China’s President Xi Jinping Lines Up to Buy Steamed Buns

China’s president, Xi Jinping, was out and about in Beijing Qing-Feng Steamed Dumpling Shop Yuetan Store this week and showed citizens that he too is capable of servitude. Not only did he line up to buy his steamed bun from a small vendor, he also worked as a waiter, serving the buns to unsuspecting customers.

The owner of the bun shop didn’t know that December 28 would be his lucky day and was very surprised when his country’s leader showed up to perform the service. Once Xi had finished his shift, he joined a few of the patrons in sharing the buns he had worked so hard to sell.

The president’s appearance has lit a popularity fire for the little shop which has since seen more than 400 customers a day lining up to try a sample of the ‘bun fit for a president’. The meal, no called ‘The Chairman’s Meal’ consists of two large pork buns and a portion of onions, accompanied by a side of mustard. The meal will cost you 21 RMB. One customer even drove all the way from Wuhan to try the now-famous meal.

Two Americans Cyclists Reach the End of the Road in Shanghai

http://www.abcsources.com

Morgan and Chris set off from Paris in March 2012, and at 18:00 on December 12 reached Shanghai’s Chenyi square China. En route they have travelled throughout China, from Xinjiang to Yunnan, to Guangxi and Guangdong among others.

They met when they were 14 and decided to do this trip as a way to improve their writing and see the world. In addition to the many blog posts on their website postulateone, they have written for the Atlantic, Forbes and National Public Radio.

Having made us all feel lazy, they can now have a long sleep.

Finding the Perfect Gift to Bring Back to China: Its Harder Than You Think

Trying to shoulder your way into the fray of Chinese gift-giving culture is hard for many expats, and when it comes to finding the perfect gift to bring back to China from home, it gets even harder. In China, your relative social standing matters—if you’re living large and rely on your friends or business partners to keep you in money and lucrative contracts, then your gifts should strengthen those ties. If you’re an English teacher with the world’s cutest group of students, maybe you want to reward the kids for good behavior with something exotic from abroad.

Unless you come from a tourist Mecca where gift shops are as plentiful as tour buses, it might be hard to figure out what kind of souvenirs represent the place you’re from. On top of that, even if you are from Las Vegas, Rome, Sydney or somewhere else where touristy keepsakes are found by the bucketful, you have to make sure that the neat-O item that you just picked up in the gift shop is not actually manufactured in China. Bringing back made-in-China items won’t impress anyone.

Source: http://www.abcsources.com/

The best gifts from home can be divided into these categories:

1) Luxury 
These will probably be the most appreciated gifts. Giving gifts in China is a lot about giving and receiving face. Nothing does that better than an expensive gift. The more expensive and/or luxurious that item is said to be, the more face it represents.
Luckily, some things that are considered luxury items in China are actually cheaper abroad. One example is jeans. Original Levis jeans are quite expensive in China but can be relatively cheap in the USA. They’re practical too— I brought a Chinese friend a pair of 501s back home five years ago and she still wears them. Famous/world brands of chocolates (think Godiva), handbags and liquors or cigarettes will also be snatched up with Golem-like avidity.

An important note: when offering luxury goods, be sure to include all original packaging—this will make sure to show them that you didn’t just pick up a knock-off at a street-side market right here in China.

The problem with bringing luxury goods back as gifts is that it isn’t a very personal gesture. And, unless you really are the “rich foreigner” stereotype, it can take quite the chunk out of your travel budget.

2) Made in (insert country here) 
Shoppers, beware of that insidious “Made in China” sticker. To really get people ooh-ing and ahh-ing, make sure that there’s a prominent label (or hopefully, flags splashed on the packaging) that says that whatever you’ve gotten them is made somewhere other than the Middle Kingdom.

Wine can be a good gift, as are candies or treats iconic to your home country.  When buying food, however, keep Chinese taste buds in mind (our sweets may be too sweet or too rich for people who don’t often partake of Western fare). Think Reindeer sausages from Finland, real Champagne from France, Canadian smoked salmon as edible regional specialties are often a safe bet for gifts.

