China - never a dull moment!

[Cruiser Elite]

Sorry so late continuing posta but bringing a case of Covid home with me from China kinda slowed me down since I returned - so where do I start? Firstly NO foreigners anywhere full stop. - You just do not see any anywhere - just totally devoid but considering visas just opened up and prohibitive cost of air fares well totally understandable but I never considered it would be this way before arriving

Hotels:

Shanghai - I stayed 4 nts at Conrad Shanghai (old Le Meridien right on Nanjing Lu / Peoples Square - WOW - how ordinary - 1st ever say at a Conrad Hotel and was expecting much much more - I could not believe how disappointing it was. It all started at check-in at midnight on Sat Mar 25 - was informed 100% full so no room with king bed only twins - rubbish was response - I am Dia and booked this months ago - after 5 mins fuddling they found me a suite.

Up to room and pillows are like marble slabs - 30 mins later we have this sorted. I just could not believe the lack of English speaking and comprehension skills - seriously the quality of Conrad product experienced was nowhere near what Le Meridien offered in same location pre-Covid. EL F & B offerings for happy hour as bad as any hotel I have ever stayed - breakfast in EL just abominable and main restaurant on Lobby level just a zoo bw 7 and 8:30 - just a zoo. In house ATM has been replaced by a new one where you must scale Passport to activate it - not required at any ATM on street. TBH I was just shaking my head by time I left.

Beijing: Stayed at my usual Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel - after 3.5yrs my old rate of 1,166RMB increased to 1,366RMB for Junior Suite with EL access. All my old contacts at hotel have moved on but Chuck the ex head Concierge pointed me to new Front Office Manager who fixed me up with room rate.

It was after I checked into RBCH that again that the lack of English language and comprehension skills hit home - it is across all hotels - no foreigners for 3 years has meant no requirement for English speaking staff so most have moved on. RBCH soft product so much same as pre Covid except F & B in EL off a tad but still way better than Conrad Shanghai - I always have breakfast in main restaurant on Lobby level so nothing changed there.

Italian Restaurant Fratelli on ground floor totally empty each night - just no foreigners anywhere.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

China's tourism industry just totally devastated - again I never thought this through pre-arrival but it is devastated. So many of the small bars / restaurants that I frequented pre-Covid now no longer exist - most of my normal haunts where I would go to drink / eat / meet other expats are mostly closed - you now have to search for a western oriented location. Again walking the streets / taking trains / flights whatever you just do not see westerners - it's a weird feeling to experience.

But some positive enhancements - booking trains through WeChat then you no longer reqd to collect hard copy of ticket prior to travel - just scan your passport at entry to platform and you are good to go:


Didi - so many service offerings through DidI now including taxis - you no longer need book DiDi and also try to hail a taxi to see which you can get first as all now accessible via DiDi App - just brilliant - and you can quickly toggle through payment options Didi / Weixin to pay.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Reason for trip to China was twofold - 1. To visit 2 of our suppliers whom I had not seen for >3yrs and 2. To visit Tianjin Bicycle Fair. I had visited Tianjin Bicycle Fair every year from 2012 to 2019 but then covid hit - whilst this is solely a fair aimed at domestic market it is 'personal electric transportation central' - you can check out some images HERE

Electric Vehicles China - WOW - just WOW - the range and proliferation of electric vehicles in China is now staggering - so many local brands and the quality from outside just staggering - they are light years in front of us. The BEIJING TAXI fleet alone - 20K+ electric taxis I was informed and all branded with a simple BEIJING front and back:


I also rode in this little unit for return from Pearl Market in Beijing:
Fully electric - check it out HERE

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Now for Pushka - as for wine bans into China I took these images at a small bottle shop 200mtrs from my RBCH base:


And this was not the only bottle shop I spotted Australian wine - freely available in multiple outlets and still on wine lists in hotels / restaurants. Do the likes of Treasury pay the tax? NFI - does it arrive via HK or some other back door and avoid the tax? NFI - but there is plenty there - albeit at slightly inflated prices.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

As I haven't been to China for 3.5yrs my wardrobe becoming a tad shabby - and whilst the market at SSTM is a shadow of itself I could still buy 7 x pairs jeans + 10 Tommy Bahama shirts - I am back there May 4 so will have a second dip then

 

[Cruiser Elite]

One thing that I did very interesting was 'Power Bank Rental Units' in every bar / restaurant - what a great concept - sorry about quality of pics but to get image of unit I was contorted around a table of Chinese diners at Chillis on Tongren Lu:


You simply scan your QR code and pat 5RMB (a little over a $) - unit releases and you use it to charge your phone or tablet for up to an hour - 1 to 2 hours is 10RMB - if you choose to steal unit it costs you 95RMB - staff at Chillis told me suppliers love to have them stolen as units cost approx 50RMB ea

 

[Cruiser Elite]

China - the Land of Complication and Contradiction - On SQ836 in J on Sat Mar 25 I was staggered when meal was served - every course incl Satay was delivered on 1 tray at same time - tray was so cluttered there was not even space for salt & pepper shakers. I asked IFM WTF and was informed this is CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China) requirement - no choice for SQ. In fact until Mar 1 they were not even permitted to put ice in pax drinks and a host of other ridiculous requirements.

