At the end of March, 2007, we went to China for 15 days and loved every minute of the trip.  We fell in love with China. We found it absolutely fascinating to witness the dynamism of this awakening giant, the myriad cuisines, the fantastic scenery, and the long Chinese history and culture.  We visited Hong Kong, Guilin, Shanghai, Xian, Luoyang and Beijing. That sounds like a lot for 15 days but we didn't feel pressed or rushed. We saw plenty but we were on our own and moved at our own pace. We saw plenty and we are already planning our return trip - probably after the Olympics in 2008.

We don't like large groups so we booked with a Chinese tourism company, China-connection, who took care of all the arrangements on the ground. We first worked out a program, and they recommended hotels.  After approval of the program and hotels and the payment of a very modest deposit, they arranged for the hotel reservations, and a guide and driver in each venue. Everything went like clockwork. The guides all spoke good to excellent English, the vehicles provided were first class, and all the hotels were fine. We picked 4 star hotels except in Beijing where I upgraded to a 5 star hotel and where they gave us a free upgrade to a junior suite. They also took care of lunches, which were generally OK, although there was a wide variety in the quality of the lunches. More about that later. We took care of all the flights, but they would have done that if I had wanted them to.

In short, everything was great and I would gladly use this company again. They were very flexible and agreeable, and when I wrote that I was hesitant about transferring the full payment to them due to the disturbances in the Chinese stock market in the beginning of March, they reduced the deposit to the absolute minimum and allowed me to pay the rest only after we arrived in China and were satisfied with the arrangements.

Below is our travel itinerary

Below are some general observations about traveling in China.

We actually hadn't planned on visiting Hong Kong at all, but there aren't flights to China every day from Israel, and the flight which suited our desired dates best was arrival in Hong Kong, and departure from Beijing. So we spent our first night and a little more than 24 hours in Hong Kong. We arrived on the weekend of one of the biggest sports events of the year (the "sevens" international rugby tournament) and it was very difficult finding a hotel room at a normal price. We ended up staying at the Holiday inn Golden Mile almost for free as I found out (much to my surprise) that I almost had enough "Priority Club " points for a free night.  The hotel is excellently located on the southern part of Nathan Road in Kowloon and we got an excellent room.
We arrived at the airport at 2 PM, and were quickly impressed by the transportation services into the city. We took the "Airport Express" which costs 160 $HK (1 $US = 8 $HK) for a round trip and takes 24 minutes to get to the Kowloon station. From the station, there are free shuttle buses to the major hotels. The train is clean, fast, convenient and costs only 100 $HK if you take the round trip on the same day.  The following day, we had a flight at 7 PM. We took advantage of the in-town check-in services provided at the Kowloon station. In the morning, we checked into our flight and checked our luggage at the station and then were free to wander the city unencumbered.
To the right are some useful links if you are going to visit Hong Kong.

EXCELLENT TRAVEL
SITE ABOUT
HONG KONG

MTR
ALL ABOUT TRANSPORTATION FROM THE AIRPORT

HONG KONG
TOURISM BOARD

HONG KONG
AIRPORT

A GREAT
INTERACTIVE MAP OF HONG KONG HOTELS

DETAILED STREET
MAP OF HONG KONG

STEVE IN THE HUTONG RESTAURANT IN HONG KONG

In the evening (our only evening) we had dinner at a wonderful restaurant called "Hutong" located on the 29th floor of the building located at No. 1 Peking Street. The restaurant is beautiful, and has a perfect view of the Hong Kong Island skyline, and if you are there at 8 PM you can watch the skyline light show which is an incredible light show using the buildings of Hong Kong as the stage. We started with Lychee liquor and a cold appetizer of pigeon prepared in 2 different styles. Then I had the restaurant's signature dish - crispy de-boned lamb ribs, and Alisa had braised prawns with crabmeat and roe sauce. This was the most expensive meal we had during the entire trip. In fact, this meal cost more than any 2 other meals we had together. The meal cost about $85 for the 2 of us. See the picture to the left of me and my lamb ribs. There are 2 more restaurants in this "complex" as well as a very elegant bar (Aqua) 2 floors above the restaurant.

