International Lifestyle in China

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The building site used to be a famous Chinese bicycle factory in the town centre of Xingtai - three hour’s south of Beijing, and it was going to be turned into 4000 luxury apartments spread over 50 tower blocks, a landmark hotel and a shopping centre and I was going to be their architect.

 

The developers were keen on our ideas and welcomed our proposals for turning their vision of upmarket homes, in a down at heel location into “concrete” reality.

 

We would design the gardens, access paths and underground car park and turn their dreams, based on this model from….

…this large hole into….

….the Palace of Versailles!

Or, as it was going to be called, Xingtai’s First Sky City ( 天 一 使, Tian Yi Cheng - much better).

 

And I was going to be the face of “International Lifestyle” displayed on advertising hoardings across south Hebei province.

Construction began in 2009 and was completed soon after. A few (thousand) apartments are still available for viewing. You can purchase a property direct from the developer’s official webpage: http://www.xttyc.com/

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Salmon fishing in Asturias (Northern Spain)

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Free fishing section of Cares Deva River

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Hook bait for salmon fishing comprising two common garden earthworms tipped with a cooked prawn

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Free fishing salmon and trout stretch of Sella River just upstream from Cano.

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We stayed at Hotel La Salmonera in Cano and noticed this lucky angler

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Bodega Del Dobra restaurant is situated a few kilometres north of Caño.  Barnado the proprietor poured a bottle of sidre (local cider) from above his head into my small glass to create a natural fizz that I knocked back in fifteen small measures.

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Wider, shallow glides, In the vicinity of Arriondas, afford ample room to wade and cast a fly to the many small trout, my fishing buddy John managed to attract one small brown trout in the current on a Mepps number two spinning lure. A chucharilla (large spoon lure) will hold its own in faster, shallow runs.

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The most famous landmark on the Sella River is a large weir with a fish ladder, called an escala, that’s located opposite Hotel la Salmonera in Caño, it’s signposted “Estacion de Desove de Salmones” (salmon spawning station).

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A selection of fly lures used to catch trout in Asturias

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The correct bait fishing method is to hold back bait in the pools so that it rises slightly in the current then wait for the salmon to bite.

 

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I recommend that you take a ride, up past Covadonga, on the AS 262, to two glacial lakes located in the Picos de Europa mountains. The café above Lago Enol has a laid back atmosphere; it provides a decent lunch and affords gorgeous views of the mountains.

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Chinese ice fish

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Harbin International Ice Festival takes place annually in north east China. We took the overnight soft sleeper train from Beijing. Local winters are a new experience for anyone not used to daytime temperatures averaging minus 12 Centigrade dropping to -23 Centigrade at night. But on returning to Beijing’s -1 Centigrade, the weather seemed clement.

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These fish ice sculptures were created by international teams in Harbin’s city centre park, the original site for the Ice Festival.
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Freezing temperatures ensure that visitor can enjoy Harbin’s fish ice sculptures for three months every winter
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I’m not sure what species the fish are?
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Enjoy the pictures
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Jiankou Great Wall Trout Fishing Ponds (Beijing, China)

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The Chinese tourist brochure describes this fishing area as follows.”This area is the famous trout breeding center in Beijing. The ponds, linked to each other, are quietly located in a valley at the foot of the mountains. On the top of the mountain, you can see the ruined section of the Jiankou Great Wall snaking on its range. Rainbows inhabit both lakes and streams.”

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“The water of the trout ponds here comes from the streams of the mountain. Rainbow Trout like colder running water temperatures. There are two kinds of trout - stocked trout and native trout. The fish are stocked trout. You will get a simple fishing rod with fishing line, baits (worms, minnows and meal-worms). Fishing for the stocked trout is more of entertainment than professional fishing.”
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“All the ponds  are full of trout! Don’t stand on the shore! Let’s start fishing!

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I had trouble hooking a fish with a baited hook so I jigged the naked hook up and down and caught a fish this way.

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When you catch one or two trout, the local people will weigh the fish. We will pay for the fish and get the fish either roasted and sliced raw for your lunch - yummy!

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The people will barbecue the fish in front of you. If you are bold enough, you may try a hand-on experience of the barbecuing. Beside the trout dish, you will have the chance to try many local varieties of foods and wild leafy vegetables. After lunch, do a little hiking and stay at a local farmhouse for the night.”

