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Hotel listings in Beijing and Shanghai
Jan 31st
best French restaurant, the Le Pre Lenotre at Sofitel Wanda Beijing
Romantic French dinner
Take your loved one to a French five-course dinner on Valentine’s Day, put together by chef de cuisine Yannick Ehrsam, at one of Beijing’s best French restaurants, the Le Pre Lenotre at Sofitel Wanda Beijing. 1,588 yuan net for two people including wine pairing.
010-8599-6666
Lobster with Haagen-Dazs
Caf Marco at Marco Polo Parkside Beijing prepares a buffet dinner for Valentine’s Day at 199 yuan plus 15-percent per person, inclusive of a glass of red wine, free flow of juices, soft drinks and coffee or tea. Or try the restaurant’s set menu at 999 yuan per couple, with lobster salad, grilled Australian beef, Haagen-Dazs ice cream, a bottle of French wine, rose for the lady and other gifts.
010-5963-6688 More >
Travel Picks: Top 10 destinations for 2010
Jan 31st
Chinese pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo
SINGAPORE – For those wondering where to go this year, U.S.-based travel company Gate 1 Travel (www.gate1travel.com) has come up with a list of what it believes will be 2010′s top holiday destinations.
1. Italy
From the hills of Tuscany to the ruins of Rome, Italy is known for its unparalleled beauty, food and shopping. Travelers often find themselves exploring the vast countryside or jumping on a train to see the sites. For most, the main attraction is the country’s rich history.
2. Egypt
For an affordable yet fascinating vacation, Egypt ranks high on the charts. Not only has Egypt remained consistently geopolitically stable, but it is also home to the Great Pyramid of Giza. Despite the hot temperatures year round, tourists never seem to get enough of Egypt’s many facets.
3. Greece More >
China city denies renaming mountain after “Avatar”
Jan 29th
Southern Sky Column, Zhangjiajie
Floating mountain, Avatar
BEIJING – A city in a scenic part of southern China has denied renaming a craggy peak after the floating mountains that appeared in Hollywood blockbuster “Avatar,” after an online backlash, state media said on Thursday. More >
Most travelers say obese passengers should pay more
Jan 29th
SYDNEY – Should airlines charge overweight passengers more if they need an extra seat? Yes, according to two-thirds of travelers in a poll.
A survey by travel website Skyscanner (www.skyscanner.net) found that 76 percent of people believe airlines should charge a “fat tax.” More >
“Avatar” inspires China province to rename mountain
Jan 25th
BEIJING – A craggy peak in a scenic part of southern China has been renamed after floating mountains featured in Hollywood blockbuster “Avatar,” with the province hoping to cash in on the movie’s massive success.
The “Southern Sky Column” in Zhangjiajie in southern Hunan province formally had its named changed to “Avatar Hallelujah Mountain” in a ceremony on Monday, according to the Zhangjiajie government’s official website (www.zjj.gov.cn).
The government said the floating “Hallelujah Mountains” in the movie were inspired by the “Southern Sky Column,” as a Hollywood photographer spent time shooting there in 2008.
“Many pictures he took then become prototypes for various elements in the ‘Avatar’ movie, including the ‘Hallelujah Mountains’,” the website said.
“Avatar,” directed by James Cameron, has so far sold $1.841 billion worth of tickets worldwide, making it the biggest international release of all time.
Chinese cinemas last week began taking the 2D version of “Avatar” off their screens to make way for domestic movies over the upcoming Chinese new year holiday, though the wildly popular 3D version is still available.
“Avatar” has so far made around $80 million in China, and has become the country’s most popular film ever.
Zhangjiajie hopes to capitalize on that fame.
Tourists can now join a “Magical tour to Avatar-Pandora” or a “Miracle tour to Avatar’s floating mountain,” the Zhangjiajie branch of China International Travel Service Corp said on its website. (www.citszjj.com)
“Pandora is far but Zhangjiajie is near,” the municipal government added on its website. “Welcome to Zhangjiajie to see ‘Avatar’s Hallelujah Mountains’ and discover the real world of Pandora.”
