Visit Beijing 北京

Yunnan Jin Kongque Dehong Daiwei Canguan Review - Review of Yunnan Jin Kongque Dehong Daiwei Canguan Restaurant in Beijing | Frommer's

2010-08-20T22:41:00.000-07:00

Yunnan Jin Kongque Dehong Daiwei Canguan Review - Review of Yunnan Jin Kongque Dehong Daiwei Canguan Restaurant in Beijing Frommer's

A new city before Beijing Olympics 2008!

2007-09-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad will be celebrated from August 8, 2008 to August 24, 2008, with the opening ceremony commencing at 08:08:08 pm at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing, China. Some events, including football(soccer), sailing, and new 10 km marathon swimming events will be held in other cities of China. With the equestrian events being held in Hong Kong, this marks the second time the same edition of the Olympic Games has been hosted by two National lympic Committees(NOCs). The Olympic games were awarded to Beijing, China by the IOC on July 13, 2001. The official logo of the games, titled "Dancing Beijing," features the character jing(meaning capital), referencing the host city. The mascots of Beijing 2008 are the five Fuwa, each representing one color of the Olympic rings. The Olympic slogan, One World, One Dream, calls upon the world to unite in the Olympic spirit. Athletes will compete in 302 events in 28 sports, just one event more than was on the schedule of the Athens games of 2004. Several new NOCs have also been recognized by the IOC. The Chinese government sees the games as a chance for China to highlight its economic rise and emergence as a world power. Despite the efforts of the Communist Party to tightly manage press coverage of the event, there will likely be issues over the environment, human rights violations, and Tibetan independence. This being so, former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch has still boasted that the Beijing games will be "the best in Olympic history." Now here´s what I do think about this. I think China is already emerging as this world power in all aspects without the olympic games. The olympic games will only be a feather in the hat! But you will have to rememberthis is a very large country with many people living there, and it is difficult to totally control all things going on in all corners of this enourmous country! Many chinese are already very much aware of the environment questions. They are truely working on this and the future process will show it to the world. Now to the point of my blog post! Unlike many large cities in the world there are a lot of bicykles in this city, and also a lot of the local distribution go on bicykles. There is also the question of the hutongs being taken away. Now of the remaing 3000 hutongs some 1000 will be renovated and left for all to see, visit and live in. But my main point here is how has life been living in these old hutongs? You must remember that there are no toilets in the houses, and the fire brigade can not go there in these narrow streets and so on. So all of this is not bad. I think the government of Beijing is really trying to find a working solution for all living in the hutongs as well as for the future and the tourists! But you must cooperate with them or this will not work for you. It will be bad to go against this developement. Though we do really need to preserve the hutongs for the future generations, so they can know how life has been in Beijing. Liping´s home in Maoer Hutong is now becoming an alley street going straight through this hutong. So we know what it is loosing this living. But still the solution is very good. But these some 1000 hutongs must be preserved for the future generations to see and live in. Now, when in Beijing, we are living in the old Dong Yang Wei Hutong at Dong Yang Wei Jie!

Zai jian!

Peter

Coming Back home at night in Dongzhimen 东直门!

2007-09-18T13:21:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

Coming home late at night from a long days sightseeing in Beijing, this is what we see walking home from the Dongzhimen Subway Station.There is always a very special feeling about coming home after a hard days work! And going sightseeing and shopping all day is the same kind of feeling. It means now you can relax! We come up on the long stairs from the Dongzhimen Subway Station, and are now on the Dongzhimen Wai Dajie side of the 2nd Ring Road. First we stop directly at the stairs ending part, because here they sell souvernirs and vegetables. We buy some vegetables for eating later at home. I wanted to find somewhere to buy some chinese CDs, so we entered the building you see at the left of the first picture. It is the Oriental Kenzo Building. It is a residential building with a shopping center at the lower floors. It is really super stores here. They have many different stores, but they are looking very expensive too! So we leave after a while, and walk into a side street looing for my CDs! We ask some girls if they know where we can find a CD shop. We find some in the area, but when entering I feel I do not know enough about he chinese artists to be able to buy the right CDs! The price is very low by a westerners eye though! We wait, we do not buy today. The search will go on later during our stay here, and I can tell you that the end of the story was that I bought 6 double CDs with the different top chinese artists. Both male and female ones! And by the way one of them is Wei Wei, who has sold over 200 million CDs in the world. Mostly though in China. She lives in Sweden since 9 years ago. Now she lives in Stockholm, my home town. After this we walk across the 2nd Ring Road to the Dongzhimen Nei Dajie, the restaurant street! Also the southern border of the Minan Residential Complex, Minan Xiao Qu, where we live. Here in the corner of this street and our home street, Dong Jang Wei Jie, we can buy some fruit to eat at home. More street salesmen! This area was earlier called Dong Yang Wei Hutong, but now it is named after it´s northern border Minan Jie! The western border is Dongzhimen Beizhong Jie with my local favourite restaurant next to the Nan Guan Park. I will tell you about this street now. It begins from Zhenxian Hutong in the west and ends at Dongzhimen Nei Dajie in the south. It´s about 520 meters long and 22 meters wide. It was called Yangweiba Hutong in the early Republic of China and Dongyangwei Hutong in 1947, and remained so after 1949. The west part of the alley was named Dongyangwei Hutong in 1956, and renamed Dongzhimen Beizhong Jie in 1979. In the northern tip of the street, there was the mansions of the Prince Lu and the Prince Yunqi, which became the Russian Orthodox Eastern Church and the General Church of the Orthodox Eastern. It became the former Soviet Embassy after 1949. Today north of the northern border, Minan Jie, is the largest embassy area of one country in Beijing. The Russian Embassy is our neighbour here! Back to the eastern border. It is the Dong Yang Wei Jie, where our home and apartment is situated at number 1! The last picture shows you ou home street seen from the south. You can not see our house from here, but you can see directly on the left in the middle of that house is the place where we cut our hairs. And right to the left after this house is the local street where we go and buy our food and Tsingtao beers! Outside this to the east are some tall buildings and the 2nd Ring Road.

Zai jian!

Peter

Have you ever seen this in Beijing 北京!

2007-09-17T10:34:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

How about the beer distribution in Beijing on bicykles with three wheels, or the sales of easy street food also on bicykles with three wheels and with an oil can as the barbecue cooking place between the two back wheels, or how girls sit riding back of a bicykle! What ever you do don´t park your car on the street! It will be very exspensive and your car is gone when you come back for it. The police takes away your car very fast! So when you walk on the pavement you should better watch out because the cars drive on them to park! Don´t relax or you will be runned over! Don´t throw you cigarett end in the street or pavement. It will cost you 50 yuan in legal fee from the police! These are some of the things you will notice during your visit here. It is better to know them before you go here! In another earlier blog post have already told you about the toilets! Always be prepared for these things. Don´t forget to bring your own toilet paper and so on. Another thing is that I was told before going to Beijing was that the taxi drivers can fool you on the money by putting on the night fares as you don´t understand the chinese sign for night. Maybe they do this, but it´s no money! If I were you I would rather know the shortest way to your destination, because they try to take you there the longer way! I have seen them doing this also with a chinese person in the taxi, though without a major success! Some people they would better not try this thing with! Like Liping! And I tell you again that the chinese people in Beijing have a very hot temperament, goes away and all is forgotten very quickly, and are very nice and friendly to all, specially the foreign guests in their city! I almost get the same feeling as being visiting southern Europe, and specially Rhodes in Greece! Everything here seems and works the same way. Don´t get fooled by the fact that this country is a communist state, as it is much harder in the USA! In this country half of the enterpises are privately owned, and you are confronted all over with the capitalistic way of living and thinking! A word of warning here though. This country is growing right now to become a capitalistic society within the communistic system. Don´t criticise the chinese government, only do as they tell you to do. And you will feel like at home! You´d better let the chinese develope their own country in their own special way! They do it in a very unique way!

Zai jian!

Peter

What to see the next trip to Beijing 北京!

2007-09-16T10:30:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

You know I have seen most of the famous sights in Beijing. There are still some more left to see! The most famous are the Ming Tombs, the Temple Of Heaven, The Peking Man, many other temples, muslim and christian churches, many other parks, the underground city. I have seen the some of them from the outside, but it´s not the same thing. There is also the Drum and Bell Towers, visiting the Nanjing Brewery, and many different market places. I would also like to visit some museums, other than the Beijing World Art Museum, the different Beijing Railroad Stations and the CCTV Tower. I have seen the tower though. Just like many other of the sights. There is also a Botanical Garden and the Old Summer Palace ruins. So get ready for some more interesting reports of my next visit to Beijing!

Zai jian!

Peter

General advice during your stay in Beijing 北京!

2007-09-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

In this blog post I will try to show you a litle bit more about general advice during your stay in Beijing! First you have to understand that everybody is very nice, curious of us westerners(Lao Wei) and friendly. Most of the times when somebody seeks contact with you, they want to take your picture or talk to you so they can practise their english and learn more english from you! The chinese, specially the younger ones, are very interested in you as you are a westerner. You both look and behave different to them, and you really have to understand this as they come on to you all the time. Need a break from this, don´t come to China! My advice is take your time with them, talk to them, let them take a picture together with you in their mobile phone! You will make new friends and learn a lot about how the chinese people are! I will tell you about some examples of this, but firstly I want to tell you about the bad side also. It never happened to me during one months stay, but must have happened to others as I have heard about it. As a man you may be contacted by young female students that wants to sell sex or make you go to very exspensive restaurants with them. This is what I have heard from others. but as I said it never happened to me. Maybe I was in the wrong places or what ever. Just a warning as everybody wants your money. The same when you buy something, don´t buy at their price. Always negociate and you will get a much lower price! Now I will tell you about one day when I was sitting down on a chair in a hutong street next to a bank. Now the bank on the picture here is not this one. In every bank I visited you have two guards. Liping was cueing at the bank, and during that time a guard came up to me and asked if I speak english. He sat down next to me, and he could all the time see the bank, and we started talking. We talked for 30 minutes about almost everything. His country, my country, how would I find t-shirts with chinese text(I only see with english text as it´s very popular in Beijing), and most interestingly we talked about world environment questions. His english was very good. A very nice young man with, I think, a very good future ahead as he was very clever too! Another time I was contacted near our home by a very nice young woman. Maybe she was some 30 something years old. We talked for also something like 30 minutes about most things in the world, though not about environment issues. I understood that she wanted to improve her english with my help. I met her two times later during my stay during my walks in the Nan Guan Park, and then we only said hello to each other. My advice is always be open to talk to the chinese interested in you, because they always are that! You will make many new friends in this wonderful country.

Zai jian!

Peter

A little about toilets In Beijing 北京!

