In Beijing a city alley or lane is known as Hutong while in Shanghai it was called Nong.However,the Nongs in Shanghai are interlocking in radiation forms but in Beijing, the Hutongs are built crisscrossing east-west across the city and laid in chessboard patterns. In Beijing’s rich historical culture, the Hutong holds up a very special [...]

The Foreign Ministry has dismissed news reports and rumors claiming the country had stopped issuing multiple-entry visas and had tightened visa restrictions.
A senior official of the ministry’s consular department called such reports “unfounded”, adding that Chinese diplomatic missions have been issuing multiple-entry visas to foreigners who meet the requirements.
“We have not cut down the number [...]

Tourists hoping to take a trip around Beijing’s famous hutong can look forward to a more professional service from now on, the local tourism bureau said.
With effect from Monday, all tours of the city’s Shichahai Lake area are now operated by officially franchised operators, it said.
About 300 new pedicabs - sporting dark red roofs and [...]

In the early years the people of Beijing would eat noodles out of huge bowls, commonly referred to as “sea bowls”. This traditional Beijing restaurant is called the “Huge Bowl Restaurant”. Because its structure resembles the bowls they use in the old days. The reddish brown wooden door beneath the giant “Hai Wan Ju” restaurant [...]

Manhattan Steakhouse is Beijing’s first authentic American steakhouse; the walls are covered with pictures of 1930’s Manhattan scenery. There’s a small wine cellar storing over 150 types of winc from all over the world, and the open-style kitchen allows patrons to freely enjoy the best of American food and drink. Free coffee refills will give [...]

BEIJING, May 27 — Liang Jinsheng just celebrated his 60th birthday. But rather than look forward to his retirement, the Beijinger has grown anxious about leaving his work - because it could mark the end of an imperial legend of sorts.
The Liang family has been working for the Imperial Palace (the Palace Museum) for five [...]

Hotel reservations during the Olympic equestrian event in the city have found to be less than that of the same period last year, said Tourism Board chief James Tien Monday.
According to the Hotel Association, hotel booking rate in August is only 50 percent, a drop of 10 percent compared to the same period last year.
Experience [...]

Dominic Fitzsimmons, Guardian Unlimited
The Chinese traditionally celebrate the lunar new year by tucking into a batch of homemade dumplings around the kitchen table, but if you prefer to hit the town on big occasions, you could usher in the start of the Spring Festival (which lasts from new year’s day to the fifth day of [...]

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The State Tourism Administration, functioning under the State Council, is the administrative organ of the nation’s tourism trade. Its functions are to formulate policies and establish systems for developing tourism, draw up development plans, organize foreign publicity and issue tourism information, and supervise and examine the implementation of policies and plans. The State Tourism Administration [...]