Hillsides of gold, red and white

Wuyuan, a county set in the mountains of Jiangxi province, is an ideal place to slow down, wander among old homes and smell the flowers. Zhang Zixuan checks out the scenery.

If there's one place that evokes the tranquil beauty of Chinese ink painting, it is Wuyuan. The county in northeastern Jiangxi province, dubbed "China's most beautiful countryside", features hills dotted with black and white homes.

Established in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), Wuyuan is one of the cradles of Huizhou culture, which was nurtured by booming trade and featured strong influences of clans and Confucianism. The county's distinctive homes, built in the style of Huizhou architecture, have black roofs and white walls.

The walls themselves are inlaid with black bricks shaped like horse heads, hence the name "horse-head walls". With the passage of time, rain and moisture have penetrated the white walls and have given them the watered down look of ink paintings.

In strict accordance with tradition, the brick and wood structures are decorated with exquisitely handcrafted wood, brick and stone sculptures, now considered State-level intangible cultural heritage pieces.

Homes are interspersed with ancestral temples, showing the residents' respect and pride for their community's history. The buildings are also constructed at different heights to prevent fires from quickly spreading.

Visiting Wuyuan feels like going back in time, to an era when the pace of life was slower and people lived closer to nature. Besides its signature architecture, the county is also known for its fields of cole flowers.

In spring, their golden petals blanket the horizon. In Jiangling village, the blossoms cover curved terraces, like luxurious brocade, cascading from hilltop to valley.

When autumn comes, the flowers paint the land a fiery red. In the village of Huangling, the scarlet in the landscape is accented by the hundreds of chilies laid out to dry in wicker baskets, which sit on wooden rods jutting out of homes.

The names of Wuyuan's villages usually include the character "keng", which means "stream" in the local dialect. This is how residents acknowledge the importance of the rivers that snake through their villages, sustaining communities that have nurtured countless generations of scholars, officials and tradesmen.

Two of Wuyuan's villages actually have the same name - Likeng - except they're written in different ways. To distinguish between the two, locals call one "Big Likeng" and the other "Small Likeng".

Small Likeng is better known and gets more visitors since it's only 12 km from the county seat. Its accessible location has brought the village both fame and commercialization. Several TV series and films have been shot here, and this has drawn even more visitors.

Most homes located on the riverbanks double as shops and hostels. They sell camphor tree products, rice wine and local snacks. The sounds of vendors calling out their wares and tourists bargaining with them create a lively rhythm.

One upside of Wuyuan's commercialization is the quality of its tourist services. Among all the county's villages, Small Likeng probably has the widest selection of restaurants, bars and hostels to suit customers of every budget. Big Likeng, on the other hand, is much quieter and relatively untouched.

Situated on a hill 56 km from the county seat, Big Likeng is quite hard to reach. Visitors need to take a car or motorbike taxi to traverse the winding mountain road, which is sometimes blocked by soil that rain has eroded.

For tourists seeking a challenge, a bicycle ride to the village may be just what they need.

Since homes in Big Likeng are made of wood, many of them did not survive the fires that have broken out throughout the centuries. But their ruins, navigable through moss-covered flagstone paths, remain intact.

The village has become a favorite destination of art students and photographers, who sometimes stay for months documenting the majestic old architecture.

At the village entrance, visitors will often find local farmers chatting with each other. They're usually willing to serve as tour guides at a cost of 20 yuan ($3.20) for every three hours.

They'll take visitors through Big Likeng's narrowest alleys, show them the village's most important buildings and point out the best spots for taking photos.

Sometimes they might even help tourists catch a harmless brown bee, and put the insect between the visitors' cupped palms for an instant "hand massage". At the same time, they'll tell them which type of bees can sting without mercy.

When the guides finish their job, they return to their everyday routine of playing with their children, drying vegetables under the sun, repairing shoes or washing clothes in the river.

When night falls, Big Likeng, along with Wuyuan's other villages, falls silent, like an ink landscape painting waiting to be viewed for another thousand years.

