Beihai Park (北海公园) Staircase - Beijing (北京) - 2010

Queenie took this picture in Beihai Park (北海公园) on our trip there in August 2010 with Mom. We removed the color and sharpened it up a bit and really liked the nostalgic feel the picture gives. It was a great trip and we were happy to visit Beihai. It was the first time for all of us as on our first trip there we didn't go in.

Staircase in Beihai Park (北海公园) (by Queenie)

Beihai Park (北海公园)is definitely worth visiting when in Beijing. And it is also worth paying extra to climb to the top and see the white Drogba (be warned, there are a lot of stairs). If you take your time it is easy. The views from the top are really awesome especially when looking over the lake with all the pedal boats floating on top. I guess summer it does get really crowded. Best to visit in the beginning of winter. Not so many people and not too cold.

Hutong (衚衕) Life - Beijing

The picture below is one Queenie took in a Beijing Hutong (北京衚衕) on our trip there in August 2010 with Mom. I edited the picture and I just really liked the outcome a lot so wanted to share it. I will post a longer blog at some point with other Hutong pictures.

If you have any comments, please do share.

Tattoo Art in Beijing 798 Art Zone

We saw these amazing pieces of Art in the Beijing 798 Art Zone when we took my mom there in 2010. As you can see the pictures were of tragic women with intricate tatoos all over their bodies. I personally loved the concept and enjoyed this particular gallery. It was unusual and differet from the usual landscape galleries and the propoganda galleries. Unfortunately we do not know who the artist is.

Despair

As the picture above shows, the art pieces all depicted different women with tattoos in a different emotional state of being. The picture above shows amplifies in my mind the concept of tragic beauty. Beautiful woman, scarred body, committing suicide. Terribly sad and yet a powerful emotional image.

Sadness

The picture above was without doubt my favorite. I liked the contrast between the black and the skin tone, the intricate detail of the tatoo, the horn off the eyes, the coy body posture, the submissive melting away emotion in the face. I just really like that piece.

Girls Together

The deep red in the picture above adds an emotional flavor to the picture. I love the contrasting expressions in the girls faces (the one girl has two eyes open, the other only one etc.) and how the one has a piercing in the lip and the other the piercing in the eyebrow. The closeness of the girls also seems to imply security in friendship in dramatic times. And once again the intricacy of the art tattoos and the artwork on the wall and the headpieces is amazing.

Back to You

The shy, graceful poise in the pose for this picture is remarkable. The light skin tones contrasted with the actual tattoo provdes a gentle texture to the picture and makes it a compelling piece for me.

Discretion

Another great picture. The shy, defenceless posture of the lady covering herself despite her circumstance. The big eyes, the elegant and graceful pose makes this woman alluring and beautiful.

Defiance

Loved this one. The defiance in the eyes and the wicked smile in spite of the necklace of thorns. The gun is the release from life. The one thing she has control of. The blood from the thorns, the tear stained cheek, defiance in the eyes, the gun in the hand. It is a tragic but powerful picture.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed and if you do know the name of the artist then please do let me know.

Beijing August 02: Morning in Tianamen Square

Tianamen Square is, as per the lonely planet, the center of the Chinese Universe. Most people have heard of it beacause of the student uprising that occurred in Tianamen Square way back in 1989. I have also read that Falun Gong members have regularly been arrested there for acts of protests. At any rate, Tianamen Square is one of the places a person must go if they go to Beijing. But once is enough I think!

Sculpture in Tianamen Square

Thousands and millions of words have already been written about Tianamen, and all of those are no doubt far more eloquent than anything we can say. What is Tianamen Square: well, it is just that, a big, flat square in the middle of Beijing surrounded by official buildings and the Heavenly Gate that leads to the Forbidden City. So apart from that we will not say too much about the square itself (and no, we didn't visit Mao's Mausaleum).

Mom in Tianamen Square

For Queenie and I it is the second time we have been to this famous/notorious bit of real estate in the middle of Beijing. The first time was way back in the winter of 2005 on the back end of a six week tour of China. It was the middle of a deep winter and the temperature at the time was -9C - FREEZING - and the square was empty (see China Travelogue 8: Lanzhou to Beijing). Anyway, this time around it was a muggy, hot, humid August day - and there were a lot of people moving in and out of the square. They even had a security check point with x-ray machines (this wasn't there the last time we visited)and it is probably only there for the summer (at -9C Queenie and I were the only two people in the Square).

