Tag: beijing travel

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Beijing Airport Will Ship Your Banned Items Straight Home, Thank You Very Much

Where: Beijing, China
July 20, 2011 at 10:52 AM | by | Comments (0)

Does anyone even remember a time when passenger were allowed to bring such threatening items as scissors and full water bottles through airport security? We've had perfectly good bottles of bug spray and shaving cream thrown out for being .5 oz over the 3oz rule, and once witnessed a foreign traveler having his giant jug of very expensive pure maple syrup confiscated at Vermont's Burlington Airport. It's no fun, for sure, and a couple airports have stepped up to at least offer an alternative to the trash can: shipping your banned items home.

Singapore's Changi International pioneered the service, whereby travelers holding more than the allowances or with forgotten box cutters in their bags can now just ship it right from the airport to their home.

Following Changi's lead is Beijing International Airport, where Shanghaiist reports Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 2 is charging 20 RMB for items weighing less than 3kg shipped to Beijing addresses, and 100 RMB ($15.50) to be shipped anywhere else. Not too shabby at all! Everyone is getting Chinese ginseng and swords at Christmas this year!

[Photo: nemo's great uncle]

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The World's Fastest Train to Zip Between Beijing and Shanghai Starting July 1

June 9, 2011 at 4:08 PM | by | Comments (0)

Amazing news from Shanghaiist today: The world's fastest train will begin traveling between Shanghai and Beijing as soon as July 1! For lovers of train travel, technology and more transportation options, this is huge news. Plus, it means far less airport congestion and delays on this popular and heavily-trafficked route.

The zippity-quick train at the focus of the new service is the CRH380, a beast of a bullet train that most closely resembled an actual bullet, more so than any other bullet train we've seen. It's a China-designed and China-made train, coming in both 8-car and 16-car lengths. It made the world record for fastest train last year, after the 16-car version hit an incredible 486 km/h (302 mph).

· Time it takes to fly between Beijing and Shanghai: 2 hours for just the flight, not counting airport transportation, security and wait times.

· Time it takes the CRH830 to travel from Beijing to Shanghai: 4 hours, 48 minutes

· Time it takes a regular train to travel from Beijing to Shanghai: 9 hours, 49 minutes

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New York May Get McQueen This Summer, But Beijing Has a Louis Vuitton Exhibition

Where: Beijing, China
May 19, 2011 at 10:03 AM | by | Comments (0)

Tis the season for fresh museum exhibitions, and this year seems to be all about the blockbuster fashion brands. Alexander McQueen is the talk of the western hemisphere, with the giant Metropolitan Museum of Art show in New York, and it seems Louis Vuitton is set to he be the talk of the eastern hemisphere, when the Voyages exhibition opens at Beijing's National Museum of China on May 29.

The Louis Vuitton: Voyages exhibition will last from May 29-August 30 this year, tracing the highs of the Vuitton Maison since its establishment in 1854. As the name of the show suggest, the focus will be on the traveling heritage of the house, from the handmade trunks of the past to the modern globetrotting figures who continue to stand by the brand.

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Things We Like to Hear: $777 for Six Nights in Beijing and Shanghai, Airfare and Hotels Included

Where: China
November 30, 2010 at 9:22 AM | by | Comments (0)

The World Expo is over, the Barbie flagship store has opened and President Obama has said 再见 (goodbye) to the Great Wall for now...so what else is going on in China these days? Well, you can go see for yourself as a huge trip deal just hit our inbox and we'd be booking it right now if China didn't block sites like Facebook and Twitter. ChinaSpree.com is offering a $777 Winter Special package that includes air from San Francisco (New York is $200 more), 6 nights in four-star hotels with breakfast, airfare between Shanghai and Beijing, and airport-hotel transfers.

Okay now think about it: $777 for all that—a week-long trip to the two big Chinese cities with air, hotels and transfers—costs less than just the regular airfare should be. Granted you'll probably be flying Air China, but we've been before and would fly them again.

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Visit To China Brings Out The Business Traveler In Obama

November 16, 2009 at 9:37 AM | by | Comments (0)

Whereas Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie might be our Super World Travelers, there's no doubt that President Obama is our Super Business Traveler. After wrapping up a summer of whirlwind around-the-world meetings and appearances with his family in tow, autumn is marked by his huge solo visit this week to China.

Over the weekend, Obama landed in Shanghai after a quick visit to Japan and Singapore. Already in China, he has hosted a town hall-style meeting with Chinese students to discuss freedom of information—with a small nod to Twitter, saying: "Well, first of all, let me say that I have never used Twitter...my thumbs are too clumsy to type in things on the phone." This came in response to China's past ban on Twitter, although access to the website was re-opened at university campuses for this special event.

