My friend told me about a fake Ikea, not far from DianChi lake. It took a 40kuai taxi ride from the north, but it was a fully almost exact replica of Ikea. Most items were actually from Ikea and similar prices. Furniture, dishware, lights, pictures, storage containers... And inside was set up just like an Ikea. 3 floors of stuff. We bought tons of stuff, and it's well worth a visit. Apparently there are 2 in town. in chinese it's ShiYi Jia Ju (11furniture). The one near dianchi lake is supposedly bigger, but I've not been to the other. I don't know the address, but I can post the phone number. And most taxi drivers seemed to know ShiYi JiaJu.

the holiday goes from 1 all the way through 9. people are back to work/school on the 10th, a Saturday. I would think that the 30th, 1st, and 2nd should be crazy days. After that, probably just around 8 and 9 as people return home. Getting tickets leading up to the holiday will be tough, but should be ok by the 3rd.

yes. everywhere. walmart, metro, carrefour, Sunning.

Anyone know of a montessori type school in the north?