Lynch Family Luxury China Adventure Part II
June - July 2008

Lynch Family Group Hug with Xing-rong

GUILIN
This was our third family visit to Guilin. Guilin's unique landscape, with its ubiquitous karst limestone formations in the setting of lush, green rice fields adjacent to the Li River, evokes traditional Chinese landscape paintings. Notwithstanding the large number of tourists visiting this area, it's still worth the visit! 

      
             Guilin Landscape                                  Can you spot Zen?

                            
Guilin 1st Grader "Young Pioneer"       Meeting a friend along the Li River/Guilin

After reading about the recently restructured HOMA (Hotel of Modern Art) Libre, outside Guilin, my very artsy wife, Bev, was anxious to experience this very special place. In short, our stay at HOMA came to be among the special highlights of our China trip! Founded by a Taiwanese business entrepreneur in 1997, HOMA represents a lovely balance of world class sculpture, architecture, and art set against the backdrop of the natural beauty of the lush grounds.

                       
                  HOMA with Daisy                              Local Foot Massage

Despite the somewhat limited English among the staff, the genuine kindness and warmth delivered to our family was heartwarming. Our personal attendant, Daisy, (all guests are assigned a personal attendant) was a kids' dream. Daisy's sincere, dedicated time with Zen and Sofia made her feel like part of our family. HOMA's art workshop for kids is hands-on and fun!  All 46 rooms here are individually designed with hip, funky decorations/artwork, along with flat-screen TVs, modern amenities, and a "wow" design aesthetic. I feel HOMA is THE place to stay if visiting Guilin.

    
             Zen & Sofia at HOMA sculpture garden and kid's art workshop

Our affable and diminutive guide, Doyle, brought us to the obligatory visits to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and the Summer Palace. Built from 1406, the Forbidden City was the China Imperial Palace from the Qing Dynasty. Taking at least 2 hours to walk through the sprawling grounds/compounds, the Forbidden City is a taxing walk for seniors and a "challenging" walk with a 7 and 8 year old! Despite our talks of the history and background of the inner/outer courts (and the 980 surviving buildings!!), Zen and Sofia began "losing it" after the first hour – per Zen, "I love China daddy, but this place is just way too big!"

Most compelling, we made a visit to the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, adjacent to Tiananmen Square. Particularly for westerners, viewing Mao's preserved corpse is at once spellbinding and abominable. The long waiting line to enter the mausoleum moves swiftly, perhaps not more than 15-20 minutes.

Factory 798
Being an avid modern Chinese art lover, Bev led the way to Beijing's funky art district, Factory 798. Named after the military factory that formerly occupied the buildings, Factory 789 is a must for all modern art lovers. In addition to the many art galleries/exhibitions, the district also includes cool, hip cafes and bookstores. Timezone 8 is our favorite – the best Caesar salad in all of Beijing set in a artsy-soho ambience.

  
                                                   Factory 798 Area

Nanluoguxiang St. (hutong) – Dongchen district

Similar to Factory 789, Nanluoguxiang St. is a quiet, artsy contrast from most of busy, noisy Beijing. Nanluoguxiang really resembles a long alley, and is a favorite spot for Beijing's young musicians, hipsters, and gen X's. This is a great street to have lunch and shop. All of us very much enjoyed the many small custom shops, two of the most interesting – Pottery Workshop (this gallery sells modern takes on classic ceramics fired in the imperial porcelain city of Jingdezhen) and NLGX Design. (very cool China-themed T-shirts!) Our only disappointment here was hearing that this area was formerly a teeming residential hutong that was transformed by a local developer.

                                    
                                                          NLGX Design

LAN Club – WOW!!

This Beijing restaurant/nightclub is without doubt the most intoxicatingly fascinating eatery we have experienced anywhere in China. LAN is a 60,000 square foot Philippe Starck-designed palace of pretentiousness, and is great entertainment – for kids and adults alike! Including a restaurant area, oyster bar, cigar lounge, and high-energy nightclub, the entire dining complex is designed with a mix of oil paintings and chandeliers, set against corridors lined with Hindu icons, stuffed birds, and an aesthetic that perhaps only Marie Antoinette would fully comprehend. Zen and Sofia particularly loved the dim-lit individually designed restrooms.  One of the grandiose restrooms boasts a white leather armchair next to an almost fairytale-like four legged closet. The nearby washbasin bears a bright golden swan stretching its wings, whiles its neck serves as a water tap. All of this is highlighted by red lights fitted out with small monitors resembling eyes – they follow you with every step!! You would expect the food prepared in such an ostentatious setting to be mediocre at best. Not the case here – the East-West fusion/Szechuan creations were loved by all. Bev, Zen, Sofia and I give Lan an A for food/atmosphere/entertainment!

The Great Wall (at Mutianyu!)

Notwithstanding the various wall locations, we enthusiastically endorse the Mutianyu section, an approx. 2 hour drive from downtown Beijing. Not nearly as jammed with tourists as the closer Badaling site, Mutianyu has a ski-lift service to the Wall itself where one can hike (an earnest work-out!) to varying sections of the Ming Dynasty guard towers, with few tourists and unobstructed views.

Another big plus of Mutianyu – a toboggan ride from the wall to the base. Bev, Zen, Sofia, and I felt this to be among the really fun activities of our trip! Each toboggan has a manual control throttle that controls your speed sliding down (4500 ft.) from the wall highpoint – the entire trip down takes about 5 minutes – exhilarating!! – (check it out on YouTube!)

