Select Asia for those cruise clients who have done it all; they're sure to return impressed
by Lauren Price
Margot Kong at Imperial Tours in San Francisco has plenty of Hong Kong favorites, but renting a junk in Hong Kong Harbor for a romantic evening sipping cocktails, antique hunting along Hollywood Road and private cooking lessons at the Hong Kong Culinary Institute top of her list.
Select Asia for those cruise clients who have done it all; they're sure to return impressed
by Lauren Price
Margot Kong at Imperial Tours in San Francisco has plenty of Hong Kong favorites, but renting a junk in Hong Kong Harbor for a romantic evening sipping cocktails, antique hunting along Hollywood Road and private cooking lessons at the Hong Kong Culinary Institute top of her list.
In Beijing, Kong has arranged for white-linen banquets to be held on a secluded section of the Great Wall. She’s also booked Peking duck dinners at the China Club, visits to the Imperial family’s kite-maker, a martial-arts performance inside a little-known Buddhist temple by Shoalin Monks and Taiqi lessons inside the Temple of Heaven.
© June 2005 Luxury Travel Advisor
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Contents China Travel News Hotel/Restaurant News Calendar Odds N Ends Discovery – Braille Without Borders |
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Dear Guy, This April issue includes:
Additionally, we congratulate the actors and actresses nominated for this year's Academy Awards with a gift of a private Imperial tour to China. We look forward to welcoming them. First, some travel news: |
Virtuoso's China Onsite Traveling China…in style Phone us at 888 888 1970 |
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China Travel News Okay Airlines, a new budget airline in China, was recently launched. With 2 Boeing 737-900s and plans for another 4, this privately owned airline plans to link lesser known provincial airports. This is not China's first budget airline, but it is the first of a new breed of low cost carriers that seek to compare themselves to western models. (We note that their maiden flight touched down 1 hour late.) Facts & Stats On The Chinese Outbound Travel Market The China outbound market is growing by an average of 21% per year with Australia (32%), France (27%) and the U.S. (21%) as Beijingers' top three overseas destinations. The average expenditure of Chinese tourists is also increasing: since 2003 mainland Chinese have been outspending American tourists in Hong Kong. According to Glenn Tilton, CEO of United Airlines, China is creating 6 million new air passengers every year. China Requests U.S. Help To Curb Smuggling of China's Art While Christie's and Sotheby's report a doubling in sales of Chinese antiquities and art between 2003 and 2004, China's government is showing new steel in curbing the theft and subsequent smuggling of objects from China's provincial museums and grave-sites. Under a proposed new customs regime, American visitors will only be able to import items less than a hundred years old. It remains to be seen if the U.S. customs will go along with China's plea for help. Imperial Tours Airport Pick-ups Imperial Tours is now arranging to pick up all your customers from the airplane gangway as soon as their plane docks at Beijing International Airport. This service will be automatically included in all our itineraries arriving at this airport. Customers who wish to expedite their passage through Chinese customs at Beijing Airport by using a special channel can apply for this service, which Imperial Tours offers for an additional charge. Please inquire for details. Airline News The 36% increase in (highly profitable) passenger traffic between the U.S. and China between 2003 and 2004 is provoking competition between the financially straitened US airlines for new air routes. Continental Airlines has announced that it received approval to become the first U.S. passenger carrier to offer daily, direct flights to Beijing from its hub at New York/Newark Liberty International Airport beginning June 15th. Meanwhile American Airline's triumphant application for a direct flight from Chicago to Shanghai came at the expense of Atlanta airport from which there is still no direct service to China. In the European market, Lufthansa German Airlines on March 27th started a new daily non-stop flight between Frankfurt and Guangzhou linking the two countries' industrial heartlands. Cathay Pacific, the British carrier based in Hong Kong, reported that 2004 provided its second best year of profits ever. Since then it has bought a 10% stake in Air China, mainland China's flag carrier. News From the WTO The least known of the three WTOs, the "World Toilet Organization", is delighted by the US$48 million that Beijing has earmarked to build 2,800 brand new public toilets for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Sources report that the spokesman for Singapore, which sees itself as a trail-blazer in toilet technology, pooh-poohed China's sanitary success. |
