Hwacheon, Korea

Executive summary by Darmansjah

Why Go Now? 

Flock with eager mobs to Hwacheoncheon of Ganwon Province during the annual Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival from 4 to 26 January to fish for mountain trout amidst snow-capped mountains. Holes are dug into the frozen stream before baits are lowered into the glacial waters, and shouts and squeals of elation erupt from both companions and bystanders when announcements of catches are made. The adventures some go the extra mile by plunging into the icy pool built next to the steam and snagging a trout or three with their bare hands.

The festival also comprises Snow fun Park, which allows for ice sledding, bobsleighing, and visits to a majestic ice playground, an World Winter city Square, where teas from nine winter countries, some of which are Japan, China, and Norway, can be savoured. A long trail of food stands hawking local specialities line the stream to ensure that the 10,000 visitors received on a weekend are kept sustained and sated.

How Do I Make It Happen?

Singapore Airlines operates direct flights  from Singapore and from Kuala Lumpur to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport. From there, take a bus to Chuncheon, and then another to Hwacheon. For more directional options, visit narfestival.com

Nine Tree Hotel Myeong-dong is located in the centre of Korean fashion and culture and is reputed for its range of five-star services and amenities. It is a stone’s throw away from Chunjiyun Spa, shinsegae Department Store, and Myeong-dong Subway Sation (from US$100, ninetreehotel.com).

Guangzhou Railway Station

Executive summary by darmansjah

Guangzhou-known historically as Canton or, less commonly, Kwangchow- is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. Located on the Pearl River, about 120 km (75 mi) north-northwest of Hong Kong and north-northeast of Macau, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port. One of the five National Central Cities, it holds sub-provincial administrative status. The Cantonese people language that is spoken in Hong Kong and Macau originated from Guangzhou.

Guangzhou is the third largest Chinese city and southern China's largest city. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 12.78 million. Some estimates place the population of the entire Pearl River Delta Mega City built up area as high as 40 million including Shenzhen (10.36 million), Dongguan (8.22 million) and most parts of Foshan (7.19 million), Jiangmen (4.45 million), Zhongshan (3.12 million) and a small part of Huizhou adjoining Dongguan and Shenzhen, with an area of about 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi). In 2008 Guangzhou was identified as a Beta World City by the global city index produced by the GaWC, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

Guangzhou Railway Station serves the city of Guangzhou, China. It sits on the high speed Guangshen railway just west of Guangzhou East station. As one of the busiest railway stations in southern China, Guangzhou station is known for its notorious safety record. CRH trains from Guangzhou serves Shenzhen six times daily.

Services from this station include trains to Beijing (Jingguang railway) and Lhasa. It is served by the Guangzhou Metro on Line 2 and Line 5.

As early as the 1950s, the provincial government saw the need for a central train station in Guangzhou but the plans were shelved until 1974 due to the Cultural Revolution. On the 4th of April, 1979 with the normalisation of relations with Hong Kong, the through-train service that was suspended for over twenty-five years was resumed. Through-train services were moved to Guangzhou East in 1996 due to the increasing security problems the station was experiencing.

Guangzhou Train Travel Guide

Here you can find useful information on Guangzhou train travel, including guide for Guangzhou Railway Stations (location, website address, how to get there), ticket booking hours, advance ticket reservation period, train schedule for main itineraries as well as some useful note for passengers who travel on China train first time.

Guangzhou Railway Stations Guide

There are four passenger railway stations in Guangzhou city, naming Guangzhou Railway Station, Guangzhou East Railway Station, Guangzhou South Railway Station and Guangzhou North Railway Station respectively. Guangzhou Railway Station and Guangzhou East Railway Station are located in the urban area while Guangzhou South Railway Station and Guangzhou North Railway Station are located in the outskirt area. Passengers choose Wuhan Guangzhou High Speed Railway (Wuguang High Speed Railway) should take their trains at Guangzhou South Railway Station or Guangzhou North Railway Station. Passengers take Guangzhou Kowloon Through Train for Hongkong Special Region should depart from Guangzhou East Railway Station.

