Top Romantic Chinese Cities

Ningbo, Zhejiang Province（浙江宁波）
Ningbo is a seaport city in the northeast of Zhejiang Province. It lies south of Hangzhou Bay, facing the East China Sea to the east. It is one of the famous historical and cultural cities in China, with a history dating back to the Hemudu culture in 4,800 B.C. Ningbo was known as a trade city on the Silk Road at least 2,000 years ago, and is now one of the three major business centers in Zhejiang. The open character of people living in this harbor water city makes them quite the romantics.


Foshan, Guangdong Province（广东佛山）
Located in central Guangdong Province, Foshan sits at the intersection of South and Southeast Asia, where economic development is thriving. The vitality of the city and its local culture endow the people here with a very romantic temperament.

Dongguan, Guangdong Province（广东东莞）
As an important industrial city located in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan is a manufacturing hub for electronics and communications equipment, possessing factories of many international companies such as Samsung Electronics and Nokia. Fast economic development brings the city more fresh culture and thoughts, which in turn nurture the romantic concept of young people.

Changsha, Hunan Province（湖南长沙）
Changsha, capital of Hunan Province, is located on the lower reaches of the Xiang River, a branch of the Yangtze River. It is one of the famous historical and cultural cities in China, boasting a history of more than 3,000 years. The city is now a major inland port, as well as a commercial and industrial center. Its slower pace of life and lesser overall pressure make it a favorite with people from the surrounding areas. It is reputedly a famous city with beautiful scenery and abundant entertainment.

Wuxi, Jiangsu Province（江苏无锡）
Wuxi is the second largest city in Jiangsu Province. Split in half by Taihu Lake, China's second largest fresh water lake, Wuxi is known as the "pearl on Taihu Lake." Wuxi was one of the four major rice markets in earlier times and now has become a full-fledged modern city. The people in Wuxi are particularly known for their kindness.

Kunming, Yunnan Province（云南昆明）
As the capital of Yunnan, Kunming is known as the City of Perpetual Spring for its pleasant all-year-round spring climate. The city has a large ethnic minority population, lending it a varied and rather exotic minority cultural vibe. With a history spanning more than 2,400 years, it features numerous must-see attractions. The wide variety of its historical and natural beauty gives the location and its inhabitants a truly innate romantic character.

Chongqing（重庆）
As a major city in southwestern China, Chongqing is known for its long history, gorgeous scenery and spicy yet appetizing local cuisine. Even if you were only to stay in the city itself, this will make for a memorable experience. Have some tea, enjoy the local food, have a chat with the locals, walk through the antique streets or just hang out in Chongqing's unique towns. All these seem pretty romantic to us.

Chengdu, Sichuan Province（四川成都）
Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, is a historical city as well as a business center with a history dating all the way back to 611 B.C. It boasts a great number of natural and cultural heritage sites. The city features one of the most important centers of Taoism, the oldest existing irrigation project in the world and a large habitat for giant pandas. It is a livable city due to its mild climate and rich resources. Famed for its hot and spicy cuisine, the city was named City of Gastronomy by unesco in 2010. It is also well-known for its appetizing delicacies and slow pace of life.

Shenyang, Liaoning Province（辽宁沈阳）
Shenyang is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province as well as the largest city in northeast China in terms of population. As one of the country's most important industrial centers, Shenyang serves as a transportation and commercial hub, and forms an attractive area for investment. It is a famous historical and cultural city, the birthplace of the early culture in Liaohe River basin.

Dalian, Liaoning Province（辽宁大连）
Situated in the southernmost part of Liaoning Province, right on the peninsula separating the Bohai and Yellow seas, Dalian is one of China's most vibrant and modern cities. With its clean air, beautiful beaches and pleasant summertime temperatures, Dalian has become an ideal destination for those who want to escape the summer heat and the hustle and bustle in metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai.

Source: china.org

Royal Caribbean to Move Top Ship to China

(WSJ) Beijing— Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is bringing its newest ship to China in an effort to draw more revenue from the world's biggest travel market.

The cruise company plans to move the Quantum of the Seas to Shanghai in 2015 from its current port in New York, said Adam Goldstein, Royal Caribbean's president and chief operating officer. It will add to Royal Caribbean's existing two ships in China.

The ship, which has 16 decks and features attractions like simulated sky diving, can carry 4,180 guests and will sail from Shanghai to destinations in Japan and South Korea, Mr. Goldstein said in an interview.

The move was prompted in part by Chinese consumers who want access to the biggest and newest offerings, he said. Quantum of the Seas has an indoor sporting complex where tourists can drive bumper cars, play table tennis and learn the trapeze.

"We're looking to get first-time cruisers to choose our brand," Mr. Goldstein said.