However, be sure to keep in mind the ‘who’ as well as the ‘what’ of what you’re offering. Canadians bringing back bottles of maple syrup have often met blank stares from their Chinese counterparts. The reason? Chinese don’t have a clue (or a North American pancake) what they’re supposed to eat it with.

3) Practical 
For a more personal touch, think about finding things your friends or colleagues could actually use. Are they studying English and need a good textbook? Do they love to drink coffee but can’t find a good French press here?

Odds are, if you comb the web long enough you’ll be able to purchase just about anything you want in China and get it delivered. But if you know there’s something that a friend could really use, it is more heartfelt to go to the trouble of getting it for them abroad and bringing it back.

In this category, if you’re looking for gifts for your female friends or colleagues, you might consider buying some skin creams, hand lotions or other cosmetics. Anything that has an “organic” or “100 percent natural” guarantee will probably be appreciated.

4) Homemade or handmade 
A woman I met through the Couchsurfing.org travel group told me she always brought hand-knitted and crocheted dish towels to give when she was travelling through China. She said they were useful, colourful and her Chinese hosts always appreciated them.

A personal, framed greeting card, handmade jewellery from the artisan’s fair in your hometown, carved wooden toys for kids—any of these will make a special gift for your Chinese host, friend or acquaintance.

Know, however, that some people will think that if you made a gift yourself, you’re just being too cheap to spend money to give them something. Consider the recipients before taking this route.

Finding the right balance

To summarise, when you’re making a list of perfect gifts to bring back to China to give to your guanxi network, think either a) expensive, or b) unique. Even when bringing stuff from these categories, it’s still hard to find the right balance between something great and something that your intended recipient will actually like. Either way, the gift should be something that they can “brag about” to their friends or, if they really don’t want to use the item (or maybe if it’s “too nice to keep”) be able to re-gift to another friend to help them garner some more face of their own.

Drown the Night Away: 5 Popular Expat Bars in Wuxi

Wuxi is not exactly known as a nightlife capital which makes finding a good bar all the more challenging. But with alcohol revenues in China growing at a yearly average of 27.2 % and bar culture creeping into more Chinese cities than you can keep track, you can be sure to find a suitable place to guzzle your worries away. Here are five of the most popular expat bars in Wuxi.

Red Lion, Wuxi. http://www.abcsources.com

1) Red Lion
A relatively new bar in the Wuxi nightlife scene, the owner of this bar is an Australian expat (who used to own Blue Bar) and the chef at the helm in the kitchen was a former chef at the Indonesia Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo. Red Lion – with its sold selection of food, cocktails and beers – has quickly turned into one of the most popular expat hangouts in Wuxi. The bar hosts regular events from live bands to comedy acts to open mic nights (on Tuesdays).

Add: opp. Nikko Hotel, 12-2 Nanxiatang Nanchang Jie, Nanchang District, Wuxi
地址：无锡市南长区南长街南下塘12-2号(日航饭店对面)
Tel: 150 5213 9791
Opening hours: 17:00-late
Getting there: 乘坐27路或106路公交车在金塘桥站下车可达

2) Blue Marlin
Founded in 1999 in Suzhou, Blue Marlin has branched out with a whopping ten bars in the Zhejiang/Jiangxi area. Part of the bar’s success has been in providing a “home away from home” atmosphere complete with authentic Western dishes and a solid selection of imported beers. The bar’s specialty is their hand shaken cocktails and long frozen drinks; to enjoy these without breaking the bank head there on a Tuesday when it’s buy-one-get-one free on all cocktails. With monthly themed parties, live bands, drink deals and other events, Blue Marlin looks set to stay.

Add: 19 Yangchungang, Yongle Donglu, Nanchang District, Wuxi
地址：无锡市南长区永乐东路9号阳春巷19号（近日航酒店）
Tel: 0510 8503 8857
Opening hours: 10:00-02:00
Website: www.bluemarlin.cn
Getting there: take bus No. 15, 19, 27, 32, 41, 55, 62, 92, 113, 502, 505, 765 or 767 to Miaoguang Qiao (妙光桥) stop

3) Blue Bar 
One of Wuxi’s longest running gastropubs, Blue Bar is a no-frills place that provides everything a punter needs: good drinks, a foosball table, dart board, a laid back atmosphere and a steady stream of expat customers. They serve standard Western food such as burgers and chili cheese fries and have happy hour food and drink deals throughout the week.

