Beijing Break

 

After settling in to our respective locations, a few of us decided to reunite in Beijing.  This is how the weekend of 3/12-3/14 unfolded.

 

It is hard to describe my modern impression of one of the oldest cities in the world.  Beijing is awe-inspiring in its ancient grandeur which has endured until this day.  The sense of history that the place possesses is humbling. You feel so small, so trivial--your everyday struggles so insignificant. The way Beijing has modernized is beautiful.  Although some may argue it has Westernized by obliterating much of the hutong culture and unique details of old China, I marvel at the thoughtfulness where certain elements are preserved.   Da Zha Lan hutong where our hostel was located has such precious charm. These pictures don't do it justice, but like other buildings on the block, it's exterior remains but the interior has been gutted for modern use.  The hostel just renovated in December so it was very clean and the service was great.  It has a bit of a hippy vibe but inviting and full of personal touches.   I definitely recommend 365 Inn if you are ever in need of a cheap place to crash in Beijing.

 The fact that they are partnered with a restaurant doesn't hurt because they served up one of the best Western-interpreted meals I've had yet. Below is my Vegetarian Breakfast of granola, yogurt, toast, fruit salad, and good strong (non-instant) coffee.  I was very happy after weeks of being deprived proper caffeine and eating greasy food.

Beijing is both very Chinese yet eclectic and cosmopolitan in its development.  Russian and Arabic script can be seen springing up in certain areas while the next blocks might be Starbucks and KFC.  For those that remember the buffet restaurant Sizzler, it is alive and well here. Beijing was also not as crowded as I expected. The streets are very broad, almost like the promenades and boulevards of post revolutionary Paris maybe. The eaves of government buildings are adorned with lights at night and art deco style lamps dot Tian 'an men Square and the Beijing Railway Station (above).

 I guess I have fallen to the stereotype that most Chinese know how to compose a picture, but below we are blocking the entrance to the Forbidden City that makes this picture somewhat significant. Anyways, despite the bad photographer, these are fellow teachers from my program: Dan, Tiffany, and Lizzy.

 An example of some commissioned graffiti art on an older tiled residential wall.

I saw these masks on one of the old hutongs and liked the geometry of the shapes and patterns. They're also a bit scary, especially the larger one with a crown of skulls. Although the vendors will sell them as antiques, most are reproductions.

The Hall of Prayer and Good Harvests within the Temple of Heaven Park is one of the earliest examples of creative architecture. The entire three-tiered roof is supported without nails or cement. The connections are from precisely located wood joints.

The Echo Wall is built in a perfect circle and on a quiet day can carry a person's voice from one end of its diameter to the other where a listener may be waiting.  It is good for secret conversations, but it is usually too loud in the park to test this theory.

This is an indoor-outdoor shopping plaza which is of course poorly translated as The Place.  It features a huge LCD canopy similar to Las Vegas's Freemont Street. Here Owl City's Fireflies is playing.

Off of Wang Fu Jing Da Jie is a mall with a huge sub-level food court called Gourmet Street to satisfy your heart's every culinary desire.  It's not so much a food court as a series of casual restaurants where you either order at the counter or with a server. Almost all the seating though was very stylized with restaurant-like booths oppose to cafeteria-like uniform chairs and tables. I'm not a fan of yellow, but I like how it's used here at this noodle joint.  I also particularly enjoy the Beijing landmark (CCTV Tower and Water Cube) decals on the wall.

This mod roast meat place also has a strong use of color; this time pink.

A tempting display of mochi desserts. Sadly, they cost more than my lunch so I settled for just a picture.

This is a window display of rings for a jewelry store made from illuminated plexi-glass rods. They spell "I Do".

 We part ways on Sunday to get back to our schools. All of us took the train which is very cheap and goes to just about every city and town you can think of in China. Below from left are Dan and Mike from Baoding; along with Tiffany and Lizzy from Tachang.