Source: By Zhang Zixuan (China Daily)

Rainy scenery in Fenghuang County

Tourists enjoy the scenery in boats on Tuojiang River by the ancient town of Fenghuang in Fenghuang County of Xiangxi Tu and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan province, April 29, 2013. Fenghuang witnessed rainfall on Monday, the first day of the three-day Labor Day holiday. (Xinhua/Zhao Zhongzhi)

Hitting the right spot

With its prominent location, the stylish Suzhou Marriott Hotel offers excellent accommodations and luxury services for business guests and leisure travelers alike.

Suzhou Marriott Hotel is ideally situated in the heart of Suzhou. The hotel is a stone's throw from the commercial entertainment district and the new and hi-tech development zone, and it sits adjacent to the Suzhou Government and Administrative Service Center, offering convenient access to the Suzhou Industry Park. It is also not far from the Suzhou International Expo Center and the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park.

As a member of Marriott International, a leading hospitality company with more than 3,300 properties in 68 countries and territories, the Suzhou Marriott aims to provide excellent service to customers in terms of socializing, relaxation, business meetings and cuisine, says Benny Lee, cluster general manager for the Suzhou area.

"The hotel industry attaches great importance to details, and the success of a hotel can only be achieved through maintaining high standards," says Lee, who has been working for Marriott International since 1990.

"Suzhou Marriott Hotel won its market through good management and excellent service."

With Lee at the helm, Suzhou Marriott Hotel won third place in a customer satisfaction survey of all hotels in the Asia-Pacific area in 2012.

"To stay in the Suzhou Marriott Hotel is to experience Chinese culture," Lee says. "Chinese elements are widely used throughout the hotel, enabling guests to appreciate tradition and modernity at the same time."

The hotel features sophisticated guest rooms with local characteristics, in which traditional musical instruments, such as the Chinese flute can be seen. With plush new bedding, bathrobes, flat-screen televisions, ergonomic chairs, high-speed Internet and a well-lit full-sized desk, the rooms are designed to accommodate leisure and business visitors.

In line a company-wide strategy to transform the traditional hotel lobby into a social hub, the Suzhou Marriott Hotel lobby space is open, with defined zones allowing guests to utilize the space for a range of activities.

Located in the lobby area are two food and beverage outlets. The Lounge is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, while the Pulp Bar serves up drinks, dinner, music and entertainment. Sometimes Pingtan, a kind of traditional Chinese music especially popular in East China, is played for the guests.

The hotel also offers three specialty restaurants featuring international cuisine and local favorites. Guests can pick from restaurants like the Asia Bistro and Alto Vino or experience traditional Cantonese cuisine at Man Ho.

Alto Vino, an Italian restaurant with 78 seats and one private room, offers fine dining and a menu dominated by southern Italian dishes. The Asia Bistro is an all-day buffet restaurant that serves a variety of Asian cuisines.

Man Ho is the hotel's signature restaurant, serving Cantonese and local dishes, fine French wines and Chinese liquors. For small parties, the restaurant also has five private rooms with personal hostesses.

For fitness and relaxation, the hotel offers a 24-hour fully equipped fitness center with the latest cardio machines, strength-training gear, free weights and an indoor swimming pool. Guests can also relax in Marriott's Quan Spa, which features hydrotherapeutic treatments and massages using pure essential oils and natural fruit extracts.

The hotel, which occupies 1,580 sq m of space, is also a perfect place to host meetings or events. The largest meeting room has a maximum meeting space of 462 sq m. Comprehensive meeting facilities complemented by expert catering and audio-visual resources are also provided.

Source: By Cang Wei (China Daily)

Hilton hotels heading for roll in China

Hilton Group, the US-based hospitality chain, is launching a mid-scale brand called Hilton Garden Inn in China to cater to the needs of the fast-growing number of business travelers.