ALISA & BRUCE LEE
AT THE PEAK

On the second day, we took the star ferry to Hong Kong Island and went up to Victoria Peak. We had lunch at the "Cafe Deco", a nice restaurant with an easy to understand menu. As usual, the weather was gray. To the right is a picture of Hong Kong harbor from the Peak, and to the left is a picture of Alisa squaring off with Bruce Lee at the Madame Trousseau Wax Museum located at the peak. For the rest of the day, we wandered around Hong Kong and enjoyed the markets and the ambiance. Hong Kong was clean and full of big city bustle. It reminded us of New York City.

HONG KONG HARBOR
FROM THE PEAK

One more observation about Hong Kong. Even though it was returned to China about 10 years ago, we felt like we were in a different country. The flight from HK to China was an international flight for all intents and purposes, the currency is different (although almost equal in value to the Yuan), and the prices are higher. And there was one real "curiosity" - on the plane flight to Guilin, we were required to turn over to the flight crew all newspapers which had been brought from Hong Kong . 

GUILIN SCENERY
ON THE LI RIVER

Guilin is reputed to have the most beautiful scenery in the world (well, at least in China)!  The scenery is definitely incredible and that's why Guilin is a must on any itinerary which includes southern China. To fully experience the scenery, most visitors take the boat ride on the Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo. The ride is truly incredible even on a gray day like the one we had. Everyone raves about Yangshuo, but we couldn't see much more than the long street of vendors and hawkers.  We bought several kinds of tea at a grocery store.  To see the scenery, check out the pictures to the right and left. On the left is a view from the boat on the Li River, and to the right is the two of us on the top of  Daicei Mountain which overlooks Guilin.

ON DAICEI
MOUNTAIN

GUILIN SHOPPING PROMENADE

Guilin is a pleasant city of several million people. We stayed at the Park Hotel which was very nice, although its location is the best thing about this hotel. It's located on the river about a 15 minute walk from the center of town. The whole area, including the hotel is lit up at night and is very beautiful. In the center of town is a very impressive shopping promenade and on the main street is a night market almost every night. We enjoyed walking the promenade and to the left is a picture of the clock tower which is the centerpiece of the area.

As we were two western tourists walking alone, many people stared at us or came over to talk to us, or sent their small children over to us to practice their English and say "hello". For this reason we weren't surprised when two pretty young girls began talking to us. They told us how they were students learning English and they wanted to practice their English. They were very nice, but unfortunately this encounter led us to the only incident where we were cheated in China. They recommended a restaurant and escorted us there and then disappeared. The restaurant specialized in "hot pot" and we ordered one fish hot pot and one chicken hot pot. "Hot pot" cooking is like fondue, except that the cooking medium is soup rather than cheese or oil.  You can see Alisa in the picture to the right chewing on the bony chicken we got. The meal was interesting, but the bill was a big surprise. The proprietress, who spoke some English, brought the bill which came to a whopping 300 Yuan! I quickly understood that we were being ripped off and also understood who the two pretty English students were. I objected vigorously and began to argue with the proprietress, who explained that the fish weighed 1.5 kilos and that the chicken was special "mountain chicken". Unfortunately, this was our first independent meal in mainland China, so I had little experience to rely on. In the end, I paid 238 Yuan but knew this was at least double the correct amount. Had this been at the end of the trip, I would have taken the bill and used the  shopping method I learned to use in the market - that is, write down on the bill what I was willing to pay, like 100 Yuan, and told her that if she didn't like it, she should call the police.
The next evening, undeterred, we went back to the same area, picked a different restaurant and had a very nice meal which cost about 80 Yuan. In this restaurant, they were very honest and didn't charge us for a dish which was served late and after we were done eating. In the end, we paid only 60 Yuan.

ALISA CHEWING
ON
"MOUNTAIN CHICKEN"

The other places we visited while we were in Guilin was the moon cave mountain which requires climbing 800 uneven steps up to the top where there is a magnificent view of the entire area, the reed flute cave (a beautiful karst cavern) and the ancient town of Daxu which was one of the most interesting places we visited during the entire trip.  Regarding the moon cave mountain, two ladies trying to sell us cold drinks went all the way up the 800 steps with us hoping to make a sale. They were very upset when we didn't buy anything. As for Daxu, this is a very old town with a market street but the main attraction is just watching the people going about their daily lives. Here we visited a natural healer who demonstrated the use of his home made pain reliever which is basically a stick which burns slowly and provides penetrating heat to the stricken area. We bought one, but should have bought 10. It really works. Daxu is located about 20 KM southeast of Guilin and is 2200 years old. Check out the pictures to the right, left and below showing the people of Daxu tending to their daily lives.