Travel Picks: Top 10 High-tech Hotels
Jan 25th
NEW YORK – The days when high-tech rooms for hotels meant adding a kettle and alarm clock are long gone, with hotels realizing guests want far more wizardry in their rooms.
Men’s website AskMen.com (www.aksmen.com) has come up with a list of the top 10 high-tech hotels.
1. Helix Hotel, Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi Helix Hotel
The Helix Hotel is yet to be built but its hi-tech credentials come in the form of heat and energy conservation with state-of-the-art GROW panels, which harness energy from the sun and wind, to be affixed to the outside of the hotel. The temperature and humidity inside the 208-room hotel is set to be managed by a waterfall in the atrium. There will also be a giant glass wall that will periodically slide open, allowing a fresh sea breeze to blow in.
2. Hotel Sax, Chicago
Hotel Sax, Chicago
There’s the free Wi-Fi, massive wide-screen TVs, and the 6th floor Studio Lounge, free for all guests, where you can relax on big sofas or play Rock Band, Wii games and Guitar Hero. Guests each receive a laptop and Zune MP3 player for use during their stay. The hotel also has tech studios and tech suites.
3. Hotel 1000, Seattle
Hotel 1000, Seattle
Besides innovative plumbing like water pouring from the ceiling to fill the bath, Hotel 1000 also boasts a “silent electronic doorbell” system — housekeeping staff push a button at your door which sets off an infrared scanner inside your room. If it detects any movement, an electronic “do not disturb” sign appears and the housekeeper knows to come back later.
4. The Peninsula Hotel, Tokyo
The Peninsula takes its tech so seriously that it even has an electronics service department. Rooms have Internet radio boasting 3,000 stations, mood lighting controls, and wireless phones with Skype capability that you can use throughout the hotel. Lastly, there’s a nail polish dryer.
5. Blow Up Hall, Poznan, Poland
Blow Up Hall is a snazzy establishment described as an electronic art hotel. Renowned artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer has created an intriguing video installation around which the design of the hotel is based. The moment you step inside, you’re a performer in the video being played in the lobby comprising 2,400 tiny images gathered from as many cameras inside the hotel. No keys or door numbers here, just iPhones. Every guest is supplied with an Apple phone which, through recognition tech, you use to gain access to your room. You can also use it to call your concierge, surf the net and view preloaded local tourist info.
6. The Upper House, Hong Kong
All guests at this virtually paperless hotel are supplied with an iPod touch preloaded with games, music and everything you need to know about the hotel and its environs. There’s free and unlimited broadband access with even the hotel’s cars (Lexus RX450H hybrid models) equipped with Wi-Fi.
7. Mama Shelter, Paris
Once a parking garage and now a Philippe Starck-designed boutique hotel, Mama Shelter has a 24-inch iMac in each one of its 172 rooms. The iMac acts as your entertainment center, and there’s free Wi-Fi available too. Something else the rooms at Mama Shelter have that you won’t find in most other hotels is a microwave oven.
8. Montage, Beverly Hills
A real practical feature for the guys — a fog-free shaving mirror in all bathrooms. The Montage this year became one of the first hotels in the world to receive gold-level LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for its use of, for example, energy efficient heating, lighting and air conditioning systems.
9. Element Hotels, across the United States
Rooms at Element Hotels feature ambient lighting made possible with energy efficient light bulbs, and specially designed, cutting-edge low flow rain showers that minimize water wastage. All rooms have state-of-the-art kitchens and soon guests will be supplied with a Nintendo DS console loaded with Personal Trainer: Cooking software.
10. Pod Hotel, New York City
Targeted at the younger traveler, New York’s Pod Hotel has an in-house Pod Community Blog, open to those with reservations, that allows guests and guests-to-be to interact, ask questions and exchange information. The hotel is sure to satisfy the tech-hungry budget traveler with its free Wi-Fi, LCD flat screen TVs and iPod docking stations.
This decade is Beijing’s best By Todd Balazovic (China Daily)
Jan 6th
It occurred to me recently that this new year is not only a new year, but also the beginning of a new decade.
Thinking back on the year, it will be strange to see how future generations define the first decade of this century. I wonder what the children born after 2009 will be told about this time period.
Will it be seen as a decade of plight or prosperity?