Francis Lee Wee-Hau, senior vice-president of Development, Greater China and Mongolia, for Hilton Worldwide, said the brand will be launched in five Chinese cities, including Lijiang, Chengdu, Harbin,

Dandong and Huzhou, and will be expanded later to more second- and third-tier cities.

Meanwhile, the group is also planning to open the doors of its contemporary luxury hotel in downtown Beijing later this year. The hotel, the company's fifth Conrad hotel in China under the Hilton Hotel & Resorts brand, is part of the group's expansion strategy to cash in on the fast-growing and lucrative Chinese tourism market.

"Across the 289 rooms in the hotel, we have 'smart luxury' as our core philosophy," said Alex Kassantly, general manager of Beijing Conrad Hotel.

Hilton Hotels & Resorts is also on track to achieve its ambition of expanding its presence from the current 32 hotels on the Chinese mainland with more than 12,000 rooms to more than 150 properties with 55,000 rooms in the next several years, he added. By 2015, the group will have hotels in 75 cities across the country.

Yang Honghao, a researcher with the China Tourism Academy, said in a report on China's hotel industry that the country has 60,000 hotels with 14,000 given stars. By the end of 2010, nearly 70 international hospitality brands from 41 countries and regions had entered the Chinese market, managing about 20 percent of the country's top-end hotels and taking 80 percent of the profits, according to Yang.

With only four brands present in China at the moment among its 10 hotel brands, Hilton Worldwide is working on introducing more brands to China.

The variety of brands will suit the rising needs of the Chinese travelers, said Bruce Mckenzie, senior vice-president, operations of greater China and Mongolia, Hilton Worldwide, adding "We plan to open around 10 properties this year (in China) and expect to accelerate the pace of growth moving forward."

Hilton's rapid development in the country is in contrast with the slowdown of other international brands during the global economic recovery.

The Chinese hotel market has been showing the strain, especially in the luxury and five-star markets, according to Horwath HTL China, a hotel, tourism and leisure consultancy.

It said the burgeoning demand and the incredible demographic advantages in a country the size of China will help ease operating conditions and improve performance across other markets.

Unlike other international hotel brands, Hilton has often been termed a laggard in China. The company is, however, unperturbed by the tag and has set its sights on remote regions in China, which have few high-end hotels currently, rather than popular or top destinations such as Sanya city in Hainan island.

"There is no doubt that the hospitality industry has been affected by the economic environment, but that crisis also means an opportunity," Mckenzie said.

According to him, opportunities are still aplenty in China as room supply is still lower than demand. His confidence also comes from the government's plan to increase residents' income during the next seven years.

"Higher personal income means more travel, both domestic and international, requiring more hotels in both business and leisure destinations," Mckenzie said.

As the second biggest market for InterContinental Hotels Group after the United States, China is expected to have the same number of hotel rooms as the United States by 2025, said Richard Solomons, chief executive of IHG.

In 2012, the group saw its businesses in China growing rapidly, with operating profit up 21 percent. Of its 1,053 properties under development globally, more than half are based in China. Last year the hotel group created luxury hotel brand HUALUXE hotels and resorts specifically for the Chinese with a plan to reach 100 cities across China.

"It is easy to come in and put hotels everywhere," said Solomons. "But we turned down more deals than those we signed in China. We have to get a real understanding of what drives growth and success. We need to understand what is right for long-term development."

The fact that Chinese customers have a bigger demand for value also requires hoteliers to position their brands more clearly, he said.

At the same time, it is also important for the hoteliers to play the local card to make their businesses successful as more than half of the revenue comes not from room rents but meeting and weddings, said Solomons.

"I think we want to become a Chinese business and eventually say our Chinese business is bigger than our American business," he said.

But one of the major challenges for China's hotel industry is human resources. "Human capital is a key factor that supports Hilton's expansion in the Chinese market," said Mckenzie.

But China's labor market lends itself to a shorter-than-average employee retention rate, as well as fierce competition for trained and qualified service personnel, said Mckenzie.