China's travel market is booming. Brokerage CLSA estimates that as China's per capita income rises, outbound mainland tourists will reach 200 million by 2020, doubling from 2013. Chinese tourists became the world's biggest travel spenders in 2012, when outlays on outbound travel swelled to $102 billion, up 40% from 2011, according to the most recent annual figures from the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

Efforts to attract China's tourists are heating up, as everyone from the Hawaii Tourism Authority to Air New Zealand Ltd. executives are launching campaigns to win over the tourism dollars. Vancouver's tourism office is tapping Chinese celebrities to tout trips to the Canadian city.

Miami-based Royal Caribbean said sales in China have doubled over the past five years, though it won't disclose specific figures. But it says the cruising market in the country is still nascent. U.S. travelers account for 52% of world-wide passengers on cruises, followed by U.K. and Ireland, with 8%, according to industry association Cruise Lines International Association. China doesn't yet appear in the top 10, according to the group.

The industry has been under scrutiny in recent years. In January hundreds of passengers on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas ship from New Jersey to the Caribbean were stricken with a gastrointestinal illness. The cruise operator cut short the 10-day trip. Rivals have also faced graver problems over the past couple of years, such as a tragic sinking and engine fires.

Mr. Goldstein said incidents such as these have received widespread media attention but predominantly because they are so rare.

Royal Caribbean, which operates its namesake line and Celebrity cruises, reported in January a fourth-quarter profit of $7 million, compared with a $393 million loss in the same period a year earlier. Revenue in the fourth quarter improved to $1.85 billion, up 2.7% from the same period a year earlier.

Source: Wall Street Journal by Laurie Burkitt

China Southern Airlines Sees First-Quarter Loss as Yuan Weakens

China Southern Airlines Co. (1055), the nation’s third-largest carrier, estimated a loss in the first quarter, compared with a profit in the same period last year, as a weaker yuan caused foreign-exchange losses.

The airline expects to report a loss of 300 million yuan to 350 million yuan ($48 million-$56 million) for the three months ended March 31, compared with a 57 million yuan profit during the same period in 2013, according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday.

A slowing Chinese economy threatens to curb earnings for airlines, while a weaker yuan against the dollar increases the cost of servicing their foreign-currency debt. The nation’s gross domestic product probably grew 1.5 percent in the first quarter from the previous three months, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey ahead of data released today, down from 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter.

The yuan fell 2.6 percent against the dollar in the first quarter, the worst-performing currency in Asia, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

China Southern, based in Guangdong province, reported a 2013 net profit of 1.99 billion yuan last month, trailing the average estimate of 2.38 billion yuan. Air China Ltd., the largest carrier by market capitalization, and China Eastern Airlines Corp., the second biggest, both reported 2013 profits that missed analysts’ forecasts in March. The three airlines are scheduled to post first-quarter results later this month.

“The financial expenses of the company substantially increased as compared with the corresponding period of 2013 due to the exchange losses,” China Southern said in yesterday’s statement.

Most of the company’s finance leases, borrowings and operating leases are denominated in foreign currencies such as dollars and yen, the Chinese carrier said in March.

China Southern fell 1.6 percent to close at HK$2.47 in Hong Kong before yesterday’s announcement. The shares have slid 18 percent this year, compared with a 2.7 percent loss for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index. The Shanghai-listed stock has dropped 7.3 percent in 2014.

Source: Bloomberg News by Jasmine Wang and Rachel Evans | Photo: Reuters

Teething troubles for Chinese tourists in Thailand

Chiang Mai, Thailand (AP) — The bucolic, once laid-back campus of one of Thailand's top universities is under a security clampdown. Not against a terrorist threat, but against Chinese tourists.

Thousands have clambered aboard student buses at Chiang Mai University, made a mess in cafeterias and sneaked into classes to attend lectures. Someone even pitched a tent by a picturesque lake. The reason: "Lost in Thailand," a 2012 slapstick comedy partly shot on campus that is China's highest-grossing homegrown movie ever.

Now visitors are restricted to entering through a single gate manned by Mandarin-speaking volunteers who direct Chinese tourists to a line of vehicles for guided tours. Individual visitors are banned, and a sign in prominent Chinese characters requesting that passports be produced is posted by the gate.

With their economy surging, mainland Chinese have become the world's most common world traveler, with more than 100 million expected to go abroad this year. In 2012, they overtook the Americans and Germans as the top international spenders, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

But in Chiang Mai and elsewhere, Chinese tourists have acquired the same sort of reputation for loud, uncouth, culturally unaware behavior that inspired the term "Ugly Americans" decades ago.