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Stock trout are bred in two colours, brown and yellow. They taste the same.

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Europe’s hottest carp lake is found in Morocco

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In 2007 we visited Europe’s most hyped carp fishing destination, Ben El Quidaine lake in Morocco, north Africa. Between the four anglers in our party, two fished for the full twelve days and a beautiful, Moroccan gold 12 kilo common carp was landed on the very last session just an hour from the end of our holiday.

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Buffeted by a sandstorm, brought over the Atlas mountain peaks from the Sahara desert,and fish-less after 6 days spent rowing out a hundred weight of maize dropped over our hook baits, we elected to move 3km further around the lake to the shelter afforded by the hotel swim.
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Many visitors take a budget flight to Marrakesh followed by a three hour drive, due east, to the lake. Our party took the catamaran car ferry service from Tarifa in Spain over to Algeciras then, after passing Casablanca, left the main coastal highway and drove up into the mountains to the carp lake.Journey time is 5 hours.   

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We spent an afternoon at a scenic waterfall spot, enjoying lunch and a boat ride. French is spoken in Morocco but Spanish isn’t, and many Moroccans are members of the Berber society and they speak neither. We were able to supplement the tasty local food, served in clay terrines, with freshly caught American largemouth Black bass, caught from the lake using spinner lures.

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We didn’t try the restaurants located in the nearby town, but it does have an efficient medical service and a good street market. Should you need need further medical assistance I would suggest returning to Spain because Morocco doesn’t accept the EU medical card.   

Where to go fishing in Beijing

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More information on fishing around Beijing

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Xiaotangshan Fishing Palace
It is located in the renowned Xiaotangshan Spa grounds, reputed to be the best spa area in China. You will be offered rod and reel and bait and lure. There are scores of fish: carp, crucian, grass fish, trout, chub , catfish etc. You will be arranged to have the fishing at the fishing pond for trainers. When you hook one fish and grab the fish, then you should free the caught fish alive and put the fish back into the pond. If you want to have more exciting fishing at the normal fishing ponds, you will be charged for the various fishes you have catched! So before you do the fishing at the normal fishing ponds, please check with the tour guide and the staff there for the prices of the caught fish. You can take the caught fish home or to a restaurant to cook the fishes.
Fishing is a great fun! Sitting on the stool, having your rods and reels in good condition, putting on the bait, waiting for the float plunged into the water, your line becoming tight, the rod doubled over and the fishing coming thrashing to the surface. Let’s go fishing!


Nangong Hot Spring Fishing Center
It is located in the Nangong World Geotherm Expo and it has five fishing ponds and one for spearing fish. There is also a special place for children to do fishing.
How to reach there: if you tale a bus, you take Bus 715 and get off at Geotherm Expo Station. If you take a car, please drive onto the expressway at the Liuliqiao Flyover and go out of the Zhaoxindian Exit, and then drive westwards.
Catch: Grass carp, cyprinid, catfish, crucian, porgy, golden trout, rainbow trout and blue shark.
Cost: 10 RMB for rod hire
Cyprinid is 20 RMB/kg. Grass carp 25 RMB/kg. Catfish and crucian 25 RMB/kg. Porgy is 30 RMB/kg. Rainbow trout 50 RMB/kg.

Xiwa Club
How to reach there: If you take a bus, please take Bus 360, 417 or 904 bus and get off at Niangniangfu Station. If you drive a car, please drive along the Fourth Ring Road, take the Fragrant Hills Exit and drive for Beiwu Village. At the third set of traffic lights, make a left turn, and then drive straight on for about 800 meters.
Catch: grass carp, cyprinid and crucian.
Cost: 20 RMB/kg for all species of fish.

Chaolai Agricultural Garden
How to reach there: Bus 707 goes to Chaolai Agricultural Garden.
If you drive a car, please take the northern Fifth Ring Road, leave by the Beiyuan Exit, and then it’s straight on from there.
Catch: grass carp, crucian and blunt-snout bream.
Cost: 20 RMB for rod hire, and then 24 RMB/kg for all kinds of fish.