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Restaurant News Shanghai For Glam sor, Beijing For Glory With "Jean-Georges" and "Sens & Bund" stealing the limelight in recent months, it has seemed as though Shanghai was taking all the press in China's vibrant restaurant scene. Beijing has responded wonderfully with "Jin Feng Gu Yun". Situated inside the precincts of a Buddhist temple with a history of over a thousand years, the kitchen – inside which the restaurant is located – was used in the eighteenth century to serve Qing dynasty Emperors. This restaurant, now between its soft and hard opening, is hard to find and so not appropriate for independent travelers to Beijing. Although its food and ambiance is wonderful for corporate entertainment and high end foreign visitors, the wine list is currently limited. We have been assured that this will be remedied before the restaurant's grand opening in May. Travel To Lhasa With A Private Chef Of Historic Significance Imperial Tours is pleased to welcome Chef Jin to its China-based staff. Chef Jin previously worked as the Executive Chef at the Peninsula Palace Hotel in Beijing. He is qualified to the highest level in both Chinese and Western cuisine. As well as taking responsibility for Imperial Tours' privately catered meals – such as our signature white-linen banquet atop the Great Wall – Chef Jin is available to accompany private tours around China, especially pertinent for trips to Lhasa. History buffs will find it fascinating to meet Chef Jin since he formerly worked as the personal chef of General Zhang Zhen, a key military leader during China's civil war and a supporter of Deng Xiao Ping during the reform era thirty years later, Hotel News Marriott's Worldwide Expansion Continues Apace In China With 30 hotels in China already, Marriott foresees itself adding six or seven new properties annually. Review of Hotels In The Guilin Area The third in our hotel review series looks at Guilin. This is prompted by the recent opening of the Hotel of Modern Art. Hotel of Modern Art, Yuzi Paradise – "Very seldom do I walk around with my mouth hanging down. There's major art money in Fortworth but they don't have anything like this,"commented Valerie Riefenstahl of Sanders Travel during her recent visit. Yuzi Paradise is a contemporary art production and exhibition complex located within 1,650 acres of stunning karst scenery. With a busily functioning atelier producing glass, bronze, ceramics and stoneware as well as prints and photography, this contemporary art center, which boasts 115 monumental sculptures by internationally renowned artists from 25 countries, is more than just a place to spend the night. It offers a fascinating journey into China's contemporary art scene. The Hotel of Modern Art has only just opened and is in the process of appying for five star status. The new hotel wing with standardized rooms is not scheduled to open until June 2005. Currently, Imperial Tours is using rooms in the owner's private residence for FITs by special arrangement. Their suites range from 300 to 1700 square feet. Group tours are accommodated in the Reception Center in a variety of rooms ranging from 250 to 325 square feet. Sheraton Hotel, Guilin – Originally constructed by the Korean company, Daewoo, the Sheraton Hotel in Guilin has long been the premier five star hotel in Guilin. At its opening in 1988, it was no doubt a startling innovation in Guilin, which at the time only offered basic amenities. However, the bedrooms are quite dated now. That said, the service at this hotel, run by Guilin's most experienced staff, is good. Standard rooms start at 270 square feet and the largest suite is 530 square feet. The Waterfall Hotel, Guilin – This three star hotel was completely rebuilt and renovated to Chinese five star standards at the end of 2002. The opening fanfare was accompanied by the international attention garnered by the hotel's trumpeting of the world's tallest artificial waterfall. However, maintenance is not what it could be, and as a result this comparatively new hotel is already starting to look down at heel. Standard rooms range from 250 – 300 square feet, the suites from 300 – 400 square feet. Bailelai Paradise Resort Hotel, Yangshuo – Once a quiet market town, Yangshuo has mushroomed into a bustling tourist center. The Bailelai Paradise Resort Hotel has expanded with it, introducing four star bedrooms in 1999. These are clean and spacious (300 square feet). However, the major selling point of this hotel is in having the option to accommodate guests in the midst of this area's scenic countryside rather than in the more stressful, urban environment of Guilin city. |