2007-09-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

In this blog post I will give you some tips on toilets in Beijing. You wonder why? I will tell you why! You only have to visit one of them to really understand why I am telling you this! Now you are in a hurry going to the toilet and you have just now found the place to go to. Number one you will find out that there are only porcelain toilet holes in the floor inside every door you open. They are called squat toilets in english. Now you will have to learn how to use them. Time is running out! I really needed to go here! The next thing you will do is to look for the toilet paper holder. There is no holder, and still worse there is no paper! This is what can happen to you if you do not read this blog post! My number one tip to you is: always bring your own toilet paper with you! If you do not have paper with you, you will find it very difficult to ask anybody for it, because your chinese language is very poor! My very useful and good second tip is: where ever you are in central Beijing and in need of a toilet, you just walk into a Hutong street. Why! Because within the next 150 to 200 meters you will find the toilet that you are looking for. In the Hutongs they do not have their own toilets at home. They are all shared by all living there and you must respect that too. You are welcome to use them free, but remember you are the guest here. Also the toilet signs are mostly with english text and international symbols on them. My third tip for all western visitors is: in all newly built toilets you will find the toilet chair to sit on behind the handicap signed door! If you are unlucky like me, I at one time found this one occupied by a man using the chair and the lamp light just sitting there reading his newspaper. Out in the street there was no light to read. Bad luck as I could not speak to him in chinese! I had to use the squat toilet. You also will get very strong legs using them! I know! And finally I will also tell you that in our apartment in Beijing we have a sitting chair toilet with duoble flush choice! Home sweet home!

Zai jian!

Peter

My local restaurant and pub in Beijing 北京!

2007-09-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

My local restaurant and late night pub at Dongzhimen Beixiao Dajie is my favorite restaurant to go to. It is my local place to go for beer and talking to people at night. I go here after my busy day touring all over the Beijing sights and walking the Nan Guan Park. After that eating at home or at another local restaurant. The personal is very helpful and service minded. They all speak chinese and some also speak russian. For me as an english speaking person this was a little bit more difficult. As I do only speak very little chinese. However the personel there had four persons working there that could speak some english. I give you some nique pictures of some of them. This place became something like a second home for me at late night. Here I could really sit down and relax after eating and Bejing sightseeing at late night. I used to go there something like 9 o´clock at night, returning home like 11 o´clock. In my regular way of sitting here included listening to the Beijing Music Radio while drinking beer. I usually start my evening at this restaurant with a chinese draft beer for 5 yuan, sometimes buying two! The next beer would be a Heineken for 20 yuan. Anyway one night we where eating at a local restaurant at Dongzhimen Nei Dajie only 6 minutes walk away from home. We where eating a Sichuan Hot Pot and I was very happy about this evening! Later I go to this local restaurant. The other restaurants at Dongzhimen Nei Dajie tell me I can go there, but it is much more expensive! It is, but for a westerner it is a price level that is ok! Here I also meet westerners from countries like Russia, Italy, White Russia, Rumania, Spain, Germany, USA, England and many more countries. I must confess one thing that I did not do at this restaurant! And I do really regret it! But first you must understand anoher thing in life in Beijing! At our apartment Liping´s mother is living, and she wants to give us free food all the time! This is very nice and free, but we also have to eat out during our stay. This is the main reason I did not eat at this restaurant, but I can tell you that all other persons eating here was more than satisfied with the food and service here! Everybody was happy with their food and the prices of it! I talked to many peoples during my nightly visits. One night I talked to a man in english and he also talked to Liping in chinese. Then through her I found out he spoke german and we started talking as I know fluently german. After some 20 minutes we both found out that his family was from Denmark, and now we started talking swedish! It´s a very small world we live in! He had been living in Beijing for 6 years and working with selling apartments in Beijing. We talked for a long time about everything, but also some of the value of Liping´s apartment. Now we know that it has in one year gone up to at least three times the original value! So I strongly recommend this place for dining out at night! Also we where very lucky with the local wheather during our 30 days in Liping´s home town Beijing. The summer started 10 days earlier than in 2006. So we had hot summer with temperatures between 25 to 35 degrees celsius during all our stay! We could sit outdoors at night every night here. Lucky ones we are!

Zai jian!

Peter

Nan Guan Park in my heart and in Beijing 北京!

2007-09-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

The Nan Guan Park in Dongzhimen Area, Dongcheng District in Beijing, is my local place to go to in the afternoon. I go here for one or two hours every day to relax and enjoy the beauty of this park! I am amazed by the local activity here in this park. Everybody living around here goes to the park to relax. All have their own reasons for going. It could be a lunch walk or an exercise round, or just to sit down and talk to friends or play checkers together. Some read the newspaper, some play the guitar and sing, some play congas or whatever! The old ones go there and the young ones go there. The Beijing chinese go there, so I don´t see many westerners go there. This park and the area around it is a residential living area for the richer chinese and westerners living nearby. But it is also the area for the average chinese people living in the old hutongs nearby. Entrance to the Nan Guan Park is free, and the service is good. The toilet facilities are very good as they have a handicap toilet with a seat to sit on! To be sure bring your own toiletpaper! This is my great tip for you all staying in Beijing. You always bring your own toiletpaper, as it may be no toiletpaper there when you need it! You always find a store nearby to buy it, if you have not brought it with you from home. Anyway I go here after a long day out after seeing some Beijing sights. Then I want to relax so I go to the Nan Guan Park to just walk around it and sit down on a bench to smoke a cigarett and think about life in general. It gives me a total relaxation for two hours in my afternoon walk around the block! I think about what I have seen around Beijing during the day, and I think about what will I see the next day! I believe that in China everybody find their time to spend a moment of relaxation every day going to the park or doing something else. No one sits indoors doing this. They all go outdoors! So I do the same to find out what I have done today and what I will do tomorrow. I find this is a very great way to spend my evening. After these two hours I go home to eat with my family and then I go to my favorite restaurant for some beers! I am totaly pleased by this way to live. It is really a chinese way to live! I just love it! This is really the way to live and I wish we could do the same in Sweden! Maybe it is just a dream!

Zai jian!

Peter

Minan Residential Complex in Beijing 北京!

2007-09-11T10:47:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

A small blog post telling you about The Minan Residential Complex at Dongzhimen Nei Dajie in The Dongzhimen Area, Dongcheng District in Beijing. The southern border of the complex is Dongzhimen Nei Dajie. The northern border is Minan Jie, with Dongzhimen High School and The Russian Embassy on the other side of the road. The eastern border is made up by the 2nd Ring Road. The western border is Dongzhimen Beixiao Dajie, with the Nan Guan Park and Club 19 on the other side of the road. The Chinese name of the complex is Minan Xiaoqu. The area has at least seven guarded entrances. There are many small roads inside and the one our apartment is situated on is Dong Yang Wei Jie. It is very close to the Dongzhimen subway station. Here we go shopping daytime or nighttime! We buy food and Tsingtao beer inside the complex. We buy ready made food, vegetables, bread, noodles, eggs and early in the morning also our ready made breakfast! I go there myself and buy my own Tsingtao beer. They don´t speak english, so I have to speak some chinese with them. I buy the beer, 60 cl bottles, for 2 yuan and I get half yuan back when returning the bottle. No problem for me as I can speak very easy daily chinese! And the people there are very friendly and helpfull. I get a family feeling from them all the time. It really feels like home! On the first two pictures you will see these stores, and we pass them many times every day during our month here. We go there buying breakfast, we pass them on our way to the buss or subway going shopping or sightseeing, we go there shopping day or night time, we pass them going to the Club 19 restaurant for drinking beers at night or going to eat at some restaurant at the Dongzhimen Nei Dajie! We pass them all the time, also on our way back after all this! The last week here we went to the local barber shop to cut our hair. They washed our hairs both before and after cutting it. The price was amazingly low, only 20 yuan! So cut your hair before going home! Daytime or nighttime most people spend their time outdoors, with different activities. Some play games in local bars, or eat at local restaurants or meet up for things to do in local small parks. Everybody is ut in the streets, very unlike what we do in Sweden. The third picture shows you the local street where all this happened. Now the fourth picture is showing a local map of Minan Residential Complex. Our house looks like an X at the northeastern corner. We live on floor 5 of 15 floors in the house. When we go out or come home there is an elevator girl pressing the floor button for us in both elevators! It feels very luxury! While they wait for us and others they read books. I love Beijing! I love that they are there waiting for me to come home late at night from my beer round at our local Club 19 restaurant next to the Nan Guan Park. They are waiting for me to get home and Liping is also waiting for me! I feel very safe here.

Zai jian!

Peter

The China Millenium Monument in Beijing 北京!

2007-09-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

The China Millenium Monument in Beijing 北京. All over the world, celebrations and festivities to usher in Year 2000 make up one of the grandest spectacles at the end of the century, as mankind strides towards the new century and millennium. New opportunities, challenges, and hopes are emerging over the horizon of China of the 21st century. The Chinese nation, with its splendid civilization of 5000 years, is on the threshold of an epoch of great renewal, as a future of yet greater splendour is arising in the East of the world. At the turn of the century and millennium, the China Millennium Monument. with its oriental cultural overtones and contemporary architectural art, will promote the national spirit by embodying an original style, displaying a modern aestheticism, and expressing hopes of the future. The China Millennium Monument, as China' s symbolic and commemorative building to welcome the Year 2000, is a gift for the world of the 21st century from the Chinese people, forever standing in China' s capital Beiling. The China Millennium Monument stands along a north-south axis between the Military Museum and the Central Television Complex, with the scenic Yuyuantan Park to the north and the West Beijing Railway Terminus to the south, occupying an area of 4.5 hectares and a total floor space of about 42,000 square metres. The Monument is a grand structure ingeniously combining the spirit of traditional Chinese culture with modern architectural art, and integrating architecture, landscaping, sculpture, mural painting, and various other art forms. It will not only be an eternal memory of the turn of the millennium, but also serve as a centre for cultural, artistic, and scientific exhibitions both at home and abroad, as well as an inspiration in patriotism. inside the southern entrance to the Monument is the Plaza of Holy Fire, one metre below ground and 960 square metres in area, standing for China' s vast territory of 9,600,000 square kilometres. With the gentle centripetal rise of the ground suggesting the rise of the Chinese nation, the Holy Fire of China is located right in the middle of the Plaza. The fire originated at the site of Peking man at Zhoukoudian, Beijing, and is fed on natural gas. The everburning flames, rising some 45 centimetres high, are a token of the unceasing creativity of the Chinese civilization. Along both the eastern and western side of the plaza, there is a steady current of water cascading down the steps, reminding the visitor of the mother rivers of the Chinese nation: the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers. Walking along the plaza, tourists will see a 270-meter long bronze causeway that has inscriptions on its walls with chronogram that dates from when humans first appear to 2000 A.D. Inside The China Millenium Monument is an art museum, The Beijing World Art Museum, which includes a grand century hall, a museum of eastern and western art, modern art museum, and multi-media art museum. Here you will find a lot of old cultures art from all over the world. In the grand century hall is an encircling mural painting with a circumference of 117 meters. It is one of the best in China.

Zai jian!

Peter

What about bicykles in Beijing 北京!