Hospitality companies need to invest more in building human capital and grooming the talent required to manage expanded operations, he said.

IHG also considers the biggest shortage is people. "The hospitality business is not about the building but the experience," said Solomons, chief executive of IHG. "To get the right people in right training and encourage them to stay on in the industry is important," he said.

Source: By Wang Wen and Wang Zhuoqiong (China Daily)

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, generally built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China in part to protect the Chinese Empire or its prototypical states against intrusions.

Other purposes of the Great Wall have included border controls, allowing the imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road, regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration. Furthermore, the defensive characteristics of the Great Wall were enhanced by the construction of watch towers, troop barracks, garrison stations, signaling capabilities through the means of smoke or fire, and the fact that the path of the Great Wall also served as a transportation corridor.

A comprehensive archaeological survey, using advanced technologies, has concluded that the Ming walls measure 8,850 km. This is made up of 6,259 km sections of actual wall, 359 km of trenches and 2,232 km of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers. Another archaeological survey found that the entire wall with all of its branches measure out to be 21,196 km.

Before the use of bricks, the Great Wall was mainly built from rammed earth, stones, and wood. During the Ming Dynasty, however, bricks were heavily used in many areas of the wall, as were materials such as tiles, lime, and stone.

The size and weight of the bricks made them easier to work with than earth and stone, so construction quickened. Additionally, bricks could bear more weight and endure better than rammed earth. Stone can hold under its own weight better than brick, but is more difficult to use.

Consequently, stones cut in rectangular shapes were used for the foundation, inner and outer brims, and gateways of the wall. Battlements line the uppermost portion of the vast majority of the wall, with defensive gaps a little over 30 cm tall, and about 23 cm wide.

While some portions north of Beijing and near tourist centers have been preserved and even extensively renovated, in many locations the Wall is in disrepair.  Those parts might serve as a village playground or a source of stones to rebuild houses and roads. Sections of the Wall are also prone to graffiti and vandalism. Parts have been destroyed because the Wall is in the way of construction.

 Source: Fotopedia

Forbidden City breaks down another barrier

Source: By Qu Yingpu, Zhao Huanxin and Yu Yilei (China Daily)

Once a fortress that no one could enter or leave without the emperor's permission, the Forbidden City is set to welcome visitors to another of its secluded zones. Our editorial team comprising Qu Yingpu, Zhao Huanxin and Yu Yilei gets a peek at what awaits.

The world will soon get to see more of the intriguing Forbidden City, home to generations of Chinese emperors spanning five centuries - at no extra cost.

With the opening of the secluded residence of empresses and imperial concubines, which lies to the west of Longzong Gate, visitors will enter into some of the crucial quarters of the Inner Court - once prohibited and punishable by death.

The decision to open up parts of the Inner Court to tourists is part of efforts by the world's largest palace complex to cater to the interests of the increasing number of visitors, curator Shan Jixiang said on Thursday.

The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 and listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. It has been known as the Palace Museum since 1925, soon after Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), was evicted from the Inner Court.

"We received 14 million guests last year and expect to have 1 million more than that figure this year," Shan, former chief of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

"We plan to expand the visiting zones from nearly half to two-thirds (of the Forbidden City) in the near future."

Located near the halfway point of the central north-south axis, Longzong Gate was the main entrance to the Palace of Benevolent Peace (Cining Gong) as well as the Palace of Longevity and Good Health (Shoukang Gong), on the western side of the museum.

The two palaces were formerly the residence and venues for entertainment and rituals for empresses and concubines in the Qing Dynasty.

What's in store has aroused as much curiosity as historical evidence of two arrow heads stuck on the gate since 1813 when rebellious farmers attacked the Forbidden City.

Reparation and restoration of the two palaces have been completed and workers are putting final touches to the adjoining Garden of Benevolent Peace. The palaces will open to the public along with the garden after renovation of the garden is completed at the end of this year, Shan said.

