Christmas in Beijing (Dec. 12th and Dec. 24-25th, 2012)

For the first few months I was in Beijing, especially after learning that our winter break wouldn't start until January 14th, 2013 -- nearly four weeks after my classmates at Northern Arizona University would be starting their break -- I thought that Christmas would just come and pass much like Halloween did: without much notice on my part.  Thankfully, this didn't happen, and I would have to say this is one of the many ways in which having English-speaking friends pays off while in China. 

Christmas in China takes on a much more secular approach than it does in America and elsewhere -- mainly due to the government's hard stance on religion -- with Santa Claus, shopping, gifts and sales taking more and more of a presence than anything else (no matter what, though, as Christmas is still a Western holiday, not many Chinese celebrate it or aknowledge it).  Nevertheless, this isn't entirely a bad thing, as when going around to the shopping centers in the more trendy parts of the city, one can be reminded that Christmas is just around the corner.  On December 12th, I was able to attend a proper Christmas dinner -- with turkey, potatoes, bread, salad, etc. -- at Guómào (国贸), an area near central Beijing close to the China World Trade Center, from which it got its name (as Guómào is just an abbreviation of Zhōngguó Guójì Màoyì Zhōngxīn -- 中国国际贸易中心；China World Trade Center).  The dinner itself (see above picture) was a good feast after having been on a diet of rice (米饭；Mǐfàn), and noodles (面条；Miàntiáo) for so long. 

 

 



The best part of the meal, of course, were the desserts: a tiramasu (堤拉米酥；dīlāmǐsū) log (top) and a banoffee pie (bottom), which were both delicious (especially the banoffee pie, which is a mix of pie crust, condenced milk made into toffee, bananas and whipped cream, pretty awesome right?).  Along with this, of course -- and not to sound cheesy or anything -- was the joy of being able to be with friends for such a meal so close to the holiday, and in a non-Western country, nonetheless.

On Christmas Day we had time off from classes to celebrate, so I was able to go visit my friend Ken and his son Dre and thier friends at their home in Sānlǐtún (三里屯；Note: in the Beijing dialect -- 北京话；Běijīnghuà -- its called 三里屯儿；Sānlǐtú'er) for a Christmas lunch of fried chicken tenders, mashed potatoes, home made biscuts and salad.  Following lunch, I was able to practice my Chinese with Dre's Chinese tutor Eva (far right in above picture) and relax for awhile after many weeks of studying and preparing for final exams.  Also there were the Magnum's Āyí (阿姨；"Aunt" or "Auntie", a term for house workers/nannys) Weiwei (far right; pictured) and Dre's friend Bongbong (right center), all of whom I was able to talk with and get to know a little more as the time went on. 

Time went quicker than I imagined, and soon everyone was leaving to go home or else go out, so I played a few rounds of darts and talked with Ken about life in Beijing thus far to kill the time, and got to find out more about the area they were in.  Sanlitun is one of two most popular gathering spots for Westerners in Beijing -- the other being Wǔdàokǒu (五道口), in the Northwest of the city -- as it was an area with many night clubs, bars, fancy restaurants and Western brand stores such as Apple, Nike, and others.  As such, its a nice place to visit and an even nicer place to live, as the Magnum's apartment has a good view of the neighborhood as well as the Central Business District (CBD) to the south.  Not only that, but there were curious things such as the fact that some apartment buildings in the area were relatively unoccupied, as Ken said he had never seen so much as a curtain move in some buildings.  While there are various reasons for this, such as real estate investment, bad building planning, or ghosts, the reason remained unknown, although it was rather fun to see it all happen before one's very eyes.  Historically speaking, in the late 1950s the area was designated as the new Foreign Legation Quarter, where embassies and legations could establish themselves within the newly founded PRC.  The area slowly became what it is today from the 1970s on, when bars and other establishments serving expatriats and locals began to open in the area, then shopping centers and other establishments came later, until the area became one of the many havens where foreigners to the capital flock every day and night. 

At around 6 o'clock I went with Dre to get a dinner of bāozi (包子；steamed bread dumplings) and jiǎozi (饺子；dumplings) in a small restaurant a few paces from their apartment -- which according to Dre was the place to get the best baozi and jiaozi in Beijing, and I'll have to admit it was so good that I had at least three plates of the stuff.  Shortly thereafter I took my leave and took the subway back to Erwai for a good night's sleep -- and the fact that I had to wake up early for class the next morning. 

