Revisit to The Flying Acrobatics Show

Not sure if everyone remembers, but we could not forget. In fact, we have been planning a revisit to the famous acrobatic show in Beijing for a while now, which finally became true. The reason for this particular visit, was that we heard that the show has undergone a transformation of some kind. While being totally clueless about what that could mean, we knew that with Chinese theatre it could mean absolutely anything!

Luckily for us, the Chaoyang Theatre is not far from where we are staying and the tickets are really cheap too. Just the area of the Chaoyang district is not a kind of a place where we would normally go to. It's fully office buildings and everything is pretty tall. Not a really interesting part of the city if you ask me! Then we decided to go forward and book the discount tickets. Which are non-refunable btw, something that doesn't make us think twice about not going. And there we went and saw the familiar theatre building that we had missed all this time.

As for the theatre, it felt like time had stood still and nothing had changed. But as soon as the performance started, we noticed something different. The performance was more loud, more colorful and more flashy. I would say, it had become more western. But then, we noticed something very Chinese. It had become chaotic and non-organised. Obviously they had set out to copy some western productions and could not handle the organisation. This is something very common in China and the reason why quite a large portion of business management is handled by foreigners. Something that the Chinese are not proud of.

But luckily the essence of the acrobats was there, in all it's glory. If you ignored the make shift to a acrobatic fantastic.. you saw extreme talent that just had lost some of it's original style. We wished that the flying acrobatics show would have just stayed the same. But obviously, things just change and there is nothing you can do about it.

We are confident that the Chaoyang Acrobatic Show will continue to improve and incorporate the western style in all it's glory. And for that, they will need western guidance!

Winter Secrets of the Beijing Forbidden City

Let's face it, 99% of visitor in Beijing visit the Forbidden City at least once. And for a good reason that is of course!  It's the most majestic imperial palace that has been ever build in China. Operating from the Ming dynasty until the end of the Qing dynasty, this palace is right in the very center of the capital city of China.

But it's not just about architecture, the place is filled with an ancient spirit and scent that is hard to sense during the high season. The fact is, that most of the time it's just too over crowded. That's why the absolutely best time to visit is right in the middle of winter. There are very very tourists, and you get to have the complex of 980 buildings for you and just a handful of other visitors. It's amazing and you can real go back in time to feel this ancient land.

Not just that, but covered in snow, the Forbidden City is extremely beautiful. As if sleeping, but yet somehow as impressive and strong spirited as a world heritage site is suppose to be. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to experience something different and is not afraid of the Beijing cold.

Enjoy the winter season everyone. It's gonna be a good one!

Autumn Warm Kung Fu Panda Show!

Autumn is on it's way, which is great time for what's in Beijing to look for new stuff to do, indoors. While the autumn is a very beautiful time in Beijing as well as the mountains that surround it and the rest of China. It's good to have options for going indoors, to warm yourself up. We've covered a lot of the shows in the center of the city, performances that have touched us, and we have learn a lot from.

But this time, it was time to venture somewhere new in the city. Something not so well known, but still worth a visit. Well, we started to ask around and soon did we find just the thing we were looking for, right in the middle of Xicheng District. Known for the hutongs, and lively street life and a big lake that is great for going to watch the locals.

At the Shichahai Theatre, there is a daily Kung Fu Panda Show in Beijing that's definitely worth a visit. Of course, these cuddly Pandas are the best thing for keeping you warm. But the show is not as slow paced as you would believe after hearing that a Panda is the star of the show. The theatre performance is mixed with traditional kung fu and classic Chinese storytelling. With a bit of action mixed in, somehow the "Panda Scene" becomes much more likeable. This charming show has been overshadowed by other Kung Fu theaters in the city, and for commercial reasons. While not better than the rest, it is definitely on the same level of entertaining performing art goodness that much of the other venues boast with.

Story is quite simple and easy to follow. A bunch of Pandas try to learn martial arts, and have adventures in Beijing. So if you know you're way already a bit, it's fun to see all the places that they go to and do a bit of a show! :)

We had a great night and much enjoyed the dinner afterwards. Recommended!!

Peking Opera "Jingju" at Liyuan Theatre in Beijing

Peking Opera, known as "Jingju" in Chinese could be translated to something like "capital city theater". It's a Chinese theater form, which is the most widespread not only in China but abroad as well. It was created in 1790, when emperor Qianglong wanted people to perform for his birthday. It was a mix of different theatrical groups, and this mix created the traditional art of Peking Opera.

Also the plays are a combination of many different features, such as music, singing, acrobatics, paintings and symbolistic moves. The richness is variety of plays is one that has attracted tourists the most all these years.

One of the most famous Peking Opera theatres, famous for being founded within the birth place of the performing art is Liyuan Theatre. Here visitors in Beijing can see the show in it's most original form which is why the theater continues with it's overwhelming success to this day.

With daily performances, at 7:30PM in the evening. Here the magical, nightly atmosphere never rests. Liyuan Theater is highly recommended for all visitors who want to engage in the profound traditions of Beijing and China.

Bar Life in Beijing

Originally there were no bars in Beijing, because Chinese don't have such traditions. Chinese go to restaurants for a drink.. a lot of them are open until the last drunks crawl home. While eating in restaurants is an amazing experience and eating while you drink is considered healthy.. sometimes you just miss good old bars where you can just drink good beer.

Sanlitun is one of those places.. and not just that area but other areas as well have seen an increase in expat bars of all types and sizes. However what has caught our attention, are bohemian places.. small, cozy, warm and very attractive.

In fact these kinds of bars have become a part of the Beijing experience. Not just expats but locals, especially the younger folk are getting in to them. Great place to meet the modern Beijinger!

Enjoying The Shanghai Sights with Show Shanghai

A destination, as interesting as Beijing is the brilliant city of Shanghai. May Tours teamed up with Show Shanghai to check some of the interesting sights in town. Our first order of interest was getting our stomachs sorted! Luckily this is no problem in Shanghai, even for those with a thin wallet.

Our favorite dishes in Shanghai included dumplings, ribs, braised eggplants, grilled oysters and last but not least, stinky tofu! All which make a great snack, especially at night before or after partying. If you feel like experimenting, Mapo doufu will satisfy even the strictest chili buds.

We've seen a lot of these in Beijing before. But everything is served in "Shanghai style" which is more delicate and healthy taste. A dish we had never seen before, was the lion head meatballs. The meatballs were not made of lion and they were not as big as lion heads.. but they were dipped in delicious sauce and pleasure was pushed to the max.

There was a lot of roaming involved as well. After a good rest at the hotel, we headed out to the night with plenty of clubs to choose from. Girls here are hot but you need to watch out for them too.

Greetings from Shanghai!

Chinese Creativity Blooms at 798 Art Zone

While China is well known for it's collective society.. in such extremeness a country is bound to develop a strong underground movement as well. One of the best places to see such individual creativity in bloom is the "798 Art Zone" in Beijing.

In contrast to the government dominated city of Beijing, these 50-year old decommissioned military factory buildings were taken into use. The architectural style is unique and bring a very unique flavor to the red city.

The famous entrance to the 798 Zone 

All around the zone you can find amazing statues.. some are very funny such as this one.

Here you can find some of the most amazing graffiti in the city. It's all legal within the zone's borders.