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Beijing April 20 -23: Beijing's International Tourism and Travel Market at the National Agricultural Exhibition Center creates a forum for businesses keen to tap into the opportunities of China's outbound travel market. Click here for details. May 3 – May 7: Yang Li Ping, one of China's best known contemporary dancers, performs his own works at the Poly Theater. Price: RMB280, 380, 580, 780, 980. May 7 – 8: La Bayadere, a ballet performed by the Royal Ballet Van Flanders of Belgium at the Tianqiao Theater. Price: RMB120, 280, 380, 580, 680, 880. May 15: Patricia Kaas performs a solo concert at The Great Hall Of The People by Tiananmen Square. Price: RMB280, 480, 680, 1280, 1880. June 18: Britcham Ascot in Beijing combines the sartorial grace of Britain's Royal Ascot horse race with the competitiveness of Hong Kong Jockey Club's racers at Beijing Jockey Club's race track. Price: RMB 980 Shanghai April 15: The Byron Berline Band 2005 Shanghai Concert, starring three time US national fiddle champion, Byrone Berline at the Shanghai Center Theater. Price: RMB 60, 120, 180, 240. April 26- 27: Latin Jazz Queen, Laura Fygi's Shanghai Nights at Shanghai's Concert Hall. Price: RMB 180, 280, 380, 520, 680, 1280. April 27: Ballet, Romeo and Juliet, a ballet by Ballet Prelojocaj, France at Shanghai Majestic Theater. Price: RMB 80, 180, 280, 380, 500. May 4 – 9: The Stolen Show, a series of contemporary dances performed by Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal at the Shanghai Center Theater. Price: RMB 100, 180, 280, 380, 480. May 5 – 7: Opera, La Vie Parisienne, an opera by Opera Comique Theatre Musical Populaire at the Lyric Theater of the Shanghai Grand Theater. Price: RMB 100, 200, 380, 500, 680, 880. |
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China's contemporary art scene has been hot for some time now with major collections in Hong Kong and Basel receiving world plaudits. As a result, international dealers are snapping up works as they appear at top galleries in Beijing and Shanghai. Recently, we conducted an interview with one of China's most successful artists, Zheng Zai Dong, at his Shanghai studio (Translated from Chinese). Imperial Tours (IT): Your recent series depicts various landscapes. Which mountain ranges do you paint and why? Zheng Zai Dong (ZZD): Chinese landscape painting asks an artist to add an element of his individuality to the depiction of a landscape. For this reason, since ancient times Chinese artists have favored less celebrated mountain ranges. For example, I would not paint a landscape of Huangshan (Yellow Mountains) because each view is so celebrated in its own right that it would be impossible for me to paint my own interpretation. Usually, you find that famous ancient artists have chosen to paint unprepossessing landscapes in order to give themselves the freedom to express their own vision. IT: You have painted this stunning series of West Lake paintings. (Click here to view these.) Why have you never painted the scenery around Guilin? ZZD: Guilin was considered a barbarian area until the Ming dynasty. Prior to that time, Chinese artists did not consider painting it. It was only in the Ming dynasty that Chinese painters began to depict it. And so although I have done a series of small sketches, I have never been inspired to give it the same attention as Hangzhou's West Lake. IT: Many of your paintings refer to Buddhist themes and stories? Are you a Buddhist? ZZD: I am not a Buddhist. I use famous Buddhist themes and stories in my paintings, but it is usually to play with them or to satirize them. IT: Tibet has some stunning scenery. It is also a fashionable destination for Chinese artists. Why have you not painted any Tibetan subjects? ZZD: Chinese and Tibetan painting styles are very different. I have traveled to Tibet and find it very beautiful, but it hasn't inspired me to paint it. IT: Where would you like your next trip to be? ZZD: Li Bai, the 8th century poet, is celebrated for the poems he wrote during his travels from the city of Nanjing south west into Anhui province. You can still follow the trail of his poems. No one else follows this route, so this would make the trip even better. |
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Discovery – Braille Without Borders Meeting Sabriye Tenberken and Paul Kronenberg, founders of "Braille Without Borders", is an amazing voyage into fearlessness, resolve and compassion. Their no-nonsense approach to helping the blind people of Tibet has earned them the respect of the many organizations that originally said this could not be done. Sabriye, who became blind as a young adult, invented a Braille script for the Tibetan language as part of her studies at Bonn University, Germany. When she arrived in Tibet a few years later, she was as surprised by the high incidence of blindness as by how poorly-equipped local institutions were to deal with this enduring problem. For example, Sabriye tells a story of visiting a family's home to find their blind daughter tied to a bed! Sabriye and Paul were determined to help, and the local government recognizing the woeful plight of Tibetan blind people swiftly welcomed their brave efforts to establish educational and rehabilitation programs. "Braille Without Borders" is characterized by pragmatism. For example, by working with a Tibetan scholar, Sabriye further developed her syllable-based Braille script for Tibet's community of the blind. As soon as Paul transferred this into a software program, Sabriye implemented it at the Preparatory School for the Blind that they have set up