Beijing – 798

Even though we hadn’t hit up every temple in town, we decided that taking in some art would be up our alley. The resulting trip was the coolest ‘out of the ordinary’ thing we did in Beijing. The very industrial and modern 798 Art District houses some impressive art which was more subversive, political, and counter-culture than anything I expected to find in China.

The area is a converted abandoned Industrial sector. The buildings are old warehouses and factories, which now house sculptures, cafes, and art spaces. We spent a morning and afternoon here, but didn’t manage to see everything. If you get to Beijing, I suggest finding this little block of goodness. Again, pictures are often better [or at least more pleasing to you and easier on me].  I have tons more, but here are some goodies:

Beijing – The Great Wall

Simply put – it’s great! After our fiasco with the 919 bus, everything seemed to settle out as we reached the wall. The bus ride afforded some views of old towers and sections of the wall. Once we got to the wall, there are plenty of kiosks offering meat on a stick – my favorite treat – so we were in good position.

We opted to do Badaling because it is the most visited and touristy section of the wall – which we read as easiest to get to and to walk. Beijing had gotten fairly cold, Shu Lan was definitely not prepared for a major hike, and I wasn’t in the mood to fight piercing winds as we scaled 70 degree inclines. I think we chose wisely.

The most “touristy part” of the wall was surprisingly emptier than we expected. Few hawkers were on the wall, since it was so cold. Oh man, was it cold! Wind blew so hard that I nearly fell over two or three times. I once grabbed Shu Lan as she floated up into the air! Ok, I’m exaggerating – but I did feel that I could occasionally be blown off the wall to the great below.

It is hard to capture the wall in words or pictures. I could give you hundreds of pictures of the wall but it is something that you simply have to experience. Impressive, never ending, and making you feel small – the Great Wall is just one of those things you have to go stand on to fully understand it.  That said, it would be a shame if I didn’t share any pictures:

Beijing – Peking Duck

Beijing – Day 1

On the first day we decided to take in the major sites of Beijing. I will try not to bore you with detailed descriptions of areas you can read about all over the web. Suffice to say that the area of Tiannamen square is full of monuments, which are generally Mao-o-rific, and the Forbidden City is a must see. The gardens of the city are simply impressive and we could have spent all day there. There are also these dragon claw trees that I want to have wherever I wind up settling down.

The highlight of this day was definitely food. First up, scorpion:

The minute I saw them, I knew I wanted to eat them. They are crunchy and a little chewy. But, word to the wise – watch out for those stingers. This was actually my first fear when we bought them. But, I figured what harm can they really do? Turns out your hard palate isn’t scorpion proof and yours truly managed to sting the area right behind the front teeth. At first, just a little prick. I yelped but finished chewing. Then, it bubbled a bit and felt a lot like an ant bite. Thankfully, all the pain subsided after about 20 minutes – but man that was a scary little while.

We also ate some of the famous Peking duck. Man, deliciousness with no limits. Pieces of the roasted skin come, and you dip it in sugar – and heaven erupts in your mouth. Shu Lan says there is a limit to the amount of duck she can eat – but if it is Peking duck, I think I could eat a flock.

Beijing Adventure

Simply put, Beijing is awesome. First, however, a sidebar. Our first night in, we dropped in a restaurant. Emboldened by our success in Qingdao – we had no fear of menus! Pointing at two dishes that we managed to figured out most of the characters, we ordered. Shu Lan heard what the waitress said, and said, ‘Um…I think we ordered goya.’

Now, goya may be the bane of my existence. I can eat anything but this little vegetable sometimes does me in. The Japanese call it goya, the Chinese call it bitter melon. Neither really describes the tangy, citrus kick this cucumber like vegetable offers. Its skin is tart and too much of it makes my tummy grumble. While in Okinawa, Shu Lan made a goya soup with prawns and tofu – except she put like 14 goya vegetables in it. So every bite was jam packed with bitter goodness! Well, she was right – goya came out. But, I was so happy with our bravery of ordering that I didn’t mind.

We like to not plan our trips too much, flying by the seat of our pants mostly. Here are highlights of how our days broke down – and subsequently, how the blog posts will follow:

Day 1 – Tiananmen square, Forbidden City, Wangfujing Snack Street, Peking Duck

Day 2 – Slept in [As per the Shu’s insistent and constant request] Shopping galore, and saw a Variety Show

Day 3 – The Great Wall

Day 4 – 798 Art District and New Years Eve

Then, I boarded a 24 hour train to Hong Kong while Shu Lan returned to Shanghai for a few days before returning home. So, next up Day 1.