Add: 53 Zongning Lu, Chongan District, Wuxi
地址：无锡市崇安区崇宁路53号(公安局对面)
Tel: 0510 8275 9866
Opening hours: 17:00-02:00
Getting there: take bus No.3 to Jianchayuan (检察院) stop

4) Paulaner Bräuhaus
Since opening its first location in Beijing over 20 years ago, Paulaner Bräuhaus has taken China by storm. In Wuxi, the German beer emporium can be found on the first floor of the Kempinski Hotel and just like its international branches, has expert brewers who ensure customers are always served top quality brews. Paulaner Bräuhaus is not cheap but it is one of, if not the best spot in town to enjoy authentic Bavarian food and drinks. The Bavarian atmosphere is further channelled through the nightly foreign bands who provide musical entertainment every night of the week.

Add: 1F, Kempinski Hotel, 18 Yonghe Lu, Nanchang District, Wuxi
地址：无锡市南长区永和路18号凯宾斯基1楼(近太湖大道), 普拉娜德国啤酒屋
Tel: 0510 8108 8420
Opening hours:11:00-14:00; 16:30-24:00
Getting there: take bus No. 29 or 57 to Yonghe Lu (永和路) stop

5) Jason’s Bar
Jason’s Bar is great for a more quiet night out, with jazz, blues, Latin and American country music being the soundtrack of choice here. Owned by an American expat, Jason’s Bar has a free foosball table, dart board and large TV screen for airing live sports games.

Add: 93-95 Xintiandi Holiday Plaza, 8 Changjiang Lu, New District, Wuxi
地址：无锡市新区长江北路8号新天地假日广场93-95号(近汉江北路)
Tel:  0510 8522 1198
Opening hours: 18:00-02:00 (Sat-Sun, 15:00-02:00)
Getting there:
乘坐36, 70, 76, 765, 新世界国际专线公交车在长欣公寓站下车可达

Overseas Returnees Open Baozi Shop in Chengdu

In this Chinese translated report, the spotlight is shone on five such overseas returnees; who not long ago opened a baozi (steamed bun) shop in Chengdu despite none of them knowing how to make baozi. This decision may sound surprising but the following article explains that it is in actuality a very normal thing to do for these overseas returnees.

Source: http://www.abcsources.com/

According to CCTV, this year marks the highest number of overseas returnees coming back to China. Asked why they chose to come back to work in China, the majority claim that it is because of family. Returning doesn’t stop them dreaming though.

The dream for these five returning students has manifested itself in the form of a baozi shop in the city of Chengdu. This particular baozi shop is run by two overseas students, two former students that studied at US universities, and a graduate from the Southwest University of Communications.

The baozi shop hasn’t been open long

At 04:00, I arrived at Ximianqiao First East Street, a road that is lined by a dozen or so shops. On this street sits the “Vigor Fresh Juice Handmade Bun Shop”, opened by Lu Huaishu and her friends. The store is white with orange highlighting and looks fresh, inviting and eye-catching.

At 05:30 when the skies begin to gradually brighten, business at the baozi store starts to pick up; the store bustles as many customers come to buy buns. Today, Xie Shiyu is managing the store. She wears a work apron, stands at the cashier, and prepares to begin work. “Two meat buns and two mantou; all together, that will be 5 and a half RMB…”

Five young people cooperate on this one venture

One day this past July, Lu Huaishu met Wei Tao after the two were introduced by Cai Zhengyu, “Everyone chatted very happily, and we talked about all sorts of topics; in the end, we spoke about breakfast.” After returning from abroad and seeing the noodle shops throughout the large, and small, streets of the Chengdu, Lu noticed that the pace of the city was very quick, and that eating noodles took up too much time. She kept worrying about this state of food. “I can’t remember who first brought up the idea of opening a baozi store, but everyone agreed upon it. We talked about it until 01:00 the next morning.”