Fangcao Fishing Village
How to reach there: For buses, you take Bus 345 and get off at Machikou Station. If you prefer a car, please drive along the Beijing-Changping Expressway, leaving at the Technology Park Exit in Changping District, and then go straight on and have a U-turn at the first bridge you get to.
Catch: porgy, grass carp, crucian and blunt-snout bream.
Cost: you can hire a rod free of charge or bring your own, and then it is 25 RMB/kg for all kinds of of fish.

Golden Dragon Fishing Garden
How to get there: you can take the City-lightrail Subway and get off at Huilongguan Station.
If you drive a car, please use the Beijing-Changping Expressway, leaving by the Xisanqi Exit, and then drive north and turn right at the Shaolin Marshal School.
Catch: cyprinid, crucian, and grass carp.
Cost: 10 RMB to hire a rod then 15 RMB/kg for all kinds of fish.

Huayuanhu Fishing Harbor
Catch: rainbow trout, golden trout, and sturgeon.
Cost: 10 RMB for rod hire, Rainbow trout are 30 RMB/kg. Golden trout 40 RMB/kg. Sturgeon 100 RMB/kg.
How to reach there: First take the train from Xizhimen Railway Station to Shentangyu and then change for a mini-bus.

Jinxiu Fishing Harbor
How to reach there: You either can take Bus 916 at Dongzhimen and get off at Huairou Station. Then change for a mini-bus. Or take a car, drive along the Beijing-Miyun Expressway. Continue straight ahead when you get to the Shichang Roundabout at Huairou District. Then on to Suyu Reservoir through Qiaozi Township.
Catch: cyprinid, grass carp, crucian, perch, and silver carp.
Cost: you pay 10 RMB for the rod plus 38 RMB for a full day’s fishing, and then you pay 8 RMB/kg for the fish.

Dafuhao Fishing Garden
How to reach there: Either take Bus 846 alone the Chang’an Avenue or drive a car along the Beijing-Tongzhou Expressway and leave at the Beiguan Roundabout. Look for for the Longyu Gasoline Station, where you have to go 200 meters further to the north.
Catch: crucian, cyprinid, grass carp and blunt-snout bream.
Cost: 30 RMB/day from Monday to Friday, and then 40 RMB/day on Saturday and Sunday.

Bixi Fishing Garden
How to get there: You can either take Bus 917 from Tianqiao (Heavenly Bridge) and get off at Fengtai Station or drive a car along the expressway from the Liuliqiao Flyover to the Changyang Exit in Daxing District, go east 4 km from the Beijing-Liangxiang Roundabout, and then turn right into Changyang Road.
Cost: 30 RMB for rod hire.
African carp, silver pomfret and black crucian are 30 RMB/kg. Rainbow trout 40 RMB/kg. grass carp, cyprinid and silver carp 30 RMB/kg.

Jinhai Lake
Jinhai Lake is 85 km from the city. It is be one of the best tourist attractions in Beijing. After fishing, you can dine well at various restaurants.
Catch: cyprinid, grass carp, crucian and blunt-snout bream.
Cost: 20 RMB for kinds of the fish you can catch.
How to reach there: Take Bus 918 from Dongzhimen.
By car, take the Beijing-Shunyi Road to the Pinggu District, and then drive 18 km east.

Crab Island
Located in the northeast of Chaoyang District, Crab Island has an area of 220 hectares. It is a holiday resort with a pleasant green environment. Catch: African carp, crucian, blunt-snout bream, grass carp, cyprinid, rainbow trout, sturgeon, soft-shelled turtle and blue shark, and yes, of course there are crabs at Crab Island.
How to reach there: you either take Bus 418 or Bus 909 at Dongzhimen and get off at Xiedao (Crab Island) Station or take the International Expressway by car.
Cost: 10 RMB per rod for 3 hours fishing outdoors, then you pay for what you fish:
Cyprinid is 20 RMB/kg. Grass carp 25 RMB/kg. African carp, crucian and blunt-snout bream 30 RMB/kg. Rainbow trout 50 RMB/kg.
Phil recommends three further, free fishing spots

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Dongzhimen canal in Sanlitun

1. I would also ad the canal system in Dongzhimen and Sanlitun. For instance, you can cast a line from the canal bank that bisects Sanlitun bei lu, by Schillers German restaurant. Locals use paste as hook bait to attract crucian carp with a pole and a float. The canal was dredged around 2005, by tnow (2010) common carp will have grown to more than a few kilos.