Tian'anmen Square and Wangfujing Snack Street (September 15, 2012)

Saturday was the day I finally was able to see Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng, (天安门广场；Heavenly Peace Gate Square) one of the more popular tourist attractions in Beijing and China in general.  Along with my British friends and a few Koreans from their class, we took the Line 1 subway from the station outside our university, we reached the Tian’anmen East Station (天安门东站；Tiān'ānmén dōng zhàn) after 10 stops.  Walking out of the station, the first view I received was the East wing of the Gate of Heavenly Peace (and, of course, Chairmen Mao’s mug).  The square itself is a relatively new addition (judging by the more Communist/brutalistic design of the National Museum, the Great Hall of the People, Mao’s Mausoleum and the Monument to the People’s Heroes), with the aforementioned structures having been added in the late 1950s.  Tian’anmen itself, though, was built in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty (明朝；Ming Chao) and has been rebuilt numerous times due to fires, bombardment and other reasons.  The name of the gate was also changed over the years, as it was at first called the Gate of Accepting Heavenly Mandate, or Chengtianmen (承天门).  Following the establishment of the People’s Republic of China on October 1st, 1949, the square itself underwent great changes.  Three structures went up in the square from 1958 to 1959 in preparation for the 10th Anniversary of the founding of the PRC: the Great Hall of the People to the West,

 

where the National Congress meets, the National Museum of China (then called the Revolutionary History Museum) to the East

 

and the large obelisk that is the Monument to the People’s Heroes in the center of the square.  The last building in the square, situated south of the Monument to the People’s Heroes is the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, which not only commemorates the Chairman but also serves as his Mausoleum (although I have heard the lines to get into the Mausoleum are usually very long, when we came there it seemed to be closed or no one was there). 

Following the look at Tian’anmen, we went to Qianmen (前门；Front Gate), a structure that was built in 1412 during the Ming Dynasty as the entrance and defense for the inner city of Beijing. 

The gate itself was an interesting structure, different from the other structures of the Imperial City in that it is gray instead of red. 

Much like Tian’anmen, the structure has been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times, and even served as the quarters of the Beijing regiment of the Red Guards from 1949 to 1980.  Another thing to note about Qianmen is that its central location in the modern layout of Beijing led to it serving as the starting point of all road systems in and leading out of Beijing (as noted by the monument below). 

After spending a few minutes at Qianmen to rest and having a big lunch at a nearby KFC – which I’ll admit is much better than it is in the States – we took a walk East to Wángfǔjǐng Xiǎochī Jiē (王府井小吃街；Wangfujing Snack Street) to browse the bizarre delights that abound in the seemingly endless food stands in this cramped hutong.  From live baby scorpions on sticks (cooked fresh when you order!) to cockroaches, centipedes, candied fruits and baby birds cooked whole,

the area seemed more like a place to go to take pictures than a place to actually purchase snacks -- save for the candied fruits, mind you.  This is because most of the stalls served the same fare, namely: cooked scorpions, cockroaches, centipedes, that seemed to be more for show and less for eating.  So, we browsed the crammed hutong and eventually found something seemingly edible:

an orange drink (seemed like flat soda) with a piece of dry ice in it, thus making it fizz and smoke.  Returning to Erwai after a long day of sightseeing and adventures, all I wanted to do was return to my dormitory and take a long nap, which I thankfully did.

8 Trigrams (Bagua) in Beijing

Today was especially noteworthy, and I know you’re all thinking it’s because I went to one of the top tourist attractions of Beijing, but I must tell you it is not.  Instead, I was able to go able to go and practice Baguazhang (八卦掌；Eight Trigram Palm), an internal style of Chinese martial arts.  Baguazhang, although an internal style like Tai Chi, is based around walking in a circle, which is often personified by the yin yang symbol surrounded by eight trigrams from the I-Ching (易经；Yi Jing), or Book of Changes, in an octagon.  The eight trigrams in the symbol each have their own significance in regards to the cardinal directions, the body, times of day and the zodiac, and are taken from the 64 hexagrams (shown below) in the Yi Jing. 

