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.

Visit to Chaoyang Theatre Spectacle

I recently went to see the hugely anticipated acrobatic performance at the Chaoyang Theatre in Beijing. As acrobatics is not as much about the story as it is about the skill in performance, I was mainly just busy taking photos. Truth is, seems there is not much storyline here as it's a mix of some of the old stuff and new highlights added. I couldn't give them points for putting up the show together in a seaming way.. but nevertheless the tricks were awesome and I wanted to share some of these almost as awesome photos with you all.

I especially enjoyed the cycling girls. It's actually one of the most classic performances at the Chaoyang Theatre but cant really beat the classics! Without further explanation, you got to see it to believe it!

Chinese New Year With May Tours

May Tours had a great Chinese new year and we hope so did you wherever in the world you are. For us the seasons celebration was held in great spirits in the pristine countryside of Shandong. It's a time of being together and sharing together as all the villagers were visiting each others houses to spread their new year greetings.

This truly magical time of the year is something best experienced in a Chinese home. While the Chinese are nowadays very open to foreigners, perhaps you could ask a good Chinese friend of yours to take them with you next time. As the spirit goes, this happy time should be shared with everyone!

Now after much play and fun, it's time to go back to work. In fact May Tours has a a lot in store for its future. New tour packages should be coming any time soon!

Please enjoy these amazing pictures of Chinese door entryways during the new year in old traditional village houses.