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A Chocolate Theme Park Will Hatch In Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium Next Year

Where: Beijing, China
September 21, 2009 at 3:38 PM | by | Comments (0)

Important statistical news just in: the number of chocoholics found in China is rising. This could be bad news if we think of having to share the world's supply of chocolate with an increasing number of people, but the flipside is positive stuff—China's going to open a "world chocolate dream park" in Beijing next year.

The theme park will be housed in the Olympic Green (where the famous Olympics "Bird's Nest" stadium is) and will include five indoor pavilions and two outdoor sites full of chocolate-themed exhibits. They say this will include life-size, edible chocolate versions of the Great Wall of China and the Terracotta Army.

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Live Our Beijing Stories With a 10-Day China Adventure at a Major Discount

Where: China
September 17, 2009 at 9:07 AM | by | Comment (1)

Hopefully you are following Jaunted correspondent Claire Duffett's China travel diary, a series of entries which chronicles her journey around the country in vivid, first-person detail. If Claire's travels, the recent Olympic games, or China's captivating history in general have inspired you to take a trip there yourself, then thank the deal deities for shining down on you.

Friendly Planet Travels, an "all-inclusive escorted" tour company is currently offering their popular "Taste of China" package at a discount of up to $600, provided you act quickly and book your spot by September 23rd. The tour starts in Beijing, where a guide will show you around Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Panda Zoo. While most stretches of the 10-day tour are guided, you do get free time to wander the included cities on your own. Other stops on the excursion include Xi'an and Shanghai, where more gardens, art museums, and the Pearl Tower await.

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Beijing's Tourism Woes Get the Deals Rolling

Where: Beijing, China
February 26, 2009 at 1:41 PM | by | Comments (0)

Have our Hong Kong tales been driving you to hunger for dim sum and pork floss pastries while your (lack of) hefty paycheck has been keeping you down? Well, we may have found a happy medium in a "China Spree" deal if you're ok with visiting Beijing and devouring peking duck.

If you can fly out of San Francisco next winter on selected dates and book the trip by March 31, then a week in Beijing inclusive of hotel, breakfast, airfare and transfers is only $588. We're sure we don't have to stress how awesome this price is, but really, why so cheap? With a combination of advance booking, winter travel (Beijing gets cold like Chicago), and general stress over tourism levels in the city post-Olympics, deals with low prices like this should be popping up here and there throughout the year.

Adding to the discount is that this is a package without the structure and added expense of a tour group. Daytrips to the Great Wall or visits to temples and palaces can be arranged as you like and as your budget allows. We'd be tempted to take it if we hadn't just stepped off of a 15-hour flight from China.

All the details on the package can be found here. Be sure to let us know if you do jump on the deal or find any other budget Asia excursions we've been missing.

Related Stories
· Beijing Free-Style Travel Deal [China Spree]
· Hong Kong Field Trip [Jaunted]
· China Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: xiaming]

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Faster Travel: Hop Aboard the Great Wall Express

Where: Badaling, China
August 21, 2008 at 9:00 AM | by | Comments (0)

Determined to tick the Great Wall off your list in your Olympics-inspired visit to China in the future? The Chinese have just created an even easier way for millions of tourists to head out to Badaling, the most popular part of the Wall for snapshots and tacky memorabilia.

The Great Wall Express is a direct train halving the travel time from central Beijing to the wall. Only it doesn't quite take you all the way there: You still have at least a fifteen minute walk ahead of you, but they're "working on it."

The nice part about the Great Wall Express train is that you get to bypass all those nasty traffic jams that would otherwise await you riding in and out of Beijing by bus or taxi. That, and that at just 17 yuan ($2.50) for a first class seat, it's really cheap.

Related Stories:
· All Aboard for the New Great Wall Express [The Age]
· Beijinging: Tick the Great Wall of China Off Your List [Jaunted]

[Photo: auws]

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How China Saved the World

Where: 9 Fuxing Road, Beijing, China, 100038
July 23, 2007 at 9:30 AM | by | Comments (0)

We all know how the Chinese army has contributed to world peace, don't we? Well, if you're not so sure, it's time to visit the new "Our Troops Toward the Sun" exhibit at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution in Beijing. The timing's right to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army.

Among other things, this display will include a calculator used in research for China's first atomic bomb and a punching bag used by Mao. Visitors will also be able to try a simulator for driving a tank or firing the guns on a warship. Exactly which part of the exhibition shows the PLA's contribution to world peace isn't exactly clear, though.

Related Stories:
· Beijing Hotels [HotelChatter]
· Beijing Travel Stories [Jaunted]

[Photo: Marc van der Chijs]

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