People's Park, the Shanghai Museum, and MOCA

I didn’t recognize Peoples Park (Renmin Yuan). Since the last time I was here in 2000, a lot of the park has been paved over for subway station entrances/exits, a pedestrian underpass (the overpass is gone), a new museum (MOCA) and coffee shops and restaurants. The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) had an exhibit on art and sport that was fabulous, especially the photography and video exhibits. The Shanghai Museum is better than ever, though the first thing I did was find my favorite bronze piece, the bells of Marquis Su of Jin (mid-9th century BC). The exhibit includes a recording of the bells being played which I could listen to all day (and almost did).

Shanghai

I took the overnight train to Shanghai on Saturday, arriving Sunday morning. The city is exciting, full of energy and light, smaller in scale and warmer than Beijing. The streets around Nanjing Hotel were closed for the running of the Shanghai marathon and I had to walk about 15 minutes through the crowds to get to the hotel door.

I was met by Master Gao and spend much of Sunday and Monday with friends and walking around the area by the hotel, Nanjing Dong Lu and the Bund. The photo shows the view from my hotel, the Pearl Tower dwarfing the smaller, old buildings that are doomed before long to destruction.

The Da Shan Zi Art District

I had my last Chinese language class today and said goodbye to my teachers, Sissy (Wang Laoshi) and Niki (Guo Laoshi), and tongxue (classmate) David. Having spent four hours a day together over the past 3 weeks we had developed bonds of friendship and it was sad to say goodbye.

I then took the subway and bus to the Da Shan Zi Art District, an area of industrial buildings that have been converted to artists' studios and galleries. One building is the old No. 798 Electronics Factory. It was once the center of Chinese high tech and produced parts for China's first nuclear bombs and satellites. Today the space was filled with large photos and a bookshop and restaurant.

The Last Weekend in Beijing

On Saturday I went with a friend of Master Liu's, Xu Jie, to visit Dong Hai Chuan's Memorial in Fragrant Hills Cemetary.

Sunday morning was spent at Panjiayuan Market. I thought about buying one of these buddhas but they were too heavy to carry on the train to Shanghai. There were also lots of old swords and other weapons that were tempting.. and nice big calligraphy brushes... and Tibetan jewelry...

I took a tourist bus from Qianmen to the Badaling section of the Great Wall in the afternoon. I didn't think I would have time to go to the Great Wall on this trip, but was very glad I did. Mao Zedong said "Bu dao Changcheng fei hao han" --If you don't go to the Great Wall you're not a real man... I guess woman applies too. It was a sunny, clear day and freezing cold. I had been hoping for photos of the Great Wall covered in snow, but was glad for the clear skies and grand views.

Kungfu Tournament

Friday afternoon BLCU (Beijing Language and Culture University) hosted a college student kungfu tournament. Here are some of the highlights of wudang taiji, chen taiji sword, spear, staff, and other forms of kungfu. Most of the competitors were of very high skill. The group form at the end is a very unusual form of kungfu!!??!!

Yonghegong (Lama Temple)

Yonghegong (Lama Temple) is dedicated to the Yellow Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It is still an active temple, even though it is crawling with tourists, has a large parking lot for buses, and a subway in the corner. It has the biggest Buddha statue carved from a single tree, three stories high and nine feet across. It is forbidden to photograph the Buddha so here is a picture of believers lighting incense in front of the Temple.

A Long and Interesting Day

I woke up early and took the subway (I had to transfer twice) and a cab to the Temple of Heaven. The park was full of people practicing tai chi and qi gong. I found a group that just finished practicing long tassel sword and was tempted to ask if I could join them next time, but I don't think I can deal with the commute. I shot some video of a man practicing walking qi gong. It was mesmerizing.

When I left the park I took a cab to Tiananmen Square (this time it was half the price?!) and walked through the Forbidden City. The garden was spectacular, old trees and unusual rocks. I was intrigued by this persimmon tree.

To the east of the Forbidden City are ancient alleys, called hutongs. They are lined with courtyard houses, built with their backs turned on the outside world and their main entrance set in blank walls. I started a walking tour from one of my guide books and was just into it when I was approached by a pedicab guide. I decided to go with him. He showed me some beautiful doorways including this one.

The alleyways are very narrow and as we turned into one we almost ran into a car. Unfortunately it was the gong an (police). After much questionning of the driver and me (?) and showing of IDs and papers, I was told to leave. As I walked away the driver was still trying to get out of the situation. I think the police officer was writing him a ticket. I'm not sure what the problem was other than he was in the way of the police car. But I kept on going and didn't look back.

Life in Haidian, the University District

The bike lane on Qing Hua Dong Lu, just in front of my school

Breakfast at this place is a big bowl of soup with dumplings and cilantro, baozi (stuffed buns), and youtiao (fried bread sticks ).

I spent the day in Beihai Park, where people were doing push hands, qigong, taiji, walking on the paths, rubbing trees, and doing calligraphy with water on the sidewalk.

Today was spectacular, warmer than usual for November. I figured out the subway and went to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.

Then I walked to Wangfujing Dajie, a big shopping street, where I found this quaint little chopsticks shop.

Today I registered for my Chinese class at the University's College of International Education and then roamed the streets in the university district to get my bearings. I found the subway, 2 supermarkets, Watson's (the British drugstore), lots of interesting looking restaurants, tous les jours (a French bakery with Chinese overtones), a place to rent a bicycle, and a 7-Eleven.

After flying over the North Pole, the mountains and deserts of northern Asia, and the Great Wall (see photo), the plane landed in Beijing an hour ahead of schedule on a cold, clear, sunny day. As cars inched their way into the city, an old man on a bicycle loaded with green vegetables kept pace on the inside lane. We drove past the new Olympic Stadium construction... an exquisite bird's nest woven of thick silver strands. People were climbing all over the construction fence trying to get a photo. I had been awake for about 24 hours so when I got to the Jingyu Hotel, I went to sleep.