Simon Foster - CHINA's Three Gorges & Xi'an

Where to Stay

If you plan your onward travel well, there's no need to stay in Yichang, but if you find yourself here for a night there are a few reasonable hotels. The functional but friendly Heping Jia Ri(tel.0717-6254-088; $$) and upscale Yichang International(tel.0717-6222-888; $$$) are both down by the river on Yanjiang Dadao, while the Taohualing(tel.0717-6236-666; $$$-$$$$) on Yunji Lu is a safe mid-range bet in the center of town. If you're on a tight budget, there are a selection of cheap places at the train station end of Yunji Lu, including the good value New Century Hotel(tel.0717-6445-559; $$).

See Travel & Living, Food & Drink section for an explanation of the $ restaurant price codes and Accommodation for a key to the hotel price codes.

Where to Eat & Drink

Yichang's restaurant scene isn't up to much, but the better hotels have reasonable fare and the Beijing Jiaoziguan($-$$) on Longkang Lu serves tasty dumplings and other northern fare. For cheap eats the nightmarket, which sets up along the river on Yanjiang Dadao, is popular with locals and tourists alike. You'll find a good cup of tea and some riverside retreat at the Zhenjiangge Teahouse, but if you crave things Western there's a McDonald's and KFC set around the square, and a few coffee shops such as Liujin Suiyue nearby. Yichang doesn't have much nightlife to speak of, but there are a few bars along Jiefang Lu.

Appendix

Bibliography & Recommended Reading

The following books are all worth reading, particularly the triple-starred works, and have been of use and interest during my travels in China and the compilation of this book. You'll find reviews for most of the titles below at www.amazon.com.

Biographies

Jung Chang, Wild Swans

Jung Chang & Jon Halliday, Mao: The Unknown Story

Richard Evans, Deng Xiaoping and the Making Of Modern China

Ma Jian, Red Dust: a Path Through China

John Man, Genghis Khan

Anchee Min, Red Azalea: Life and Love in China

Philip Short, Mao: A Life

Marina Warner, The Dragon Empress

Adeline Yeh Mah, Fallen Leaves

Classics

Li Bai & Du Fu, Endless River

Wu Cheng'en, Journey to the West

Confucius, The Book of Songs

Luo Guanzhong, Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Luo Guanzhong & Shi Nai'an, Outlaws of the Marsh aka The Water Margin

David R. McCraw, Du Fu's Laments from the South

Arthur Waley (trans) Monkey – an abbreviated version of Journey to the West

Cao Xueqin, The Dream of the Red Chamber

Sun Zi, The Art of War

Culinary

Francine Halvorsen, The Food and Cooking of China

Nina Simonds, The Food of China: a Journey for Food Lovers

Martin Yan, Martin Yan's Culinary Journey Through China

Culture & Society

Ian Buruma, Bad Elements: Chinese Rebels from LA to Beijing

Tom Clissold, Mr China

Ted Fishmen, China Inc

Oded Shenkar, The Chinese Century

Kenneth Wilkinson, World Cultures: China

XueXinran, The Good Women of China

Fiction

Andrea Barrett, The Middle Kingdom

Carolyn Choa & Su Li-Qun, The Picador Book of Contemporary Chinese Fiction

Wei Hui, Shanghai Baby

Lao She, Rickshaw Boy

Wang Shuo, Please Don't Call Me Human

Sid Smith, A House by the River

Annie Wang, People's Republic of Desire

Mo Yan, The Garlic Ballads

History

Patricia Ebrey, Cambridge Illustrated History of China

Peter Fleming, The Siege at Peking

Larry Habegger & James O'Reilly, Travellers Tales: China

Ann Paludan, Chronicle of the Chinese Emperors

J.A.G. Roberts, A History of China

Mao Zedong, Quotations of Mao Tse-Tung aka The Little Red Book

Historical Accounts

Zhang Boli, Escape from China: the Long Journey from Tian'anmen to Freedom

Jenni Daiches (aka Jenni Calder), Letters from the Great Wall

Peter Hopkirk, Foreign Devils on the Silk Road

Julia Lovell, The Great Wall

Gavin Menzies, 1421, The Year China Discovered the World

Anchee Min, Empress Orchid

Yan Mo, Red Sorghum

Marco Polo, The Travels

Sun Shuyun, The Long March

Edgar Snow, Red Star Over China

Lu Xun, Diary of a Madman & other stories

Hong Kong & Macau

Austin Coates, Myself a Mandarin

Jonathan Dimbleby, The Last Governor

Richard Mason, The World of Suzie Wong

Paul Theroux, Kowloon Tong

Frank Welsh, A History of Hong Kong

Martial Arts

Kumar Frantzis, The Power of Internal Martial Arts

Bruce Lee, Tao of Jeet Kune Do

Erle Montaigue, Power Taiji

Bruce Thomas, Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit

Religion & Philosophy

Kenneth Ch'en, Buddhism in China

Confucius, The Analects

Martin Palmer, Travels Through Sacred China

Lao Zi, Tao Te Ching

Travel Literature

Raymond Barnett, Jade and Fire: a Novel of Emerging China

Polly Evans, Fried Eggs with Chopsticks

Peter Fleming, One's Company: a Journey to China in 1933

Polly Greeks, Embracing the Dragon: a Woman's Journey along the Great Wall of China

Peter Hessler, Oracle Bones: Journey between China & the West

Peter Hessler, River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze

W. Somerset Maugham, On a Chinese Screen

Simon Myers , Adrift in China

Paul Theroux, Riding the Iron Rooster

Colin Thubron, Behind the Wall

Lulu Wang, The Lily Theater: a Novel of Modern China

Simon Winchester, The River at the Center of the World: a Journey up the Yangtze and Back in Chinese Time

Gao Xingjian, One Man's Bible

Glossary

Arhat Buddhist saint ( luohan in Mandarin)

Cheongsam Traditional Chinese women's dress ( qipao in Mandarin)

Dharma Buddhist path to enlightenment

Hutong Narrow alley

Laowai Foreigner (old outsider)

Luoha Chinese word for arhat

Mah Jong Traditional Chinese board game

Mandala Mystical geometric diagram representing the cosmos

Paifang Memorial arch

Pinyi Romanization of Chinese characters

Putonghua Mandarin Chinese (normal language)

Qili Mythical creature associated with good luck

Siheyua Courtyard house

Sinicized Made Chinese

Stele (stelae) Commemorative stone tablet

Tai Ji Style of Martial Art

Wushu Martial Arts

Acronyms

CAAC Civil Aviation Authority of China

CCP Chinese Communist Party

CITS China International Travel Service

CTS China Travel Service

KCR Kowloon-Canton Railway

KMT Kuomintang (Guomindang in pinyin) – Nationalist Party

MTR Mass Transit Railway (subway)

PLA People's Liberation Army