http://www.flyertalk.com/forum There’s much more to China than the terracotta warriors, hiking the Great Wall, seeing the “Birds Nest” in Beijing, exploring the old Silk Road and wrapping up a slice of Peking Duck. In fact, as soon as we sip some more tea, let’s get started reading these threads and much, much more … all from our members who have been there and back. en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:25:27 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.flyertalk.com/forum http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1017649-connection-pek-preparations.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:45:10 GMT I have never been to Asia and have a scheduled connection in PEK (about 4 hours in the morning). Do I need any specific travel documents (other than passport and boarding pass)? Is there a *A lounge? Any other considerations? I have never been to Asia and have a scheduled connection in PEK (about 4 hours in the morning). Do I need any specific travel documents (other than passport and boarding pass)? Is there a *A lounge? Any other considerations? ]]> China Merlin666 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1017649-connection-pek-preparations.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1017224-hangzhou-hotels.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:48:40 GMT Plan to stay only one night in Hangzhou. Which hotel would you recommend? I prefer one that's centrally located, within walking distance to local restaurants and sight seeing locations. Hyatt, Shangri La, or ??? ]]> China adamak http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1017224-hangzhou-hotels.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1016798-where-buy-designer-clothes-e-g-la-martina-shanghai.html Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:48:49 GMT Hello everyone

I'll be travelling to Shanghai (2 days), Taipeh (0.5 day) and Singapore (1.5 day) this month. I already went through the threads about tailor stores in Shanghai since I need new tailor made shirts.
Now, where is the best place in Shanghai to buy designer clothes from La Martina? Does anybody know how their prices compare to Europe? Some of La Martina clothes are made in China.

Thanks for your suggestions! ]]> China f4freeJunior http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1016798-where-buy-designer-clothes-e-g-la-martina-shanghai.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1016198-logistics-part-2-inexpensive-hotels-recommendation-bejing-shanghai.html Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:37:30 GMT Ok, So I will be staying 4 nights in Bejing and 2 nights in Shanghai and need recommendations for inexpensive place to stay (on a budget). What I am looking for is something that is: safe, clean, good location, and decent value. I will be... Ok,
So I will be staying 4 nights in Bejing and 2 nights in Shanghai and need recommendations for inexpensive place to stay (on a budget).

What I am looking for is something that is: safe, clean, good location, and decent value. I will be traveling by myself and want to ensure the hotel is safe enough to leave your passport/camera etc without having to worry about it.

I looked at trip advisor and the following places come up:

Bejing:
1. Michael's house
2. Hotel New Otani Chang Fu Gong
3. Kapok Hotel
4. Pullman Beijing West Wanda
5. Orange Hotel

Shanghai
1. Holiday Inn Express Wujiaochang
2. Asset Hotel Shanghai
3.

I think staying within $50-$70/night max would be my ideal range but I am not looking for much as I am traveling for leisure and tourism and will likely not be spending a lot of time at the hotel. I guess standard 3 star hotel per western standards.

I booked my flights using Ctrip so I presume I can find some bargains there as well.

Any help is appreciated.