While in Guilin, we attended a show called "Dream Like Lijiang", a production  which is a blend of acrobatics, ballet, and contortionist displays set to music. Some acts tell a story, and some are pure acrobatics. It was a wonderful show and difficult to describe. The only pictures allowed were with the performers after the show. To the right is a picture of Alisa with one of them. Tickets cost either 200 or 250 Yuan.

DREAM LIKE LIJIANG PERFORMER

One of our guides (Cici in Xian) had the following to say about historical perspectives in China: "If you want to see the the historical development of China during the last 5000 years, go to Xian, if you want to see the history of the last 500 years, go to Beijing, and if you want to see the explosive development of China over the last 15 years, go to Shanghai." That pretty much sums it up regarding Shanghai. This city has developed incredibly over the last few decades. The skyline is incredible, the skyscrapers mind boggling, and the noise and traffic rival any modern city anywhere in the world.

We stayed at the Shanghai Hotel located in the Jing-an temple area which is a great place to be -  a metro stop full of stores and restaurants and a nice place to stroll about. We visited the famous Nanjing shopping promenade as well as the Bund, the People's Square, and the old town of Shanghai.  We visited the Shanghai museum which was very impressive and we even had an unexpected companion for our visit. Henry Kissinger was visiting at the same time we were, apparently to check out an American history exhibit scheduled to open shortly thereafter. To the right is Alisa posing with some of the exhibits at the museum.

SHANGHAI
MUSEUM

YU YUAN GARDEN
IN SHANGHAI

We also visited the Yu Yuan Garden (The Garden of Peace and Comfort) which was very beautiful and the Jade Buddha Temple. Here is a site with a lot of nice pictures of the garden which is located right near the old town.  It's a very relaxing place. To the left is a picture of this beautiful garden. The Jade Buddha Temple is a working temple full of monks praying. It's possible to take pictures in all but a very few locations in the temple. The main attractions at the temple are 2 white jade Buddhas, one reclining and one sitting. To the right is a picture of the monks chanting at the temple

MONKS IN THE JADE
BUDDHA TEMPLE

LINGERING GARDEN
IN SHUZHOU

As exciting as Shanghai was, the highlight of our visit was the day trip we took to Suzhou and Tong Li. Suzhou is a fairly large city about 90 KM from Shanghai, and Tong Li is located about 20 KM from Souzhou and is one of the better known "water towns", where canals are as important as streets and where several beautiful gardens can be found. Some call Tong Li the Venice of the East. In Tong Li, we visited "The Garden of Contemplation" ("Tuisi" Garden), and in Suzhou we visited the "Lingering Garden", (Liu Yuan Garden).  To the right is a picture of a "gondola" in Tong Li and to the left is a restful scene in the Lingering Garden.

TONG LI

We found a wonderful restaurant right near our hotel called "People on the Water" located in the basement of the Hilton Hotel.  This was one of the best restaurants we ate at during our trip and we went back to eat there a second time. The restaurant specializes in Ningbo cuisine which is a seafood based cuisine of an area very near to Shanghai. For our first meal, we had shrimp with crispy seaweed, beef tenderloin in barbeque sauce and sautéed green peppers with seafood. Everything was excellent including the service and the restaurant is really beautiful. We had a few other items and the meals cost us 335 Yuan on the first night and 400 Yuan on the second night. To the left is a picture of me with a few dishes (including the shrimp with seaweed) on the table and to the right is Alisa with our charming waitress, Helen. As you can see, even the Chinese girls are taller than Alisa. Here's what Frommer's has to say about this restaurant.

Xian is the capital of ancient China and as Cici said, has 5000 years of history. This is where the "Terracotta Army" is found which is the highpoint of many visits to China. Our guide Cici, was our youngest guide, a recent graduate of the local University program called "English for Tourists".   This program is becoming more and more popular among young Chinese and another of our guides also took it. Her English was excellent and we had fun with her. To the right is a picture of Alisa with Cici at the Huaquing Hot Springs, a beautiful palace and garden built initially in the 11th century B.C., but lavishly expanded by Emperor Xuanzong in the 8th century A.C.E. It does include hot springs which you can bathe in and appeared to be very popular among Chinese schoolchildren on school trips.

