Beijing Buddy

Before coming to China, I had so many theories (and misconceptions) of what Beijing would be like. As a child I had come with my uncle and cousin for a tour of the Summer Palace, The Forbidden City, and various other notable spots I'm sure.  I remember the city being cold, dirty, and sterile. Well, the first two  still apply, but having ditched the hotel rooms and tour bus I uncovered a city teeming with history and nationalism yet relentlessly modernizing.  I believe that it is possible to modernize without westernize and that China is developing its own renaissance so to speak. The first signs can be seen in contemporary art and architecture.  Thanks to a Beijing buddy I was able to get a more intimate slice of the city. This post will be about art and night life from a more localized perspective I hope.

The 798 Art District used to house many industrial factories before it was transformed in to a neighborhood of galleries, artisan shops, and restaurants.

A European bust of a man is covered with a Chinese, ceramic, floral pattern.

A cartoonish stainless steel sculpture by Xia Hang entitled It's Not Far features a funny little creature with propellers on his back.

 A stainless steel version of historical literary icon, Lao Zi by artist Zheng Lu is perforated using passages from his own works.  Lao Zi therefore becomes transparent yet still heavy.

String art decorates a tree outside a clothing shop.

 

An Art Noveau style defines an entrance to a  Spanish gallery...

while a more simple, rustic approach transforms a log in to steps for a shop.

Travel a little south to the Sanlitun neighborhood and you will find an awesome example of architecture as art. Opposite House by Japanese architect, Kengo Kuma is probably one of the most beautiful (interior) places I have ever seen in my life. This may be in part due to the uber expensive 98-room hotel also functioning as a rotating gallery space for artists.  Not to mention, the staff materialize out of thin air due to cleverly concealed doors and work stations.  I am beyond words, only that the Japanese really do aim for perfection.

Sanlitun, is also a popular night spot where a mixture of established clubs and dive bars converge in on each other.

My Beijing buddy is Sohith, a transplanted New York  designer in Beijing for the architect's playground that has become this city.  Although China holds great opportunity to build for the architecture industry, competition is fierce and the hours are way longer compared to the US.  How do you balance this? You go out even more to equalize work time and play time.

It's pretty easy to get in to places around here; there were no annoying lines, pretentious bouncers, or closing times it seems. Below is a roof top bar at dawn.

 Maybe I should have tried something more authentic for street food, but by then again, I already had my fill of Chinese and was really craving something more Western. Thank goodness they didn't screw it up.

The whole area of Sanlitun is only several blocks in total of alleys and streets but already a paradox in itself of class and crass.

Have You Eaten Yet?

Chinese food is a way of life.  Although China is a country that is developing it's economic and political stability, the majority of the population is still agricultural and remembers a time when famine existed.  Food is a staple of livelihood and meals (outside of the big cities) are almost always communal.  Hence, a common greeting when meeting someone after "how are you" is..."have you eaten yet?"

Below are some dumplings that I made at Ms. Geng's, a local English teacher's home. She made everything from scratch, even the reed mat that the dumplings are to be steamed on.  In her town, domestic skills are still standard for most women in addition to career skills to be competitive.

Although there is a market for a lot of packaged food and drinks, food made from scratch is still very important. Below is the scene at TESCO, one of the large chain supermarkets from Britain.  I thought it had a street market vibe albeit being indoors.

Below fresh peanut and sesame oil is made on the spot for customers.

Noodles, fried bread, and pastries are also all made behind the counter at the store daily.

Finally my favorite are the little steamed buns filled with sweet bean paste in the shapes of white peaches, pigs, and maybe a bear. 

 

Great Wall Beach Party

So in a recent post I talked about visiting Laolongtao or Old Dragon's Head with the other foreign teachers to see where the Great Wall begins.  Little did I know that the other side of the wall hosts a rave every year.  They even have a website that you can visit here.  I was skeptical about going at first because I'm not much of a raver and the gate closes by 10:30pm at my school so that means I have to climb over the dusty wall in the dark.  However,  I went with another foreign teacher Adam, from Hebei Normal University and his buddies Farkas (I thought he said F*$kers when he introduced himself) and Lucas.

 The party was actually fairly tame but it was nice to just be on the beach during a cool summer night.  You could rent a horse to ride around on the sand or watch the World Cup quarter finals between Argentina and Germany.  You couldn't go in the water though because they roped it off for people(men) to pee in. Yeah.

Please Stand By---and We're Back!

I know this post is a little after the fact, but thanks for standing by while I experienced technical difficulties after canceling my VPN service in preparation to return to the US.  Anyways,  Common Ground is back on line and I would like to finish recounting this chapter on China so for those of you that I don't see often, please stay tuned.