Kind regards! ]]> China pred02 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1016198-logistics-part-2-inexpensive-hotels-recommendation-bejing-shanghai.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1015735-booking-domestic-chinese-flights-ctrip.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:15:06 GMT Hi, For my upcoming trip to China I need to book 3 domestic flights - 1. Shanghai to Shenzen, 2. Shenzen to Beijing, 3. Beijing to Shanghai. I found the flights and fares I like on CTrip and I am ready to book but just had a few questions. Are... Hi,
For my upcoming trip to China I need to book 3 domestic flights - 1. Shanghai to Shenzen, 2. Shenzen to Beijing, 3. Beijing to Shanghai. I found the flights and fares I like on CTrip and I am ready to book but just had a few questions. Are these electronic or paper tickets? If I make a booking via credit card how would I pick up the tickets? I do have a friend in Shenzen who can - if necessary - have tickets mailed to his address or book it himself it its a problem. However I will be arriving straight to Shanghai and to connect to Shenzen I need to pick up a ticket at the airport before I fly to see my friend. I depart and leave the US on the 23rd Nov. Any feedback is appreciated! ]]> China pred02 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1015735-booking-domestic-chinese-flights-ctrip.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1015728-transfering-pvg-sha-shanghai.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:04:51 GMT Hi, I am arriving to PVG at 9:45am on a Wed from Moscow. I have to connecto to Shenzen (SHA). I have two choices: 1. Wait until 4pm and take a direct flight from PVG to SZX, or 2. Transfer to SHA and take an earlier direct flight (2:30pm). I read... Hi,
I am arriving to PVG at 9:45am on a Wed from Moscow. I have to connecto to Shenzen (SHA). I have two choices: 1. Wait until 4pm and take a direct flight from PVG to SZX, or 2. Transfer to SHA and take an earlier direct flight (2:30pm). I read there is a direct bus from PVG to SHA in Shanghai but just wanted to get other peoples input before I book it. Thanks! ]]> China pred02 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1015728-transfering-pvg-sha-shanghai.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1015711-stranded-ua-5419-airchina-pvg-pek-nov-9-a.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:20:07 GMT If anyone thought sitting overnight in a mesa jet was bad in the US, you all should hear my story. After an exhausting trip in snow w/my tshirt only in -5C weather and a 4 hr train ride from rural china i am finally at my hotel in Beijing after... If anyone thought sitting overnight in a mesa jet was bad in the US, you all should hear my story.

After an exhausting trip in snow w/my tshirt only in -5C weather and a 4 hr train ride from rural china i am finally at my hotel in Beijing after a near 20 hour hell. Although w/o my luggage as it is still 'stuck' on the plane parked on the tarmac at "Shijiazhuang" airport in northwest hebei.

This was a UA/AirChina codeshare flight from PVG->PEK Nov 9 There was rain delay leaving PVG resulting in cancellation of the original plane and they moved all of us originally placed on UA 5149/CA 176 into a new flight leaving 2200 hours.

Airborn around 2300 and began circling around Beijing airport around 0030. After an hour of circling and trying to land at an alternate airport "Tianjin" - Don't know what happened there but the plane probably was low on fuel and on the flight map the it changed to "Shijiazhuang" - which i guess is SJW airport?

We landed there about 40 minutes later a city about 300km west of beijing near the mountains. Sat on the tarmac in the plane for a few minutes and they turned off the engine. The captain told everyone that the beijing airport was closed due to weather and the flight is now cancelled and a bus will take us to the terminal.

All the passengers disembarked the to the terminal. While the airport staff was trying their best, they were not able to get ahold of any AirChina representatives to arrange for food/shelter/transportation.

The terminal is unheated and the temperature is -2 to -5 C. We all arrived at around 130am and sat in the freezing cold w/no food until the airport reopened at 7am and they turned the heat back on. No one was able to get ahold of anyone at airchina except the reservations desk who has told everyone including the SJW airport staff that there are no one to help us and no duty manager available until 830am.

Called at 830am and continued calling all day, the 'duty manager' is in a meeting and unavailable.

No updates to flights, nowhere to go, no meal vouchers, no lodging vouchers.

Being fluent in Chinese i managed to exit the airport and flag down a car and handed the guy 300 RMB to take me to the train station and i got myself on a train back to Beijing w/only my backpack, airplane blanket and a tshirt in blistering snow.

The plane evidently is still currently parked at SJW airport and I have no idea how many passengers are still stranded at the terminal. It's 1119PM now 24 hours after the saga has begun and after more than 50 calls to their service line the duty manager is still not available and last i checked before leaving the airport on my own was that the staff still was not able to get ahold of anyone (crew on the plane) nor staff at airchina.

actually let me restate that there isnt really a need for meal vouchers this is a rural airport in rural china and there aren't any hot food at the airport except packaged walnuts and various other candy, and no taxicabs parked outside...i am fine now but im wondering what happened to the other 200 people as i know there were several from YVR, SFO ....


More information regarding this. I mis typed the flight number. I was on UA 5419, not 5149. In the flightstats it reads that the flight was cancelled (UA 5419 / CA176). They actually walked us out of the CA biz lounge to a different gate C221 and put on the same type of aircraft. They reissued some customers boarding passes that read flight CA152X and some of us boarded w/original UA 5419 or CA176 BPs. People that were reissued BPs for CA152x had their names taken out of the BPs, the name on the passes literally said "Hello Everyone" as the first and last names.

