Chinese Doors and Their Scary-Looking Doorknobs

While living in China for years, the doors at Chinese houses keeps my attention. The door handles – in various sizes, shapes, colors and the superstitions that come with them are fascinating. Most doorknobs are in the shape of a lion or a dragon’s head. I really couldn’t accurately identify one from the other. They seem to look the same to me if you look at them in detail – in their unflattering, scary close-ups. These animals are (mostly in pairs) in almost every Chinese doors. They are the guardians of the house. Someone told me that they protect the house from evil spirits and unfortunate, unwanted events that may knock the door.

As you can see, most doors are in red. The color represents luck and prosperity in China.

Let’s Talk About Dragons

Do you know that a Chinese dragon is made up of nine animal creatures? It has a demon’s eyes, an eagle’s sharp claws, a snake’s neck (that’s why it’s long?), a camel’s head, a cow’s ears, a clam’s belly, a stag’s horn, a tiger’s feet sole, and 117 scales that cover its body are like that of a carp! Look at these parts while staring at these Chinese doorknobs. You might find some of them staring back at you. Or just plainly making faces directly at a human looking at them.

VPN in China

Remember that while most hotels in China have free access to wifi, it is recommended that you install your own VPN to access your social media accounts. And yes, Google is non-existent here. So, if you have Gmail accounts, they won’t work here without a VPN. 

How to Buy a Train Ticket Online in China

Buying train tickets at the train station anywhere in China can be confusing for those who don’t speak the language. What I always do is book via TRIP because it’s the most convenient, and they don’t really charge that much for the service fee. The money you’d spend going to the train station might be the same for the service fee. And you wasted no time joining the long queue there. However, on the day of your trip, make sure to be at the station at least an hour and a half. Go directly to the window booth where they issue the real tickets. You have to show the reservation number/s. Train attendants usually allow passengers to check–in between 20-30 minutes before the scheduled departure.