Above: the Eight Trigrams (Bagua)

 

As this was my first time using the Beijing Subway to get somewhere, it was a rather interesting and long journey.  I had to transfer trains twice, which wasn’t that complicated thanks to signs in Chinese and English that showed how to transfer.  My destination was Xizhimen Station (西直门站；Shi Zhir Men Zhan), slightly Northwest of the center of the city and close to the Beijing Zoo and Beijing North Railway Station (in fact, the railway station can be accessed right after one exits the subway).  From the station I walked a bit and eventually ran into the American I had contacted about Bagua, who then led me across a foot bridge to an island park where I was able to meet his Shifu, Sui Yunjiang, before taking a bit to stretch out and warm up before class began.  During class, my American acquaintance, Keoni, explained to me that Master Sui not only taught Baguazhang but another style called Meihuazhuang (梅花桩；Plum Flower Pillars), which, after seeing a bit of it, seemed somewhat like Long Fist and Bagua combined, but with slightly different movements.  While I wanted to get some pictures of the Meihuazhuang students practicing, it was difficult to catch a shot.  The course began with some Contemporary Wushu-like exercises such as crescent moon kicks, sidekicks, and other kicks before moving into combinations of these with sweeps, hits and jumps before moving onto butterfly kicks and 50 jumping inward and outward crescent moon kicks.  Following this, we stretched out again and then I was able to begin some training in Bagua.  I trained with Keoni in his “circle”, which was a piece of ground that had been walked on so much that it had itself become a circle, the only one that was deeper was Shifu Sui’s Circle (see below),

 

 which was unfortunately covered in water from the rain earlier that day.  That day I went over the basic stepping movement and direction changes of Bagua, while Keoni explained to me that the style they practiced Liang Baguazhang, was different than the style I had practiced in Arizona, Sun Baguazhang (from what I can remember, as I had only jumped on my interest in seriously training in Bagua this past year), in that there were no forms based on the 8 Animals of Bagua, but the animal forms sometimes showed up in the various forms within the Liang system.  So, until around 6 PM that night I practiced basic stepping and direction changes, as well as the positioning of the feet, lowering the qi into the Dantian and just making sure to get the little things right, all the while paying attention to the sun setting on the old Beijing Exhibition Center across the canal and the people walking past, watching and listening. 

 

Following this, we went to Shifu Sui’s apartment (which was close by) for tea.  Keoni explained to me that even though the area around Xizhimen had changed over the years, Shifu Sui and his apartment had changed very little during this period.  Sure enough, the apartment building itself was small compared to other places I had been in China, with concrete staircases and very small rooms when looking at the other buildings I had been in.  Nonetheless, it was a nice and cozy place, as when you walked in, there was a brief hallway where one removed their shoes before finding a small bathroom to the left (as small as the one in my dormitory) and a kitchen to the right, before one entered the living/television room.  The living room was an amazing sight, as the walls to the left and right consisted of shelves that were packed with various trinkets, artifacts, weapons, and other things that had been given as gifts by Shifu Sui’s students (who came from around the world to study under him, as could be seen from the variety of the things on the shelves) over the many years he had taught.  Over tea, Shifu Sui discussed his experiences in Baguazhang and went into his thoughts on the Shaolin Monastery -- on which he had some interesting insights -- and life as a martial artist in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1975).   All in all, a good day in which I learned quite a lot.  So much so, in fact, that I intend returned the following Sunday and intend on trying to attend class as often as possible once becoming more settled in to university and city life, as I probably learned more about Baguazhang and modern Chinese history in a few hours than I could have anyplace besides my wushu school in Phoenix. 

Beijing Week One -- August 27th to September 1st

One week down in Beijing, and so far it has been very good.  I got through the airport with no hassle except for the fact that the lines in the airport to get through immigration were pretty long (no pictures, unfortunately), but after that it was a quick ride on the automated train, waiting for bags, and then it was through customs and off to catch a ride to the university.  The driver took a different route to the university, and I was able to see how far away we were from the city’s center, and thus in more of a suburban area.  After getting on campus, I was able to quickly find the foreign students dormitory and move into my room.  The room itself was interesting as it resembled a very small apartment. 