Currently the plane is still parked at SJW for the second day, not sure if any of the passengers were now given hotels or not.

Update Nov 11:
Finally was able to get ahold of a helpful rep on the phone, however, the duty manager is still unavailable. The rep was a front line reservations rep and was able to find out that the SJW airport now is snow'ed in and the plane is still sitting on the tarmac and will stay there at least until 11/12 or more. The airport lacks equipment to unload A330 bags so my checked in bag is still sitting inside. The rep has told me to call and check again tomorrow or the day after. It looks like I will not be getting my bags for a few more days. But at least im comfortable. The same can't be said for other pax who are still stranded there. I called the SJW airport +86 331 8825 5588 and asked if the "AirChina" flight people are still in the terminal, and sure enough, a lot of them are still there, many whom probably are Chinese nationals that can't afford the $100 USD you need to get from the airport to the train station and onwards to Beijing, and probably haven't had a warm meal in over 48 hours.

To me that is absolutely absurd, given that we were not the only flight to have landed there that night. There was another flight from China Eastern that landed at SJW, but China Eastern had a waiting bus for them and hotel rooms. They were in and out of the terminal in no more than 15 minutes and at least had a place to sleep that's warm. While it seems that China Eastern does operate out of SJW airport and AirChina does not (meaning AirChina may not have any reps on the field), stranding people there for 2-3 days where there is no heat afterhours and no warm meals - that's just unheard of for me.

I don't believe stating that "This is China" is the right attitude. At least in this particular situation, AirChina, who is a member of a star alliance -- this was a codeshared flight with UA, NZ, carrying INTERNATIONAL PAX (PVG origination is from international inbound flights while the second shanghai airport SHA is used for domestic only), not having even a duty manager available nor calling someone at the SJW airport to authorize a meal or a place to stay or even provide an update is just very wrong. I was flying on a paid full-fare Y ticket and being *G, there has to be some rules or stipulations in the *G terms that there is some sort of recourse for a situation like this? But there seems to not be.

But anyways ive already found my own way out , at this point I know there won't be any gain to continue to bang my head against the wall trying to call someone at CA to file a complaint. But I will be writing a letter to UA and hopefully someone @ UA can re-evaluate whether they should ensure that AirChina does come up with some sort of procedures to handle irrops instead of abandoning their pax in the middle of nowhere, or drop AirChina as a codeshare partner at least for domestic flights within China if they cannot even assure the most basic human needs are met for its passengers in cases of irregular ops.

In regards to clothing, yes I usually have a light jacket with me but I packed it in my suitcase planning to take it out when i receive my bags at PEK. This was a hard lesson learned and I will not be making that mistake again.

In regards to the poster that said that SJW Shijiazhuang was a major city with 2 million people, that may be the case but that's not what I saw. All I saw were farms and lots of snow and not a building within eyesight from the airport to the train station (50+ km away). Also I have never been to SJW or left a first tier city in China in my life. I really felt like I was on a bad episode of the Amazing Race. And I am a 1K w/almost 500K lifetime miles now, it was still a very daunting and stressful experience to have gone thru to being completely lost, not know where you are, no one would help you and not knowing what to do next, etc, I can only imagine what the other pax experiences were.

Nov 13 Update:

I called their customer service # this morning and found out that the flight has finally gotten in yesterday afternoon.

Just went to the airport and picked up my bag!

The duty manager did never pick up the phone to talk to me....

According to some CA staff @ airport. a lot of passengers (the ones that did not find their own way back) did end up getting stuck at SJW for 3 days 2 nights. They also told me their crew was stuck there too, but after leaving the airplane I don't know what happened to them (?). There are no voucher or compensation of any kind for anyone, because they it was a irrop due to weather, not fault of the airline, and that they were doing me a favor to ship my bag in its entirety to PEK because I chose to leave the SJW airport on my own.

Anyways I didn't argue with them about whether there was any provisions in *G rules that stipulate they should be providing assistance during weather irrops, and pretty much just left after hearing what they said. No point.