Mom & Queenie in Tianamen Square

Mom & Queenie in Tianamen Square

The good thing about going to Tianamen Square this time was that we could actually get our pictures taken in the square. The last time we were here we took pictures but our memory chip got destroyed so we don't have any pictures of this part of our trip round China! Not good. So we go some pictures of us here and also a video (see below) but other than that, it was a fairly uneventful visit and walk through the square. If back in Beijing would I visit it again: depends on the weather. In the heart of winter no and in the heat of summer no - probably a cool spring/autumn evening would be nice, but there is nothing else that is compelling to draw me back there.

After visiting Tianamen Square we visited the Forbidden city (but didn't go in as too many people) and also Beihai. All in all it was a pretty awesome day.

Beijing August 01: Late Planes and Broken Tooth

First Restaurant Stop

Air China is always late!

Myself, Mom and Queenie left for Beijing on 31 July 2010. I had to go to the Beijing office on business and since mom was around decided to drag them along. We had originally booked Eva airlines that left early on a Saturday morning and came back late the following Sunday. Unfortunately they cancelled the flight so we had to change to Air China. The departure time was meant to be at 1:00pm on Saturday and return at 8:35am the following Sunday. The flight was delayed without reason. A frequent Air China flier then informed us that they are always late. The kicker was they gave us each a meal voucher valued at NTD180. That couldn’t even buy a Burger King meal (Burger King in the airport is more expensive). We finally got off the ground at around 4:00pm and landed in Beijing at 7:00pm and checked into the Landmark Hotel at 7:30pm. Only a three hour delay but we lost all the daylight in Beijing. That is life.

Exploded Chicken, Broken Tooth

There is no such thing as carved poultry in Chinese Cuisine it seems (except maybe for Beijing Duck). Most of the poultry seems to be “exploded” chicken, duck, turkey etc. The reason they seem exploded is that instead of carving the poultry the chefs hack it with a meat cleaver with bones and flesh mixed together. Anyway, after arriving in Beijing Queenie selected a restaurant from her guide book and off we went. Of course we ordered some chicken. I selected a slice of chicken that I thought was boneless and tested it as much as possible to see if there were bones. And then I took that fatal bite! I felt the small piece of bone cracking into my tooth and felt an incredible surge of pain. Realizing what had happened I quickly spat out the bone but alas, it was too late. Soon after spitting out the bone I spat out the part of my tooth that had broken off.

“Beijing you bitch,” was my response.

Guilty Chicken

Mom, Queenie and Me

Our Waitresses

The Amazing Menu

Another Dish

The result of my first dinner! One week of chewing on one side of my mouth, a visit to the dentist in Taiwan and the need for an NTD8,000 cap on the said broken tooth, which will take three weeks to get. At least I now have a temporary cap and can eat on both sides of my mouth.

After leaving the restaurant we went for a walk around the neighborhood and came accross our first Dog Meat Restaurant. Yes, dog cuisine is still alive and well in China.

Dog Meat Restaurant

Naked Swimmer, Expensive Lake

After dinner we were in the mood for a little life. So Queenie, Mom, me and my half tooth headed off to Hou Hai Lake. This was a happening place! People danced in the square in front of the lake, music was blasting out of the riverside bars, people were fishing in the lake and others were swimming. We took a casual stroll around the lake and stopped to talk to one of the swimmers in the lake. After chatting with him for about a second we realized he was completely naked. Good thing it was night and he was in the water. We just wanted to know if it was safe to swim (and perhaps go for a dip ourselves). We decided against it. We strolled around the lake, I was offered girls in a bar but they didn’t want Queenie or mom to come. Eventually we landed up in a quiet bar, drank some lemon tea and had a plate of fruit. We thought Hou Hai was expensive. On Day 2 we went there for some snacks and some drinks, it came to RMB500 (NTD2,000) and the food was crap and the drink small and disgusting. We will never eat or drink there again.

Masks on Hou Hai Lake

Us at Hou Hai Lake

Paul at Hou Hai Lake

Don’t worry, despite the late plane, the broken tooth and the disgustingly expensive food at Hou Hai, we had a blast on the first day (that is said without Sarcasm) and the whole trip to Beijing was amazing. We were glad to have the opportunity to take mom along for the ride.