 

While the beds both caused the room to seem more like a hotel (along with the flat screen TV on the wall opposite the beds, to the left in the picture), the two desks, along with the small kitchen and bathroom (seen below) and lack of hotel amenities like complimentary chocolates (or toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, and slippers from my last Chinese hotel experience) made the room seem more like a regular dorm room. 

 

 

 

The rest of the day was uneventful other than meeting a few fellow students from Mexico and eating lunch with them while finding out about life at BISU and what sort of stuff happened during the weekends, how classes were, and what was around campus.  Following this, I took a trip to the market across the street and purchased a few things for the room before returning.  Intending to take a nap, I ended up sleeping until 11:00 pm and, after realizing what time it was, went back to sleep. 

Tuesday (August 28)

Tuesday was relatively uneventful aside from buying a phone and having some communication problems which took at least an hour to get sorted out before I was able to get a SIM card.  As a learning experience, the fact that my Chinese listening skills are under par was greatly realized, although, as I am here to learn Chinese I am sure with time it will get better. 

Wednesday (August 29)

The following day went by very quickly, with the excitement coming in the evening when I caught the bus down to Worker’s Stadium (工人体育场；Gongren Tiyuchang) to visit and have dinner with my American friend Ken Magnum and his family.  Although shrouded by the Beijing smog, not only was the ride on the have a few amazing views but the view from the Magnum’s apartment was equally amazing, offering a look at the lights of Worker’s Stadium as well as views of the towers and skyscrapers of the Central Business District (CBD). 

 

The reason the Magnum’s were residing in Beijing was so that their son, Andre, could pursue his studies of Chinese Martial Arts (中国武术；Zhongguo Wushu), as he had trained at Shaolin Monastery (少林寺；Shaolinsi; Young Forest Monastery) for some time before moving to Beijing – where he and his father have lived for three years now – to study wushu at a sports high school there.  After living in China for three years, Ken told me it was apparent that he would be living there long-term, and so his wife Margo had recently joined him and Dre in their new apartment.  The family is pictured below. 

During my stay I was able to talk with Ken about my goals in learning Chinese as well as what I wanted to do while in China (especially in regards to studying wushu) and in regards to international relations.  Following dinner, Ken showed me around his neighborhood, which was not only close to the CBD but also near to Sanlitun (三里屯), also known as Sanlitun Village or Sanlitun Bar Street.  As Ken showed me around, I not only noticed that Sanlitun was an area for drinking – with various night clubs, stip clubs, and outdoor restaurants filled with foreigners and Chinese hipsters throughout – but it was also a good area to indulge in Western dining such as New York style pizza, hamburgers and Coldstone ice cream.  I definitely plan to return in the near future, once the cravings for Western food and drink reveal themselves.

Thursday (August 30)

Like Tuesday, Thursday was also rather uneventful as I only made the mistake of misjudging the distance to a spot on Google Maps (I needed to go to the Bank of China to cash travelers cheques needed for registration) and walking for thirty minutes to get there and then walking back when I could not find the bank and when other banks there told me I had to go to Bank of China to cash the cheques.  When returning to the university and asking at the Foreign Students’ Office where the bank was, they told me it was in the spot where I had looked, and that I could have taken the Rapid Bus (a bus line located in the center of the roads of major streets that traveled faster than busses with routes on the sides of the streets) for three stops to get there.  One good thing that happened that day was that I was able to get in touch with an American expatriate who had been studying Baguazhang (八卦掌；Eight Trigram Palm) under a local master for some time, and whom invited me to partake in a class the coming Sunday.  Also notable, the fact that while I could not fully understand the meaning of what the aids at the banks told me when I talked with them, I understood the meaning when thinking it through, which was a good start on the listening route. 

