News

2007 Beijing Chaoyang District International Tourism Culture Festival Begins

 

The 2007 Beijing Chaoyang District International Tourism Culture Festival opened at the Great Wall Sheraton Hotel on July 12. According to the Chaoyang Tourism Bureau, the festival will continue until October 1.

From July to September, activities focusing on commercial and Olympic tourism will be held in the district, including the election of a Chaoyang Tourism Goodwill Ambassador. About 100 newspaper reporters will tour key areas of Chaoyang District such as the Central Business District, the Beijing 2008 Olympic Village, the 798 Art District, the Sanlitun Area, Happy Valley and Chaoyang Park to update their understanding of changes that have taken place in Chaoyang District for the benefit of tourists.

The organizing committee of this festival will invite well-known foreign entertainers from Italy, Holland, Brazil and Russia and domestic troupes to perform in Chaoyang Park every day.

 

Beijing Cites Pickpocket-Prone Bus Routes

 

To warn commuters and to reduce thefts, the Beijing police have cited the ten bus routes most plagued by pickpockets.

The Municipal Public Security Bureau warns that passengers should take better care of their belongings when using public transportation. The list, drawn from analyses of recent pickpocket cases and reports received at the city’s anti-pickpocket hotline, emphasizes that point.

On the list are the No. 9 bus route, which connects the city’s two busiest railway stations, and the No. 728 route, which travels across the city. Police said passengers taking long-distance bus trips are likely to fall asleep, making them easy targets for pickpockets.

The items most likely to be snatched by pickpockets are mobile phones, cash and bank cards, but also gold necklaces which thieves try stealing on crowded buses. Pickpocket thefts are most likely to happen during the morning and evening rush hours.

The numbers of other bus routes cited are: 57, 701, 707, 44, 300, 302, 808 and the Bus Rapid Transit route between Qianmen and Demaozhuang in Daxing District.

 

Mynah and Chinese Skink Run for Beijing City-Level Protected Animals

 

The Beijing Gardening and Greening Bureau Wild Animals Protection Station on July 17 reported that it is beginning to collect suggestions on adjusting its wild animal protection list. This is the first adjustment in 18 years.

According to Wang Minzhong, head of the Wild Animals Protection Administration Station, Beijing compiled its city-level wild-animal protection list in 1989, and 32 first-level and 136 second-level creatures are on it.

“There are all kinds of suggestions: some experts think the Oriental bell-toad, Chinese skink and some other indigenous Beijing animals should be listed; some experts say the mynah and some other southern species should also be listed because of their large numbers in Beijing.

With improvements in Beijing’s natural environment, the species and quantities of  wild animals are changing. Some are enjoying such breeding success that they no longer need listing, but some species from outside Beijing that are sold  here are in need of protection. The populations of some of Beijing’s wild animals that are not listed are declining.

Once the wild animals are listed, trading them in Beijing’s animal markets will be prohibited. Violators will be punished.

The Green Beijing Development Forum (http://www.greenbeijing.org.cn/forum/) has opened a site to collect suggestions.

 

Here Comes Doraemon!

 

Models of the world-famous Japanese animation character Doraemon and his friends were displayed at the Haidian Youth Palace on July 4 for a press conference promoting an upcoming Doraemon.

From August 11–26, Doraemon fans in Beijing enjoy their memories of the character. But they can also play interactive games and play with toys which appeared in the animation series. The tickets are 50 yuan per person. Shanghai hosted the same Doraemon exhibition from July 14–29.

Doraemon came into view on December 1, 1969, and soon became one of the most recognized characters in Japan. He was created by animators Hiroshi Fujimoto, who died in 1996, and Akido Motoo. The fat Japanese cat-robot Doraemon has an “anywhere door” that he can use to take his friends anywhere they want to go. In the 1970s, the Doraemon animation series was a big hit which lasted into the 1990s. There are hundreds of cartoon volumes and TV sitcoms, and a few movies based on the stories.

 

2007 Sino-Korea Beauty Industry Culture and Fashion Week Held

 

Hosted by the Centre of International Cultural Exchange, supported by the Ministry of Culture of China and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (South Korea), the 2007 Sino-Korea Beauty Industry Culture and Fashion Week started on July 4 in Hotspring Leisure City in Beiqijia in Changping District. The event gave experts and professionals in the beauty industry a chance to communicate and exchange experience.

After the opening ceremony, a “Sino-Korea beauty industry forum” was held to highlight the current state of the industry in both countries, especially in the field of plastic surgery in which Korea has special expertise. Traditional Chinese medicine’s use in the industry was also discussed. Song Guojing, general manager of Hotspring Leisure City, spoke about the value of hot-spring use in the preservation of health and beauty and communicated with Korean experts about China’s hot-spring tourism industry.

 

Starbucks in Forbidden City

Closes 

 

A Starbucks coffee shop inside Beijing’s Forbidden City has been closed.

The US coffee chain outlet in the former home of China’s emperors was closed on July 13 and its logo was removed from the traditional Chinese style window panes. A souvenir store next to the coffee shop was also closed.

The managers of the Palace Museum are determined to provide more diverse food, drinks and souvenirs in the forthcoming overhaul of the service area close to the Hall of Preserving Harmony, said Yang Xiaobo, an official in charge of planning. Yang said visitors from China and abroad hope to taste some imperial food at the emperors’ home.

