If you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area this weekend, then reserve your tickets to the Terracotta Warriors Exhibit at Asian Art Museum now. Monday, Memorial Day, will be the final exhibition day before the warriors leave the museum. Although the exhibit garnered lukewarm reviews, I disagree and say that it is highly worth the viewing for any Chinese history aficionado. Lines are long, so be sure to reserve your tickets ahead of time. For ticketing information, click here.
The terracotta army was the result of one emperor’s, the first emperor of China Qin Shi Huang’s quest for immortality. And he achieved it, if perhaps the immortality he has obtained is not quite in the form he hoped for. Getting to see the eighth wonder of the ancient world without trekking to China was a blessed convenience, though after seeing the exhibit, Hubby and I are making plans to see the greater Terracotta Army exhibition in Xi’an.
Our opportunity to see the exhibit was arranged through a new start-up called Datepress, which my dear Asian fellows should definitely bookmark. The site curates exclusive packages for two and totally takes the stress out of planning dates. You’ll never have to wait in line again, make reservations, and you and your date will get ushered in past the red ropes first. And thank goodness for that at the Terracotta Warriors exhibit! The lines were crazy long and thanks to Datepress, Hubby and I didn’t wait a minute in the cold. More about Datepress and its founders after the jump.
Photo Credit: Datepress.com
Christopher Ling is an investment banker turned entrepreneur who came up with the idea of Datepress after having to stress over planning dates for his girlfriend Caroline that would impress. However, the packages aren’t just any run-of-the-mill dinner dates; the Datepress team strives to bring you exclusive experiences.
I spoke with Zander Kirkland, Date Curator (what a cool title). The team has in the works special, extravagant prix fixe menus for brunch at some of San Francisco’s trendiest restaurants, for-two culinary school events, VIP evenings at Great American Music Hall, and private wine-tasting cocktail parties. The team celebrated with its launch party this past April and so far the business is off to a phenomenal start.
As Chris told me, “We help couples go on great dates. For a birthday, anniversary, special occasion or just because. We think of exclusive date ideas, plan your experience and turn them into extraordinary memories.”
The Asian Art Museum private tour plus prixe fixe dinner was their website debut. (Prior to that, Datepress operated mostly through a closed network of contacts via e-mail.) The package included wine and hors d’oeuvres, then a private tour of the Terracotta Warriors exhibit, and then dinner and dessert. What Hubby and I went to would probably not have been an ideal first date or romantic anniversary package, since it was presented in a group setting with several other couples. But for a weeknight outing with the significant other, it couldn’t be beat. Datepress did deliver: an exclusive, memorable experience at incredible convenience that might have otherwise been impracticable for a busy professional couple like Hubby and me to plan ourselves.
The Terracotta Warriors exhibit plus dinner was the perfect date for me to coordinate. Hubby was my arm candy for the night. I zoned in on this particular date package because I know Hubby’s a Chinese history buff. Likewise, Datepress is an ideal site for women who are looking to put together a special date for that special guy. The business really tries to offer different dates for different occasions, and even couples at different stages of dating.
Says co-founder Chris, “When you look back over the past years, our actual experiences (as opposed to monetary goods), like our vacations, that summer road trip, or weekend getaway are the permanent memories we take with us. Datepress is trying to do just that, create memories.”
One thing I’ll warn is this: Let’s hope Datepress is discrete. While I would be super-impressed with a guy who seemed to have planned out the perfect, most memorable date night (via Datepress), if I later found out he simply clicked a link and hit “Buy,” the night would suddenly seem less special, which is the whole mission of the business in the first place. So. Discretion for the guys will be key.
Oh, and one final arbitrary remark: To all those gripers of interracial dating in the Asian American community, particularly the Asian female and white male pairing, the Bay Area couples in attendance went against what these so-called IR critics would have expected. There were two Asian female / Asian male couples, one white female / Asian male couple, and one Asian female / white male couple. That’s only 1 out of 4, you IR gripers! Perhaps the Asian American dating landscape is changing, contrary to what these commenters have been saying here or even here in response to Ben’s post or here, Jee’s piece or the classic 8Asians piece on the subject here.
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