in Lhasa. Apart from teaching Tibetan blind children and adults vocational skills (from handicrafts to music to agriculture to information technology) that will increase their status within their local communities, the educational programs they have created at their school and farm instill vital confidence and hope in young people who would otherwise find themselves in a forbidding situation. That Sabriye has achieved so much that various countries' aid agencies are asking for her assistance is inspirational for her young students. Similarly, Paul's compassion and engineering skills have helped implement a dream dedicated to marvelously revolutionizing the lives of so many blind persons. To find out more about Braille Without Borders, please visit their web site by clicking here. To listen to an interview of Sabriye on NPR, please click here. During our visits to Lhasa, Imperial Tours takes guests to visit the Preparatory School for the Blind and to meet Sabriye and Paul, when their schedules permit. (Please note that whenever Imperial Tours visits a charity, we make a donation on behalf of our clients so that guests do not feel as though they are being asked for money.) If you would like to make a financial contribution to Braille Without Borders, you will find banking information on their website. |
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We hope you enjoyed this newsletter. As always, please do write back with any feedback that you would like us to incorporate. Alternatively, please call Margot Kong, our Director of Sales and Marketing, in San Francisco, at 888 888 1970. With Best Regards, To forward this newsletter to a friend, please click here. |
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by Hilary Stafford-Clark
Once in China it becomes obvious that for all but the most intrepid first-timer, a guided tour is almost essential. There is just too much to see, too much to absorb, in this vast country where 5,000 years of history are colliding head-on with the 21st century. Guidebooks, particularly those to Shanghai, are mainly out of date; few people speak English; and signs, except in the cities, are in Mandarin. The Beijing-based Imperial Tours, run by Guy Rubin and his wife, Nancy, specialises in luxury guided tours for groups and individuals. Having met at Beijing University in 1997 and after two years of acting as unpaid host and guides to a growing flood of friends and acquaintances, they decided to put their knowledge and expertise to work.
Our tour of four cities –Beijing, Xi’an, Guilin and Shanghai- is seamlessly planned. We turn up, as if by magic, in all the right places at just the right time, always accompanied by local experts. Our foray to the Great Wall is a spectacular success. We have an entire stretch-winding dragonlike from horizon to horizon through misty hills-to ourselves, with lunch laid on starched white tablecloths on one of the great watchtowners. Tow days later, after internal flight to Xi’an and a night at the Sheraton-and while the hordes of mainly Japanese tourists are still in bed-we have a private view of another wonder of the eastern world: the terracotta warriors.
After a short flight south, we check into the perfectly named Paradise at Yangshuo, nestling among lush, tooth-shaped green hills outside Guilin. Here we float on bamboo rafts past cormorant-fishermen in coolie hats and sleek, grey-brown water buffalo, standing knee-deep to drink between ploughing shifts.
In our short time in China we have consumed a staggering eight lunches and nine dinners. There was a 10-coures banquet at Beijing’s China Club: a 17th-century palace, converted into a restaurant 45 years ago and now owned by the entrepreneur David Tang. After a performance by red-robed, cartwheeling mentalbar-breaking Shaolin monks(one of Imperial Tours’ little surprises), we were led into the lantern-lit interior to be served shark-fin soup in a papaya, and peking duck, by the same waitress who regularly served Mao’s successor, Deng Xiaoping. Then there was the glorious anarchy of the Green T House in Beijing, with its 30ft dining table, around which our chairs with their 10ft-hight backs formed a virtual cage, penetrated with difficulty by the waiters. Succulent, slow-baked leg of lamb is a speciality of one of Shanghai’s hottest tables, the Conranesque M on the Bund, with its balcony overlooking the lights along the waterfront, besides the restored deco building where Armani recently set up shop.
Above it all, the elegant pagoda-like pinnacles of the Jin Mao Tower reigns supreme. And after three nights in Room 6017, thought I still haven’t parted the curtains, my knees no longer turn to jelly when the lift shoots me here at an ear popping 1.3 floors a second. After a couple of glasses of champagne, sitting with my bake to the windows, I’ve even managed a banquet on the 88th floor. And I’ve swum, all alone, in a palatial pool on the 57th. On my last morning, I think the time has come to open those curtains. I draw them aside, sit back in the armchair and take in that magnificent view.
©January 23, 2005 The Sunday Times Magazine