Sixty percent of visitors polled said they were most interested in souvenirs featuring the Palace Museum that would sell for less than 200 yuan. By May 2008, more than 1,000 categories of new souvenirs will be on sale at franchised stores inside the Forbidden City, twice as many as these available now, Yang said. 　

A news anchor of China Central Television asked Starbucks to move out of the Forbidden City in a blog article in January 2007 and received the backing of more than half a million Internet users.

 

DIAF 2007: A World of Contemporary Art

 

The Dashanzi/Dangdai International Art Festival (DIAF) was China’s first contemporary art festival, it is also the only art festival in China to take an international and multidisciplinary approach to contemporary art, incorporating the work of more than 50 nationalities.

From 2004 to 2006, the DIAF experienced a dramatic expansion. Participating artists increased from 96 to 470; institutional and corporate partners increased from 15 to 60; and visitorship increased to 160,000 from 80,000.

In 2007, DIAF will change in a big way. DIAF and its new partner Art Beijing, will seek to make Beijing an even stronger base for contemporary art.

Starting this year the festival will expand beyond the 798 Art District in Dashanzi with presentations in several other locations in Beijing from September 22 to October 14 under a new name: the “Dangdai International Art Festival” (Dangdai meaning “Contemporary” in Chinese), with the theme Yi (Game) / Yi (Process).

 

Beijing Subway: Air Conditioning “In,” Paper Tickets “Out”

 

Long-awaited air conditioning will soon be installed on Beijing Subway trains, while paper tickets will be replaced by smart cards, officials from the Beijing Subway Operation Company told the Beijing News on July 13.

The improvements are part of a multi-billion dollar expansion and upgrade of Beijing’s public transport system ahead of the Olympic Games, which it will host in August 2008.

Passengers will enjoy cool air on Line No. 2 subway (the Loop Line) cars no later than early August, Gao Zongyang, assistant to the chief manager of the Beijing Subway Operation Company, was reported as saying.

However the installation of air conditioning in Line No. 1 trains, which run east-west and which have used fans since it opened decades ago, will not be completed until June 2008.

Subway commuters can also say goodbye to paper tickets, which will be succeeded by smart cards before the summer Olympics begin. Underground tunnels conveniently linking the Line No. 2 and Line No. 13 lines at the Dongzhimen and Xizhimen stops will be opened sometime before the Olympics.

 

Noisy Bars in Shichahai Area Face Closure

 

Bars and restaurants in the Shichahai area have been warned to reduce their noise levels or face lawsuits and possibly even closure, according to the Legal Mirror.

Police also began telling owners to take their loud speakers inside of nightspots to reduce noise and promote their businesses in the popular lakeside night spot, also known as Houhai.

Shichahai may be becoming a victim of its own success. As well-known for its nightlife, drinkers and revellers as Beijing’s Sanlitun bar street in the embassy district, its local residents suffer from many woes, mostly lots of people and lots of noise. Nightly from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. is the busiest time for businesses in the Shichahai area, with loud music from CD players, live bands and some rowdy patrons frequently drawing the ire of residents in surrounding hutong, or traditional alleys.

A source from the Xicheng District police department said the number of noise complaints lodged by residents over the past month had jumped by 50 percent if compared with the same time in 2006. To ease the situation, police have completed responsibility documents with each of the lakeside area’s 107 bars, which regulate the bars and encourages bar owners to control the noise emitted from their properties. No sound equipment will be allowed outside the establishments.

 

Part-time Job of White Collars—Fitness Coach

 

According to the Beijing Daily Messenger, some white-collar workers living in the Wangjing and Huilongguan residential areas worked as part-time body-building and fitness coaches. Some have even opened their own body-building and fitness training classes.

In the day-time, the coaches work for a company, but after work, they head to a fitness club to work as coaches or bosses. Miss Wang, a part-time coach of a fitness club, said, “First I loved yoga, and I took the yoga coach certification exam one year ago. Now I work as a part-time coach; I make a lot of friends and earn several thousand yuan from it.

More white-collar workers are choosing to visit fitness clubs after work. In the process they can easily share their experiences with the untutored and help the newcomers. Club members appreciate the white-collar’s experience and the white collars get free training, a winner for everyone.

 

Beijing: Asian Top Ten Best Tourist City

 

The US magazine Travel and Leisure announced its 2007 World Top-Ten Best City, and Florence, Italy, ranked No. 1. Beijing came in at No. 10 in its Asian Top-Ten Best Tourist City list.

The list is decided by readers who have been to these areas. Foreigners, especially those under 30 said they believe that mah-jong playing, dumplings and tea stalls in Beijing are more attractive than those in European places of interest. People living in the Mediterranean area especially want to visit the world largest public square: Tian’anmen Square. Other top-ten Asian best tourist cities are: Bangkok (Thailand), Udaipur (India), Chiang Mai (Thailand), Luang Prabang (Laos), Jaipur (India), Kyoto (Japan), Hong Kong (China), Kathmandu (Nepal), Siem Reap (Cambodia).

The survey considered hotel services, islands, airplanes, hot springs and taxis; it took place from January 17–March 27, 2007.