They were all very excited but waited a couple of days before finalizing their plans to open a baozi shop together. “After two days’ worth of consideration, we were all still committed to the idea,” said Lu. The five of them then began a city-wide investigation, “We looked into family-run stores in Chengdu which seem to be operated mostly by people from Anhui and Hubei Province.” Invigorated, they spent every morning and evening closely observing these baozi stores during peak times and making detailed reports: “Every half an hour we would take records of the rate of customers these stores would have and compile this information into a report.”

After about two months of investigation, Lu and her business partners established a detailed business plan as well as picking out a store front from which to set up their business. “At the time, I wanted to apply for an enterprise fund from the YBC China International Young People Enterprise Plan. We had written out a business plan that covered every last aspect of the business: advantages, market, competitors, prices, and future development.”

They also decided that each of them would invest tens of thousands of dollars towards opening the baozi shop.

Abandon the high international salaries, return home to start a business

Lu Huaishu was born and bred in Chengdu, China. During university she took the US TOEFL examination, and was subsequently admitted into the News Media Academy of Missouri where she majored in advertising. In 2010 after she graduated, Lu was quickly offered a position in an Ohio advertising firm. But one year later she returned to China.

When she first raised the idea of coming back to China, Lu’s mother was extremely against the idea. “I wanted to come back to the country to start a business, but her way of thinking is extremely conservative. She wanted me to work for two years in a foreign company and get experience before coming back,” said Lu. Her salary from her US job had been several thousand American dollars per month. “I only spent a thousand dollars on myself each month.”

Speaking about her life in the US, Lu says that she doesn’t have any memories of exceptional experiences from that time. “Each day at the company I would have lunch with marketing representatives. On Fridays, the boss would come around and pass out beer to the employees and remind everyone to relax.” However, this wasn’t the life that Lu had wanted for herself. Upon her return, Lu started a technology company involved in making videos for phone apps and the internet.

Lu’s life has not been very relaxed since the group started the baozi store, “Before this, I had no idea what this business was about. There were many things that I had to learn.” During the hiring process of the dough chef, they were looked down on by the very people they were hoping to hire. “We interviewed many people during the hiring process during which some of the more experienced cooks thought that we were using ingredients of too high a caliber, and said that we didn’t know what we were doing.”

These days, Lu Huaishu and Xie Shiyu wake up at 05:30, and Wei Tao, the male business partner, wakes up at 04:00 to grind the soy beans for soy milk. “Previously if I didn’t stay up all night, I wouldn’t be able to go to bed; nowadays I’m already tired at 8 or 9 o’clock. Every day I’m like the fireman, when one fire is put out, another one sprouts up somewhere else.”

Even though Lu thinks that she is working very hard, she remains happy about it. “Any time I receive a compliment, I am very happy. Last weekend we had an auntie come by. She bought 10 RMB worth of buns and said that she was going to visit her mother.”

Turning the Baozi Shop into a Franchise Chain

According to Lu, the baozi shop has opened a Weibo and Weixin account, as well as a QQ group. Every month they will collect online opinions and ideas; for example, letting netizens vote for the newest flavor of baozi that the store would sell. “There are some people who’ve made a special trip here to buy baozi after reading a Weibo post.”

Lu Huaishu, Xie Shiyu and Wei Tao are all responsible for buying the raw ingredients, collecting the money, and managing all of the baozi shop’s “offline” duties. Cai Zhenguy and Huang Liurong, both of whom are still studying in the US, are responsible for taking care of promotions on Weibo and Weixin and other “online duties”.

Lu, Xie and Wei have all tried very hard to make baozi on their own, but say, “We still don’t know how to do it ourselves.”

Following their business plan, they are able to sell over a thousand baozi a day. Lu and her business partners want to turn this baozi store into a franchise chain down the line, but said for now, “We don’t want to be too ambitious; we’ll wait until business stabilizes before we open another shop.”