Then when I flew out of PEK on SQ807 on Apr 1 this reqt was cancelled that very morning - single courses could now be served to pax. And we arer back to the 'No drinks pre departure' scenario ex China - FFS - China Never a Dull Moment!


Note: I did not take this pic - I actually forgot to on the flt - I did however find this pic on internet and it clearly depicts so whoever provided it thanks

 

[mel-world]

Loved the update. I so miss (some parts) of China - especially the little bars, clothes shops and restaurants away from the tourist complexes. Saw that many had gone during my visit last year (during the Covid lock-down) so really disappointment if they have now dissappeared for good. Did you notice an increase in surveillance and/or lack of access to foreign internet sites in international hotels?

 

[tickledpink]

Based in HK, I was in Shenzhen over the long weekend. Second time I've been.

Didn't appreciate how stuffed you are if you do not have WeChat Pay or Alipay - both require mainland bank accounts for ID verification (and you need to be a mainland resident). I have AlipayHK, which is not a perfect substitute - tried to use it in a taxi but it didn't work. To access menus and make orders, you really need either of the apps. Forget cash...

Stayed at a few international hotels and access to foreign sites/apps varied, so it is not a total ban, the network at one of those hotels was very slow.

Most of the taxis were BYD. That makes sense when you consider Shenzhen is BYD's homeground (same with Tencent/WeChat).

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Did you notice an increase in surveillance and/or lack of access to foreign internet sites in international hotels?

Oh I forgot to mention that - what a nightmare - so painfully slow on hotel Wi-Fi- and you have to continually confirm you are not a bott every time you want to load a different app - just a nightmare / took me hours to finally get Express VPN loaded and activated on PC - but I just could not get it to load onto iOS devices - I must get that fixed before next visit

 

[tickledpink]

Oh I forgot to mention that - what a nightmare - so painfully slow on hotel Wi-Fi- and you have to continually confirm you are not a bott every time you want to load a different app - just a nightmare / took me hours to finally get Express VPN loaded and activated on PC - but I just could not get it to load onto iOS devices - I must get that fixed before next visit

A couple of friends were using Express VPN on their (Apple) phones and it was slow or not working at all. Also had to switch servers to get access. I didn't bother with any of that.

I think with roaming you have access past the firewall. But that was my experience with an HK SIM.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

A couple of friends were using Express VPN on their (Apple) phones and it was slow or not working at all. Also had to switch servers to get access. I didn't bother with any of that.

I think with roaming you have access past the firewall. But that was my experience with an HK SIM.

On a phone roaming gets the job done but on iPad or PC it's a diff kettle

 

[moa999]

Didn't appreciate how stuffed you are if you do not have WeChat Pay or Alipay

I thought I'd read that WeChat Money was now more foreigner accessible.
Certainly on my last visit to China in 2019 it was staggering the amount of vending machines , lockers, even train ticket machines were QR code only - no cash, no contactless credit cards.

What do you use @Cruiser Elite ?

 

[Cruiser Elite]

WeChat to buy train tix - DiDi for cars / taxis - CC where I can in bars restaurants and many do take them - but I mostly frequent establishments that are Westerner friendly - I have had too many food poisoning cases over the years at dodgy local restaurants - not going to get bitten again if I can.

No you cannot register foreign CC for Weixin / WeChat Pay - see here fault item when I try to top up from foreign CC:

 

[woodyren]

Thanks for the updates. Mrs Woodyren is heading for Shenyang after we finish a few Singapore cruises in June. We will meet up together again in Singapore late July and spend 24 nights cruising to Tokyo and back before we both head back to China. It will be my first visit in almost 4 years.

Mrs Woodyren has already received a three year multi entry visa and I am hopeful of being granted a two year one when I apply. Family invite letter.

In the meantime I need to sort out the WeChat Pay situation and how to best access email and other websites while there.

Reports are very helpful with our preparation. I used to look forward so much to our regular visits but to be honest I am a little apprehensive this time around.

 

[moa999]

No you cannot register foreign CC for Weixin / WeChat Pay - see here fault item.

So you give a local cash, and they transfer to you?
Or do you have local account?

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Nah you don't need to - most places still take cash its no big deal

 

[Cruiser Elite]

I used to look forward so much to our regular visits but to be honest I am a little apprehensive this time around.

Forget the apprehension not that much has changed except choking of internet - go forth and enjoy. Iam back for another week May 3 to 10 and it cannot come quick enough

 

[moa999]

Nah you don't need to - most places still take cash its no big deal

I'm more interested as to how you got a balance on your WeChat accoubt

 

[Cruiser Elite]

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