)
大盘鸡大 Sautéed spicy chicken with potatoes Big plate 元 40…..(Dàpán jī dà)
大盘鸡小 Sautéed spicy chicken with potatoes Small plate 元 30…..(Dàpán jī xiǎo)
手抓肉 Shouzhua meat 元 35…..( Shǒu zhuā ròu)
风味羊排 Flavored lamb chops 元 35…..(Fēngwèi yáng pái)
馕包肉 Naan bag meat 元 35…..(Náng bāo ròu)
炒烤肉 Fried roast 元 30…..(Chǎo kǎoròu)
香酥羊排 Crispy lamb chops 元 30…..(Xiāng sū yáng pái)
炒腰子 Fried kidney 元 26…..(Chǎo yāozi)
新蜀蒜辣早肉 New Sichuan Early Garlic 元 22…..(Xīn shǔ suàn là zǎo ròu)
过油肉 Fried Boiled Meat 元 20…..(Guò yóu ròu)
馕丁炒肉 Naan filled with stir fried meat 元 20…..(Náng dīng chǎo ròu)
马氏小炒Ma's Stir Fry 元 20…..(Mǎ shì xiǎochǎo)
小碗牛肉 Small bowls of beef 元 15…..(Xiǎo wǎn niúròu)
家乡士豆片 Home beans 元 15…..(Jiāxiāng shì dòu piàn)
汤类 Soups…..(Tāng lèi)
西红柿鸡蛋汤 Tomato Egg soup 元 8…..(Xīhóngshì jīdàn tāng)
紫菜蛋花汤 Egg drop soup with Laver 元 8…..(Zǐcài dàn huā tāng)
酸辣汤 Hot and sour soup 元 8…..(Suān là tāng)
疙瘩汤 Dough Drop and Vegetable Soup 元 8…..(Gēda tāng)
烧烤 BBQ…..(Shāokǎo)
羊肉串 Lamb kebabs 元 1…..(Yángròu chuàn)
肉筋 Tendons 元 1…..(Ròu jīn)
板筋 Sheet-beam 元 1…..(Bǎn jīn)
大腰子 Large kidneys 元 6…..(Dà yāozi)
小腰子 Small kidney 元 2…..(Xiǎo yāozi)
脆骨 Brittle bone 元 2…..(Cuìgú)
鸡胗 Chicken gizzards 元 2…..(Jī zhēn)
骨肉相连 Meat Bone 元 3…..(Gǔròu xiānglián)
鸡心 Chicken Heart 元 2…..(Jīxīn)
烤馕 Grilled naan 元 5…..(Kǎo náng)
鸡翅 Chicken wings 元 5…..(Jīchì)
盖饭 Rice…..(Gài fàn)
土豆丝盖饭 Potatoes with with rice 元 8…..( Tǔdòu sī gài fàn)
西红柿鸡蛋盖饭 Tomato Egg Cover Rice 元 8…..(西红柿鸡蛋盖饭)
尖椒鸡蛋盖饭 Pepper eggs with rice 元 8…..(Jiān jiāo jīdàn gài fàn)
鱼香肉丝盖饭 Shredded Meat with rice元 9…..(Yú xiāng ròu sī gài fàn)
酱爆鸡丁盖饭 Diced Chicken in bean 元 9…..(Jiàng bào jī dīng gài fàn)
宫爆鸡丁盖饭 Kung Pao covers meals 元 9…..(Gōng bào jī dīng gài fàn)
辣子鸡丁盏饭 Diced Chicken rice 元 9…..( Làzǐ jī dīng zhǎn fàn)
尖椒炒肉盖饭 Sautéed meat with 元 9…..( Jiān jiāo chǎo ròu gài fàn)
红烧茄子盖饭 Stewed eggplant with 元 10…..(Hóngshāo qiézi gài fàn)
过油肉盖饭 Boiled meat with with 元 10…..( Guò yóu ròu gài fàn)
葱爆肉盖饭 Fried meat with rice 元 10…..(Cōng bào ròu gài fàn)
红烧牛肉盖饭 Braised beef with with 元 10…..( Hóngshāo niúròu gài fàn)
土豆烧牛肉盖饭 Stewed beef and potatoes 元 10…..( Tǔdòushāo Niúròu Gàifàn)
木须肉盖饭 Moo shu meat with rice 元 10…..( Mùxū ròu Gàifàn)
大盘鸡盖饭 sautéed spicy chicken with rice 元 12…..(Dàpánjī Gàifàn)
素菜 Vegetarian dishes…..(Sùcài)
酸辣土豆丝 Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes 元 8 …..(Suān Là Tǔdòu Sī)
酸辣白菜 Hot and sour cabbage 元 8 …..(Suān là báicài)
炝炒圆白菜 Fried cabbage 元 8 …..(Qiàng Chǎo Yuánbáicài)
素炒油菜 Fried Cole 元 8 …..(Sù Chǎo Yóucài)
麻辣豆腐 Spicy tofu 元 10 …..(Málà Dòufu)
小葱摊鸡蛋 Shallot egg 元 10 …..(Xiǎocōng Tān jīdàn)
地三鲜 With three fresh delicacies 元 12 …..(De Sān Xiān)
家常豆腐 Tofu 元 12 …..(Jiācháng Dòufu)
虎皮尖椒 Hupi pepper 元 12 …..(Hǔ Pí Jiān Jiāo)
尖椒鸡蛋盖饭 Pepper eggs with rice 元 12 …..( Jiān Jiāo Jīdàn Gài Fàn)
西红柿鸡蛋 Tomato Egg 元 12 …..(Xīhóngshì Jīdàn)
烧茄子 Fried eggplant 元 12 …..(Shāo Qiézi)
