Greetings,
Just beginning my research on sources for tea/tea accessories in and around
Beijing.

But while I am doing that, do any of you fellow tea folk know of any
significant "do's" or "don't's" or "must see's" that you know of that I may
miss ?

My partner in crime and I will be off to Beijing later in the year, our
first time so really looking forward to it. Only going for 7 nights so
won't be able to travel too far afield.

Any insights greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Mal
Oz

Any insights greatly appreciated.

Sure, when in Beijing, do go to the tea market in Malian dao (that's
actually a street). It's quite huge, and open 24 hours. Every time
I've been to Beijing though, I never had a chance to visit. But
basically, for anything tea-related, you will want to do all of your
shopping there. You could probably spend 2 days at that place just
browsing, and stopping in shops to sample teas. That place is 80 000
square meters, and has nearly 400 shops.

Here's the address in Chinese:
ÂíÁ¬µÀ²èÒ¶Åú·¢Êг¡
Êг¡µØÖ·£º±±¾©ÂíÁ¬µÀÄÏ¿Ú

You should also make a point to visit some teahouses in Beijing. Lao
She Teahouse is quite famous, but it's also very expensive. It's a
very touristy place, I hear. You might do better at other, less-well
known teahouses. Lao She was actually quite famous in the world of
tea. Anyway, that's another point.

Then, do go to Wangfujing (Íõ¸®¾®). That's a trendy shopping area. But
they also have on smaller, side streets many small restaurants with an
old-beijing feel, and you can try typical Beijing fare. At night too,
in Wangfujing, they got street stalls selling all kinds of weird fare
like slugs, beetles, grasshoppers, scorpions, de-boned snake meat, etc
to eat. They fry them in a wok of oil, and serve them right there.
It's pretty good. I have eaten in both places. And it's all really
good fare.

Even if you don't dare eat that kind of thing, it's still a good photo-
shoot (cool tea snacks!!). And, you can take a look at other
foreigners and see who's brave enough to eat that stuff. When I was
there, I ate that stuff up. Here, in Fujian, we eat rat and snakes a
lot anyway, so slugs are no problem. They actually taste like
sunflower seeds, but just a little more jucier and meaty.

And of course, you should also visit The Great Wall, the Imperial
Palace, the Summer Palace, the hutongs, and other places.

Be sure to try all the Beijng fare you can, but if you get tired of
that, there's McDonald's and Starbucks in many places. Even the
Badaling Great Wall has a Starbucks. Beijing fare tends to be a little
on the salty side, and a lot of things are fried. Ass meat is pretty
popular in Beijing too. And it tastes pretty good. I'm kind of fuzzy
though, because I downed with with strong Beijing beer. Ass - as in
the animal. Not something kinky. Ask about ¿Èâ, and people will tell
you where you can get some ass meat. Boiled dumplings ½È×Óare popular in
Beijing too - but they're just not that filling - they're made with
various fillings - pork, lamb, leek (tastes like garlic). You dip them
in vinegar. Sheep is also popular. We had a roasted rack of lamb once
that was excellent. Then, there's the ever-famous Beijing roast duck.
Some places are expensive to eat this, and others are reasonable.

When in Beijing, always remember to be watchful of your belongings,
because people do a grab-and-run on the streets. And don't trust
strangers that accost and offer to help you with this and that. But
with this in mind, the Olympics are coming soon and Beijing is doing
its best to be ready. Beijing is actually a very nice city, very
modern. And the police are very friendly. And most Chinese are very
warm-hearted and welcoming to foreigners.

"niisonge" wrote in message
...
Any insights greatly appreciated.

Sure, when in Beijing, do go to the tea market in Malian dao (that's
actually a street). It's quite huge, and open 24 hours. Every time
I've been to Beijing though, I never had a chance to visit. But
basically, for anything tea-related, you will want to do all of your
shopping there. You could probably spend 2 days at that place just
browsing, and stopping in shops to sample teas. That place is 80 000
square meters, and has nearly 400 shops.

Here's the address in Chinese:
ÂíÁ¬µÀ²èÒ¶Åú·¢Êг¡
Êг¡µØÖ·£º±±¾©ÂíÁ¬µÀÄÏ¿Ú

You should also make a point to visit some teahouses in Beijing. Lao
She Teahouse is quite famous, but it's also very expensive. It's a
very touristy place, I hear. You might do better at other, less-well
known teahouses. Lao She was actually quite famous in the world of
tea. Anyway, that's another point.

Then, do go to Wangfujing (Íõ¸®¾®). That's a trendy shopping area. But
they also have on smaller, side streets many small restaurants with an
old-beijing feel, and you can try typical Beijing fare. At night too,
in Wangfujing, they got street stalls selling all kinds of weird fare
like slugs, beetles, grasshoppers, scorpions, de-boned snake meat, etc
to eat. They fry them in a wok of oil, and serve them right there.
It's pretty good. I have eaten in both places. And it's all really
good fare.

Even if you don't dare eat that kind of thing, it's still a good photo-
shoot (cool tea snacks!!). And, you can take a look at other
foreigners and see who's brave enough to eat that stuff. When I was
there, I ate that stuff up. Here, in Fujian, we eat rat and snakes a
lot anyway, so slugs are no problem. They actually taste like
sunflower seeds, but just a little more jucier and meaty.

And of course, you should also visit The Great Wall, the Imperial
Palace, the Summer Palace, the hutongs, and other places.

Be sure to try all the Beijng fare you can, but if you get tired of
that, there's McDonald's and Starbucks in many places. Even the
Badaling Great Wall has a Starbucks. Beijing fare tends to be a little
on the salty side, and a lot of things are fried. Ass meat is pretty
popular in Beijing too. And it tastes pretty good. I'm kind of fuzzy
though, because I downed with with strong Beijing beer. Ass - as in
the animal. Not something kinky. Ask about ¿Èâ, and people will tell
you where you can get some ass meat. Boiled dumplings ½È×Óare popular in
Beijing too - but they're just not that filling - they're made with
various fillings - pork, lamb, leek (tastes like garlic). You dip them
in vinegar. Sheep is also popular. We had a roasted rack of lamb once
that was excellent. Then, there's the ever-famous Beijing roast duck.
Some places are expensive to eat this, and others are reasonable.

When in Beijing, always remember to be watchful of your belongings,
because people do a grab-and-run on the streets. And don't trust
strangers that accost and offer to help you with this and that. But
with this in mind, the Olympics are coming soon and Beijing is doing
its best to be ready. Beijing is actually a very nice city, very
modern. And the police are very friendly. And most Chinese are very
warm-hearted and welcoming to foreigners.



Thanks for the fantastic reply. Yes we are staying in Wangfujing,
basically because of the large number for hutong's in the area and proximity
to the Forbidden City etc. Also doing the Simatai section of the wall.
We're actually going up after the Olympics in November - so the crowds
should have dissipated a little by then.

I'm not sure if I am game enough to eat all the 'funny' stuff but will
definitely have a look.

An 80,000sqm tea market ! wow I'll be like a kid in a candy shop - I might
have to lose the wife in one of the malls so I can have a good look around
that.

Starbucks and Macca's will be a last resort I think - having said that the
Starbucks at the Star Ferry Terminal in HK didn't actually do a bad
Espresso, so you never know.

Thanks again for the great reply.
Cheers
Mal
Oz