At least the happy ending is i got home in one piece 2 days earlier than the others and I didn't lose my bag. I will never be flying air china again, even if they were the last resort. ]]> China jzrandom http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1015711-stranded-ua-5419-airchina-pvg-pek-nov-9-a.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1015567-suzhou-your-own.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:37:28 GMT THinking about Suzhou for a night trip, on our own. If we're going to stay in Sheraton Suzhou, is it close enough to walk around the vicinity? At least use public transportation? Or do we need to hire tour guide/car? ]]> China adamak http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1015567-suzhou-your-own.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1015246-lijiang.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:23:38 GMT Thanks to the Star Alliance's truly global reach, I'm thinking of going as far as Lijiang on my next award ticket to China (might as well, right?). I'd then spend a week making my way to Chengdu before flying back to Shanghai (and then spending some time in the China I'm already familiar with).

Any thoughts on such a tourist itinerary? I understand there's some brand new train service in Lijiang, which might be pleasant to ride. Also, is it worth going as far as Chengdu (never been), or should I just fly out of Kunming back to Shanghai? To see the sights in 7 or 8 days, it would seem like I'd have to fly from Kunming to Chengdu (which doesn't seem expensive).

Thanks! ]]> China iahphx http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1015246-lijiang.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1014652-white-swan-hotel-guangzhou.html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:10:59 GMT Is anyone familiar with the White Swan Hotel? Would you recommend it? Also, need recommendations for do's/dont's in Guangzhou.

Thanks. ]]> China hacamila http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1014652-white-swan-hotel-guangzhou.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1014635-taking-cameras-china.html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:47:17 GMT Two of us traveling to China as tourists. We have a fair amount of camera equipment (two canon digital cameras and several high end lenses all packed in a rolling camera bag). My concern is that we could look sort of 'professional' and worry that customs would question whether we are taking photos commercially. We not professional photographers but wonder if we need to worry at all about being viewed as such by customs officials. Any feedback or advice is appreciated. We are, of course, traveling on tourist visas. ]]> China peter11 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1014635-taking-cameras-china.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1014491-da-zha-xie-shanghai.html Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:14:22 GMT Anyone know where to get some cheap Hairy Crabs (Da Zha Xie) in Shanghai? I remember there used to be a seafood market where you can buy it and go to a nearby restaurant and let them cook it for you. I heard that market is closed now. Anyone know a... Anyone know where to get some cheap Hairy Crabs (Da Zha Xie) in Shanghai? I remember there used to be a seafood market where you can buy it and go to a nearby restaurant and let them cook it for you. I heard that market is closed now. Anyone know a new place? ]]> China portfolioflyer http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1014491-da-zha-xie-shanghai.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1014487-yiwu.html Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:08:26 GMT I was wondering if anyone has been to Yiwu? I am going there in Dec for a business trip and I was wondering how much does the taxi cost from Shanghai to Yiwu or if the trains are convenient enough if I have two huge suitcases.. I was wondering if anyone has been to Yiwu? I am going there in Dec for a business trip and I was wondering how much does the taxi cost from Shanghai to Yiwu or if the trains are convenient enough if I have two huge suitcases.. ]]> China portfolioflyer http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1014487-yiwu.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1013246-recommendation-chinese-visa.html Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:07:28 GMT Hi,
In a couple of weeks I will be visiting my friends in Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The friends advised me to use an expedited visa agency as I would need a multi-entry visa. The agency is fine, but it's over $200 with the Fedex and other fees. I am a holder of a US and Serbian passport, and I believe for Serbian passports the visa fee is only $45.

However, someone said if I go through the regular consulate that they do not issue more than 2 entries for non-US passports and this would be a problem as I will be in Hong Kong during the day while lodging in Shenzhen during the night (hence the multi-entry).

I am in Boston and need to get this done within the next 2-3 weeks. What are other people's experiences with going through the consulate directly versus doing the expedited service? I know $150 is not a lot of money all things being equal (or considering all other costs) but regardless...

Thanks! ]]> China pred02 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1013246-recommendation-chinese-visa.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1012762-translation-help.html Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:28:43 GMT I'll be staying at this hotel.

Holiday Inn
CHANG AN WEST BEIJING
66 YONG DING RD, HAIDIAN DIST.
BEIJING, 100039 CHINA

Would you mind translating this in to the local language, so that I can show it to the taxi driver.

Thanks. ]]> China dhammer53 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/1012762-translation-help.html