2007-09-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

What about bicykles in Beijing 北京! Everybody is talking about Beijing being the world capital of bicykles. This is true and it looks like everbody owns one. New cars are takeing over the scenery, but you will find very many bicykles on the streets also today! Beijing is believed to have some 10 millions bicykles on the roads. It is often a faster way to get around in this city. The more cars and busses, the slower traffic. If you don´t have a bike of your own you can rent a bicykle for some 10-30 yuan a day. It will deffinitely give you the best way of discovering Beijing in your own pace. A ride through some hutongs is recommended. China continues to be the world's leading country in bicycle production and consumption as the output of bicycles in China reached over 50 million in 2001. Chinese bicycles were also exported to over 100 countries and regions. The numbers of bicycles in Beijing has continued to increase over the past few years, reaching 10 million by the end of 2001. Bicycles will continue to be the main means of transport for Beijing residents in the coming years although the number of private cars has increased by a large amount. In order to help curb air pollution, Beijing will adopt administrative measures to encourage people to ride bicycles. No one knows exactly when bicycles first arrived in China, but in the late Qing Dynasty, the traces of bicycle tires could be seen in the Forbidden City. Pu Yi, the Last Emperor of the Qing Dynasty loved bicycles so much that he went so far as to order his servants to saw off the thresholds of the gates to make it more convenient for him to ride his bicycle. China is gradually moving from a state-planned economy to a market economy, and the bicycle enterprises in China are facing fierce competition. With the popularization of automobiles in China and the entrance of foreign bicycle manufacturers, a great deal of pressure has been placed on China's famous bicycle manufacturers to redefine their strategies and continue to expand production. You also find many tricyckles and rickshaws all around Beijing. The tricykles are used for distribution and transport of goods. Many of them are used for selling things like vegetables and fruit. Some are specially rebuilt with a big barrel at the back, and are used for barbecueing snacks. The idea is very good as they can change their location without putting out the fire! With the rickshaws you can shorten your walk to a destination from the subway station or take a ride in the hutongs.

Zai jian!

Peter

What about beer in Beijing 北京!

2007-09-08T10:57:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

What about beer in Beijing 北京! China has three major beer brands. Yanjing beer is a malty, smooth lager beer from China. Brewed in the Shunyi district of Beijing, it is the most commonly available beer throughout Beijing, is the official state beer of China, and is one of the major sponsors of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The beer was first brewed in 1980, and continues to be made today. It is also exported to countries around the globe, including the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. The beer is brewed the Beijing Yanjing Beer Co., Ltd, and its name comes from a former name for Beijing during the 5th-3rd century BC. Today, the Yanjing Beer Co. covers an area of 2,220,000 m². The company has approximately 20,000 employees, and is the largest beer manufacturer in China. They produced 3.11 million tons of beer in 2005 alone. In Beijing, Yanjing is widely available in restaurants, but is not generally available in bars and nightclubs. Because of Yanjing's low price, bar owners claim that they cannot make enough of a profit selling it; thus, they stock the popular beer brands Tsingtao and Zhujiang, or foreign brands of beer instead. Yanjing Beer/Ale Facts: • Brewed with mineral water, first class wheat and barley imported from Canada and Australia, together with the state-of-art German Krones technology and equipment. • A Pilsner-style beer with refreshing sweetness, smooth clean finish and crystal clarity. • Specially treated clear bottle is stable from anti-oxidation of the sunlight caused by the UV-rays of the sun. • 4.5% ABV. Zhujiang beer 福尔摩莎债券is a lager beer from China, and is one of 3 Chinese national beer brands (along with Tsingtao and Yanjing). With an abv. of 5.3%, the beer is characterised by a pale straw appearance, with a subtle malt flavour highlighted by a delicate hop balance. Zhujiang is the 2nd most consumed Beer in China; 48,000 bottles are consumed per hour. It is particularly successful in the South of China. The beer is also exported to countries around the globe, including Canada, France, Australia, USA, Sweden and the UK. Zhujiang is brewed by the Guangzhou Zhujiang Brewery Group Co., Ltd in Guangzhou, in the South of China. The Brewery itself is one of the largest single site production facilities in the world. The Beer is brewed with water piped from the natural spring source of the Pearl River direct to the brewery to guarantee the quality and freshness. The fresh spring water is then combined with Czech hops, German yeast, Chinese Rice and Canadian Barley Malt. Tsingtao Brewery 青岛啤酒厂 is China's largest brewery. Founded in 1903 by German settlers, it claims about 12% of domestic market share. The beer is produced in Qingdao in Shandong province, but the name of the beer uses the old École francaise d´Extreme-Orient transliteration. The beer's present-day logo displays an image of Zhan Qiao, a famous pier on Qingdao's southern shore. History: The brewery was founded in 1903 as a German-British brewing company to produce German style beer in China, producing beer mainly for Germans and other Westerners in China. In 1915 the brewery was taken over from the German management and until 1945 was under Japanese management, who had confiscated the German share and bought the British share afterWorld War I. After the defeat of Japan in World War II the Qingdao Brewery was turned into a Chinese brewery under the supervision of the Nationalist government in Nanjing. However, this period of ownership only lasted until 1949 when the People´s Republic of China was founded and the company became a state-owned enterprise. The company was privatized in the early 1990s and in 1993 merged with three other breweries in Qingdao and was finally renamed Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited. Today 27% of the company is owned by Anheuser-Busch. The company now owns several other breweries in China, some of which also produce Tsingtao Beer. Beer styles: Tsingtao Beer, a well-hopped standard pilsner of 4.8% alcohol, is the flagship brew, accounting for most of the brewery's production. An unpasteurised version is sold as Tsingtao Draft Beer. Tsingtao Beer was long advertised as being "brewed with mineral water from the Laoshan Spring", which contributed to its characteristic flavour; however, this now applies only to beer produced in Qingdao, not to that produced in the company's other breweries. Like many beers made in China, Tsingtao beer contains a proportion of rice in the mash. The brewery also produces a number of other beers, mostly for the local market. Those sometimes encountered outside China include Tsingtao Dark Beer (5.2% alcohol), and more rarely Tsingtao Spirulina Green Beer, also sold as Tsingtao Green Beer, a 4.5% alcohol green-coloured pilsner containing spirulina as an additive, and claimed to promote good health. (Note: alcohol content of export versions may vary slightly.) Export orientation: The beer market in China was very underdeveloped until into the '80s and the brewery was forced to concentrate on overseas markets. However, while concentrating on international markets, the brewery also attempted to sell its beer on the domestic market and competed with other domestic brands as well as foreign brands. The main export company for the brewery was the "Good Harvest of Five Grains Corporation" based in Hong Kong. The Good Harvest of Five Grains Corporation also tried to market the beer in Hong Kong itself and later built a wholesale network consisting of up to 300 companies. Tsingtao Beer was introduced to the United States in 1972, and soon became the top-selling Chinese beer in the U.S. market; it has maintained this leadership within the United States ever since, despite increasing competition from other well known Chinese beer brands, Zhujiang Beer and Yanjing. The Tsingtao brand is sold in more than 50 countries worldwide and accounts for more than 50% of China’s beer exports. National Marketing: Before the 1949 takeover by the new PRC government, the brewery had been using imported raw material and water from the Laoshan mountain. Due to the outbreak of the Korean War and the resulting embargo of the People's Republic by the West, the brewery was forced to use domestic products and the government encouraged the peasants in Shandong to harvest the necessary raw materials (mainly hops and barley) themselves. The government used various incentives to achieve this goal, e.g. free seeds. The brewery had previously used nationalistic marketing strategies, and after the switchover to production using only domestic material this nationalist and patriotic marketing effort was increased. However, the brewery still mentioned its international roots. International Beer Festival: The brewery first applied for permission for a Beer Festival in 1991 and received approval and great support from the Qingdao municipal administration, even to the extent that the city became the main sponsor. The first festival was opened on June 23rd, 1991, and has been held annually ever since. The festival was named "International Beer Festival" to attract foreigners as well as Chinese, although the main purpose of the festival was to make the brand more popular for domestic consumers. Quality debacle: Tsingtao Beer suffered a quality debacle in the late-1990's, but a subsequent investigation revealed that the beer had become a victim of Chinese pollution: the barley grown in China was heavily polluted by the pesticide, chemical fertilizers and other industrial chemical wastes that it was no longer qualified for use. As a result, all barley used for Tsingtao Beer is currently imported from France, Canada and Australia. Hops used are grown in Xinjiang Autonomous Region. In my last picture I show you that much beer distribution is made by bicykle in Beijing!

Zai jian!

Peter

TV and radio in Beijing 北京!

2007-09-07T11:17:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

Today´s blog is about the TV and radio in Beijing 北京. China Central Television or Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as CCTV 中国中央电视台 is the major television broadcaster in Mainland China. Organizationally, it is a sub-ministry of People´s Republic of China's central government within the State Administration f Radio, Film and Television and as such it does not have any editorial independence from the PRC government. Its news reporting follows parameters directed by the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China. No negative meaning of this, but it is a fact to remember when watching TV. Most of its programming, however, is a mix of comedy and dramatic programming, the majority of which consists of Chinese soap operas. Like many media outlets in China, CCTV has had its state subsidy reduced dramatically in the 1990s, and hence finds it necessary to balance its role as a government agency with the practical fact that it must attract viewers so that it can sell commercial advertising. In searching for viewers, CCTV has found itself in competition with local television stations (which are also state run) which have been creating increasingly large media groups in order to compete with CCTV. History: CCTV first broadcast on September 2, 1958, under the name Beijing Television, after an experimental broadcast on May 1, 1958. The name was changed to CCTV on May 1, 1978. In 2008, the new CCTV Headquarters will open. At the end of 1980s, like many other Chinese TV stations, CCTV only had one channel. At that time, it only had evening programs, with the broadcast usually ending at midnight. During the summer and winter time, it occasionally broadcast during daytime for the students who were on their breaks. Today, CCTV has 16 national channels, most with 24-hour broadcasting, and a High Definition channel at times airing certain American programs such as CSI: New York, CSI: Miami and Lost, Documentaries, Movies, and new Chinese television series shot in HD. Programs: Its thirty-minute evening news, xinwen lianbo ("network news", "news relay"), which is broadcast at 7:00 PM Beijing Time, is the most important news program in China which mainland Chinese watch to keep up with the government's politics. Although news reform has been a prominent feature of CCTV networks, the Evening News has remained relatively the same since its first appearance in the early 1980s, having mainly focused on leaders receiving foreign guests and going on visits to foreign countries, the CPC's leaders having top meetings or conferences, and stories of courage that are supposed to exemplify one form or another of communism. Many important political news stories are broadcast through that program. This program is uploaded onto YouTube daily by Duowei, a Chinese news network. Its yearly special program of celebrating the Chinese New Year, the CCTV New Year´s Gala, is undoubtedly the most watched program. In 2007 research data shows that the Gala was watched by over 800 million people all over the world. It started in the early 1980s. Each year, some singers and comedians become famous because of their single performance on that night. Channels: CCTV has sixteen different channels of programming content and competes with television stations run by local governments (such as BTV and several regional channels) and foreign programming which can be readily received via satellite television. Unlike US channel naming conventions, but similar to the situation in many countries in Europe, most CCTV channels are listed in sequential order with no discerning descriptions, e.g. CCTV-1, CCTV-2, etc. The sixteen channels are: CCTV-1 - Mixture, CCTV-2 - Economy, CCTV-3 - Arts, CCTV-4 - International, in Chinese, CCTV-5 - Sports, CCV-6 - Movies and series, CCTV-7 - Military/Agriculture, CCTV-8 - TV drama, CCTV-9 - International, in English, CCTV-10 - Science and Education, CCTV-11 - Opera, CCTV-12 - Society and Law, CCTV-News - 24-hour News, CCTV-Children - Children's channel, CCTV-Music - Music, CCsV-E&F - International, in Spanish and French, CCTV-HD - High-definition programming. All over China there is a lot of local TV stations. At home we have some 62 channels in our TV. Beijing has a local TV station, BTV, Beijing TV Station 北京电视台 is a government-owned television network in the People´s Republic of China and is chiefly broadcast in the Chinese language. It broadcasts from Beijing. The group has ten primary channels: BTV-1 (also known as BTV Satellite Channel; 北京卫视 - Mixture, BTV-2 - Arts Channel, BTV-3 - Education Channel, BTV-4 - Drama Series Channel, BTV-5 - Finance Channel, BTV-6 - Sports Channel, BTV-7 - Lifestyle Channel, BTV-8 - Youth Channel, BTV-9 - Beijing City Channel, BTV-10 - Cartoon Channel, BTV Theater Channel(京视剧场频道) TV Drama Channel (digital broadcasting), Loving Home Shopping Channel (爱家购物频道) TV Shopping Channel (digital broadcasting). Every day I listened to The Beijing Music Radio on my mobile phone. Beijing Yinyue Tai, but commonly called "Beijing Yinyue Guangbo" by the radio announcer with Chinese "北京音乐广播", is also known in English as "Beijing Music Radio" at 97.4 FM in Beijing, China. Since the broadcast is done in Mandarin Chinese, the English moniker "Beijing Music Radio" is only referred to on the hour for station identification. The radio station is one of the radio stations under the Beijing Ren Min Guangbo Dian Tai group. Beijing Yinyue Guangbo plays various types of music including: Classical Music, Mandopop and Cantopop. English various formats including English Top 40, Hot AC, and country music. They also have news on every hour that is from Beijing Xinwen Guangbo radio station. During my stay in Beijing I listened every day on Beijing Music Radio Yinyue Edition. I can listen to it here in Stockholm too! That is streaming online on the internet!