Friday (August 31)

Today was the day that I finally was able to get to the bank (much faster this time having learned of the bus route) and was able to cash the cheques with ease.  Upon returning to the university I was surprised to find Erwai covered with new students, returning students and their parents wandering the campus and browsing around the booths (that had been put up the day before) in what I guess was the equivalent to opening weeks and move in days at American universities.  It was while wondering about this event that I ran into a Chinese student who was studying English.  I was able to have lunch with this new acquaintance, whose English name was Harry, and to meet his German friend Chris.  After having lunch in the first floor of 第三食堂 (Di San Shir Tang; Cafeteria No. 3), we went to help Chris move out of the dormitory and into an apartment across from the South Gate of the university.  During the excursion I met his English friend Sri, who was an Indian Englishman who, like myself, was studying International Relations and Chinese – only at Westminster University in London.  After the move in and talking about Chinese in this considerably large apartment (larger, I mean, than those in Suzhou, with various bedrooms and a large dining room with separate kitchen, among other things).  After lounging around in the apartment for a bit, we went to the street west of the Communications University of China (the university right next too, and west, of Erwai) to procure a dinner of spicy eggplant, cooked rice, frog meat, chicken and beef.  Although there were no pictures from this adventure, there will be more returns to this street with its many stores, shops and restaurants hustling and bustling in the night -- sometimes with patrons flowing onto sidewalk seating to eat their food – and its many street vendors and the occasional honking car or tuk tuk, as it was quite the place. 

Saturday (September 1)

Today was a quiet day for the most part, with the only action taking place in the morning when I had breakfast with Harry and his two Chinese friends in a surprisingly nice restaurant on the second floor of the first canteen. 

 Following this, we went to an area in central campus where there were some benches so I could help them practice English and they could help my practice their Chinese.  While it was difficult at first, I was able to get the hang of some of the new phrases I was learning (such as “Long time no see” which is: “很久不见了[hen jiu bu jien luh]” in Chinese).  Following my studies – during which I received some homework to go over during the next week – we returned to the canteen and had lunch before parting ways.  While the rest of the day was slightly boring, I was able to eat dinner with the British student I had met the other day in the second floor of 第三食堂 and to talk about learning Chinese and some of the differences between schooling in the UK and the US (for instance, he told me he usually only had to study seven hours per week in order to do well in his courses, along with studying on the side to better his Chinese).  Also during this meal, I could not help but notice that the chicken and rice dish I had ordered (below) was pretty darn good, and that the second floor of the cafeteria, unlike the first floor, had a wide selection of dishes ranging from a 四川菜 (Si Chuan Ts'ai; Sichuan Province Cuisine) place in the far corner (the right background in the picture below) as well as a chocolate fondue fountain and a Korean restaurant (and, according to the student handbook, a Muslim and in the premise as well.

 

Above: Cafeteria No. 3, 2nd Floor... its even better than the first floor!

 

August 25th to 27th, 2012 -- Commencing the Adventure

Alas, one week until I leave on another journey, this time to the Northern Capital – Beijing!  While this will be a return trip to China for me, it will be different as I will be residing and studying in Beijing for roughly ten months, and I will be on my own once the plane lands on Monday, August 27 at Beijing Capital International Airport （北京首都国际机场；Beijing Shoudu Guoji Jichang）.  As for my studies, I will be attending Beijing International Studies University (aka Beijing No. 2 Foreign Studies University*), where I will be taking courses in Chinese language.  As I have never been to Erwai* or Beijing before, I have heard from friends who have studied there as well as Chinese students I have met at NAU that it is a good and exciting place in which to live and study Chinese.  Also, as this is the first time I will be setting foot in China on my own, I have had to plan more accordingly in terms of knowing how to go through and get out of the airport, get to the university, and to get around the city more than I did when I was in Suzhou.  Therefore, in the following entries I intend to document my studies of the Beijing airport, getting around Beijing, and of course reading into the many Beijing tidbits and history prior to my visit, so stay tuned. 

Travel Itinerary:

                On August 25th, 2012 at 5:29 PM I will be departing Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and arriving at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at around 7:00 PM.  Following a six hour layover I will embark from LAX at 1:40 AM and will arrive at BCIA on August 27th at 5:20 AM. 

Above: those lights are people trying to escape the heat that is Sky Harbor

 

Following this, I will fly from LAX to Beijing Capital International on Air China, leaving at 1:40 AM on Sunday the 26th and arriving a day later at 5:20 AM. 

