Xinglong Mountain located in Yuzhong City, which is about 56km from southeast of lanzhou. It's a provincial forest park. The Xinglong mountain is a great place for your summer vacation due to its cool temperature there. There is snow on the peak of the mountain everyyear around.  The Xingkong SKI is one of the most famous place in winter for skating. There you could not only skating, but also taste the great delicious food, the hand-pulled mutton. If you live in Lanzhou, this is one place, you should not miss.   

This newly opened Bar and Restaurant offers you a nice selection of European food and drinks. Their specialty is the house burger. You can also have here Greek Souvlaki skewers with Tzatziki, which is my favorite. 

For drinks they offer everything a good equipped European bar should have: international wine, cocktails, longdrinks, shooters and of course a lot of different kinds of imported beer. 

They also have free WiFi available. While waiting for your food you can play kicker, dart or pool. 

If you want to escape China for a while and have a short trip to Europe, that's the place to be. 

Perhaps the most famous restaurant in Beijing, Li Family Cusine is yet a small restaurant that looks pretty much like a common household in a small HuTong alley in the back sea (后海)area with no name of the restaurant found on the front gate, only "No. 11 YangFang Alley(羊房胡同11号).   The owner - Mr. Li ShanLin, a retired university professor in mathematics, is a decendant of an official working in the Imperial Household Department, responsible for preparing imperial dishes for the emperor during the Qing Dynasty.  On his job, he memorized the recipes and wrote them down after getting home.  He left a recipe book of imperial dishes to his decendants.  After one daughter of Prof. Li won the first prize in a nation wide competition of family cusine, the small restaurant was opened in 1985. The name of the restaurant on the wall inside was written by PuJie - the brother of the last emperor PuYi in Chinese history.   Many famous figures such as Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Rockfeller family members, DuPont family members, and famous people had dinner here.   Customers are not allowed to choose dishes by themselves.  Reservation well in advance is required due to its popularity and limited space.

Greetings skiers and snowboarders in China! I’m writing this to try to give some clear info about the ski situation here in China, especially Yabuli ski resort in Heilongjiang Province.  I recently planned a trip there (March 2012), and I found that it was difficult to find clear information online, so I hope this will be helpful.  Arranging a trip to Yabuli is a little confusing if it’s your first time there.  Thankfully, once you get there everything is very convenient.  The biggest problem is that Yabuli is in fact not one ski resort, but several.  Basically there are two main resorts worth visiting, Sun Mountain (阳光度假村) and Xin TiWei （新体委）.  The two mountains are literally side by side, and equally tall, but Sun Mountain is by far the better of the two.  Some websites may tell you that TiWei is the best, but this is simply not true.  TiWei is considerably cheaper, but you will not regret the extra expense of Sun Mountain.  Sun Mountain has far better rental equipment, more trails, a better snowboard park, nicer facilities, better service, and better snow!  Beginners may be ok saving money at TiWei, but experienced skiers/boarders should head directly to Sun Mountain!  Sun Mountain even has English-speaking trainers available.  If you really want to try both places, I would suggest doing a half day at TiWei and a full day at Sun Mountain.  At any Chinese ski resort it’s a good idea to make a reservation at least one day in advance.  The “list prices” are ludicrously high, but almost no one actually pays these prices because you can get a 50% or more discount by booking in advance.  You can book online, but beware that many websites don’t state clearly which resort you are booking, but just list it as “Yabuli Ski Resort” or something similar.  It’s better to call ahead to be sure what you are getting.  Search online for “Yabuli ski hotline” or something similar.  These people are actually “tour guides” that can set you up at either Sun Mountain or TiWei.  They will also pick you up at the train station, give you whatever transport you need around the ski village, and make any other arrangements you need.  Don’t let the “Chinese tour guide” tag scare you!  It’s actually very straightforward and convenient.  If you choose to go without a reservation, there are people at the train station offering rides (some speak English).  It seems to be a reliable system, as long as you agree on the price beforehand.  A full day at Sun Mountain, including rentals, should cost you no more than 400 yuan (I paid 360 on a Sunday, weekdays should be cheaper).  TiWei should be around 200.  Rumor has it you can get lower prices if you join a tour group from Harbin.  You may also be able to get better deals if you buy a two-day ticket.  At TiWei, if you’re an experienced skier/boarder, be sure to specify that you want the “advanced ticket” (高级雪道).  Beginners can pay a lower price, but you are limited to only the bottom portion of the mountain. There is accommodation available at all price ranges.  Sun Mountain is affiliated with Club Med hotel, but you don’t need to be a hotel guest to ski there.  The Club Med looks to be very nice, but if it’s out of your price range, there are plenty of other choices, starting around 150 yuan per night.  Your “guide” can arrange a hotel for you at your desired price range.  Note that the cheapest hotels may not have 24-hour hot water.  All hotels are located very near the ski slopes, so you needn’t worry about that.  Dining options are pretty limited and a bit overpriced, but not unreasonable.  Transportation to Yabuli is quite convenient.  Be aware that there are two Yabuli train stations.  Yabuli South Station is right at the foot of the mountain, just a five-minute drive from the resorts.  Yabuli Station is located in Yabuli Town, which is about 25 minutes away from the mountains.  There are buses and taxis going from Yabuli Station.  If going from Harbin, there is only one train daily (around 8 am, two hours) to Yabuli South Station.  There is one daily train returning to Harbin (4:30 pm), so it’s possible to do a day-trip from Harbin, but you’d only be able to ski for about four hours.  If you’re worried about crowds, going on weekdays is your best bet.  Also, there will be considerably more people when the students are on winter holiday (approx. mid Jan--Mar 1).  If you can only go on a weekend, don’t worry too much; there are plenty of hotel rooms available, and the gondola moves people very efficiently so you never have to wait in line for more than a minute or two.  At the top of the mountain, the crowd disperses enough, so it’s not really a problem.  I hope the above information can clear up any confusion you may have about making your trip to Yabuli!  There is some debate over which ski location is “China’s best.”  Most Chinese people believe that Yabuli is the most famous and therefore the best.  In fact, for experienced skiers, and especially experienced boarders, Beidahu (北大湖) in Jilin Province is probably superior.  It has more trails, more lifts, moguls, and an awesome snowboard park including a full-size half-pipe.  The downside is Beidahu lacks budget accommodation and is not serviced by trains.  My advice for choosing Yabuli or Beidahu: try them both and decide for yourself!

Sinan Mansions’ heritage dates back to 1920 when the first buildings south of French Garden (now Fuxing Park) on Rue Lafayette (now Fuxing Road) were built. In the ensuing decade, the plot had developed into a hub of high society where dignitaries, entrepreneurs, professionals and renowned artists frequented and lived.

Now It is an immense redevelopment of 49 colonial mansions from the '20s and '30s into four projects: the Hotel Massenet; a commercial stretch of F&B and retail; luxury condos; and corporate villas. It's been ten years in the making. It took a while to satisfy the gov't planners, the relocated residents, and the architects who lifted each building off the ground, tore out the old foundation, and replaced it with a new one. They even deconstructed a building and rebuilt it, brick by brick. The only mansions that weren't renovated are two rather sparse buildings once home to Zhou Enlai. They remain a museum.