Zai jian!

Peter

Food and restaurants in Beijing 北京!

2007-09-06T04:06:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

In todays blog I will tell you a little about food, eating and restaurants in Beijing 北京. Now Beijing food or Northern food is a combination of different areas varieties namely Hebei, Shangdong, Lower Yangzi River area, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang. Methods of cooking:- Barbecuing, deep-boiling, roasting, smoking and braising. Local products such as garlic, ginger, leeks, pork, spring onions, bean sauce, different spices, chilies, vegetables, particularly the Northern white cabbage, together with duck, pork, chicken, seafood, beef, and lamb are used to make many varieties of gourmet dishes. Accompaniment to Meals Wheat products such as noodles, bread, and dumplings are eaten with meals. Examples of Dishes Beijing Duck 北京烤鸭, Mongolian Hot Pot with Lamb or Beef, Sauteed Mutton with Scallion, Muslim Skewered Mutton, Shandong Chicken with Abalone and Cabbage, to mention but a few. As you would expect in such a large and varied country, there are many regional cuisines - and you can find them all in Beijing, plus Korean, Japanese, Thai and Western dishes. Tables for five or more people usually have a revolving center for the dishes. Hot Pot is a varied and interesting 'cook by yourself' experience. You choose what to eat and the ingredients are prepared and arrive ready to cook. The common ingredients are meat (mutton, chicken, beef) and fish, plus various types of Tofu, mushrooms, eggs, noodles and vegetables. These are cooked in a 'soup' that is heated by gas, electricity or flame. Meat is prepared by being thinly sliced while frozen. When added to the gently bubbling soup, it cooks in about 30 seconds. Leafy vegetables and thread noodles cook even quicker. However, starchy vegetables, such as potato and yam slices, need a few minutes. Tofu and mushrooms perhaps 2 minutes or so. Hot Pot comes in basically two styles - Sichuan and Mongolian. Both are commonly found in Beijing. Sichuan hotpot involves a sesame paste 'dip' made from ground sesame seeds (paste) and sesame oil. Other dip types are sometimes available. The sesame dip is often topped with coriander. Other condiments are also usually available, including garlic, spring onion and chilli oil, to add either to the soup or dip. The other distinction of Sichuan HotPot is that the soup is often spicy, or half spicy. By 'half spicy' is meant a pot divided in two, with a spicy half and a non-spicy half (yin-yang) which is ideal if two or more people are to share the pot. Mongolian Hot Pot has a simpler non-spicy soup, tradionally in a smaller but taller copper pot. Proud of the fine taste of its free range meats from Inner Mongolia, spices and dips are much less prevalent - the idea is to enjoy the natural taste of the ingredients. For example one can find Jiaozi (small boiled dumplings stuffed with meat or vegetables) in many places throughout China, but if you travel to Beijing or Harbin in Heilingjiang province or anywhere in Northern China, you may find many more people eating Jiaozi and eating many more varieties of Jiaozi than elsewhere in south China. Now in Beijing you have so many restaurants that you would not know where to go. However there is 4 major areas or I should say streets where you can find your restaurant! Longfusi Snack Street. Here you can enjoy many delicacies while strolling leisurely. All snacks of China gather here. Snacks of authentic Beijing style come from no others but Baikui Laohao where offers authentic soymilk, fried dough, Luzhu and diversified barbecues. It´s a very typical Muslim restaurant getting more blossing when the night curtain falls. The 100m long snack stalls form a hot hot scene. Stall-keepers hawk one after another. Just buy some sausage or fried squid costing from 3 to 5 Yuan. Wangfujing Snack Street. As the curtain of night falls, diners gather here, among whom are a larger number of foreigners. Prices are not too low of course. Dazzling snacks from all corners of the land gather at here. If wanna have a seat to enjoy your food more comfortably, you might go to Sun Plaza Restaurant at 5th Floor as well. Gui Jie(Dongzhimen Nei Dajie). Don´t be frightened by this name. Actually, the name of this street originates from that it is a round-the-clock food street. More late at night, more hot here. If you are a night owl too, just come here. Take a seat and eat something while chatting to spend the long night as a strange visitor at a strange land. Stores here are not so large but suitable for several friends drinking together and chatting quite well. Though with dated furnishing, they always have several dishes of everlasting aftertaste. Spicy Crab and Poached Fish in Pungent Sauce are eternally famous dishes yet. In summer, you can also go to the Yiyuan Restaurant. Under the umbrages in a Siheyuan with the moonlight overhead, it looks more like a grand party. Inside and outside of the restaurant flow courteous greetings of waiters and sweet smell of delicacies. Hungary at night ? Do not put yourself to a great inconvenience. Go to the Gui Jie directly by a taxi, and then, all is ok. Donghuamen Night Snack Street. Situated at the entrance of north street of Wangfujing, Donghuamen Night Snack Street is the most famous one in Beijing. It has very high reputation not only in Beijing, but also foreign visitors also enjoy it. Currently, stroll this street has been the reserved program. At night, the flavored foods and voice of huckster had been a bright spot in Beijing evening. There are also two more areas for me to mention. I think when going out at night in Beijing you have the Sunlitan Bar Street and Shi Sha Hai areas to consider for a good meal, drinking and listen to good music! As far as western restaurants you will also find many russian ones, as well as McDonald´s and Pizza Hut! They also have one Hard Rock Cafe! I also recommend Jing Wei Mian Da Wang 京味面大王 at 35 Xidajie, Di'anmen 地安门西大街35号 Tel.: 6405-6666 Open 10:30am-10:30pm. It is a traditional chinese style noodle restaurant near the Beihai Park. I myself prefer to walk 6 minutes to our nearest Gui Jie(Dongzhimen Nei Dajie) or to my local restaurant Club 19 at Dongzhimen Beixiao Dajie!

Zai jian!

Peter

Many other sights to show you in Beijing 北京!

2007-09-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

Beijing 北京 has many other sights to show you. I will tell you abut some of them in this blog. First picture shows The Qianmen archery tower in Beijing, and the second one shows The Zhengyangmen Gate in Beijing. The Qianmen 前门, literally "Front Gate") is the common name for the gateway known formally as Zhengyangmen 正阳门. It is a gate in Beijing, China. It stands at the south end of the Tiananmen Square precinct, and was formerly the front gate of the Imperial City, a part of the ancient city of Beijing. First built in 1419, the gateway consisted of a gatehouse proper and an archery tower, which forms a large barbican. Today the archery tower and the gatehouse survive - though not in the form originally built. The present gates date from 1914 and incorporate modern design elements suggested by German advisors. At 42 metres high, the gatehouse was, and is, the tallest among all of the gates of Beijing. After the Communist victory in 1949, the gate complex was occupied by the Beijing garrison of the People´s Liberation Army. The military vacated the gate in 1980. Behind (that is, to the North of) the Qianmen once stood the Gate of China, followed by the present Tiananmen, and the Meridian Gate, which is the front entrance to the Forbidden City. Because of its grandeur and unique design, the Qianmen was long seen as the symbol of old Beijing. The third picture is Deshengmen Gate. The Deshengmen 德胜门, literary "Gate of Virtuous Triumph" is one of the few surviving city gates in Beijing, China, located at the northern tip of the 2nd Ring Road. In old times, the army would leave Beijing from Xuanwumen and re-enter the city, triumphant, at Deshengmen. The gateway was made up of three structures in ancient times - the gatehouse, the archery tower, and the barbican. However, the gatehouse proper was demolished in 1921, and the barbican has been severely damaged. The archery tower, however, is well-preserved and surroundings are well-lit at night. The Beijing Subway has a stop here. An extension to the Badaling Expressway links to the rotary surrounding the gate. The fourth picture shows The City Wall.The ity Wall of Beijing was a fortification built around 1435. It was 23.5 km long. The thickness at ground level was 20m and the top 12m. The wall was 15m high, and it had nine gates. This wall stood for nearly 530 years, but in 1965 it was removed to give way to 2nd Ring Road and the loop line subway of Beijing. Only in the southeast, just south of Beijing Railway Station, stands one part of the wall. Three gates of the city wall are also intact (Desheng Gate, the Yongding Gate and Zhengyang Gate). Beijing was the capital city of the last three dynasties (the Yuan, Ming and Qing) in the history of China, it has an extensive fortification system, consisting of the Palace City, the Imperial City, the Inner City and the Outer City. Specifically including the many gate towers, gates, archways, watchtowers, barbicans, barbican towers, barbican gates, barbican archways, sluice gates, sluice gate towers, enemy sight towers, corner guard towers, and moat, it was the most extensive defense system in dynastical China. After the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, Beijing's fortifications were dismantled one by one, the Palace City has remained largely intact; the Imperial City only has Tiananmen remaining intact; the Inner City with Zhengyangmen's gate tower and watchtower, Deshengmen's watchtower, the southeastern corner guard tower, and a section of the Inner City Wall near Chongwenmen remaining intact; and nothing of the Outer City remaining intact, with Yongdingmen completely reconstructed in 2004. The fifth picture shows a map of how it looked once. I took some pictures of the remaining City Wall waiting for a bus going to Lipings father in Daxing, southern Beijing. Standing there waiting everything looked very dull all around, and then I suddenly saw the wall! Up with the camera and I just had time to take 4 pictures of it before the bus came! This how history is made!

Zai jian!

Peter

Beijing: Badaling 八达岭 and the Great Wall 长城!