"The Palace of Longevity and Good Health will be presented as it would have appeared in dynastic times, while the Palace of Benevolent Peace will showcase a rich collection of sculptures," he added.

After being the home of 24 emperors - 14 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and 10 during the Qing Dynasty, the site that is now the Palace Museum is laden with legends and anecdotes, said Lin Shu, a researcher with the museum's department of palatial life and imperial rituals.

A one-story building in the Garden of Benevolent Peace, for instance, will tell the filial story of emperor Qianlong, who left his residence to stay there through the night to wait on his ailing mother. According to Lin, the emperor apparently made frequent visits for a month until his mother recovered. At a time, it was very rare for an emperor to leave his official residence.

More safety and exhibits

Nearly nine times as large as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Palace Museum welcomes the majority of visitors to its central north-south axis and southern Outer Court, where its ceremonial palaces are concentrated.

Besides the Palace of Benevolent Peace and the Palace of Longevity and Good Health, most quarters on the western and eastern sides of the imperial site are inaccessible to visitors, though an array of halls on both sides are open to showcase a fine collection of rare and valuable works of art.

The out-of-bounds zones are either under repair or used as offices, stores or for research purposes, according to museum sources.

Shan and his team vowed to change the situation.

"The research and office facilities have occupied a good part of the walled enclosure of the Palace Museum," said Shan. "They must move out and make room to exhibit our cultural relics."

The Palace Museum now holds a total of 1.8 million artifacts, of which over 93 percent are designated as nationally protected "valuable cultural relics", Shan cited from the museum's latest audit findings.

The area within the 8-meter-tall red walls accounts for two-thirds of the entire complex of the Palace Museum. If all the research, office and service personnel as well as materials within the walls are removed as planned by 2016, authorities could install better security measures to prevent thefts and fires, the curator added.

A notorious incident last May in which a 27-year-old farmer stole art from the museum has sparked public concerns over security loopholes in the Forbidden City.

Shan, appointed curator in February, pledged to employ "the world's most advanced security equipment and technology" and improve his employees' awareness of their responsibilities.

"Safety, especially fire prevention, is always our priority," Shan stressed.

To illustrate his point, Shan picked up a cigarette butt from the ground before entering the red walls that house the Palace of Benevolent Peace, and pointed to cameras hidden under the eaves of some buildings.

The fear of fire has been a constant threat for centuries and caused people to become superstitious. For example, almost all roofs in the Forbidden City are built with yellow glazed tiles symbolizing royalty, but the library at the Pavilion of Literary Profundity (Wenyuan Ge) had dark-colored tiles. The reason was that dark colors were associated with water, symbolic of fire prevention.

Better services

Standing near Longzong Gate, Shan said service booths selling food, drinks and souvenirs will be erected on the square for visitors once the gate is open. Currently, there is a temporary snack bar on the other side of the gate, which is less accessible to tourists, especially on windy days, Shan said.

He acknowledged that doing business in the museum had struck a raw nerve among some Chinese, who have a special attachment to the Palace Museum.

For example, the stall that served delicious but expensive beef noodles was shut down, and a Starbucks outlet that opened in 2000 was eventually closed after seven years due to a public outcry.

"Starbucks, McDonald's and other brands are considered sensitive (to many people), but their presence is not uncommon in museums in other countries," Shan said. "We have hordes of visitors from all over the world every day, often spending several hours in the museum, and they need different kinds of food and drinks."

The important thing for the museum is to ensure the needs of the visitors are well addressed, and the food served is healthy and diverse, Shan said. "We will not specify the brands. We care more about the variety and quality."

A former tour guide in Beijing, who identified herself only as Lu, said whenever she led tour groups from the southern entrance of the Meridian Gate (Wumen), all the way up to the northern exit of Gate of Divine Might (Shenwumen), many sang the praises of the spectacular palaces. But there were also others who complained of the lack of "priceless relics".

Shan said an exhibition hall spanning nearly 3,000 square meters will be created by using the space on the Meridian Gate and its two protruding wings.