For China, I think it’s safe to say that this decade will be remembered for its best qualities, a decade where the fruits of past labors finally ripened. China was hoisted high into the ranks of economically prosperous countries as it prepared for the Olympics. The city of Beijing, if not the entirety of China, spent the majority of the past decade consumed by efforts to produce an event unlike the world had ever experienced.
And the efforts paid off. It will be decades before another country can match the magnitude of what took place in August of 2008. I feel sorry for London.
Beijing, the poster-city of China’s successes over the last decade, reflects the changing times more than ever. Over the last 10 years this city has evolved from an emerging municipality into a modern metropolis.
If the Beijing of 1999 could see itself now, I dare say it would not recognize the new and improved version.
Drills continue to spin non-stop as the city inflates with new construction projects. I was told by a friend that if you were to walk the streets of Beijing five years ago almost every building you gazed upon would have the character chai, meaning to be demolished, spray painted in white. He said the skyline was stuffed with more cranes than birds.
Even after the Olympic construction surge has slowed , I feel as though I am able to explore a different city each year without having to change residency.
For expats, the construction brought accessibility. Shopping centers have sprung up everywhere, providing Beijingers with access to fashion. Foods from almost every country are now available.
Most importantly, coffee is no longer peddled as a rare commodity.
Infrastructure improvements continue to boom. Over the last decade, Beijing has more than doubled the amount of water treatment plants while simultaneously pushing more industry further outside the city center.
Access to different parts of the city have skyrocketed as more than five new subway lines were built, the most recent being Line 4.
Not to mention the recently erected ring roads. Believe it or not, before 2001 there was no fourth ring road and five and six were but a twinkle.
With the heavy reconstruction of Beijing in the 00s, I cannot begin to fathom what the next decade will hold.
Will the Olympic fervor that fueled the past decade fade as the nouveau riche sink comfortably into their new roles? Or will the city continue to skyrocket as the economy pumps cash into infrastructure?
Personally, I hope to see this city settle into a comfortable balance. A place where but steady progress brings change at a rate that gives the people (and their wallets) time to react.
Dubai’s “superscraper” makes history in hard times
Jan 6th
DUBAI – Started at the height of the economic boom and built by some 12,000 laborers, the world’s tallest building will open on Monday in Dubai as the glitzy emirate seeks to rekindle optimism after its financial crisis.
Burj Dubai, whose opening has been delayed twice since construction began in 2004, will mark another milestone for the deeply indebted emirate with a penchant for seeking new records.
Dubai, one of seven members of the United Arab Emirates, gained a reputation for excess with the creation of man-made islands shaped like palms and an indoor ski slope in the desert.
With investor confidence in Dubai badly bruised by the emirate’s announcement in November that it would seek a debt standstill for one of its largest conglomerates, the Burj Dubai is seen as a positive start to the year after a bleak 2009.
The project has been scrutinized by human rights groups, who have objected to its treatment of laborers, as well as by environmentalists who said the tower would act as a power vacuum, increasing the city’s already massive carbon footprint.
But despite the criticism, many say the edifice, believed to have cost $1.5 billion to build, is an architectural marvel.
The tower’s height has been kept a closely guarded secret until now. Developer Emaar Properties PJSC will reveal the height — known to exceed 800 meters (2,625 feet) — on Tuesday and Dubai’s ruler will inaugurate the opening.
Experts believe Dubai’s recent financial troubles have not hurt sales of approximately 1,100 residential units in the Burj — meaning tower in Arabic — saying they were nearly all sold.
Dubai’s real estate sector crashed at the end of 2008 when the global financial crisis hit the emirate after a six-year economic boom. Thousands of jobs were slashed and projects worth billions of dollars were canceled or delayed.
With analysts suggesting tax-free Dubai might sell some of its assets to boost revenues and slash $80 billion in debt, many wondered if the tower was on the list for grabs.
Dubai, with few natural resources of its own, expects a budget deficit of 2 percent of GDP this year.
In December, the emirate received a $10 billion lifeline from neighboring Abu Dhabi to repay a $4.1 billion bond for Nakheel, a property arm of indebted Dubai World, and other obligations.
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