2007-09-04T11:11:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

In this blog I start out with a photo of me at Badaling. Badaling 八达岭 is the site of the most visited section of the Great Wall of China, approximately 50 miles northwest of Beijing city within the Beijing Municipality. The portion of the wall running through the site was built during the Ming Dynasty, along with a military outpost reflecting the location's strategic importance. The portion of the wall at Badaling has undergone heavy restoration, and in 1957 it was the first section of the wall to open to tourists. Now visited annually by millions, the immediate area has seen significant development, including hotels, restaurants, and a cable car. The recently completed Badaling Expressway connects Badaling with Beijing city. It was here that President Richard Nixon and his wife, accompanied by Vice Premier Li Xiannian, visited on February 24, 1972, during his historic journey to China. The Great Wall of China 长城) is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of Successive dynasties. Several walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC, the most famous being the one built between 220 BC and 200 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. That wall was much farther north than the current wall, built during the Ming Dynasty, and little of it remains. The Great Wall is the world's longest human-made structure, stretching over approximately 6.400 km (4,000 miles) from Shanhai Pass in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. It is also the largest human-made structure ever built in terms of surface area and mass. History: The Chinese were already familiar with the techniques of wall-building by the time of the Spring and Autumn Period, which began around the 8th century BC. During the Warring States Period from the 5th cetury BC to 221 BC, the states of Qi, Yan and Zhao all constructed extensive fortifications to defend their own borders. Built to withstand the attack of small arms such as swords and spears, these walls were made mostly by stamping earth and gravel between board frames. Qin Shi Huang conquered all opposing states and unified China in 221 BC, establishing the Qin Dynasty. Intending to impose centralized rule and prevent the resurgence of feudal lords, he ordered the destruction of the wall sections that divided his empire along the former state borders. To protect the empire against intrusions by the Xiongnu (Turks) people from the north, he ordered the building of a new wall to connect the remaining fortifications along the empire's new northern frontier. Transporting the large quantity of materials required for construction was difficult, so builders always tried to use local resources. Stones from the mountains were used over mountain ranges, while rammed earth was used for construction in the plains. There are no surviving historical records indicating the exact length and course of the Qin Dynasty walls. Most of the ancient walls have eroded away over the centuries, and very few sections remain today. Later, the Han, Sui, Northern and Jin dynasties all repaired, rebuilt, or expanded sections of the Great Wall at great cost to defend themselves against northern invaders. The Great Wall concept was revived again during the Ming Dynasty following the Ming army's defeat by the Mongols in the Battle of Tumu in 1449. The Ming had failed to gain a clear upper-hand over the Mongols after successive battles, and the long-drawn conflict was taking a toll on the empire. The Ming adopted a new strategy to keep the Mongols out by constructing walls along the northern border of China. Acknowledging the Mongol control established in the Ordos Desert, the wall followed the desert's southern edge instead of incorporating the bend of the Huang He. Unlike the earlier Qin fortifications, the Ming construction was stronger and more elaborate due to the use of bricks and stone instead of rammed earth. As Mongol raids continued periodically over the years, the Ming devoted considerable resources to repair and reinforce the walls. Sections near the Ming capital of Beijing were especially strengthened. Towards the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Great Wall helped defend the empire against the Manchu invasions that began around 1600. Under the military command of Yuan Chonghuan, the Ming army held off the Manchus at the heavily fortified Shanhai Pass, preventing the Manchus from entering the Liaodong Peninsula and the Chinese heartland. The Manchus were finally able to cross the Great Wall in 1644, when the gates of Shanhai Pass were opened by Wu Sangui, a corrupt Ming border general, after being bribed. The Manchus quickly seized Beijing, and defeated the newly founded Shun Dynasty and remaining Ming resistance, to establish the Qing Dynasty. Under Qing rule, China's borders extended beyond the walls and Mongolia was annexed into the empire, so construction and repairs on the Great Wall were discontinued. Notable areas: The following three sections are in Beijing municipality, which were renovated and which are regularly visited by modern tourists: The "North Pass" of Juyongguan pass, known as the Badaling. When used by the Chinese to protect their land, this section of the wall has had many guards to defend China’s capital, Beijing. Made of stone and bricks from the hills, this portion of the Great Wall is 7.8 meters (25.6 ft) high and 5 meters (16.4 ft) wide. One of the most striking sections of the Ming Great Wall is where it climbs extremely steep slopes. It runs 11 kilometers (7 mi) long, ranges from 5 to 8 meters (16–26 ft) in height, and 6 meters (19.7 ft) across the bottom, narrowing up to 5 meters (16.4 ft) across the top. Wangjinglou is one of Jinshanling's 67 watchtowers, 980 meters (3,215 ft)above sea level. South East of Jinshanling, is the Mutianyu Great Wall which winds along lofty, cragged mountains from the southeast to the northwest for approximately 2.25 kilometers (about 1.3 miles). It is connected with Juyongguan Pass to the west and Gubeikou to the east. Another notable section lies near the eastern extremity of the wall, where the first pass of the Great Wall was built on the Shanhaiguan (known as the “Number One Pass Under Heaven”), the first mountain the Great Wall climbs. Jia Shan is also here, as is the Jiumenkou, which is the only portion of the wall that was built as a bridge. Shanhaiguan Great Wall is called the “Museum of the Construction of the Great Wall”, because of the Meng Jiang-Nu Temple, built during the Song Dynasty. Characteristics: Before the use of bricks, the Great Wall was mainly built from earth, stones, and wood. During the Ming Dynasty, however, bricks were heavily used in many areas of the wall, as were materials such as tiles, lime, and stone. The size and weight of the bricks made them easier to work with than earth and stone, so construction quickened. Additionally, bricks could bear more weight and endure better than rammed earth. Stone can hold under its own weight better than brick, but is more difficult to use. Consequently, stones cut in rectangular shapes were used for the foundation, inner and outer brims, and gateways of the wall. Battlements line the uppermost portion of the vast majority of the wall, with defensive gaps a little over 30 cm (a foot) tall, and about 23 cm (9 inches) wide. The steps that form the Great Wall of China are very steep and tall in some areas. Tourists often become exhausted climbing the wall and walk no more than a kilometre or two (around a mile). Condition: While some portions north of Beijing and near tourist centers have been preserved and even reconstructed, in many locations the Wall is in disrepair. Those parts might serve as a village playground or a source of stones to rebuild houses and roads. Sections of the Wall are also prone to graffiti and vandalism. Parts have been destroyed because the Wall is in the way of construction. No comprehensive survey of the wall has been carried out, so it is not possible to say how much of it survives, especially in remote areas. Intact or repaired portions of the Wall near developed tourist areas are often frequented by sellers of tourist kitsch. A remote western section of the Great Wall, Jiayuguan Pass, Gansu. This section of the wall is seriously threatened by environmental damage and erosion. More than 60 kilometers of the wall in Gansu province may disappear in the next 20 years, due to erosion from sandstorms. In places, the height of the wall has been reduced from more than five meters to less than two meters. The square lookout towers that characterize the most famous images of the wall have disappeared completely. Many western sections of the wall are constructed from mud, rather than brick and stone, and thus are more susceptible to erosion. Watchtowers and barracks: The wall also has watch towers at regular intervals, which were used to house women and troops, and send smoke signals. Barracks and administrative centers are located at larger intervals. Communication between the army units along the length of the Great Wall, including the ability to call reinforcements and warn garrisons of enemy movements, was of high importance. Signal towers were built upon hill tops or other high points along the wall for their invisibility. Recognition: The Wall was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Mao Zedong had a saying, "You're not a real man if you haven't climbed the Great Wall" 不到长城非好汉. Originally this saying was used to bolster his revolution in trekking north. But over time the saying has been reduced to a promotional swag for the Great Wall of China. In Badaling (north of Beijing) the 'real carrot stone' can be found with the saying engraved on it. Lists of recommended travel destinations often feature the Great Wall of China, which also appears in several listings of even wonders of the modern world -- including the recently announced New Seven Wonders of the World which claimed to record a 100 million votes. Visibility: The Great Wall of China is seen in a false-color radar image from the Space Shuttle, taken in April 1994. Ripley´s Believe It or Not! cartoon from May 1932 explains the fact that the wall is "the mightiest work of man, the only one that would be visible to the human eye from the moon" and Richard Halliburton's 1938 book Second Book of Marvels makes a similar claim. This belief has persisted, assuming urban legend status, sometimes even entering school textbooks. Arthur Waldron, author of history of the Great Wall, has speculated that the belief might go back to the fascination with the "canals" once believed to exist on Mars. (The logic was simple: If people on Earth can see the Martians' canals, the Martians might be able to see the Great Wall.) The Great Wall is a maximum 30 ft (9.1m) wide and is about the same color as the soil surrounding it. Based on the optics of resolving power (distance versus the width of the iris: a few millimetres for the human eye, metres for large telescopes) an object of reasonable contrast to its surroundings some four thousand miles in diameter (such as the Australian land mass) would be visible to the unaided eye from the moon (average distance from earth 238,857 miles (384,393 km)). But the Great Wall is of course not a disc but more like a thread, and a thread a foot (30cm) long would not be visible from a hundred yards (90 m) away, even though a human head is. Not surprisingly, no lunar astronaut has ever claimed he could see the Great Wall from the moon. A different question is whether it is visible from near-Earth orbit, i.e at an altitude of less than 500 kilometers (311 mi) (0.1% of the distance of the moon). The consensus here is that it is barely visible, and only under nearly perfect conditions; it is no more conspicuous than many other manmade objects. Astronaut William Pogue thought he had seen it from Skylab but discovered he was actually looking at the Grand Canal of China near Beijing. He spotted the Great Wall with binoculars, but said that "it wasn't visible to the unaided eye." US Senator Jake Garn claimed to be able to see the Great Wall with the naked eye from a space shuttle orbit in the early 1980s, but his claim has been disputed by several US astronauts. Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei said he could not see it at all. Veteran US astronaut Gene Cernan has stated: "At Earth orbit of 160 kilometers (99 mi) to 320 kilometers (199 mi) high, the Great Wall of China is, indeed, visible to the naked eye." Ed Lu, Expedition 7 Science Officer aboard the International Space Station, adds that, "it's less visible than a lot of other objects. And you have to know where to look." Neil Armstrong stated about the view from Apollo 11: "I do not believe that, at least with my eyes, there would be any man-made object that I could see. I have not yet found somebody who has told me they've seen the Wall of China from Earth orbit. ... I've asked various people, particularly Shuttle guys, that have been many orbits around China in the daytime, and the ones I've talked to didn't see it." Leroy Chiao, a Chinese-American astronaut, took a photograph from the International Space Station that shows the wall. It was so indistinct that the photographer was not certain he had actually captured it. Based on the photograph, the China Daily later reported that the Great Wall can be seen from space with the naked eye, under favorable viewing conditions, if one knows exactly where to look. I have walked the Great Wall at Badaling. I just love it! And it is really great! You have to see it and walk on it to understand how large it is. The feeling is overwhelming and the beauty of what you see is astonishing!

Zai jian!