History of Guangzhou

Guangzhou has a history that spans over 2,200 years. As early as the Zhou Period in the 9th century BC, the city (then known as “Chu Ting”) served as a commercial exchange center for the Baiyue people and people of Chu State in the middle reaches of Yangtze River. The Emperor Qin Shihuang (259-210 BC) unified the Lingnan region (the area of modern-day Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan Island and the South China Sea Islands), and established the city of Panyu, now a suburb of Guangzhou. In 226 AD, the Emperor Sun Quan created the name Guangzhou Prefecture as part of a political division of the region, and the name was later given to the city.

By the 10th century AD, Hindu and Arab merchants had established a presence in the city. With this influx of traders, the city’s reputation extended as far as Europe, and by 1511, the Portuguese, principally interested in silk and porcelain, had secured a trade monopoly, but the British broke this in the late 17th century. In the 18th century, the French and the Dutch were also permitted to trade. But much was about to change since the British relied heavily on its trade in opium to maintain its balance of trade with China. By 1839, the issue of opium had attracted so much attention in China that the emperor commissioned Lin Zexu, commissioner of Guangzhou, to eradicate the drug problem. This led to the first Opium War, which ended with the Treaty of Nanking, ceding Hong Kong to the British. A later treaty allowed the French and the British to occupy Guangzhou.

In 1911, the city was a seat of a revolutionary movement under the guidance of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. It was in Guangzhou that the Republic of China was proclaimed on January 1 1912. In 1927, Guangzhou was briefly a seat of one of the earliest Communist communes in China. The city was occupied by the Japanese from 1938 to 1945, and in October 1949 the city was taken over by the People’s Liberation Army. When the Chinese economy was opened up in the early 1980s, the early phase of market liberalization centered on the southern coastal regions, and Guangzhou saw rapid economic growth. Today, the city is the nerve center of the booming Pearl River delta economic zone, and one of the most economically important of China’s cities.

British Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Performing a New Years Concert in Guangzhou

The British Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) will perform a special New Year’s Concert in Guangzhou Xinghai Concert Hall on December 30. The orchestra is highly regarded as one of the most famous orchestra’s in England, and across the world. Only the finest musicians can say they have had the honor of playing for the orchestra, which has been lead by internationally renowned conductors such as Rudolf Kempe, Antal Doráti, André Previn, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Daniele Gatti.

The RPO have performed for many films and televisions shows and actually own their own record label which they use when the collaborate with other artists. This is definitely a New Years for the more distinguished soul.

When: Dec 30, 20:00
Where: Xinghai Concert Hall
Price: 380, 680, 880, 1280, 1680, 2280 RMB
Tickets: http://www.juooo.com/ticket/26318

Guangzhou Metro Line 6 Will Opened on December 28

Guangzhou’s metro network will grow by an entire line on December 28 with the addition of line 6. The new, purple line will begin at Xunfenggang station in the east of the city and end at Changban station in the west, passing through a total of 22 stations. Two more stops, Shahe and Yide, will be added at a later stage. Line 6 will also intersect with lines 1, 2, 3 and 5.

Line 6, as does the other line in the network, has segmented pricing with the lowest fare at 2 RMB and the highest at 6 RMB.

Happy Hour or Bad Hour?: Booze Drinking Culture in China

Bar owners in China are constantly walking a tightrope between allowing patrons to have a good time and ensuring residents living nearby are not being too disturbed. For areas frequented by expats and foreigners this divide can often take on a ‘what is culturally acceptable?’ edge, pitting foreigners against locals, as if the problem is with one or the other.

Media reports have shed light on the behaviors of some expats who have acted recklessly under the influence of alcohol. A prime example of this is Shanghai’s Yongkang Lu. Once a street market, this 50-meter long side street has become a chaotic, loud and messy bar street, incurring the wrath of residents, young and old, who live nearby. One way locals have found to deal with expats booze drinking culture in China is to occasionally dump buckets of water on the rowdy patrons below.

Source: http://www.abcsources.com

Spending one Saturday night with some friends of mine at Hunting Bar, a quaint Guangzhou bar that is part of a cluster of bars in a residential area, came to a halt when a bucket of water was poured down on us. Thankfully, a side-tent had been installed by the bar that protected its patrons from the occasional buckets of water from above, but the police did turn up at about 23:30 to tell us to move inside.

