Regular direct flights between China
and Taiwan were
resumed July 4th, 2008,
after a politically effected lull of almost 60 years (since 1949) during which
only the occasional charter flights were allowed to make the cross-strait trip.
The inaugural flight, a China Southern Airbus A330 piloted
by chairman of the Chinese airline, made the journey from Guangzhou
to Taipei Taoyuan
International Airport
on July the 4th carrying about 250 passengers, many of them Chinese tourists,
who were greeted festively by lion dancers.
36 round-trip flights weekly are scheduled between the
Chinese cities of Guangzhou, Beijing,
Xiamen, Nanjing,
and Shanghai and Taiwan’s
Taipei. The current schedule of Friday to Monday commercial
flights is expected to be extended to weekdays in the near future. Along with the flights, up to 3000 Chinese
tourists daily will be allowed to visit Taiwan
beginning July 18th as part of the new deal to relax travel restrictions
between the two sides.
This historic show of warming relations between the two
Chinas is sparked in large part thanks to Taiwan’s
new President Ma Ying-jeou, who has pledged to reinvigorate Taiwan’s
economy and tourism sector since taking office in May. Negotiations between the two sides began in
June, with a focus on improving economic relations and easing up on travel
restrictions. The new regularly scheduled flights between China
and Taiwan are
expected to provide a large influx of Mainland tourists to the small island
nation, and with them a boost to its tourism industry’s bottom line.
Sources: Reuters, Al Jazeera, BBC
Book China Flights
Qatar
Airways expands its presence in China to include flights to Guangzhou, with four flights a week
now scheduled between Doha and Guangzhou, and going up to five
starting May 1. This will bring the
weekly number of scheduled flights between Doha and China up to 21, with Beijing served 4 times weekly, Shanghai 5, Hong Kong daily, and Guangzhou 5 times weekly. A
press conference and gala dinner were held in Guangzhou by Qatar Airways recently
to celebrate the launch of the new Guangzhou flight route and the official
opening of the airline’s new sales and reservations office in the heart of Guangzhou's business district.
Qatar
Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker spoke at the press conference,
highlighting the airline’s expansion plans completed and planned:
“We
have steadily built up our business in China, first with Shanghai, then Beijing and Hong Kong – and am now pleased to
see our award-winning Five Star service expand to yet another key city. Guangzhou offers both business and
leisure travelers an alternative gateway to this fascinating country.”
“Qatar
Airways looks forward to welcoming passengers from Europe, Middle East and Africa on the new flights to Guangzhou via our Doha hub.”
With
the new Guangzhou route added, Qatar Airways
now operates flights to 82 destinations worldwide across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, the
Far
East,
and North
America.
The
Doha – Guangzhou route is served by an Airbus
A330 aircraft with up to 24 seats in Business Class and up to 248 seats in
Economy Class.
The
Doha – Guangzhou Flight
schedule is as follows:
Doha International Airport to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Monday,
Tuesday, Friday: QR876 depart Doha 0230, arrive Guangzhou 1535
Thursday : QR874
depart Doha 0230, arrive Guangzhou 1535
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport to Doha International Airport
Monday,
Tuesday, Friday: QR877 depart Guangzhou 2030, arrive Doha 2359
Friday: QR875
depart Guangzhou 0055, arrive Doha 0425
To
book a flight on Qatar Airways go to www.qatarairways.com
For
booking within China, book domestic Guangzhou flights or other China domestic flights at www.bamboobookings.com
Terminal 2 opens at Shanghai Pudong International Airport – twice as large as the first terminal – to accommodate surges in passenger flight demand. Three 500 meter walkways will link the terminals together, providing easy flight transfers. 15 airlines have moved into Terminal 2, including Northwest Airlines, Air India, British Airways, Alitalia Airline, Garuda Indonesia, Malaysia Airlines, Philippines Airlines, Qantas Airways, Qatar Airways, Royal Nepal Airlines, Transaero Airlines, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Air Ukraine, Cebu Pacific Air, and the only domestic one so far Shanghai Airlines. The new terminal, along with a new runway and cargo facility, should alleviate lines and delays at the busy airport, which is great news for passengers.
To book domestic Shanghai Flights, go to www.bamboobookings.com
I just found out about a really simple way to access websites like wikipedia which are normally blocked from China. A bit slow but it works! Here's the link:
http://www.iaminchina.com/2007/10/19/bypassing-the-great-firewall-of-china/
After 4 years of construction, Beijing
Capital International
Airport’s new Terminal 3 is planned
to begin operation by the end of this month, in plenty time for the summer
Olympics. On February 29th, 6
airlines are scheduled to begin using the terminal - Shandong Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Qantas Airways, Qatar
Airways, British Airways, and El Al Israel Airlines - with an additional 21 to
follow March 26th. The new
terminal will be bigger than the first two combined, and transfer buses will
connect the 3 terminals.
If you need to book China domestic flights, start your search at our home page: www.bamboobookings.com
Beijing’s
election as the host of the 2008 Olympics has been controversial from the
start, as it seems that economic and technical advancement was a walk in the
park for China
when compared to social issues. Living
up to the Olymic Charter, which emphasizes “respect for universal
fundamental ethical principles”, and the 2008 Olympic slogan, One World,
One Dream which preaches China’s
commitment to “peaceful development, harmonious society and people's
happiness” has proved a lofty ambition.
The spotlight and scrutiny associated with the Olympics may be exactly the
kind of thing China needs to elicit change; but appeasing the international
community when it comes to political and human rights issues, pollution, and
freedom of the press, both domestic and foreign, is not such a simple task.
Pressure and criticisms from the international community
continue to mount, from major nongovernmental organizations, governments, and individuals
alike. According to the New York Times,
Spielberg said recently “that he was withdrawing from his role as the Games’
artistic adviser because he believed that Beijing
had failed to use its influence to end the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan.” Seems like everyone’s taking a shot.
The president of the International Olympic Committee reminds
us in an interview with The Associated Press that “the Olympic Games are a
force for good but don't expect from the games what they cannot deliver.” Perhaps we should curb our expectations
for a quick fix, but the Olympic spotlight has at least opened this can of worms
and the pressure has hopefully made China
realize that to be a major world player it will have to keep up on all fronts.
So the other day I decided to get some herbs, the kind they
sell in those mysterious shops filled with weird substances arranged neatly in
glass jars and plastic baggies. Does
anyone actually know what any of these do? do they do anything? or is it all a
gimmick, some kind of twisted joke all the Chinese people conspiratorially play
on the foreigners. I surveyed the
customers of the sizable apothecary/pharmacy place I had entered, they seemed
genuine. I noticed a man in apron and spectacles
behind the counter very intensely chopping some ginseng with a shiny hatchet, from
his glance I could tell he meant business. I was suddenly sold on the idea that there is some sort of science or
medicine to this stuff, and I wanted to possess this secret knowledge. Unfortunately, I was baffled by the multitude
of options and my own ignorance and left the herb store completely unsatisfied,
with 2 packets of flowers, one yellow one red, some gord thing, and a really
tiny and expensive piece of ginseng - sliced.
I went home and brewed a whole pot of this mixture and drank
it all down. I waited for the magic
effects which turned out to be a stomachache. But the Chinese would not make such a big fuss over nothing would
they? I remembered the look of the
apothecary dude – he kinda reminded me of the key master in Matrix – he was the
herb master. No, I would not be
discouraged quite that easily. There was
only one thing left to do. I had to
Google “Chinese herbs”. To be continued
. . .