AT HUAQUING HOT SPRINGS

In Xian we stayed at the Aurum International Hotel which is about a 10 minute walk from the absolute center of the old part of the city  ringed by very impressive walls. This hotel is right next to a small public park/plaza where we could watch the local populace doing their morning Tai-chi. This part of the city is laid out perfectly - a matrix with a prominent landmark in the center which can be seen from every direction, and the four streets which emanate from the center are called east street, west street, north street and south street and lay directly on the compass points. It's really tough to get lost here.

THE GREAT MOSQUE
IN XIAN

The landmark in the center is called the Bell Tower, and right nearby is the Drum Tower. Both are typical buildings often built at the center of ancient Chinese cities. Both provided a time signal for the local populace, the bell in the morning and the drum at the end of the day. Both are open for visitors (not free) and are swarming with tourists. The center of town is full of stores and restaurants and is very busy and beautifully lit up at night. Right near the drum tower is the Moslem Quarter and the Great Mosque. Not surprisingly, the mosque resembles a Chinese garden more than a mosque in a Moslem country To the left is a picture within the mosque grounds. 

EMPEROR QIN'S TERRACOTTA MUSEUM
(a great site with an online shop for buying souvenirs)

WIKIPEDIA

TRAVELCHINA GUIDE

CHINA VISTA

TERRACOTTA WARRIORS

VACATIONS IN
CHINA
(covers all the Xian attractions)

The two main attractions in the Xian area are the city walls and the terracotta army. The walls are wide and about 20 KM long and completely surround the old part of the city. To the right is a picture taken on the walls. At the entrance to the walls, is the Xian Museum which was interesting, although the long lecture we got about Feng Shui was unnecessary.  The terracotta army is located about a 30 minute drive from town and the scope of this place is hard to describe. It was built by the first Emperor of united China, Emperor Qin Shi Huang, in the third century B.C. to be his burial monument. He had a complete army built in order to protect him in the afterlife. Up to now, they have found over 10,000 soldiers, weapons, chariots, artifacts, and artwork. The soldiers are all life size (actually more than life size as most are much taller than the average Chinese) and each one has different features,. This was a project which went on for many years and probably kept unemployment very low. To the left is a list of links with lots more information than I can provide here.  To the right is a picture of the terracotta army.

Another place we visited in Xian was the Small Wild Goose Pagoda. There's also a Big Wild Goose Pagoda which is (not surprisingly) similar but bigger. At Cici's recommendation we visited the little one because it's less crowded. That's not surprising as there isn't much to see here except for the artist community which is now found there. There's some beautiful artwork to be found here.  To the right is a picture of a wooden sculpture (one of many) which can be purchased here directly from one of the resident artists.
The Small Wild Goose Pagoda stands 210 feet high and dates to the year 707, during the Tang Dynasty, when Crown Prince Li Zhi built it as a memorial to his mother. It was used to house some of the Buddhist scriptures brought back from India by Xuanzang, a monk who spent 20 years in India learning the secrets and principles of Buddhism.  Little remains of the original temple complex today and the top several layers of the pagoda were apparently destroyed in an earthquake during the 15th century.

AT THE TONG SHENG XIANG RESTAURANT IN XIAN

AT THE DE FA CHANG DUMPLING RESTAURANT IN XIAN

The other restaurant is right next to the first and called De Fa Chang Dumpling Restaurant. Dumplings are one of Xian's culinary specialties. They come with various fillings, and are prepared in various ways - steamed, boiled, pan fried, deep fried and roasted. We ordered a selection of fried and a selection of steamed. They come with several different sauces and they were very tasty. Before we got our dumplings, we ordered some terrific appetizers from the cart which is rolled around periodically.  See the picture to the left for a view of the appetizer cart. This restaurant was clearly a cut above the previous one and had several westerners in attendance and there were 2 waitresses who spoke some English. In neither restaurant did we use a menu, as they were completely in Chinese and also unnecessary.

A separate section for a train ride?? It was more than a train ride. It was an experience worth describing.  Cici escorted us to the train station where we waited in the "soft sleeper" lounge. The soft sleeper is the name of the more comfortable and expensive seats on the train.  The lounge was filled  with 2 large organized tour groups of Europeans. The price for trains in China is quite reasonable and they generally run on time.
This was a 5.5 hour ride from Xian to Luoyang and it passed through some very interesting landscape. There were several large factories and power plants,  rural villages, and many cliffs and terraces with clearly visible caves, where people used to live.  However, that wasn't the main attraction. The conductor was the main attraction. He entertained us with his sales program most of the way. He started with indestructible socks and finished with toys and puzzles. He sold a few too. (Alisa bought 2 pairs.) To the right is a picture of him showing that the socks could stand up to the worst punishment. He violently attacked them with a steel brush.