Peter

Beijing: Tiananmen Square 天安门广场

2007-09-03T22:22:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

New day, new blog! Tiananmen Square 天安门广场 is the large plaza near the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen (literally, Gate of Heavenly Peace) which sits to its north, separating it from the Forbidden City. It has great cultural significance as a symbol because it was the site of several key events in Chinese history (See below: Events). Outside of China, the square is widely known for the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. The square is 880 meters (2887 feet) south to north and 500 metres (1640 feet) east to west, a total area of 440,000 square metres (108.7 acres), which makes it the largest open-urban square in the world. History: The Tiananmen was built in 1417 in the Ming Dynasty. In 1699 (early Qing Dynasty), the Tiananmen was renovated and renamed to its present form. During the Ming and Qing eras, there was no public square at Tiananmen, and instead the area was filled with offices for imperial ministries. These were badly damaged during the Boxer Rebellion and the area was cleared to produce the beginning of Tiananmen Square. Near the centre of today's square, close to the site of the Mao Zedong Mausoleum, once stood one of the most important gates of Beijing. This gate was known as the "Great Ming Gate" (大明门) during the Ming Dynasty, "Great Qing Gate" (大清门) during the Qing Dynasty, and "Gate of China" (中华门) during the Republic of China era. Unlike the other gates in Beijing, such as the Tiananmen and the Qianmen, this was a purely ceremonial gateway, with three arches but no ramparts, similar in style to the ceremonial gateways found in the Ming Dynasty Tombs. This gate had a special status as the "Gate of the Nation", as can be seen from its successive names. It normally remained closed, except when the Emperor passed through. Commoner traffic were diverted to two side gates at the northern and eastern ends of today's square, respectively. Because of this diversion in traffic, a busy marketplace, called Chessgrid Streets (棋盘街) developed in the big, fenced square to the south of this gate. In the early 1950s, the Gate of China (as it was then known) was demolished along with the Chessgrid Streets to the south, completing the expansion of Tiananmen Square to (approximately) its current size. Features: Enlarged in 1949 to the current size, its flatness is broken only by the 38-metre (125-foot) high Monument to the People´s Heroes and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong. The square lies between two ancient, massive gates: the Tian'anmen to the north and the Zhengyangmen, better known as Qiamen 前门(literally "Front Gate") to the south. Along the west side of the Square is the Great Hall of the People. Along the east side is the National Museum of China. Chang´an Avenue, which is used for parades, lies between the Tian'anmen and the Square. Trees line the east and west edges of the Square, but the square itself is open, with neither trees nor benches. The Square is lit with huge lampposts which also support video cameras. It is heavily monitored by uniformed and plain clothes policemen. Events: Tiananmen Square has been the site of a number of political events such as the proclamation of the People´s Republic of China by Mao Zedong in October 1, 1949, for annual mass military displays on all subsequent National Days until October 1st 1959, plus the 1984 military parade for the 35th anniversary of the People's Republic of China and the 50th anniversary in 1999 plus for mass rallies during the Cultural Revolution. It has also been the site of a number of protest movements: 1. May Fourth Movement of 1919, 2. Tiananmen protests in 1976 after the death of Zhou Enlai, 3. Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and 4. Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident of 2001. The protests of 1989 resulted in the killing of Chinese protesters in the streets to the west of the square and adjacent areas. Some Western reporters who were on the square during the unfolding events reported that they saw no one actually die on the square itself, though did see bloodied people but could not confirm whether they were either dead or injured (Graham Earnshaw and Columbia Journal Review). However, Chinese expatriates who left the country after the killings said that the total number of deaths ended up being in the thousands. This was a combination of the hundreds killed on the spot and the "miniature" purge that followed. This is history! What ever is true! During my visit on the May 1st celebrations 2007 I saw nothing of this. I felt as free as at home in Stockholm. There where many people there from all over of China to celebrate. Ok security was there. We had to leave the bags in a box office before going through a security check looking like on the airports. My only trouble this day was that when we wanted to go home the nearest subway station was closed. We had to walk to the next one. And it is a long way to walk between the stations as Beijing is a very large city!

Zai jian!

Peter

Beijing: The Summer Palace 颐和园 and Kunming Lake 昆明湖

2007-09-02T22:27:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

New blog from my visit to Beijing in China. Long and very hot day beginning with the Beijing Zoo and ending with the Summer Palace. We made a stop for rest and eating near the 17-Arches Bridge. This area is really very large! The Summer Palace or Yiheyuan 颐和园 (literally "Garden of Nurtured Harmony") is a palace in Beijing, China. The Summer Palace is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill (60 meters high) and the Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometers, three quarters of which is water. The central Kunming Lake covering 2.2 square kilometers was entirely man made and the escavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill. In its compact 70,000 square metres of building space, one finds a variety of palaces, gardens, and other classical-style architectural structures. The Summer Palace started out life as the Garden of Clear Ripples 清漪园 in 1750 (Reign Year 15 of Emperor Qianlong). Artisans reproduced the garden architecture styles of various palaces in China. Kunming Lake was created by extending an existing body of water to imitate the West Lake in Hangzhou. The palace complex suffered two major attacks, during the Anglo-French allied invasion of 1860 (with the Old Summer Palace also ransacked at the same time), and during the Boxer Rebellion, in an attack by the eight allied powers in 1900. The garden survived and was rebuilt in 1886 and 1902. In 1888, it was given the current name, Yihe Yuan. It served as a summer resort for Empress Dowager Cixi, who diverted 30 million taels of silver, said to be originally designated for the Chinese navy (Beiyang Fleet), into the reconstruction and enlargement of the Summer Palace. In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List. It declared the Summer Palace an "outstanding expression of the creative art of Chinese landscape garden design, incorporating the works of humankind and nature in a harmonious whole." It is a popular tourist destination but also serves as a recreational park. Kunming Lake 昆明湖 is the central lake on the grounds of the Summer Palace in Beijing, China. Together with the Longevity Hill, Kunming Lake forms the key landscape features of the Summer Palace gardens. With an area of 2.2 square kilometers, Kunming Lake covers approximately three quarters of the Summer Palace grounds. It is fairly shallow with an average depth of only 1.5 meter. Since the lake develops a solid ice cover in winter, it is used for ice skating. History: Kunming Lake is a man-made lake. Its predecessors were called Wengshan (Jar Hill) Pond and Xihu Lake. They were reservoirs which had been used as sources of water both for the city and irrigation of fields over a period of 3,500 years. Guo Shoujing, a famous astronomer and engineer in his time, developed it into a reservoir for the capital of the Yuan Dynasty in 1291. The conversion of the area into an imperial garden was commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor with the work being carried out between 1750 and 1764 . In the course of creating the gardens, the lake area was extended by a workforce of almost 10,000 laborers. In the year 1990 and 1991, the Beijing Municipal Government undertook the first dredging of the lake in 240 years. A total of 652,600 cubic meters of sludge were removed in the work. 205 Japanese bombs dropped during the Sino-Japanese War were also found. Garden Design: With its three large islands, Kunming Lake represents the traditional Chinese garden element of the "fairy hill within the sea". The three islands are named Nanhu (South Lake), Tuancheng, and Zaojian Island and are modelled after the three famous fairy tale islands Yingzhou (瀛洲), Penglai (蓬莱), and Fangzhang (方丈), where Immortals were said to live. Many features of Kunming Lake are inspired by natural scenery form the region south of the Yangtze River. In particular, the West Dike is a recreation of the famous Su Di Dike on the West Lake in Hangzhou. It cuts diagonally through the southern part of the lake. Like the Su Di Dike, the West Dike is connected through six bridges, each with its own distinctive style: Jiehu, Binfeng, Yudai, Jing, Lian, and Liu Bridge. The largest bridge on Kunming Lake is the 17-Arch Bridge, it connects the eastern shore with Nanhu Island, which represents the mythical Penglai Island. Close to the bridge on the eastern shore stands a bronze ox sculpture. According the Chinese legend, Yu the Great used an iron ox to prevent flooding. Since the bronze ox is located on the eastern dike of Kunming Lake in the direction of the Forbidden City, it was probably erected in order to protect the Forbidden City from the Lake's floods. Longevity Hill 万寿山 is a 60-meter-high hill in the gardens of the Summer Palace in Beijing, China. Together with Kunming Lake, it shapes the basic layout of the imperial garden's landscape. History: When the Jin Dynasty emperor Wanyan Liang moved his capital to the Beijing area, he had a Gold Mountain Palace built on the site of present-day Longevity Hill. In the Yuan Dynasty, the hill was renamed from Gold Mountain to Jug Hill (Weng Shan). This name change is explained by a legend according to which a jar with a treasure inside was once found on the hill. The loss of the jar is said to have coincided with the fall of the Ming Dynasty as had been predicted by its finder. The Qianlong Emperor, who commissioned work on the imperial gardens to which it belongs in 1749, gave Longevity Hill its present-day name in celebration of his mother's 60th birthday. Buildings: On its southern slope, Longevity Hill is adorned with an ensemble of grand buildings: The Cloud-Dispelling Hall, the Temple of Buddhist Virtue, and the Sea of Wisdom Temple form a south-north (lakeside - peak) oriented axis which is flanked by various other buildings. In the center of the Temple of Buddhist Virtue stands the Tower of Buddhist Incense (Fo Xiang Ge), which forms the focal point for the buildings on the southern slope of Longevity Hill. The tower is built on a 20-meter-tall stone base, is 41 meters high with three storeys and supported by eight ironwood (lignumvitae) pillars. Entering from the northern gate, the visitor first comes across Suzhou Street, designed to replicate the scenery of south-eastern China. At the top of Longevity Hill stands Duobao Glazed Pagoda. From the top of the hill one can see Kunming Lake to the south and southwest. The Marble Boat is at the southwest foot of the hill, and the Long Corridor runs east to west along its southern edge. Most of the other notable buildings (17-Arch Bridge, which has over 500 engraved lions, 十七孔桥) run along the eastern edge of the lake, directly south of the eastern end of the Long Corridor. Other features of the Summer Palace include the Cloud-Dispelling Hall, the Tower of Buddhist Incense and Jade Belt Bridge, and the Garden of Harmonious Interests. Location: The Summer Palace is easily accessible from most parts of Beijing. Head north at Suzhou Bridge on the north-western 3rd Ring Road, north at Sihai Bridge on the north-western 4th Ring Road, or south at the northern 5th Ring Road at the Zhongguancun/Beiqing Road exit. Public transportation also reaches the Summer Place. The journey home went first by bus and then by taxi. Well at home we had dinner late at night, and after that I went out to the local 19 Club for some bears!

Zai jian!

