Trip to Anshan

[Hammer2j2]

Hello, I will be making a trip from the US to Anshan ( via Shenyang SHE ) this December 2007. I guess I am wondering if I am absolutely crazy.

I met a woman on the Internet which is the reason I am going. I was planning on touring China at some point in the next year or so anyway, but somehow ended up on a Chinese dating site, and one thing led to another.

I found some favorable and not so favorable descriptions of Anshan and the hotels online. Maybe it is relative. On my first trip to china I think I would appreciate a sit down toilet at least at my hotel.. any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

[bijian]

I recently came to Beijing (2 months now) from Virginia, US. Prior to arrival, I heard many things about China, whether from media, family, friends, etc. The best advice I heard was not to expect anything. Second best was, "don't try to change reality, work with it."

Sorry I don't have any anshan-specific information.

Good luck.

Have fun.

Come back to tell once it's over

[MartinF]

I would just recommend you go with an open mind. Don't get locked in to just seeing Anshan. If things don't work out with your female friend then your itinerary should be flexible enough to move onto other places.

I also don't have any Anshan specific information, so getting online information is better.

The dating part is something I know quite a bit about. So if you have any more questions about that, please ask.

[Pravit]

Sit-down toilets are standard in all Chinese hotels. I've never been in a hotel that hasn't had a sit-down toilet, even in dusty, tiny towns in the middle of nowhere. You'll be fine as long as you stay away from hostel-type places.

[Hammer2j2]

That sounds good. Very glad to hear about the toilets. I think I can deal with a lot of the other stuff. The open mind and so on, which is why I have been reading and trying to prepare. I was in S. Korea in '92 so have some introduction to heavy pollution and unexpected street scenery. Looks like I could hop a quick flight to Beijing if I got bored from Shenyang so no worries about getting stuck, although I think I am about to be deeply in love with a woman very well matched to me. We are both about 40 years old.

Martin you have advice on the ladies ? I was wondering on your tips..

Is there like some etiquette I should know ? I heard affection is not shown in public. I have some decent Mandarin speaking background from a year of a college course in the 90's.

Thanks!

[melillini]

Hammer2j2,

Hi, I am new to this site, and read your request for information about Anshan. I hope my reply isn't too late. Anshan is the steel capital of China, and has well over a million people living there. I visited Anshan in November of last year. I too, made a trip to China, to meet a wonderful Chinese woman. We met in Beijing, stayed a few days, and then took a train to her home town of Anshan. I stayed at the Anshan International Hotel. It was nice, but I wouldn't give it a 5 star rating. Places to visit: Jade Budda Temple. It has the largest jade Budda in the world....219 Park.....Tangganzi Hot Springs....and Qianshan Mountain.

The people were friendly. My Chinese was very limited, but I tried, and I felt that my effort was greatly appreciated. I was treated with honor and respect from her friends, and family. My trip was an experience of a lifetime! I fell in love with her, and now we are waiting for her fiance visa to be approved in China.

I know you will have an awesome experience, and I wish you the best.

[Hammer2j2]

Thanks for the encouragement. I am really looking forward to it. Glad to hear your international romance has worked well.

-Clayton

[Hammer2j2]

I am back from Anshan. Me and my new Chinese lady friend took the train from Anshan to Beijing for 2 days, then back to Anshan. I never had such a wonderful time.

[melillini]

Hey Clayton,

It was great to hear from you again, and that your trip surpassed your expectations. Now I can't wait to hear some details. Does your lady friend speak english? Where did you stay in Anshan, and in Beijing? Were you surprised that many Chinese celebrate Christmas?...Well, I hope your relationship blossoms, and I am looking forward to hearing more about your trip......Mark

[Hammer2j2]

Yes, Mark, and happy New Year :-)

Weiwei speaks English fairly well, but listening comprehension is more difficult, so I sometimes will write something down. My Mandarin is at about the 6 month level of a 1 year college course, so not anywhere near Weiwei's English ability, but helpful anyway sometimes to say something in Mandarin.

We also start, now that I am back home, to use Yahoo Messenger's phone feature. I think I am going to get a wireless ( bluetooth ) headset so I can move around and still speak with her while at home. Sometimes we just like to be "ON" this way and hear each others households going's on.. still experimenting with this, but an interesting way to feel together over the vast distance.

In Anshan, Weiwei's recommendation for a hotel was the Global Hotel. It is across from the train station, $28 USD per night versus the Wuhan $56 USD per night. Global is not rated as "international " per say I suppose, not sure, but, the breakfast is definitely all Chinese food - very good though, and I saw no western looking people staying there - but I didnt go all that way to run into westerners, so no problem. One front desk lady spoke English proficiently, so no problem there either. The room was quite nice and was clean to my liking.

In Beijing we stayed at the Home Inn. Very nice, new and clean place less than $40 USD per night, was a little bit off the beaten track to find by taxi though, but well worth it.

The Christmas thing seemed to be mostly commercial and they did do quite a bit of decorating in stores, restaurants and so forth. Seems like most ordinary Chinese do not put up a tree or maybe about half are beginning to. But my impression is they do not understand the whole thing so much :-)

I had to explain several times ( I am not religious ) so I just explained Christmas time requires family together and is mostly for the children. At that, she finally got her daughter to come home from an after-school event and we had a wonderful celebration together, which we look forward to even more of next year.

It looks like you are moving towards marriage? Any summary you can give me on the Visa timelines you have to go through ? Right now, I asked Weiwei to first visit me on a B-2 Tourist visa for a few weeks this spring, then can work on a longer fiance visit hopefully in the summer.

Take care.

Clayton

[melillini]

Hey Clayton,

Happy New Year to you also. It sounds like you have a jump start learning Mandarin. I have considered investing in the Rosetta Stone series. Lian has a niece who speaks English fluently, so she studies with her every morning, and then she takes formal classes 3 times a week. Lian has taken a leave of abscence from work so she can hone her English skills. She has been told that it is very important, that her English skills be good for her visa interview. Lian's best friend lives about 15 min from me. 1.3 billion people in China, and her best friend lives down the road from me. Incredible! She, and her husband have been incredibly helpful throughout this visa application process. It has been almost a year since I started the process. The paper work is in China and has been for 5 months. It is a very lengthy process.

I had stock in Home Inns for awhile. Would you stay there again?

Well, I hope the visitor visa process in quicker. I wish you all the best.....Mark