Tour Specials

Beijing Briefing

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-17 11:23

Tian'anmen closed Friday night

Chang'an avenue is cordoned-off on Friday from 11:30 pm to 2:00 am because of the National Day parade rehearsals.

Cars without special permit license can not on Chang'an avenue including parking, Beijing Evening news reported yesterday.

Places of interest in the area will not be opened during restriction time including Tian'anmen Square, Zhongshan Park, National Museum of China as well as the Forbidden City.

Shops and restaurants related with commercial use will be also closed.

Taste of memories

"The beancurd jelly melted in my mouth and it seems liked I'd just swallowed a slight gust of fragrant air." This is how a local Beijinger surnamed Hu remembers his favorite food and plans to get a taste of it at a restaurant, Qingyunge, to be opened soon in Dashilan, Xuanwu district. The site where the restaurant is located in the middle of an old shopping area made famous during the Qing Dynasty. Qingyunge will not only include local snacks but also house a small exhibition center for Beijing's local culture such as paper cuttings and clay figures.

Your boat's come in

Grabbing a group of friends and floating around on a boat is a very popular tradition during the middle of autumn and right now it's anchors away.

Popular Beihai and Shichahai parks will provide boats and folk music performance for visitors. According to Beihai Park boating center, the bigger boats cost 8,000 yuan, 5,000 yuan and 3,000 yuan per hour respectively.

To book a boat at Shichahai park call: 66162868/66125717. For boat bookings in Beihai park call 64016935.

Finding magic mushrooms

A woman hiking through the Fragrant Hills last week was stunned after she discovered a rare and valuable traditional Chinese medicine plant that is believed to almost cure everything. The woman noticed a 6-cm-high ganoderma lucidum plant while climbing the park. She picked it and after taking it home, planted it in a pot. Experts from the Fungus Preservation Management Center later confirmed the sample as genuine. According to TCM doctors the mushroom-like plant can fight tumors, nourish the heart and lungs, stomach.