My favorite airport in the world is in Japan:  Sapporo’s New Chitose Airport.   My family and I love it so much we plan out how much time we actually get in the airport on our way in, and out, and how we can extend/maximize our hours there.  And, each time we’ve passed through there are new finds to experience.     Our most recent trip took place over Spring Break and was the first time we flew direct from Shanghai in to the international terminal.   Maybe I’ve been in China too long, schlepping through Pudong and Hongqiao Airport, but I thought these waiting benches (below) at Chitose’s international departure terminal were pretty impressive.  I particularly liked the double surfboard wooden bench which looks to be inspired by the Ainu—- an indigenous group from Hokkaido.   Not sure what kind of wood this is,  but the surface is randomly chiseled giving it a beautiful textured surface.   The lower left image is the terminal’s vaulted ceiling.

Our other new discovery was located at the Airport’s “Smile Land” section – Royce Chocolate World.  If there was anything to miss a flight for, this would be it.  Featuring a chocolate museum, factory and shop.  The factory was right out of Willy Wonka’s.  Although heavily automated, it was absolutely fascinating.   I’m actually not a chocolate addict, but there is something about Royce Chocolate World, that makes one go slightly crazy.  The shop had an impressive selection of fresh chocolates–white, milk, dark, mint, with fruits, nuts..etc. and packaged delicately and so beautifully in a way the Japanese do so well.   I was controlled and walked out with some chocolate covered potato chips (heaven), chocolate lollies covered in fruits and nuts and a few milk chocolate varieties.    Cannot wait for my next holiday to Chitose Airport to Sapporo.

VISIT: 4.5-hours by high-speed train and taxi, from Beijing lies Pingyao— a wonderfully preserved  ancient city that dates back to 1824.   A UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, the city is surrounded by a completely intact 6km Ming dynasty city wall, and was once China’s financial capital during the 19th century until the early 20th century, when it all migrated to Shanghai.   The city now seems to mainly feed off tourism with almost every old courtyard turned into a hotel, inn, restaurant or cafe.   The area is also known by the location where Raise the Red Lantern and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was filmed.  That being said, my family and I had a wonderful visit and it was nice to see some real city life in spite of all the tourists teeming about.  The photos above caught some slices of it.

EAT: Pingyao is located in Shanxi province–the area best known for ‘dao xiao mian’ or knife-cut noodles.  These are literally made by cutting slices off of noodle dough into a big cauldron of hot bubbling water (above).  The noodles are then taken out with a slotted spoon  and poured straight into a bowl with local dark vinegar, a bit of soy,  and a bit of chopped scallions and local meat topping it off (below).  Another noodle version is ‘mao er duo mian‘ or Cat’s Ear noodle—these are made by grating chunks of the noodle dough, with the pieces resembling cat’s ears, dropping into the cauldron of water (photo below).  The noodles were tasty, but enjoyed watching them being made more than actually eating them.

STAY: We stayed at the beautiful Jing’s Residence and lucky to get the last 2 rooms available.    A 19-room boutique hotel, Jing’s Residence is owned locally and managed by Relais & Chateux.

I had a chance to talk to the owner, Yang Jing who shared with me a little bit of Jing’s Residence’s history.  The hotel lies within the old city walls and was originally a shop and residence of a silk merchant in the Qing dynasty.   The pavillions facing the street was a shop, with the 2nd floor for storage and the first courtyards for the accounting office.  Behind all of this was where the family lived.   After 1949, the property became many different things– the current restaurant and back courtyard was a motor engine manufacturer and in 1970 it became a photograph shop when nobody had cameras.   The current kitchen and back courtyards lived an elderly lady and family, who was desparate to move to the new town for a more convenient life.  The current lobby was an eye clinic and a shop selling traditional Chinese medicine.    Jing’s Residence was originally meant to be a home, but lucky for us is now a hotel.  The restoration and re-building of the property is truly amazing, looking at some of the restoration images from their website.

I appreciated all aspects of the hotel’s interior design and the attention to detail.   It’s beautifully and tastefully done combining modern comforts with traditional style with touches of the local culture and handicrafts.   Antonio Ochoa is the interior designer and Dusseldorf-based Bruno Braun, the architect who worked on the inside layout.  The pavilions and courtyards were kept as they were and only underwent repair and deep cleaning.     My favorite was the ‘coal brick’ walls in the restaurant’s private room.  Inspired by the highly-pollutant honeycomb coal bricks that are ubiquitous in China, these clay-made versions were beautifully installed as wall features in the private room.  I’m a sucker for patterns and thought these ‘coal bricks’ laid out like that was stunning.  The lobby featured another inspired wall — swatches of silk, shingled on top of each other.

It was so great to be back in Shanghai for a few days for the Eco Design Fair last week.  The number of companies in Shanghai that are committed to being environmentally sustainable and responsible left me excited and hopeful that it’s not too hard to be a responsible citizen especially in a city that’s heaving with people and development.   That’s the NEST table above featuring a ‘picnic-themed’ table and (yours truly) Paper Tiger Shanghai at the left end of the space.

Shanghai Mulan Gifts Co., provided a great creative space for kids to create DIY art on a blank cardboard canvas frame using organic items such as beans, rice, dried pasta, textiles..etc.   Local fashion label Finch showcased her Spring collection at the event’s fashion show.   Finch’s clothes are made using organic fibers grown without pesticides and toxic chemicals and low-impact dyes.  The Good to SH group featured sacks of soil for your own DIY urban farming at home.  Their goal is  to create a community of environmental and social initiatives that aims to provide people with insightful and actionable ways to practice ‘sustainable living’.