Beijing: Nine Dragon Screen

And finally, I did get to see the Nine Dragon Screen, resplendent with nine frolicking dragons on each side, chasing pearls through sea and sky and generally looking like they're having a wonderful time.
Even that early in the morning, I had to duck and weave to avoid accidentally including the heads of Chinese girls in my photos, many of whom seemed to be starring in an amateur mini photo shoot. I hadn't had any coffee yet - can you tell even from my memories?

Symbolically, I believe that the dragon represents the Emperor/Imperial Authority, and in a more extended sense, power, fertility, goodness, wealth, bravery, success, and no doubt other desirable qualities whilst the pearl symbolises knowledge. If you know of another interpretation, I'd love to know about it.

From the wall enclosing the screen

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Beijing: Beihai Park, take two

Eager as I was to see the Nine Dragon Screen, I returned to Beihei Park early the next morning. After a dispute with a taxi driver, who wilfully took me to the wrong gate, I paid my twenty kuai again, and headed for the Screen.

And thank goodness I had been tardy the previous day, as I was just in time to see the the Beijinger’s Beihei, crowded with people, some practising martial arts, ballroom dancing, calligraphy, sports and tai chi, others just taking the cool morning air.

Beijing: Beihai Park, take one

From Tiananmen Square I walked to Beihei Park. It was originally an Imperial Garden, so abounds with pagodas and such like.

Now it’s where the lucky residents of Beijing can come and loaf, exercise or canoodle, and where overheated and footsore tourists can chillax (ha, I’ve been waiting to use that word!) without feeling like there’s a need To Be Very Impressed.

I particularly wanted to see the Nine Dragon Screen, at the north entrance to the park, but I didn’t want to stampede past everything else to get to it.

I wandered about, exploring hidden nooks and crannies, and fondly remembering my first visit to the park in September, when we had all flopped around, exhausted, on the grass and played cards, and it seemed like we’d have forever until we went home.

The result of this leisurely, and slightly prematurely nostalgic, stroll was that I arrived at the Nine Dragon Screen five minutes after it had closed. I taught one of my Chinese friends the word ‘Doh!’, and this would seem to be its perfect definition.

The closed doors of the Nine Dragon Screen.

Beijing: Tiananmen Square

Despite having visited Beijing frequently since September, the closest I’d got to Tiananmen Square was speeding past it in a cab, on the way to dinner. The view from the cab suggested that that was enough: it was big and squarey and that was about it.
But last Friday, I decided to walk around the centre of Beijing and to stop of at Tiananmen, really just to say I had. It was big and squarey and that was about it.

I much prefer the old Tiananmen, before Mao went all megalomaniacal and tore it all down.

It was on the way to Tiananmen that I also realised Shijiazhuang has corrupted me. I’m still suffering from the ‘tuberculosis’ (actually some sort of virus, but TB is way more fun to say in a queue) I got in May. Everyone spits on the floor in the Shiz. And although I deplore it, being a hypocrite, I’d started to do it to.

After a coughing fit, I did the deed, just as two Chinese guys walked past. I don’t think they could’ve looked more horrified if I’d been taking a shit on the pavement. And then I realised that nobody spits in downtown Beijing. Whoops.

I’m glad to finally be able to take part in SkyWatch Friday again, follow the link to check out other skies from around the world.

Qingdao: Market

I have become quite obsessed with markets in China, and on an overcast afternoon me and my friends strolled through the one closest to our hostel. There were a few noticeable differences from the markets here in Shijiazhuang: for starters, the amount of fish. It was also a lot tidier and well kempt - no one selling their veggies from a scraggy piece of old rug on the ground here! Oh, and I'd certainly never seen the deep fried chicks before either.
 
With the close packed stalls squeezed between old fashioned two storey buildings on cobbled streets, it was one of those places that seems as if it was designed to be a movie backdrop.

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Qingdao: What to wear at the beach

I'm returning to the beach today in celebration of the fact that in two weeks I will be back (hopefully) visiting my own stony, seaweed bedecked seaside.

 

The dress code on the beach seems to be a cross between Islamic and semi-nudist. Chinese women prize pale skin, a symbol of not-having-to-work –in-the-fields-wealth, so wear tend to wear covering garb, and sit under an umbrella. As further protection from the sun, many people had pitched small tents, which would be crowded with people who were enjoying their time at the beach by sitting in a undersized opaque box. We saw only one Chinese woman sporting a bikini. As a side note, I suspect that the good they do their skin by not exposing it to the sun is rendered void by the skin bleaching creams that are so popular.

 

A lot of the men looked as if they had stopped off at the beach en route to the office, whilst others wore alarmingly skimpy and clingy trunks. The poseurs in the last photo – who would interrupt their sunbathing to do press ups – had trunks (or were they just underpants?) that went semi transparent when wet.

 

Little girls frolicked modestly in T-shirts and knickers, but their brothers went pant-less, wearing clothes only on their top half. I seriously hoped that they had applied sunscreen to the crown jewels that were happily waving in the sea breeze!

 

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Qingdao: Shooting the Bride

It's customary in China to have a wedding album made featuring shots of the bride and groom in a variety of settings. Whereas in industrial Shijiazhuang this is done inside in front of a variety of backdrops, Qingdao provides its lucky couples with a series of picture perfect backgrounds. The most popular location was German concession era church of St Emil, and the square in front was teeming with probably 40 bridal couples plus attendant photographers and assistants. Watching the shoots in progress was far more interesting than looking at the church!
 
A little historical snippet to finish with: during the Cultural Revolution, it was ordered that the crosses atop the spires be destroyed. However, plucky/suicidal local Christians removed them first and hid them in the ground until it was again politically safe for them to be unearthed.