                                                
Toboggan ride down the Wall (Mutianyu)      Zen & Sofia resting on the Wall

Also, contrary to a popular myth, the wall is NOT visible from the moon. This myth originated in a 1923 National Geographic article that began "According to astronomers, the only work of man's hands which would be visible to the human eye is the Great Wall of China."

We cannot say enough of our Shanghai-based guide Faye – engaging, educated, and most interesting. Faye really personifies China's articulate and forward-looking youth. Of course, Faye's two biggest fans are Zen & Sofia!

                                               Faye with Zen & Sofia

As shopping and people-watching are wonderful activities here, Faye brought us back to two of our preferred areas, Xintiandi (meaning "New-Heaven-Earth") and Taikang-lu St. Xintiandi is the Ben Wood-designed high-end restaurant/shopping/entertainment complex built on restored preserved two-three story traditional Shikumen buildings – this place is ground zero for superlative people-watching in Shanghai! Another bonus, you will find the home of the Communist Party here!!  Among our favorite restaurants here are T8 and, of course, "ZEN." Taikang-lu, also known as Shanghai's "Creative Art Park," is a group of backstreets filled with clothing boutiques, jewelry shops, and art galleries. Built into old rowhouse apartments with charming street signs, Taikang-lu attracts a hip, affluent crowd.

                          
                                                 Xintiandi Area

  
As we have been frequent visitors to Shanghai, we did not include our past stopover to the fabulous Shanghai Museum and many of the other sites: The Urban Planning Museum, Yuyuan Garden, and the Old City section. We also missed the day trip to Hangzhou this time around, although we always enjoy visiting there (particularly for the Dragon Well tea!).

When visiting Shanghai, Bev's first stop is always the M50 art gallery area in Suzhou Creek. Since exploding on the international art scene a few years past, Chinese contemporary art has been the fastest growing art market in the world. We returned to M50's Art Scene gallery so Bev could purchase two more Chen-Xing Mao paintings – there goes the budget! While Bev perused the galleries, Zen, Sofia and I discovered a very unique, custom shop – Zedong Fashion Co. Ltd (Hipanda.org) – This is a wonderful place for avante-garde, hip panda t-shirts for friends and family!!

Surprise Hyatt on the Bund

As many of our friends/clients know, we always prefer the smaller boutique luxury hotels vs. the larger deluxe properties. Based on this preconceived notion, our expectations of our stay at the Hyatt on the Bund were not so high. Our principal reason for staying here was that the Hyatt is the first 5 star luxury hotel to be located directly on the riverfront Bund – a wonderful location!  Although large in size ( 600 rooms), the level of personal, high-touch service at the Hyatt on the Bund was simply outstanding! – smiles everywhere, and a pervasive sense of kindness and warmth that is difficult to imagine in any place other than a small luxury hotel. We had spectacular Pudong/Huangpu River views from our sleek, modern-designed rooms. Room service is usually a good barometer of a hotel's overall quality and attention to detail. Similar to the Mandarin/Peninsula/Four Seasons, room service delivery was prompt and food was A . Of course, I loved the 24hr Business Center – Bev took special note of the center's comfortable, hip Mario Bellini chairs!

                               
                                Pudong view from the Hyatt on the Bund

JIA!

To get a more urban feel of Shanghai, we spent one night at the relatively new luxury boutique hotel JIA ("home" in Chinese!). Adjacent to the vibrant, high-end street mall, Wujiang, we felt JIA to be the perfect place to stay if one wishes to experience young, hip, Shanghai urban life. JIA is located in a 1920s colonial building, with all 55 rooms done in a contemporary 5 star style that is both pampered and high-tech. Our balcony suite had wonderful views of the city activity below. Another bonus - JIA's Issimo Italian restaurant on the second floor! (You were right Patrick M.!)

                       
                                                     JIA Hotel

Shanghai Private Jewish Tour

We have heard much positive feedback about Dvir Bar-Gal and his private Jewish heritage tours of Shanghai. With Faye taking Sofia and Zen back to the pool at the Hyatt, Bev and I enjoyed a half-day Jewish heritage tour with Dvir, beginning on the Bund and ending in the old Jewish ghetto section near Qingming Park. We were most impressed with Dvir's encyclopedic knowledge of both Shanghai history in general, as well as all of the Jewish influences. Most compelling was the narrative of the Jewish migration to Shanghai in the 19^th and 20^th centuries and the major cultural/political/economic influences. The private tour ends in the old Jewish ghetto section of Shanghai where over 20,000 Jewish refugees lived during the Nazi period.

      
                                     Old Jewish ghetto section in Shanghai

Shanghai's "longtangs"

An amazing part of any visit to Shanghai is a visit to the residential longtangs (alleyways) where one sees everyday life among Shanghainese. Although the number of longtangs continues to decline due to demolition for new, modern developments, there are still plenty to visit – this is most compelling! The longtangs are teeming with life – grandparents gambling with playing cards, noisy animated children everywhere, mothers washing their clothes with drying clothing lines everywhere. Reflecting Shanghai's Western influence, longtangs were conceived in the 19^th century when the city was forced open to the west as a treaty port. You see Western architecture mixed with Chinese traditional courtyard concepts, and, of course, the uniquely Chinese way of integrating communal, social interaction among the residents.

                       
                     Shanghai longtang       Donations to the Sichuan Earthqauke Relief

Our sense of enthusiam and passion for Asia is unfettered and unrestrained!  We look forward to sharing our expertise and love of Asia in preparing a custom travel experience for you, your family and friends.

Best,

Randy Lynch, CEO

Kipling & Clark

www.KiplingandClark.com and www.KiplingandClark.blogspot.com

800.354.3404
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