The Yongkang Lu situation highlights the behaviors of certain expats in China. The growing presence of multiculturalism in the country has become a ‘push-and-pull’ of acceptance and, in some cases, an outright rejection of what should be responsible living. But both sides can easily point out ‘uncivilized’ behaviors, which ultimately don’t help to solve the friction.

Trying to walk the tightrope

Noise pollution is everywhere in China no matter where you live: near a construction site, a school, a bar street, and even with neighbors who talk at high volumes. Calling the local authorities for excessive noise pollution is possible but, for the most part, nothing will be done. However, when it comes to bars and their patrons, action has been taken. Local authorities have ordered bar owners at Yongkang Lu to close by 10 pm and tables removed from the street by 9 pm. Moreover, a ‘special tax’ has now been implemented on the bars to be given to locals while property owners have seen their property increase in value due to the area’s popularity.

Xingsheng Lu in Guangzhou, is another example of a new ‘it’ street, but with its rise in popularity comes the inevitable displeasure of locals. Once a quiet street with only a handful of business within a 50-meter street, the arrival of the Irish Pub Hooley’s ignited new business ventures to set up shop, many of which are western-type bars and restaurants. Noise pollution is bearable when many of its residents live higher than your usual four-storey buildings, but issues can still arise.

The creation of ‘party zones’

China’s nightlife is growing, with young Chinese generations hitting the bars and clubs. Perry’s Café is a student bar known for its inexpensive food and drink. Inside, Mexican sombreros, handwritten graffiti, wooden tables and chairs are some of what makes this café unique in the city. It has been known to be a popular watering hole among foreigners but finding a seat on Friday evenings has been a challenge as it is now, more often than not, full of locals.

Guangzhou has come up with one way of coping with booze drinking culture in China and retain the city’s burgeoning nightlife, and that’s with the Zhujiang Party Pier Beer Cultural and Art Zone – a refurbished area that overlooks the river and the city center.  And its best feature is that you can party until dawn as the loud music from bars and clubs reverberate far from residential areas found on the other side of the river.

This does seem to be trending, as city planners move the party scene away from residential areas, or at least do there best to keep it in one area, though this can make those areas a miasma of hedonism.

A sore thumb?

There are some places that have taken extreme measures in dealing with booze drinking culture and banned foreigners from the premises. In Seoul, South Korea, for example, some bars have ‘no foreigners allowed’ signs in their front entrance.

However, there are ways to have your cake and drink it too. Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen recently hosted their versions of the Santacon Crawl tradition. In its second year organizing the event, Guangzhou resident and Latin deejay, Alex Llan, wanted to share this tradition with the locals. “Christmas here is lonely so we decided to bring our friends together to make it feel like a big family.”  Llan has been living in China for seven years and said that being a foreigner is not always easy.

About 300 to 400 participants attended the event by dressing up in Santa attire. The wannabee Santas gathered at various spots throughout the city, starting at noon and finishing in the wee hours. The idea is to roam around the city, dressed as santa and have a good time; for most this means drinking. And while other Santacons have drawn criticism because of participants drinking too much and misbehaving during their drunken stupor, according to Llan there were no complaints about the participants in China.

Living in China can bring you face-to-face with cultural misunderstanding, misinterpretations and bad behavior that has nothing to do with the previous two but is often understood within those terms. And if you are in doubt about how to behave when you head out for the night, take some of santa’s advice.

Coming in from the Cold: Dealing with Winter in China

There’s something about China’s winter that makes it a lot more miserable than other countries’. If you’re in places like Shanghai, Chengdu or Chongqing, the humidity chills your bones to the core. Along the northern border from Xinjiang to Inner Mongolia and Dongbei, the sheer drop in temperature to -30 °C and daily blizzards can be catastrophic. In other places like Xi’an, Beijing and Lanzhou, the dense cloud of winter pollution turns every breath into an asthmatic wheeze. But fear not my dear reader, this winter season we present you a few alternatives for escaping the cold, or beating it at its own game, so that you can begin dealing with winter in China.

Source: http://www.abcsources.com

Hot enough for ya?