ON THE TRAIN TO LUOYANG

In Luoyang, our guide was Joe, a 31 year old bachelor who has ambitious plans for succeeding in the tourist business. He took us around the sites near Luoyang and accompanied us to the  to the Shaolin Temple near Dengfeng on our way to the airport in Shengzhao for our flight to Beijing. Here's a rundown on what we did in Luoyang, where the annual Peony festival was going on but we were so busy, that we didn't even see one peony. The peony is the the national flower of China is very much revered in Luoyang which is called the city of peonies.

LONG MAN GROTTOS

The Longman Grottos is probably the best known attraction in the Luoyang area. I don't know what's more impressive - the caves or the incredible number of visitors who visit this site every day.  The entire area is covered by more than 2100 grotto niches, more than 3500 engraved tablets and over 40 pagodas containing around 100,000 statues.  Many of the statue heads are missing due to vandalism or pillaging. Check out the pictures to the right and left. The name of these grottos is derived from the Chinese words for "Dragon Gate",.

LONG MAN GROTTOS

We visited the beautiful White Horse Temple which was the first Buddhist temple in China, and has remained intact for over 1900 years. Click here to read about its history. We also visited the Guanlin wholesale market.  We didn't think we'd find much of interest here, but we found it a gigantic and entertaining market. Each street specializes in a different type of merchandise and the prices were so cheap, that it was embarrassing to bargain. Baby sleepers cost around $1 each and 2 video CD's could be had for the same price.  

In Luoyang, we had one of our most entertaining culinary experiences. We found a local restaurant and ate there because they had a menu with pictures and the staff was so encouraging that we dined there. No English spoken and no English on the menu, but the entire staff crowded around our table in order to help us order our food. We were equipped with our dictionary and list of food vocabulary, but extra assistance was still needed.  At one point the shift manager called a friend on his cell phone to help translate a word, and later we discovered a fellow diner who spoke some English and he also helped. There were no westerners here.

It turns out that we were very lucky because the food turned out to be among the best we ate anywhere in China. We dined there twice and the restaurant was completely full both nights (as are most restaurants in China). We got there at 630 PM and the Chinese crowd arrived at 7 PM. It was at this restaurant that we ate the dish with the shrimp and sweet braided noodles described before. Here it is again to the left. To the right is a picture of some of the other dishes we ate. A full meal for the 2 of us (including local beer) at this restaurant cost around 75 Yuan. I have no idea what the name is but I did take the totally Chinese business card. If anybody is really interested in trying to find this restaurant, I know where it is located and can pinpoint it on a map of Luoyang.

The last place we visited was the Shaolin Temple, home of the world famous Shaolin Monks who practice Kung-fu and other martial arts. The grounds are beautiful and the temple buildings very impressive. The monks also put on a show which lasts about 30 minutes and was disappointing. I enjoyed them much more at home on television. The nearest town is Dengfeng and it has become a center of Kung fu training schools. The Shaolin center itself is also a live-in Kung-fu academy. Tourists can also come, for a day, a week or for life and take part in undergo training. The most interesting part of the visit was the Pagoda Forest, where a forest of small pagodas have been built as burial markers for fallen monks. See the picture to the right.

THE PAGODA FOREST

We enjoyed Luoyang which is small as cities go in China. The city proper has about 1.5 million inhabitants and the greater metropolitan area has 6.5 million. On the second morning we were there, we strolled through the center of town and found quite a few nice stores for shopping. The city is known as the eastern end of the silk route, and is very old and served as the capital of 13 different dynasties spanning 1500 years. Since it is not too big, the widespread building  that is going is very visible. When we arrived, Joe told us apologetically that the train station isn't much to look at, but we should come back in two years to see the new one!

To get to Beijing, we flew from Shengzhao which is about 90 KM from the Shaolin Temple. I mention this only because of the cup of coffee we bought at the Shengzhao airport terminal, which was by far the most expensive cup of coffee we had anywhere in China (and quite a few places in Europe as well!). The terminal was almost empty, but a cup of double espresso cost us 59 Yuan, (almost the cost for 2 meals at our favorite restaurant in Luoyang)!!  However, the coffee was good.