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Qingdao: Beer Town

Qingdao is known for its famous Tsingtao brewery and beer. If you walk along streets and alleys in the late afternoon and early evening, you will come across many 'beer bars', where you can either have your beverage in a glass to drink in, or take it away in a plastic bag, which you pierce with a straw and then drink as you wander.

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Qingdao: Shop fronts

Qingdao manages to pull off being charmingly shabby instead of depressingly ugly in a manner that reminds me of Italy and Greece. We didn't do any of the touristy things, as, honestly, I've seen enough temples and mountains to keep me going for the next few years at least, and instead spent many enjoyable hours just wandering around random streets in the city centre.

 

I actually found the old style two storey Chinese buildings more fascinating and photogenic that the famed German concession architecture, mainly because I wonder how long it will be until they are razed to make way for posh apartments and shopping malls.

 

And obviously, at no point did I stand in the road, dodging taxis, to take any photographs. Sorry mum and dad!

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Qingdao: Best City in China?

We certainly had a fantastic time: a great beach, wonderful shops, the nicest people I've met in China, delicious food. And we weren't the only people enjoying ourselves!

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Q is for Qing Dynasty

The Qing was China's last dynasty (1644-1911). Its last years were marred by widespread corruption, reluctance to modernise, questionable use of funds and land concessions granted to foreign countries. The marble boat at the Summer Palace is a reminder of how things went wrong - it was built under the direction of Empress Cixi, when she restored the Summer Palace using money that had been earmarked for the Navy.

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Beijing: Summer Palace

I've visited the Summer Palace twice, once during the National Day holiday, where, as you can see, I appeared to be joined by a sizable proportion of China's population! This is the seventeen arch bridge leading to the Jade island. On National Day, I ended up spending half an hour waiting in a queue for a boat across Kunming Lake, surprising Chinese people by refusing to allow them to cut in front of me, before giving up and finding the queue on the other side of the bridge only had a five minute wait. Bizarre.

This is the superbly photogenic Buddhist Fragrance Pavilion. To be able to get up close and personal with it, you have to walk up the steps marked out by the brown diamond on the base, by which point you may be feeling less than fragrant yourself.

The Pavilion in all its glory; sadly visitors aren't allowed to climb up inside. Although on busy days perhaps it's a blessing - I can imagine people getting shoved off the balconies by the crowds!

I love the intricately decorated traditional Chinese ceilings.

A brief history of the Summer Palace will tell you that it was built by the Emperor Qianlong in the eighteenth century as a summer retreat for the royal family. A lot of the buildings were destroyed by the British and French during the Second Opium War, and it was later lavished with funds by Empress Cixi, soaking up funds that could've been used to strengthen and improve the country.

This was one of the few non-blurry photos that I managed to get when watching the acrobatic show in the Garden on Virtue and Harmony.

Despite the huge crowds over National Day, I found that as soon as I wandered away from the most famous sights, I could easily find a tranquil spot.

I came across this building, which was slightly shabby and covered in creepers. It housed a collection of Qing dynasty furniture that I can remember little about, but the galleries were divinely cool and peaceful.


A gave Suzhou Street a miss as it seemed to be a tourist trap within a tourist trap, although I did enjoy leaning against the parapet of a bridge and watching the hordes of tourists mingling amongst vendors dressed up in traditional Chinese costume.

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Shanghai: Pudong and the Bund

The next day we headed over the Pudong, Shanghai's gleaming new business district, and the Bund, on the other side of the river, the famous stretch of old Western style buildings dating from when Shanghai was a foreign concession port. We kept with what had become our Shanghai protocol by managing to get lost within about three seconds of leaving the subway.

We were heading for the Jinmao Tower, the rather stately building on the left, rather than the one that looks like a giant wine bag. Infuriatingly, we could see it, but just couldn't work out how to get there as the road was blocked by construction. We did try to walk through the construction site, and were stopped by a security guard who helpfully pointed out to us the direction we should go in so I suppose that we were probably not the first people to do that in desperation! We even ended up being followed by some other tourists who were even more confused that we were. I did feel tempted to tell them that of all the people in Shanghai that they should trail to the Jinmao Tower, we were the very last they should have chosen!

But eventually we got there, and enjoyed the breathtaking views over Shanghai. I did wonder if the inspiration for this development was Monopoly!

This shows the Orient Pearl Tower, and whilst Lonely Planet despairs of it's vulgarity, I rather liked it. It is one of the few totally unique modern skyscrapers or commercial buildings I have ever seen, and although the Jinmao tower is undoubtedly more tasteful and classical in design, it lacks the originality, exuberance and sheer I-like-this-and-don’t-give-a-flying-wotsit-if-you-don’t-ness of the Pearl.

We crossed the river to the Bund through this bizarre tunnel, where small transportation pods whizz past a selection of flashing coloured lights, streamers and inflatable figures. It has to be one of the most bizarre 'tourist experiences' on offer in China, and, quite possibly, the world.

We strolled along the Bund, dodging Chinese vendors offering to sell us anything from a picture of us superimposed on a pre-shot background (erm, have you heard of digital cameras) to assorted flashing, whizzing toys which no doubt do not comply with any safety standards whatsoever. This is my favourite building, the Maritime Museum. It was quite strange, as between the European style buildings of the Bund and the could-be-any-city skyscrapers, you didn't feel like you were in China, a feeling I had again later on when we went out in the city centre.

I was quite suprised that the river was still a busy commercial waterway, being more prepared for Thames-style pleasure boats. (Which there are too). I love watching boats, and photographing them too, so it was very enjoyable to just relax, lean on the riverside wall and snap away.

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