Together with the Hall of Military Prowess, which houses a large collection of paintings and calligraphy works, and the Hall of Literary Glory which contains precious ceramics, they will serve as a cluster of mini-museums for visitors before entering the heart of the Forbidden City.

Shan also said the Palace Museum will open 28 ticket booths on the square between the Meridian Gate and the Upright Gate (Duanmen), to significantly cut short the waiting time for visitors.

Some of the booths will begin operation during the May Day holiday.

Paying the price to travel

In spite of China's new Tourism Law, which seeks to curb price hikes at scenic spots across the country, many famous sites are still able to get visitors to pay top dollar to gain entry.

The law, adopted by China's top legislature on April 25, outlined strict controls on the cost of tickets to enter scenic spots.

The National Development and Reform Commission published a list of more than 1,200 scenic spots lowering their entry fees during the May Day holiday from April 29 to May 1.

These scenic spots, where prices have fallen by around 20 percent, include 60 5A-level tourist attractions, the highest level, as well as 350 4A-level, and 800 3A-level sites.

However, the new policy, which is intended to attract more tourists, has received a muted response.

Ji Shubin, an accountant from Nanjing, said that she did not find the list to be very attractive.

"The places I am interested in do not offer a lower price," she said. "Five spots in Beijing are on the list, but I have not heard any of them before."

The five spots on the list are all in the suburbs of Beijing, while well-known and must-see sites such as the Tian'anmen Rostrum and the Summer Palace are not included.

"Instead of going to places with discounts that I have no interest in, I would prefer to go to places I really like, regardless of the price," she added.

Some other sites on the list are only offering a discount after the end of the May Day holiday.

For example, Famen Temple, a well-known Buddhist place of worship in Shaanxi province, lowered its ticket price from 120 yuan ($20) to 95 yuan, from May 2 to 4. And the scenic area in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province, which is famous for its beautiful forests and mountains, will cut ticket prices by 20 percent as required by the National Development and Reform Commission, but only from May 2 to May 7.

Zhan Dongmei, an expert from the China Tourism Academy, said this is an attempt to prevent overcrowding of the sites during public holidays, by encouraging people to visit at other times.

"But our vacation ends on May 1," Ji said. "I cannot ask for leave after the vacation."

Besides Famen Temple, a number of other well-known sites such as Huangshan Mountain, Jiuhua Mountain and Tianzhu Mountain use the same discount plan.

Emei Mountain, a well-known hiking spot in Sichuan province, lowered its ticket price from 185 yuan to 165 yuan, but a few months prior to this, it raised its peak season entry fee from 150 yuan to 185 yuan, and from 90 yuan to 110 yuan for the off-peak season.

Ding Yunyong, director of Zhangjiajie's tourism bureau, said it's not a good idea for scenic spots to lower ticket prices on peak days.

"If these places already receive a lot of visitors, then lowering the ticket price will only attract more, which in turn lowers the quality of service they can provide," he said.

"If a scenic spot lowers its ticket price on days when most people in the nation choose to travel, people will swarm to it."

Ding said the cost per person to travel for three days throughout Zhangjiajie's scenic area of 264 square kilometers was around 240 yuan, which he said was reasonable, since this includes traveling from one location to another.

In expert's eyes, lowering ticket prices at tourism sites, especially scenic and historic spots, is a tendency that the Tourism Law proposes.

"These sites mostly use public resources and should gradually lower their prices," Zhan said.

"However it is not practical for all sites, especially hotspots with mostly private investment, to lower ticket prices," she said.

"Reasons can include curbing visitor numbers and ensuring adequate economic benefits."

An expert who refused to be identified said that it's common that local governments rely on charging more for tickets to scenic areas.

"Where there is beautiful natural scenery there is usually a lagging economy. Tourism is almost the only industry that brings them significant financial benefits," the expert said.

"The central government should work out how to compensate these areas if they turn to developing other industries," he said.

Source: By Yang Yao and Wang Qingyun (China Daily)