2. I also witnessed an exotic looking catfish, weighing approximately 2 kilos, being landed from the outflow canal, by the small bridge by entrance to Sihui power station. The power station can be spotted by its tall chimney and is located 400m east of China Central Place on north side of jianguomen Wai, 400m before Sihui Qiao (bridge). The lucky angler caught the fish on live bait, which can be caught from the same spot.

3. The canal that runs south of CBD, and parallel to it  is worth a cast. Exit Dawang Lu subway and walk south along Xi Dawang Lu Nan for 5 minutes to the bridge over the canal.

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Promising angling opportunities in China

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During my time spent living in Beijing I noticed that whilst seafood restaurants were few and far between freshwater fish species like grass carp and small head bass were commonly represented on Beijing restaurant menus.In fact carp quickly became my favourite Chinese dish when eating out. Using chopsticks meant that I could easily pick out flesh from between the bones of steamed carp without difficulty after a little practice.

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While hundreds of tons of fish are supplied to Beijing’s 40′000 restaurants from out of town commercial stock ponds every day, local Beijing anglers prefer to concentrate their efforts, especially during the warm summer months, on catching tiny Crucian carp using whip poles and small floats from inner city canals.

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Harsh winters don’t prevent local anglers bagging up from Beijing’s frozen canals and city park lakes. Bites are less frequent and ice fishing generally requires more patience and a sturdy constitution.The local hooch, baijiou (Chinese whisky is made from sougram) is sold in small bottles from corner shops all over China but here in Dongzhimen, anglers fishing the canal by the third ring road, swear that it keeps their spirits alive when temperatures plummet.

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Just north of Beijing is a river found near Hairou gorge that contains trout.

Visiting anglers will be surprised by the variety of fish species caught in Beijing. A local angler, expertly casting a large treble hook into the colourful canal in Andingmen district near the Confucious Temple on the second ring road was able to snag all manner of tropical fish, including many dozing goldfish, which  had almost certainly been evicted from their owner’s comfortable living room aquariums by the arrival of the latest  family pets craze, miniature Japanese golden killer poodles.

Fed up with catching hundreds of tiny fry, an enterprising angler returned his initial catch on a larger hook and recast by the sluice gate of the outflow pipe for the power station located in Sihui Qiao near the CBD. Minutes later he hooked into and landed a fair sized catfish (3 kilos) with an exotic strip appearance. The following week I ordered a similar looking fish, part of a spicy hotpot dish, spotted on an upmarket restaurant menu.

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My in-laws, hearing about the fishing prowess of the newly arrived expert foreign angler,organised a Sunday afternoon family fishing trip to a local lake near to the airport. My young niece caught fish - beginner’s luck, my ancient father-in-law caught fish- Beijinger’s luck, I even helped my step brother, novice angler Phil, catch his first carp - unbelievable luck! I caught less - nothing actually!

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However we enjoyed our combined catch of eight grass and common carp, served eight different and delicious ways, together at the at the lake side restaurant.

The following year I was taken to a fishing hot spot whilst visiting a friend’s home town, Changchun city in the province of Liaoning. China’s north east has a reputation for freezing winters.During the summer clean, blue skies hover over fish filled lakes enclosed by virgin forest plantations. These wonderful locations provide memorable fishing opportunities, and some of the least tampered-with countryside in China.

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I fished the outflow channel of a large reservoir located approximately one hour’s drive outside Changchun. The canal contained around forty pegs used for match fishing. I used a light pole to float fish and caught five different small fish including a common carp, barbel and Rudd types.

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The picture shows me holding an 8 kilo Big head carp (Robson Greene’s encountered the same fish species on his Extreeme Fishing TV show when he visited a lake near to Shanghai). The local workers had netted the large fish, many specimens were made captive in the canal because they couldn’t pass through a narrow sluice gate at one end, and then put a rope through its gills until needed for the pot. Workers sell the head of Big head carp to restaurants, it’s an expensive yet very popular delicacy.

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