Many in the tourism industry are delighted by the influx, but 80 percent of 2,200 Chiang Mai residents polled by the university in February said they were highly displeased with Chinese behavior. The survey and numerous comments on Thai social media blamed Chinese for spitting, littering, cutting into lines, flouting traffic laws and allowing their children to relieve themselves in public pools. Some restaurant owners complained of Chinese filling up doggy bags at buffets.

The low point in local-tourist relations here in Thailand's second-largest city was likely a photograph widely seen on the Internet of a person, purportedly Chinese, defecating in the city's ancient moat.

"Unfortunately, right now, the feeling is very anti-Chinese. In order to bring out such strong feelings in Chiang Mai people, it must be really bad. Generally, Chiang Mai people are quite tolerant of foreigners," says Annette Kunigagon, Irish owner of the long-established Eagle Guesthouse.

But she and others point out that much of the inappropriate behavior applies to tour groups rather than individual travelers who are generally younger, better educated and more attuned to local customs.

Some of the censure smacks of hypocrisy. The Thais themselves are champion litterers and have notched one of the highest traffic fatality rates in the world.

Residents of Chiang Mai, a 700-year-old city rich in cultural traditions, may be particularly sensitive to some Chinese ways, priding themselves on refined, gentle manners and soft speech. Perhaps their most common complaint is how loud the visitors tend to talk. There is also anxiety, reflected in the university poll, that in tandem with the tourists an increasing number of Chinese are buying property, setting up businesses and taking jobs from locals.

Thais are far from the only people unhappy. Over the past few years, some hotels and restaurant buffets — where guests have filled doggy bags after eating — have made it clear that Chinese are not welcome. Hong Kong Airlines has trained crew members in kung fu to subdue drunken passengers and a sign in Chinese at Paris' Louvre requests that visitors not defecate or urinate on the museum grounds. Widely publicized was graffiti etched into Egypt's ancient Luxor temple reading "Ding Jinhao was here."

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang last year said negative conduct had "damaged the image of the Chinese people." The government issued a tourism law mainly to regulate the domestic market but which urges travelers abroad to "abide by the norms of civilized tourist behavior." It also produced a 64-page "Guidebook for Civilized Tourism" with a long list of "do nots," including nose-picking in public, stealing life jackets from airplanes and slurping down noodles.

One of the most virulent critics has been Wang Yunmei, who recently published "Pigs on the Loose: Chinese Tour Groups" after six years of travel abroad. While the book drew mostly "nasty" comments from fellow countrymen, Wang says some told her that the book should have come out years ago.

Some Chinese media commentators say improper behavior is often an extension of domestic habits. Wang says many Chinese tourists are rural people who recently acquired money through land sales but have little education and speak only their own language. If public toilets don't exist in their villages, she says, they may not know to look for them when the need arises. She also says education has also not kept pace with the rapid rise of the middle class and its growing wealth.

"It's going to take some years before they behave better. There has been a campaign in China for 

some time, but these things are still going on," she says.

Those who are making money off the influx are looking on the bright side.

"We have talked to many businesses and they are very happy," says Wisoot Buachoom, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand in Chiang Mai. The gap between the city's high and low tourist seasons has been narrowed because of the Chinese influx, he says.

Wisoot says several Chiang Mai agencies are working to regulate some of the Chinese behavior, like insisting on international driving licenses for car rentals. They have also enlisted movie stars to deliver messages about proper conduct while lauding Thailand's attractions on Chinese television.

"In the past, we had some of the same problems with Westerners coming to Chiang Mai, but now we see very little of this," he says.

Even on the campus overwhelmed with Chinese tourists, Chiang Mai University Vice President Rome Chiranukrom calls it "an opportunity, not a threat, a raid." He says the experience has given his students a "reverse culture shock" that will teach them to behave appropriately in other societies.

"We live in a globalized world and need our students to see the differences with others — and these came right here for us to see," he says.

Rome notes that 60 percent of Chinese tourists to Thailand are first-time travelers abroad, coming wide-eyed and generally speaking no foreign language to a place where all signs are in Thai or English.

"We need to learn to communicate and provide information, and then I believe that many will listen, understand our culture and obey our laws and regulations," he says.

Rome himself has just started Mandarin lessons.

Source: Associated Press By Denis D. Gray

Camping in China

Increasing numbers of Chinese are traveling wherever the road leads. With growing demand for recreational vehicles in China and consumers shifting travel preferences, experts expect a surge in RV-related business across the country.

"More people are choosing to explore the countryside and hit the roads with recreational vehicles - a home on wheels," said Li Xiang, a professor of tourism at Beijing Union University. "The idea of packing bags and heading out for wherever the road leads is the latest trend among many outdoor enthusiasts."