Guangzhou Railway Station: No. 159, Huanshi West Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou 510010, People's Republic of China.

Guangzhou East Railway Station: Lin He Zhong Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510610, People's Republic of China.

Guangzhou South Railway Station: Shibi Town, Panyu District, Guangzhou 510150, People's Republic of China.

Guangzhou North Railway Station: Xinhua Street, Huadu District, Guangzhou 510800, People's Republic of China.

Transportation Guide

How to Get to Guangzhou (Central) Railway Station from Baiyun Airport:

by Airport Express

Passenger can take airport line 1 (5 to 15 minutes per) from the airport's Car Sitting Area and get off at Air-ticket Office Station. Guangzhou Railway Station is just 160 meters away from the Air-ticket Office Station. Airport buses are availiable from 7:00am until the airport's closing time. Journey time is about 45 minutes and ticket price is RMB 16 Yuan.

Remark: If you travel with big luggage, you can use this option as airport express is quite spacious.

by Taxi

Distance between Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Guangzhou Railway Station is about 30 kilometers. Driving time for the taxi is about 30 minutes and cost is about RMB 80 Yuan (For reference only!) during daytime's working hours.

Remark: this option is best for a group of 2-3 people.

   

by Metro

The two places are connected by metro lines directly. By making a transfering to metro line 2 at Jiahe Wanggang station, passenger can get to Guangzhou Railway Station from Guangzhou Baiyuan Airport in about 30 minutes. Ticket cost for metro travel is RMB 7 Yuan.

Remark: Don't select this option if you are traveling with big luggages during the peak periods including 7:30am to 9:00am and 5:00pm to 7:00pm.

Useful Note:

Guangzhou Railway Station mainly serves normal trains including four-digital trains, K trains, T trains and ect.

How to Get to Guangzhou South Railway Station from Baiyun Airport:

By Metro.

Passenger can take the metro rail from Baiyun Airport directly and get off at Jiahe Wanggang station and then transfer to metro line 2 for Guangzhou South Railway Station. Journey time is about 1 hour and ticket price is RMB 10 Yuan.

Remark: Don't select this option if you are traveling with big luggages from 7:30am to 9:00am or 5:00pm to 7:00pm.

by Taxi

Distance between Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Guangzhou South Railway Station is about 58 kilometers. Riding time for the taxi is a bit more than 50 minutes and taxi fare is about RMB 190 Yuan (For reference only!) during daytime working hours.

This option is best for group of 2-3 people.

Useful Note:

Guangzhou South Railway Station is a high speed train station. Passenger taking bullet train for Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Shunde direction should depart here. Passenger taking high speed train for Dongguan, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Changsha direction can also choose to depart here.

How to Get to Guangzhou East Railway Station from Baiyun Airport:

   

By Metro.

No. 3 metro line can take you from Baiyun Airport to Guangzhou East Railway Station directly. Journey time is about half an hour and ticket price is RMB 7 Yuan.

Remark: Don't select this option if you are traveling with big luggages during 7:30am to 9:00am or 5:00pm to 7:00pm.

   

by Taxi

Distance from Baiyun airport to Guangzhou East Railway Station is about 39 kilomters. It takes a bit more than 40 minutes to ride on taxi and taxi fare is about RMB 120 Yuan during daytime working hours.

   

Useful Note:

Passenger taking Guangzhou-Kowloon through train for Hong Kong should depart from Guangzhou East Railway Station. Passenger taking high speed train for Dongguan and Shenzhen direction can also depart here.

How to Get to Guangzhou North Railway Station from Baiyun Airport:

   

by Airport Express

irport express line 9 can transport passenger from Baiyun Airport to Guangzhou North Railway Station directly. Working time is from 5:25am to 7:55pm and bus frequency is 30 minutes. Riding time is 45 minutes and ticket fare is RMB 10 Yuan.