Peter

Beijing Zoo 北京动物园

2007-09-01T10:55:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

Today´s blog is about the Beijing Zoo, tomorrow I will folloow up with the Summer Palace. We went there walking to the subway, and after the subway with a rickshaw ride. The chinese rickshaw man was very interested in swedish money, so I gave him some for his collection. He was very happy with this. The Beijing Zoo 北京动物园, lies west of Xixhimen and is in the western part of Beijing, China. It was known for a short time after the founding of the People´s Republic as Western Suburbs Park (Xijiao Gongyuan). The grounds combine cultivated flower gardens with stretches of natural scenery, including dense groves of trees, stretches of grassland, a small stream, lotus pools and small hills dotted with pavilions and halls. Beijing Zoo mainly exhibits wild and rare animals of China. The Giant Pandas are one of the most popular exhibits, but other popular animals including the Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey, Manchurian tigers, white-lipped deer, yaks from Tibet, enormous sea turtles, polar bears from the North Pole, kangaroo from Australia, and zebra from Africa. The zoo is also a center of zoological research that collects and breeds rare animals from various continents. Construction: The buildings in the zoo cover an area of more than 50,000 square meters, including the monkey hall, the panda hall, the lion and tiger hall, the elephant hall, and many others. Altogether there are more than 30 large halls. The Zoo exhibits not only the variety of habitats for the animals but also the different rooms, halls, pavilions and luscious trees and plants. The Beijing Ocean Hall was opened to the public inside the Zoo in 1999. It is the biggest ocean hall in China. Besides enjoying the sight of all the different species of fish, guests are invited to watch the shows performed by the dolphins and the sea lions. In addition, visitors can explore many old buildings built in the Qing Dynasty inside the Beijing Zoo. History: Initially named The Ten Thousand Animal Garden, the zoo was built in 1908, making it almost 100 years old. It is located in Xicheng District of Beijing City, beside Beijing Exhibition Hall, facing Beijing Astronomical Observatory. The Zoo was originally an imperial manor during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). Plants were cultivated and animals were raised here during the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911). After the establishment of the People´s Republic of China, it was reconstructed and renamed the West Suburb Park. In 1955, the name was changed to the Beijing Zoo. Present: The zoo has developed rapidly and by 1987 covered an area of over 40,000 square meters. Bears, elephants, pandas, lions, tigers, songbirds, hippopotami, rhinoceroses, antelopes and giraffes were brought in the late 1950s, and a gorilla cage, leaf-monkey cage and aquarium house, was opened, containing specimens of over 100 species of reptiles from all over the world, including crocodiles and pythons. The Beijing Zoo now houses over 7,000 creatures of 600 different species from all over the world. I visited the Beijing Zoo at the same day as the Summer Palace. It took the whole day. We went by boat on Emperess Xici´s river to the Summer Palace. A one hour ride that I recommend very much. Very interesting and if you have the time visit them one day each!

Zai jian!

Peter

Beijing Hutongs 北京胡同 and Siheyuans 四合院!

2007-08-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

Todays blog will tell you a little bit more about the Hutongs in Beijing. We all call it hutong. But when we talk abut them we really mean siheyuan. Siheyuan are the courtyard houses, and hutong are the streets or alleys inbetween them. So we should really talk about the Siheyuans inBeijing! Hutongs 胡同 are narrow streets or alleys, most commonly associated with Beijing, China. The word hutong comes from the Mongolian hottog meaning "water well." During the growth of towns and cities, wells dug by villagers formed the centres of new communities. In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of Siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods were formed by joining one siheyuan to another to form a hutong, and then joining one hutong to another. The word hutong is also used to refer to such neighbourhoods. In old China, streets and lanes were defined by width. Hutongs were lanes no wider than 9 metres. Many are smaller; Beijing hutongs range in width from 10 metres down to only 40 centimetres. Since the mid-20th century, the number of Beijing hutongs has dropped dramatically as they are demolished to make way for new roads and buildings. More recently, some hutongs have been designated as protected areas in an attempt to preserve this aspect of Chinese cultural history. Historical hutongs: During China’s dynastic period, emperors planned the city of Beijing and arranged the residential areas according to the etiquette systems of the Zhou Dynasty (1027 - 256 BC). At the center was the Forbidden City, surrounded in concentric circles by the Inner City and Outer City. Citizens of higher social status were permitted to live closer to the center of the circles. Aristocrats lived to the east and west of the imperial palace. The large siheyuan of these high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants often featured beautifully carved and painted roof beams and pillars and carefully landscaped gardens. The hutongs they formed were orderly, lined by spacious homes and walled gardens. Farther from the palace, and to its north and south, were the commoners, merchants, artisans and laborers. Their siheyuan were far smaller in scale and simpler in design and decoration, and the hutongs were narrower. Nearly all siheyuan had their main buildings and gates facing south for better lighting; thus a majority of hutongs run from east to west. Between the main hutongs, many tiny lanes ran north and south for convenient passage.Hutongs in the modern era: At the turn of the 20th century, the Qing court was disintegrating as China’s dynastic era came to an end. The traditional arrangement of hutongs was also affected. Many new hutongs, built haphazardly and with no apparent plan, began to appear on the outskirts of the old city while the old ones lost their former neat appearance. The social stratification of the residents also began to evaporate, reflecting the collapse of the Feudal system. During the period of the Republic of China from 1911 to 1948, society was unstable, fraught with civil wars and repeated foreign invasions. Beijing deteriorated, and the conditions of the hutongs worsened. Siheyuan previously owned and occupied by a single family were subdivided and shared by many households, with additions tacked on as needed, built with whatever materials were available. The 978 hutongs listed in Qing Dynasty records swelled to 1,330 by 1949. Decline of hutongs: Following the founding of the People´s Republic of China in 1949, many of the old hutongs disappeared, replaced by the high rises and wide boulevards of today’s Beijing. Many citizens left the lanes where their families resided for generations, resettling in apartment buildings with modern amenities. In Xicheng District, for example, nearly 200 hutongs out of the 820 it held in 1949 have disappeared. The Beijing Municipal Construction Committee stated in 2004, some 250,000 square meters of old housing – 20,000 households – would be demolished in 2004. However, many of Beijing’s ancient hutongs still stand, and a number of them have been designated protected areas. The older neighborhoods survive today, offering a glimpse of life in the capital city as it has been for generations. In Beijing, the hutongs in the vicinity of the Bell Tower and Shichahai Lake are especially well preserved. Some are several hundred years old, and attracts tourists who tour the quarter in pedicabs(rickshaws).Other information about hutongs: Each hutong has a name. Some have had only one name since their creation, while others have had several throughout their history. Names were given to hutongs for various reasons: Place names, such as Inner Xizhimen Hutong. Plants, such as Liushu Hutong (Liushu means willow). Directions, as Xi Hongmen Hutong (Xi means west). Beijing idioms such as Yizi Hutong (a local term for soap is yizi). Words with positive attributes, such as Xiqing Hutong (Xiqing means happy). Markets and businesses, such as Yangshi Hutong (Yangshi is a sheep market). Temples, such as Guanyinsi Hutong (Guanyinsi is the Kuan-yin Temple). People's names, such as Mengduan Hutong. While most Beijing hutongs are straight, Jiudaowan Hutong turns nineteen times. At it´s narrowest section, Qianshi Hutong near Qianmen (Front Gate) is only 40 centimeters wide. A Siheyuan 四合院 is a type of residence commonly found throughout China, but most famously in Beijing. The name literally means a courtyard, a space enclosed by walls, a yard surrounded by buildings, an enclosed quadrangle area. In China a courtyard is called a siheyuan, meaning a yard surrounded by four buildings. Throughout Chinese history, the siheyuan composition was the basic pattern used for residences, palaces, temples, monasteries, family businesses and government offices. There were simple courtyards and there were courtyard villas. History: As early as the Western Zhou period (1122 BC to 256 BC), Siheyuan with a complete layout were already built, carrying the most outstanding and fundamental characteristics of Chinese architectures. They exists all across China and are the template for most Chinese architectural styles. Today, Beijing still has about 400,000 residential quadrangles, mainly distributed over the East, West, Xuanwu and Chongwen districts of the city. Those in the East and West districts are in the best shape. The departments concerned with the preservation of cultural relics in Beijing have identified a number of good-quality dwelling compounds for protection. In addition, the urban construction departments have worked out a plan to limit high buildings in the city proper to protect the dwelling compounds. Since housing is now one of the most difficult problems facing Beijing, a city that is growing both spatially and in terms of population at a fast rate. The siheyuan, designed as single, extended family residences, today most often house multiple families, with courtyards being infilled to provide extra living space. The hutong laneways are similarly built into, creating cramped and poor quality physical environment. The living conditions in many siheyuans are now considered squalid, with very few having private toilets. Siheyuan are being torn down to address problems of overcrowding, replaced by modern apartment blocks. There are, however, still some grand siheyuan in Beijing that have been preserved in all their former glory. Mainly built for nobles and high officials before the turn of the century, many have been turned into museums, and others are being lived in by governmental officials or used as government offices. The reasons why these peaceful quadrangles are hard to find in Beijing are as follows: 1. Recent, massive population growth in the city has created a significant housing shortage. Since 1949, large-scale construction programs carried out in the city involve the demolition of many siheyuan compounds. 2. During the initial post-liberation period, government offices occupied some quadrangles. Later they were demolished to build office buildings. 3. During the "Cultural Revolution" (1966-1976), air-raid shelters were dug everywhere in Beijing, resulting in the destruction of some dwelling compounds. Systematic demolition of old urban buildings took place during China’s rapid economic development of the 1990s. Large-scale demolition of siheyuan began when the municipal government implemented a housing renovation policy that allowed developers to replace old and derelict dwellings with high-rise buildings. Between 1990 and 1998, a total 4.2 million square meters of old housing was demolished, most of it siheyuan. Today, the area occupied by siheyuan has shrunk from the 17 million square meters of the early 1950s to just three million square meters. According to Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage statistics, of the 3,000 courtyards remaining in Beijing, only 539 are in Cultural and Historical Conservation Areas. The remaining siheyuan exist within a damaged ecological environment, and as they have not been refurbished for many years, their historical and aesthetic value is greatly reduced. General Layout: Stepping over the high wooden base of the front gate of a large compound, you will find a brick privacy wall located a few feet inside. In front of the privacy wall is the outer courtyard, which is flanked by structures to the east and west. In former days, these were the kitchen and servants' living quarters. A red-painted gate leads through the north wall of the outer court into the inner courtyard. The main building faces south to get the maximum possible sunshine in winter, and the eaves provide a pleasant shade in summer when the sun is high. The building is divided into three or five rooms: living or community rooms in the centre with smaller bedroom or studies at each end. The buildings facing east and west on each side of the court were constructed to accommodate married children and their families. Some dwelling compounds consist of several courtyards. With no steel or concrete, the entire dwelling was generally wood-framed with brick infill. The compounds are quiet, beautiful and compact. It is normal for the four buildings of the quadrangle to be positioned along the north-south, east-west axes. The building positioned to the north and facing the south is considered the main house and would traditionally have accommodated the head of the family. The buildings adjoining the main house are called "side houses" and were the quarters of the younger or less important members of the family. The building that faces north is known as the "opposite house" and would generally be where the servants lived or where the family would gather to relax, eat or study. The entrance gate to the courtyard is usually at the southeastern corner. Normally, there is a screen-wall, called a yingbi: 影壁, inside the gate so that outsiders cannot see directly into the courtyard, and believed to protect the house from evil spirits. Outside the gate of some large siheyuan, it is common to find a pair of stone lions. The gates are usually painted vermilion and have large copper door knockers. All the rooms around the courtyard have large windows facing onto the yard and small windows high up on the back wall facing out onto the street. Some do not even have back windows. Some large compounds have two or more courtyards to house the extended families that were a mark of prosperity in ancient times. The layout of a simple courtyard becomes a vivid representation of traditional Chinese morality. Due to Beijing's geographical location, four buildings in a single courtyard receive different amount of sunlight. The northern one receives the most, thus serving as the living room and bedroom of the Siheyuan owner. The eastern and western buildings receive less, and serve as guestrooms. The southern one, opposite the owner's house, receives the least sunlight, and usually functions as the quarters for service staff. The northern, eastern and western buildings are connected by beautiful decorated passages. These passages serve as shelters from the sunshine during the day, and provide a cool place to appreciate the view of the courtyard at night. Behind the northern building, there would often be a separate building for unmarried daughters. In ancient China, unmarried girls weren't allowed direct exposure to the public, thus, they would occupy the most secret building in the Siheyuan. Though built a long time ago, a Siheyuan is a scientific, human-oriented architecture. Northwestern walls are usually higher than the other walls, to protect the inside buildings from the harsh winds, blowing across northern China in the winter. The eaves curve downward, so when it rains the accumulated rainwater will flow along the curve rather than dropping straight down. The rooftop has ridge design, so when sunshine falls down on the roof, shade is provided. This helps the room to escape direct exposure to sunshine in the summer while retaining warmth in the winter. In Gansu, Qinghai and other northwest regions, where a sand-laden wind is very strong, the height of courtyard walls is increased. The northeast region is extensive, but the weather is cold, so that, in order to take in as much sunshine as possible, the courtyard is broad and large, and there are many open areas inside the courtyard walls. Why Siheyuan? Such a residence offers space, comfort and quiet privacy. It is also good for security as well as protection against dust and storms. Grown with plants and flowers, the court is also a sort of garden. In feudal times, the courtyard dwellings were built according to the traditional concepts of the five elements that were believed to compose the universe, and the eight diagrams of divination. The gate was made at the southeast corner which was the "wind" corner, and house was made to face the south with the main building on the north side which was believed to belong to "water"-- an element to prevent fire. Siheyuan represent Beijing residents’ childhood happiness, an old image branded on their collective memory. From a foreign visitors’ point of view, the siheyuan scenario, with fruit sellers along the hutong, or narrow lanes, lined with small shops selling various daily life utensils, has a bewitching charm redolent of the rich flavor of Beijing life. Such areas offer the best chance to interact with the local people and observe their daily life. Siheyuan, in effect, shorten the distance between people. Beijing's Siheyuan are cordial and quiet, with a strong flavor of life. The courtyard is square, vast and of a suitable size. It contains flowers and is set up with rocks, providing an ideal space for outdoor life. Such elements make the courtyard seem like an open-air, large living room, drawing heaven and earth closer to people's hearts; this is why the courtyard was most favored by them. The verandah divides the courtyard into several big and small spaces that are not very distant from each other. These spaces penetrate one another, setting off the void and the solids, and the contrast of shadows. The divisions also make the courtyard more suited to the standards of daily life. Family members exchanged their views here, which created a cordial temperament and an interesting atmosphere. In fact, the centripetal and cohesive atmosphere of Beijing's Siheyuan, with its strict rules and forms, is a typical expression of the character of most Chinese residences. The courtyard's pattern of being closed to the outside and open to the inside can be regarded as a wise integration of two kinds of contradictory psychologies: On one hand the self-sufficient feudal families needed to maintain a certain separation from the outside world; on the other, the psychology, deeply rooted in the mode of agricultural production, makes the Chinese particularly keen on getting closer to nature. They often want to see the heaven, earth, flowers, grass and trees in their own homes. Rich and Poor: All the quadrangles, from their size and style one could tell whether they belonged to private individuals or the powerful and rich. The simple house of an ordinary person has only one courtyard with the main building on the north facing, across the court, the southern building with rooms of northern exposure and flanked on the sides by the buildings of eastern and western chambers. The mansion of a titled or very rich family would have two or more courtyards, one behind another, with the main building separated from the view of the southern building by a wall with a fancy gate or by a guoting (walk-through pavilion). Behind the main building there would be a lesser house in the rear and, connected with the main quadrangle, small "corner courtyards". The lord and lady of the house lived in the sunny main building and their children in the side chambers. The southern row on the opposite side, those nearest to the entrance gate, were generally used as the study, the reception room, the man servants' dwelling or for sundry purposes. Not only residences but ancient palaces, government offices, temples and monasteries were built basically on the pattern of the siheyuan, a common feature of traditional Chinese architecture. Best-preserved Siheyuan in Beijing: Nanchangjie and Beichangjie (southern long street and northern long street). Nanchangjie and Beichangjie both start from Xihuamen Dajie with Nanchangjie running south to Changan jie and Beichangjie running north to Jingshan Qianjie. In the Qing Dynasty, the various departments of the domestic affairs ministry were established here. At present various temples, including the Fuyou Temple, Wanshou Xinglong Temple, Zhaoxian Temple and Jingmo Temple line this street. Location: east to Beihai Park, Dongcheng Wusi Dajie. Named after the famous "May 4 Movement", Wusi Dajie was built after the liberation of the country, connecting already existing mansions, temples and Hutongs. Famous scenic spots include Beida Honglou (Peking University red building), the birthplace of the "May 4 Movement", the Longfu Temple, hosting the largest book fair, and National Art Museum of China. Location: northeast of the Forbiden City Nanchizi and Beichizi (southern pond and northern pond). Divided by Donghuamen Dajie, Nanchizi runs south to Changan jie and Beichangjie runs north to Jingshan Qianjie. Nanchizi and Beichizi are separated from Nanchangjie and Beichangjie by the Forbidden City in the north and Tiananmen Square in the south. Location: east of Tiananmen Square, east of the Forbidden City, Dongcheng Wenjin Jie. Crowned by expatriates as the most beautiful street in Beijing, Wenjin Jie boasts old houses, beautiful scenery and profound cultural relics. The Jinao Yudong Bridge divides Zhonghai and Beihai. Location: the street south of Beihai Park, dividing Beihai Park and Zhonghai Zhishanmen Jie. Named after the east gate of Beihai Park, and literally meaning the gate to climb a mountain, Zhishanmen Jie is the home of the famous Hutong, Xuechi Hutong. This particular Hutong was once used as the storehouse of ice blocks by royal families. Location: between Jingshan Xijie and Beihai Park. Jingshan Dong, Xi, Hou and Qian Jie (Jingshan east, west, back and front street). These four streets circle Jingshan Park forming a square. Location: at the northern gate of the Forbidden City, Xicheng Dianmen Neidajie. Starting from Jingshan Houjie, running along Beihai, Qianhai, and Houhai until Zhonggulou (drum and bell tower), Dianmen Neidajie connects several quite reminiscent lanes. Location: starts from Jingshan Houjie and runs north to Dianmen. They say before the Beijing Olympics there are some 3000 hutongs in Beijing, and after 2008 there are some 1000! I do hope they are right, because we all that come as visitors need to see and feel these areas! Believe me that I know of the problems with ambulances and the fire brigade can not go there. But this is a way of living for thousands of years! Please. don´t take all of them away!