My personal favorite when dealing with China’s horrendous winter is to avoid it and forget that it even exists. Call it fate (or just plain luck) but Christmas holidays and Chinese New Year fall right in the dead of winter, giving us expats the chance for much needed vacation time. For domestic travel hit up Kunming in Yunnan Province. Kunming is famed as the “Land of Eternal Spring” since its December to February average low is 19 °C, and it’s a great place to scope out some of the region’s fascinating ethnic minorities. To really heat things up head to Sanya in Hainan. The island, more commonly known as the “Hawaii of China,” is renowned for its pristine beaches, fun in the sun and partying till dawn with year-round hot weather.

For something more exotic, think outside the box, or at least the country’s borders. Again, as luck would have it, Asia’s monsoon climate creates some bizarre weather patterns for the continent. So while hell is freezing over in China, Southeast Asian countries (like Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia) and South Asian destinations (like India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka) are blazing and in full swing in the peak of their tourist seasons. You can find anything in these regions from Full Moon Parties to lost Hindu temples, so whatever your preference is, you can enjoy it in shorts and sandals.

Unfortunately, most of us can’t travel to one of these cool places every weekend, meaning we’re still going to have to suck it up and shiver the majority of the winter. However, for a mini escape to really get the blood bubbling, sit down for a hot pot feast. Certainly, hovering over a table of boiling hot broth, chowing down on a glutinous feast of spice infused meats and drinking a few shots ofbajiu with several friends is the equivalent to consuming antifreeze (not literally, unless the baijiu is fake…). Keep in mind that there are two main basic types of hot pot found in the China: the Sichuan/Chongqing style is a lot spicier, and the Beijing/Mongolian variety, served in a bronze chimney-like pot, is heartier.

A whole lot cooler!

They say the best way to conquer a fear is to face it, so why not do the same when dealing with winter in China? Instead of leaving on a jet plane to somewhere tropical, head to some of the many winter activities in China. In Heilongjiang, the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in February is an incredible event where fairy-tale like palaces, sculptures, slides and games are constructed inside an entire city made of ice; it truly is a once in a lifetime experience. Two other good options are Emei Shan in Sichuan, and Huangshan in Anhui. The duo are two of China’s most famous and sacred mountains, and the most pleasant to visit in the winter for their extraordinary snow covered peaks and blissful winter-wonderland scenery.

Don’t forget there are in fact fun activities to do in the winter as well. In Beijing, the locals like to flock to Houhai Lake, strap on their skates and shred up the ice. If you haven’t mastered figure skating, consider a nature walk at a local park, or visit a famous monument near you since many tourist attraction offer big discounts during the low season. If the aforementioned is too innocent for you, join the polar bear club. Using the nation’s capital as an example again, some of the crazier (borderline insane?) Beijingers head to Houhai in the dead of winter, knock a hole in the ice, them jump in half-naked. Apparently, according to the die-hards, ice-dipping is good for your health and an extraordinarily exhilarating experience (though I think I’ll pass).

And last but not least, how could I end this article without mentioning skiing and snowboarding? China, believe it or not, has some worthwhile ski resorts that are easily reached and won’t break the bank. According to ChinaHighlights.com, the top 5 best ski resorts of the country are Alshan, Inner Mongolia; Yabuli, Heilongjia; Huaibei, Beijing; Nanshan, Beijing; and Xiling, Sichuan. Even if you don’t like skiing or snowboarding, you can still travel with your friends to these resorts and take full advantage of their outdoor hot tub, go sledding or just hang out at some of the bars and restaurants that will be lively during the winter.

Conclusion

My Russian friends always tell me that winter doesn’t exist if you have a thick jacket. Well, I couldn’t disagree more! If you’re someone like me who never grew up in the cold and aren’t used to it, then dealing with winter in China is hard and painful most of the time. However, after a few years of whining and complaining about how cold I am and running up my heating bill to astronomical digits, I’m finally starting to appreciate the fun winter activities that one can only do in the cold. That being said, I still jump at the opportunity to escape to somewhere warm for my Spring Festival break. If any of you out there have some other good winter ideas or any travel destinations not mentioned, let all of us know in the comment section to help make these next few months go by as quickly as possible.