9 Yongtaizhuang N Road
Haidian Qu, Beijing, 100192 China
It’s in a park with a beer garden, which is very pleasant. We are too early due to my train @ 8:05pm, unable to have their famous roasted goat in whole, in a private hut. The main dinning hut is comfortable. The foods are delicious, include this debatable thing – totally to your imagination.
Chuandixia is a Ming dynasty village, 62 miles/100 km west of Beijing, China.
The route is narrow, mountain road. Without traffic, we get there in two hours.
35 per person to enter the village. Parking is free in a few lots along the road. As we were debating to park or continue to drive further into the one street village, a young woman said she’s parking space opposite fm her home for diners. She then got into her small white car and led us in. I wondered out loud why didn’t she ride a bike or motorbike for easy maneuvering. The village would be better off without cars altogether.
This station is huge but escalators are only at selected spots. The signals are rather poor. I’ve to climb stairs to get to the ticket office. The grids on the floor are cumbersome. Traveling during the golden week isn’t wise.
150 Shuncheng St, Yuci Qu,
Jinzhong Shi, Shanxi Sheng, China, 030600
A 4 star hotel that used to be the best in town – in Jinzhong/Yuci. The opposite side is still being developed. Four restaurants on site are fully booked for parties during lunch time, during the long Golden Week. We are turned away, unfortunately. For local tradition, the 12nd birthday is a big deal.
Non smoking room has astray and a box of match. Two condoms in the bathroom. A few promotional books about the hotel
The best feature is a swimming pool and bath in the adjacent building, which is really great. After a long day, a hot bath is the best way to relax. All the hotels should equip with a bath or at least a Jacuzzi.
Taiyuan 太原市 (wiki) is the capital city, also the largest city of Shanxi province 山西省, 167 miles/270 km south of Datong. It appears to me, pretty modern. I visit it twice, both times in the evenings for dinner.
A great feature in parking lot at Taiyuan train station: swipe for parking location 刷卡定位方便取车. The cars at the train station parking lot look decent … and they buy an extra seat belt buckle to silent the car
JinZhong 晋中市 is connecting to Taiyuan on the northwest front. After her military service, Grandaunt Qiao set up her root in Yuci, now renamed/zoned JinZhong (since 1999). They’ve four childen, of two are still living there. A short video.
Eden International is a top tier hotel in JinZhong. My aunt checked me in there, thinking it’s more convenient. But I moved out to be with Grandaunt Qiao the following day.
Housing prices are skyrocketing in China but for some families, they’ve more homes than they actually need. Old City of Yuci 榆次老城 is an easy 15 minutes walk from Eden.
Shanxi West of the Mountains (Jin 晋) is a province in northern China. Taiyuan is the capital city, 310 miles/500 km southwest of Beijing. The four major cities:
The province is situated on a plateau 在高原, the valleys make an interesting landscape. Mountains are Taihang Mountains, Mount Hua and Mount Wutai (Wutai Shan). The Great Wall forms much of the border with Inner Mongolia, the Yellow River forms the western border of Shanxi with Shaanxi.
