China - Part 5: Email from Lori

Lori and I go way back. We're practically family: Chao, Zhao, 1 letter off, same in Chinese.
She's been working in China, writing for the WSJ for the past 3-4 years.

"hola, been crazy busy and realized just now i never responded to this. so u'll be here 11/7-12 then?

i know of a very decent hotel that's a good price. but if u wanna splurge there are some cool hotels with courtyards and stuff on the fancy side. (by fancy in beijing i mean nowhere close to the prices in ny.)

i say yes, def do the touristy stuff, but get it all done in 2 days so u can do other stuff. think: day tour of all the major spots in the city i.e. forbidden city etc., then half to one day at a cool more remote part of the wall. as cool as the touristy stuff can be, it's only one aspect of the city, and not what makes the city so cool. plus, you'll hate china if all you see is country-looking domestic tourists oohing and aahing at concrete slabs. :)

and get dinner with me a few times so i can take you to get some good minority food that isn't in the US yet. (they do it well in BJ, not in SH. In SH, get southern food i.e. shanghainese, macanese, taiwanese, etc.)

and the peking duck question will inevitably come up--don't go to quanjude no matter what anyone says, even if they lived in beijing ten years ago and all their old people-friends out here say it's the best. it's the oldest chain in the country, so people who either think you're an idiot tourist or who are too unsophisticated to know any better will steer you toward it. but anyone who actually likes food here knows there are at least 3 restos that make duck way better. (sorry, pet peeve of mine)

when u get here, pick up a free copy of That's Beijing. it's like Time Out NY, except for expats (it's in English) and has lots of listings."

// addium 1
You're staying on the west side of town ... not insanely far, but with traffic can be a hassle to meet up. There are some fun old Beijing style restos out there, which are good for a one-time experience, but all the really yummy food is on the east side. but the subways are decent and the cabs are cheap.

// addium 2
btw, for duck I really like Da Dong at Nanxincang, which is close to my office so let me take you there whenever you're free. they need reservations, though, so let me know.

but I also definitely recommend you try out provincial/minority foods which are done much better in Beijing than Shanghai (if they're done in Shanghai at all), and which you won't find anywhere in the U.S. (Guizhou, Xinjiang, Yunnan, etc.) The Sichuan food is also way better here than NY.

for hot pot, there's shabu shabu which is good but boring since you can get it in NY, but the good stuff is the hot/sour hot pot; there are a couple of really good places around the city you should try, but without me because I can't eat spicy stuff.