China travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

On Barbie’s fiftieth birthday, Mattel - the world’s largest toymaker, opened the first store dedicated to the iconic doll in the world, in Shanghai, China. 3,300 m2 mega-Barbie store holds the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of Barbie dolls and licensed Barbie products. Standing six stories tall, it glows neon pink and cost around 20 million pounds to build. Slade Architecture led the design including the exterior, interior, fixtures, and furnishings.

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Kids in Beijing sure are lucky. The “Kid’s Republic” is a kid’s center with an innovative, playground design. Designed by SAKO Architects, “Kids” is considered as one of world’s best designed children’s bookstores. The design drives your kids crazy, it is so bright and colorful. This imaginative store mimics the look of a fantasyland with its elaborate use of color and fun design elements. Start with an all white bookstore interior - white floors, white ceiling, white walls, white stairs, white bookshelves, white everything - and to that liberally add rainbow colors all over it streams, twists and whirls throughout the store.

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Located in the northwest of Guilin City, 5 km away from the city’ center, Reed Flute Cave is one of the most popular and most interesting tourist attractions in Guilin, China. According to a legend, the name of the cave is derived from ludi cao (reed grass), which grows in front of the cave and is used to make flutes with melodious sound. It is a natural limestone cave about 240 meters long and it was formed 600,000 years ago. The cave offers a majestic fairyland of karst caves with landscape and rural scenery. It is filled with a large number of stalactites, stalagmites and rock formations in weird and wonderful shapes.

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Inspired by post-modern artwork from Salvador Dali, the Luxe Manor is located in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui business, entertainment and cultural district, which is considered a destination of great glamour and action in Hong Kong. Only 300 metres from the Space Museum, this boutique hotel boasts fairytale-style interiors and European architecture. Entering inside in The Luxe Manor you will discover a delightfully eclectic mix of Oriental, Post-modern and European decor.

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Situated in Taipei Songshan District, Taiwan, Core Pacific City is probably the weirdest shopping mall in Asia. When it first opened, it was touted as the world’s first truly 24 hour mall and Asia’s first “city within a city” complex. Covering a total area of 205, 000 sq. m, this urban property was designed by Jon Jerde, known as, the Pablo Picasso of the architecture world.

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Designed by PAL Design Consultants, Oasis Club aims to be a haven for relaxation and rejuvenation for the people of the Chinese city of Chengdu. The city is known as “China‘s Party City” because of its growing numbers of bars and pubs, at times outgrowing Shanghai. Oasis Club is a private membership club mixes up contemporary suites of privacy, utter luxury, modernism and a sense of being in a universe theme park.

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Copenhagen-based Holm Architecture Office in collaboration with Archiland Beijing, Kragh & Berglund landscape architects, and engineering consultants Cowi Beijing, has won first prize in a competition to design the Samaranch Memorial Museum. It will be situating in Tianjin, a city of over 12 million people near Beijing, in Northwestern China. Juan Antonio Samaranch was the president of the International Olympic Committee from 1980 to 2001. Throughout his presidency he advocated for reform and inclusion and was a strong supporter of China’s bid as host city for the 2008 Olympic Games.

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Translates to “Chinese Flower Garden”, Yuwan Restaurant is a unique 5-star contemporary restaurant situated in Shenyang, China. Consists of separated area, it serves western and eastern fusion delicacies. Designed by architectural studio Nota design studio, the restaurant areas include the Main Dinning Hall, the Side Dinning Hall, three VIP rooms, Seafood Counter, Entrance Hall and Kitchen Zone.

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The world is getting smaller as populations are booming and technology is improving. The answer may be found in whole cities being designed as this concept. 45 kilometres from Tianjin City and 150 kilometres from the Chinese capital of Beijing, the site of the Tianjin Eco-City is a fascinating, 30 sq km development designed to showcase the hottest new green technologies and to serve as a model for future developing Chinese cities. The Tianjin Eco-city is the result of a collaborative agreement between the governments of China and Singapore to jointly develop a socially harmonious, environmentally friendly and resource-conserving city in China.

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At the time of its completion, the 88-story, 420.5 meters -high Jin Mao Tower was China’s tallest building and the fifth tallest in the world. Until 2007 when its height was surpassed by the Shanghai World Financial Center, situated next to the building. Literally “Golden Prosperity Building”, this landmark skyscraper is located in mainland China, in Pudong district of Shanghai.

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