Remark: If you are traveling with big luggage, you can use this option as airport express is quite spacious.

   

by Taxi

Distance between Guangzhou North Railway Station and Baiyun Airport is about 18km and riding time on the taxi is about 30 minutes. Taxi fare would be about RMB 50 Yuan during daytime working hours.

   

Useful Note:

Guangzhou North Railway Station serves both normal train and high speed train. Passenger taking high speed bullet train for Wuhan, Changsha can depart here.

Transport between Guangzhou East Railway Station and South Railway Station:

By Bus

No. 302A bus connects Guangzhou East Railway Station with Guangzhou South Railway Station directly. Its operating hour is from 6:30am to 11:30pm. Journey time on the bus is about 70 minutes.

   

By Metro

Passenger can take line 2 metro rail from Guangzhou South Railway Station and making a transfer at Gongyuan Qian station to transfer to line 1 for Guangzhou East Railway Station. Journey time is about 45 minutes and ticket price is RMB 7 Yuan.

Remark: Don't select this option if you are traveling with big luggages during 7:30am-9:00am or 5:00pm-7:00pm.

By Taxi

Distance between the two place is 29km. It takes about 45 minutes to ride on a taxi and fare is about RMB 80 Yuan in daytime's working hours.

Transportation Guide for People attending Canton Trade Fair

Question:

I would like to visit the canton trade fair. My point of entry is ShenZhen. What train route should I take? Thank you.

Answer:

Please input Shenzhen and Guangzhou in the searching boxes of www.chinatrainguide.com and do a search, you will find the latest train timetable in the searching result page. You can choose any train station in Guangzhou as a destination.

Now let me tell you how to transport from Guangzhou Train Stations to Pazhou Complex, the venue of Canton Trade Fair:

How to get to Canton Trade Fair from Guangzhou Railway Station

By Metro

We recommend you take the metro to get to Canton Trade Fair from Guangzhou Railway Station. To do so, you should take Guangzhou Metro Line 2 to Changgang metro station firstly and then transfer to Metro Line 8 and get off the subway either at Xingang East or Pazhou. Journey time is about half an hour and ticket price is RMB 5 Yuan. Working hours for Guangzhou Metro is from 6:20am to 11:20pm.

   

By Taxi

Riding distance from Guangzhou Train Station to Canton Trade Fair is about 17km on a taxi. Driving time is about half an hour and taxi fare is about RMB 50 Yuan in day time's working hours.

How to get to Canton Trade Fair from Guangzhou East Railway Station

By Metro

to travel by Metro, you should firstly take Guangzhou Metro Line 3 (northern northern extension) to Tiyu Xilu and then transfer to Line 3 to Kecun. From Kecun, you can take metro line 8 and get off either at Xingang East or Pazhou to visit Canton Trade Fair. Total journey time is about 20 minutes and ticket fare is RMB 4 Yuan.

By Taxi

It's more convenient to travel by taxi to visit Canton Trade Fair from Guangzhou East Train Station. Distance between the two place is about 10km and riding time is below half an hour. Taxi fare is about RMB 30 Yuan in daytime's working hours.

How to get to Canton Trade Fair from Guangzhou South Railway Station

By Metro

To travel by metro from Guangzhou South Train Station, passenger should firstly take metro line 2 to Changgang firstly and then transfer to Line 8 to Canton Trade Fair Pazhou Complex. Journey time is about 38 minutes and ticket fare is RMB 6 Yuan.

By Taxi

Riding distance between Guangzhou South Train Station and the venue of Canton Trade Fare is about 23km. It takes about 40 minutes to travel by taxi and taxi fare is about RMB 65 Yuan in daytime's working hours.