In Beijing we stayed at the Presidential Plaza Hotel, a wonderful 5 star hotel. From the web site, it appears that the hotel is owned by the government, but we couldn't tell that from the way it is run. It has several good restaurants and is located in a good area with a few small restaurants and stores.

Beijing is a very big city but I didn't appreciate just how big until we took our first taxi for what I thought (from studying a map) would be a short ride and it took 25 minutes to get there. Then I understood that Beijing is a VERY BIG city on the order of magnitude of where I come from - New York City.
In Beijing, we were accompanied by Terry who turned out to be our favorite guide. Terry was very friendly and open, very aware of what is going on in the world and much to my surprise,  he is a fan of American baseball, so we had lots to talk about besides China. Below is the description of all the places we visited while we were in Beijing. 

BEIHAI PARK

Beihai Park is the biggest park in Beijing. It has a beautiful lake in the middle (actually, more than one) beautiful pavilions, beautiful scenery and is a lovely place to stroll about. The main attraction here is the hordes of senior citizens who spend their time here singing, dancing, playing ball, painting, skating, or just strolling about. Here's a picture to the left. The park charges admission for entry, but seniors get in for free, and this is their place.

THE SUMMER PALACE

Another place we visited which was somewhat similar to Beihai was the Summer Palace. The name in Chinese, "Yiheyuan" means "Garden of Restful Peace". This is another beautiful park where many seniors spend their leisure time. Please check out this site which describes the park's history and includes some beautiful pictures. It's located about 15 Km from the city center and is well worth the visit. To the right are a few more links about this beautiful park and to the left is a picture of the blooming trees in the Summer palace.

BEIJING
ATTRACTIONS

BEIJING TRAVEL
GUIDE

ALL ABOUT THE
SUMMER PALACE

We visited the Lama temple, which is today a working temple with Mongolian Monks. It's entire proper name is the "Palace of Peace and Harmony Lama Temple". The main attraction here is the 18 meter (60 foot) high statue of Buddha carved from the trunk of one sandalwood tree and transported here from Tibet where it was carved. It's very impressive and is listed in the Guinness book of records. Here's an excellent site with background information and some great pictures.

CHINAVISTA

BEIJINGTRIP

CHINA THRU A LENS

THE PALACE MUSEUM

We of course visited the two leading attractions in Beijing, the Forbidden City and  Tiananmen Square.  Both are impressive just because of their size, but are both also full of history,  the Forbidden City which is full of imperial history, and the Square which is full of more recent history. The Square was the scene of the famous student demonstrations and the ensuing violence which occurred in 1989.  The display rooms of the Forbidden City are full of incredible artifacts of the various royal families. To the left are links about the Forbidden City and to the right links about Tiananmen Square.

DETAILS ABOUT THE SQUARE

THE DECLASSIFIED HISTORY OF 1989 AT TIANANMEN SQUARE

MORE ABOUT THE
1989 STUDENT DEMONSTRATIONS

ALISA ON THE
"SACRED WAY"

CHINA 2001
BY ANNIEBEES

IMPERIAL TOMBS
BY CHINA.ORG

THE GREAT WALL
AND THE MING TOMBS

CHINA ODDYSSEY
A GREAT SELECTION OF PICTURES

WINE & DINE ON QUANJUDE

CUISINES OF BEIJING

CHINESE CUISINE

VIDEO RECIPE

HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE DISH

FROMMERS ON
BEIJING DINING

TRAVELLADY ON BEIJING DINING

SOME HAKKA SPECIALTIES

ALL ABOUT THE
HAKKA AND THEIR CUISINE

GOING TO CHINA ON HAKKA CUISINE

FROMMERS ON
KEJIA CAI

AT THE KEJIA CAI RESTAURANT
IN BEIJING

DONG HUA MARKET
 I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WAS ON MOST OF THE SKEWERS

CHINAREPORT.COM WITH LOTS OF PICTURES

VERY FUNNY DESCRIPTION OF
DONG HUA MEN

THE DRAGON:  A POPULAR SYMBOL IN CHINESE FOLKLORE

BELOW: SOME MORE LINKS TO SITES ABOUT CHINA