The Terminal:

The terminal designated for international flights at Beijing Capital is Terminal 3, the map pictured below:

Instead of boring you with someone else's photos, I will instead write for awhile in order to finish this post and take a rest before the wonderous bit of jet lag I am sure will ensue after my flight come Monday.  As for entering the airport after arrival, one would exit the plane and gate, go through Immigration services to get their visa stamped.  After this, you can either catch an automated train or walk to baggage claim and then from there go to customs and after this, I at least, plan to catch a taxi and proceed to my destination as planned.

China -- the Sequel!?

Immediately after arriving home I decided that, since I would like to improve greatly on my 普通话 (Putonghua; Mandarin Chinese), that I would attempt to return to China very soon.  I am following through with this idea at present by applying for the NAU All-year study abroad program at Beijing International Studies University (北京第二外国语学院; Beijing di er Waiguoyu Xueyuan; literally: Beijing #2 Foreign Language Studies Institute) for 2012-2013.  After applying and (hopefully) getting accepted, I will begin a loose plan for travel while in China, as I would like to return to Suzhou, visit a close friend in Taiwan, and see things along the way.  Stay tuned for more updates and adventures to come! And vlogging!!

What Did We Learn?; or, China in a 250 ml. Red Bull Can

1) In America, Red Bull gives you wings. In China, Red Bull can give a boost to your badminton skills, just ask Lin Dan, a star player of the China National Badminton Team (above).

Driving in China:

2.1) If you have the chance to drive in China, and you've never done it before, decline the offer immediately because:

2.2) In China, there are rarely any traffic laws (they are obeyed when there are, though), and even if there is a traffic light -- usually at major intersections -- expect for the motorized scooters to keep coming and, in some instances, vehicles to keep coming as well.

2.3) Basic rule of the road: In America, pedestrians have the right of way. In China, the biggest thing on the road has the right of way, and it will honk while driving at ridiculous speeds to make itself known (basically, if you don't pay attention and a large vehicle is coming and you notice last second, you can either run like hell or face the threat of... well, you know, as with scooters or anyone else in a big hurry as well).

3) In America, the predominant language is English, and some people here think a majority of other people around the world learn English to keep up with us (especially in big cities). In China, the majority of people don't speak English, including university students (if they do, its usually broken and don't expect them to understand what your saying). As in the picture above, also expect street signs, most shops (unless they're a European or American brand/company), restaurants and other things to have things in Chinese and (sometimes) Pinyin without the tones, and if there is English its usually not that great anyways.  Plus the restaurants have photo menus (in most cases) so if you have to point to what you want its ok.  Advice: Learn the language, because in the end you won't embarrass yourself (mostly) and you won't come off as disrespectful.

4) In America, every once in awhile you may see an armored truck stop at a bank and see one person get out to deliver the money without hastle.  In China, the armored trucks aren't as, well, armored, (actually its usually a black older model of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter) and require at least four or five guards decked out in SWAT-like gear and shotguns to get out of the truck and wait for the package to be safely delievered (picture unavailable).

5) In America, most mannequins are usually serious (save for at Old Navy, perhaps). In China, mannequins like the one above seem pretty overjoyed to be wearing the clothes they're in.

6) In America, a can or bottle of Coca-Cola, when opened, usually lasts a day or less.  In China, a can or bottle of Coca-Cola (可口可乐; Kekoukele), when opened, usually lasts about a week or more.

7) In America, you know the water (including whats used in tea, ice and to wash lettuce/fruit) is safe to consume.  In China, since the quality of tap water is so poor, you should think twice before drinking unheated tap water (or ice water), getting it in your eyes or swollowing it while bathing/brushing your teeth, or eating any dish that hasn't been cooked but has been washed in water.  Advice: drink bottled water. If a restaurant doesn't have any bottled or serves water unheated, stick to the 可乐 or beer (啤酒; Pijiu).

7.1) In America, dishes in all restaurants are cleaned and washed properly. In China, use a napkin with some hot water or tea (whatever is on the table) to clean any dishes before eating (even if they came in a sealed package).

7.2) Meat dishes: In America, bones are removed long before they reach a kitchen (or in the kitchen). In China, none of the bones are removed from such dishes.  Side note: Think twice before ordering a plate of fish that doesn't look like seafood, freshwater fish are often highly contaminated.

*This post will be later updated if more pointers are later remembered, but for the time being this is about it.