Hot Train Routes

    Guangzhou Train to Beijing

    Guangzhou Train to Changsha

    Guangzhou Train to Chengdu

    Guangzhou Train to Dongguan

    Guangzhou Train to Guilin

    Guangzhou Train to Hong Kong

    Guangzhou Train to Kunming

    Guangzhou Train to Lhasa

    Guangzhou Train to Nanjing

    Guangzhou Train to Sanya

    Guangzhou Train to Shanghai

    Guangzhou Train to Shenzhen

    Guangzhou Train to Wuhan

    Guangzhou Train to Xiamen

    Guangzhou Train to Xi'an

Guangzhou to Changchun

    Guangzhou to Chaozhou Train

    Guangzhou to Chongqing Train

    Guangzhou to Foshan Train

    Guangzhou to Guiyang Train

    Guangzhou to Haikou Train

    Guangzhou to Hangzhou Train

    Guangzhou to Hefei Train

    Guangzhou to Huangshan Train

    Guangzhou to Huizhou Train

Guangzhou to Jieyang Train

    Guangzhou to Jiangmen Train

    Guangzhou to Jinan Train

    Guangzhou to Jiujiang Train

    Guangzhou to Lanzhou Train

    Guangzhou to Liuzhou Train

    Guangzhou to Luoyang Train

    Guangzhou to Maoming Train

    Guangzhou to Meizhou Train

Guangzhou to Nanchang

    Guangzhou to Nanning Train

    Guangzhou to Ningbo Train

    Guangzhou to Qingdao Train

    Guangzhou to Qingyuan Train

    Guangzhou to Ronggui Train

    Guangzhou to Shantou Train

    Guangzhou to Shaoguan Train

    Guangzhou to Shaoxing Train

    Guangzhou to Shunde Train

    Guangzhou to Suzhou Train

Guangzhou Train to Taishan

    Guangzhou to Taiyuan Train

    Guangzhou to Taizhou Train

    Guangzhou to Tangshan Train

    Guangzhou to Tianjin Train

    Guangzhou to Wenzhou Train

    Guangzhou to Xiangfan Train

Guangzhou to Yiwu Train

    Guangzhou to Yueyang Train

    Guangzhou to Zhangjiajie Train

    Guangzhou to Zhanjiang Train

    Guangzhou to Zhaoqing Train

    Guangzhou to Zhengzhou Train

    Guangzhou to Zhongshan Train

    Guangzhou to Zhuhai Train

Made In Japan

Words by Marie Wee, picture adapted with Google, Executive summary by Darmansjah

Eat, drink and soak up the cultures of Japan in Nara. Lonely Planet goes behind the scenes to uncover the process of making well-loved Japanese products.

It all started in Nara. The history of Japan is believed to have begun in the Nara Prefecture of Kansai. Having been the strategic endpoint of the Silk Road, the city was amply nourished by imports and ideas. Today, the charming area is characterized by the juxtaposition of cultures old and new, and its unofficial mascot, the deer, which greets tourists by the herd, especially at Nara Park.

To truly appreciate some of the most common Japanese products, you’ll have to see and experience the intricate culture of their making. If you get down to stretching some of the longest rolls of dough, and stirring rice in a huge barrel, you’ll be rewarded with smooth vermicelli-like noodles in piping hot soup and the sweetest sake on a cold winter’s day.

World ‘s Finest Noodle

The legendary somen, acclaimed to be world’s thinnest noodles, are also called White Dragon, as these white wheat-based noodles are said to be as fine as the dragon’s beard at only 0.3mm in its thinnest variety. Somen is said to have first been made by a Buddhist priest who came from China to Nara in the 7^th century. Coupled with the refreshing clear water of the region and improved techniques used to make it today, somen has become Nara’s very own produce.

