ChinaEncounters

Guide to Astor House Hotel, Shanghai

The oldest and formerly grandest hotel in Shanghai.

Link: Personal Guide to Astor House Hotel, Shanghai.

East Asia Hotel on Nanjing Road, Shanghai

East Asia Hotel Shanghai, originally uploaded by China Encounters.

[Written in August 2006]   I have stayed at the East Asia Hotel in Shanghai the last three times I have passed through Shanghai; its location right at the heart of everything makes it ideal for a short stay. The rooms I have occupied on previous trips had no view - windows on to "lightwells" that were full of scaffold! This time I managed to locate the rooms that had a view!   And what a view.

Two Days in Beijing

View from Dongfang Hotel (1), originally uploaded by China Encounters.

I spent a great two days in Beijing [in August] after my business was done. I still had to spend a few days in Nanjing and Shanghai. However before I flew on to Nanjing I took a couple of nights in Central Beijing to rest and catch up a very busy 15 days on the go! So where do you stay in a big city like Beijing, on a limited budget and with a multiplicity of unspectacular 3* hotels all grinning at you in Chinese booking websites like CTrip and Elong?