Beijing has seen campsites for RV enthusiasts popping up on its outskirts in recent years, including in suburbs like Fangshan, Huairou, Changping, Yanqing and Tongzhou, Li said.

According to the Beijing Tourism Development Committee, the suburbs are competing to become Beijing's leading RV-friendly places.

Xu Jielin, a resident in Beijing, said he has always wanted to have a family vacation in a recreational vehicle, but the cost and maintenance of a mobile home has held him back.

"Compared with purchasing a mobile home or trailer, it's easier to rent an RV at a suburban campsite in Beijing," Xu said.

Xu has registered for the 80th International Federation of Camping club's massive caravanning rally, which is to be held in Beijing starting May 30. The club has been around since 1932, but this will be its first rally in China.

"I'd love to gain some experience on some short trips before hitting the road for longer journeys," he said.

Li said the upcoming rally will give a big boost to the country's RV industry.

"It's the first time the rally has come to China, and it will bring this kind of travel closer to the public," she said. "Many Western RV manufacturers are already targeting the Chinese market."

According to Li, a shortage of RV campsites in China once held back development of this brand of recreation.

"Compared to Europe, which has tens of thousands of RV campsites, China is still in its infancy," she said. "Cities nationwide have been coming up with more campsites in recent years, but few of them are close to each other, which has made it difficult for RV enthusiasts to refill water, recharge electricity and hygienically deal with the waste and sanitation."

The lack of RV campsites has made it difficult for the mobile homes to go wherever the road takes them, which explains why a growing number of RVs can be found at the campsites, but very few are actually seen on the road, Li said.

Li suggested that the government come up with a series of campsites in city clusters - for example to set up several campsites in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, so that residents of all three areas can hit the road in their mobile home during vacation, without worrying about being stranded without electrical power or water, or having nowhere to dispose of waste.

Gas stations along the highways could add facilities to serve the need, she said.

As the public gets familiar with this mode of travel, more people will be drawn to it, she said.

"Once you try traveling in an RV once, you get hooked. It's nothing like the experience you get in a sedan."

According to Weng Baiji, head of the Taiwan Recreational Vehicle Association, the potential for the Chinese RV camping market is immense.

"The future of China's recreational vehicle industry is bright, and no one wants to miss out on a slice of the cake," he said.

Weng started an RV camping business year ago in Taiwan and it's time to shift attention to the mainland.

Despite the growing number of campsites across the country in the past few years, many fall short when it comes to services and activities, he said.

"For example, many campsites are poorly equipped with showers or medical services," Weng said.

"Our RV campsites in Taiwan always provided activities such as international student exchanges, pet walks and exhibitions, and all the various activities that enhance the camping experience. These are barely seen on the mainland."

In Japan, RV campsites are usually combined with nearby entertainment facilities such as mineral springs, fishing sites, museums and fairs, he said.

Weng suggested that Beijing should come up with several RV campsites with different themes on the outskirts of the city.

"The campsites don't have to be large in size, but each should feature in a different theme so that residents can drive to whichever they like best over the weekend," he said.

According to Li, the tourism professor, most RV enthusiasts, or potential ones, are in their 40s or 50s and are adventurous enough to participate while having enough capital to support their pastime.

"Many of these people look at the RV as a way of facilitating communication between family members," she said.

Source: By Zheng Xin (China Daily)

The Ancient Town of Shaxi in Dali, Yunnan Province

Shaxi Town, one of the world's 100 most endangered sites listed by the World Monuments Fund is a place where you can breathe in fresh air around-the-clock. Shaxi is a village with a long history that can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period (770 BC-221BC). Stone Treasure Mountain and the Friday Market are the two most popular tourist attractions in Shaxi.


Source: china.org

Hainan to build world's largest duty-free shop

(China Times) Southern China's island province of Hainan, a popular tourist destination, is to build the world's largest duty-free shop, according to provincial authorities.

Hainan plans to relocate an existing duty-free shop downtown in the resort city of Sanya, to a 60,000-square-meter complex in Haitang Bay, said the vice governor Tan Li at a press conference during the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan. Sanya's current duty-free shop is only about 10,000 square meters.

The Sanya Haitang Bay International Shopping Mall will attract international brands and fashion labels and combine duty-free shopping with hotels, restaurants and entertainment.

Hainan also plans to expand and transform another duty-free shop in the provincial capital of Haikou from 3,650 sq m to 4,880 sq m.

The State Council, China's cabinet, gave Hainan permission to run a duty-free program on a trial basis in April 2011 to promote the province as an international tourist destination.

Offshore duty-free shopping in Hainan's two DFS stores in 2013, hit 3.3 billion yuan (US$530 million), up 40% year-on-year.

Source: Want China Times