A typical day of making somen starts at 4am on a sunny winter’s day as much of the process requires sunlight and also cold air with high humidity for better quality somen. When you book a somen-making session (simplified and indoors, of course) at Miwa Somen Yamamoto (www.miwayama.co.jp), which was established in 1717, you’ll get to see a video filmed decades ago on the rigorous process of making somen by hand. The biggest surprise is that, somen are best eaten after two to three years of storage. Apparently, they get more chewy and can preserve their texture better than newly-made somen after being stored in a mud-walled warehouse for two to three hot-and-humid rainy seasons. After watching the video, it’ll be time to roll up your sleeves and start tugging gently at the noodles, pulling and letting go repeatedly, to coax them into stretching out. After the exercise and some photo-taking, you can enjoy professionally made somen at the restaurant while prettily packaged ones can be bought and brought home. (You’ll also get to bring home the noodles you pulled – due to its messy appearance and lack of maturity, for your own consumption! It’s still pretty good, though.)

The Sweetest Sip

Nara is also known as the birthplace of refined sake. Just like how popes used to make wines, here at Nara’s Sakurai City, the Buddhist priests were believed to have made rice wine to dedicate them to the deities. Kita Shuzo (www.miyokiku.com) was founded in 1718 in Kashihara, Nara, and supplies the sacred sake used at the Kashihara Shrine. Till today, one can still find the humble ninth generation President, Hitoshi Kita, working in the brewery. He also personally takes visitors on a tour of the brewery, explaining each step of the sake-making process. He patiently details to us how the rice used for sake-making is different from the ones we eat, and that at least 30 per cent of the grain surface needs to be shaved off, up to 60 per cent, where the finest wine can be made from the purest centre of the grains.

 

“To retain the quality of our sake, we still maintain washing the rice by hands!” says Kita. After washing, it is critical to weigh the rice, as the amount (and also temperature) of water absorbed by the rice is measured up to a decimal point. The key to sake-brewing is that the rice is steamed, not boiled. The cooled rice is then used to make sake. Next up, the acrobatics-where you are encouraged to climb up a wooden ladder to reach the top of a huge barrel, so as to experience stirring – or rather “paddling in”, due to the large and weighty wooden stirrer-the rice wine that is in its initial stage. Of course, when the hard work is done, everyone gets to taste the different grades of sake produced, where the finest would be obvious even to the teetotaler with its crystal-clear sweet taste, versus the second and third grade one with slight tinges of sour notes.

Such is the sweetness of tasting success from hard work, so get ready for lots of hands-on activities in Nara, where you can truly experience and understand the cultures of Japan for yourself.

Other Activities Available in Nara

Serving Up Next

Learn how to prepare and serve the green tea formally through a process called Cha-no-yu at the Jikoin Temple, which is famous for its tea ceremony, western Nara. www.1.kcn.ne.jp/-jikoin/english-top.html

Colour Me Indigo

Bring home your very own hand-dyed indigo handkerchief with a traditional lesson from the artisants. Western Nara. www.hakomoto.com/english/htm.

Fresh Piking

The Asuka Rubies are Nara’s prized strawberries found in the Asuka Village. Here, visitors get to pick, eat and bring home some of the freshest strawberries at the farm from January to May. Eastern Nara. www.asukadeasobo.jpasukaichigo/ichigomap.

Cultural Dressing

Rent a kimono for a day and be styled from head to toe in true traditional Japanese fashion. Kimono rental shops are located along Nara’s historical street Naramachi. Northern Nara. Here are a couple of them: Kimono Asobi Nikkori, tel: +81 (0) 74 225 0029; Sara, tel: +81 (0) 74 224 1302 (two days in advance booking required).

Dear Deer

Learn to gather a heard of deer from various parts of Nara Park with the blow of a horn. You’ll have to book a course from the Foundation for the Protection of Deer in Nara Park in advance to get this cholse to the deer, Nara’s sacred messenger of god. Northern Nara. Tel.: 0742-22-2388

Getting To Nara

From Kansai Airport, take Nankai Limited Express (30 min) to Namba, followed by the Kintetsu Rapid Express (40 min) to Kintetsu Nara Station. Or, take the JR Limited Express (30 min) to Osaka-Abenobashi, followed by the Kintetsu Limited Express (45 min).