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.