Zai jian!

Peter

Jingshan Park 景山公园 and Beihai Park 北海公园!

2007-08-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

As I told you before I want to give you the real pearls of Beijing. One at a time! Here I will give one more interesting sight. Jingshan Hill (Chinese: 景山 is an artificial hill in Beijing, China. It is located in Xicheng District, immediately north of the Forbidden City on the central axis of Beijing. Originally an imperial garden, it is now a public park, known as Jingshan Park (景山公园). The 45.7-metre high artificial hill was constructed in the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty entirely from the soil excavated in forming the moats of the Imperial Palace and nearby canals. It is especially impressive when one considers that all of this material was moved only by manual labor and animal power. According to the dictates of Feng Shui, it is favorable to site a residence to the south of a nearby hill (and it is also practical, gaining protection from chilly northern winds). The imperial palaces in both of the other capitals of the Ming Dynasty were situated to the south of a hill. When the capital was moved to Beijing, no such hill existed at this location, so one was constructed. It is popularly known as "Feng Shui Hill". It is also known as Coal Hill, a direct translation of its old popular Chinese name (Chinese: 煤山). The last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen, committed suicide by hanging himself here in 1644. Relationship with the Forbidden City: Jingshan hill is separated from the Forbidden City by the palace moat. However, until 1928 the park sat directly by the moat and was accessible on the south side only from the Forbidden City via the Gate of Divine ight. In 1928, a new road (New Jinghshan Street) was built to the north of the palace moat. This fully separated Jingshan Hill from the Forbidden City. The Gate of Divine Might became the front door of the Palace Museum, and the front gate of Jingshan Park now stood to the north of the new road. The street addresses of both the Forbidden City and Jingshan Park are on New Jingshan Street. The Beihai Park (Chinese: 北海公园) is an imperial garden northwest of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Initially built in the 10th century, it is a typical Chinese garden. Before the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, this area was part of the Forbidden City; since 1925, it is open to the public. The Park has an area of more than 700,000 square meters, with a water area that covers more than half of the entire Park. At the center of the Park is an island called Qiongdao Island with a highest point of 32 meters. In the north area of the park is a big pool called Taiye Pool connecting the two other pools, which are called Middle Sea and South Sea respectively. Therefore the Taiye Pool is also called Beihai (Northern Sea). Beihai literally means "Northern Sea". There are also corresponding "Central" and "Southern Seas" (Zhongnanhai). The complex of buildings around Zhongnanhai houses China's paramount leaders. Noticeable places: White Dagoba Temple (Bai Ta). The Bai Ta(White Pagoda) is 40 m high and placed on the highest point on Qiongdao Island. Its body is made of white stone. Sun, moon and flame engravings decorate the surface of the tower. Destroyed in 1679 by an earthquake, it was rebuilt the following year. Same in 1976, because of an earthquake which occurred at Tangshan City, near Beijing City. Hidden inside the tower are Scriptures, Buddhist monk's mantle and alms bowl, and bones of monks (left after they are burned). On the north bank lies the Five-Dragon Pavilion, which was built in the Ming Dynasty. The Nine-Dragon Wall lies north of the Five-Dragon Pavilion. It was built in 1756 and is one of three walls of its kind in China. It was made of seven-color glaze bricks. Nine complete dragons playing in the clouds are decorated on both sides of the wall. Also on the north bank is Jingxin Room (Quieting Heart Room). It is a garden in the garden, which covers an area of more than 4,000 m². The Circular Wall (Tuancheng) with its main structure the Hall of Received Light (Chengguangdian), a spacious building with a double-eaved roof made of yellow glazed tiles bordered in green. Inside there is a 1.6 m tall Buddha, which was presented to Emperor Guangxu by a Cambodian king. It is carved from a single piece of pure white jade inlaid with precious stones. The Eight-Power Allied Forces damaged the statue’s left arm when they invaded Beijing in 1900. This is a very good place to visit, but you will need a whole day for these two parks! I say so because it takes time to relax and enjoy this lovely city of Beijing. With my local family guides we had a nice rest with eating before going to the next place.

Zai jian!

Peter

Shopping in Beijing: Wangfujing Dajie(Alley) 王府井大街!

2007-08-29T11:05:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

Wángfujing Alley(Wangfujing Dajie) 王府井大街, located in the Dongcheng District of Beijing, is one of the Chinese capital's most famous shopping streets. Much of the road is off-limits to cars and other motor vehicles, and it is not rare to see the entire street full of people, turned into one of China's most attractive and modern boulevards. Since the middle of Ming Dynasty there have been commercial activities. In the Qing Dynasty, eight aristocratic estates and princess residence were built here, soon after when a well full of sweet water was discovered, thereby giving the street its name "Wang Fu"(=aristocratic residence), "Jing" (=well). In 1903, Dong'an market was formed. Prior to 1949, the street was also known as Morrison Street, after the Australian journalist George Ernest Morrison. Wangfujing has become one of the four traditional downtown shopping areas of Beijing, in addition to Dashilar, Xidan, and Liulichang. It starts from Wangfujing Nankou, where the Oriental Plaza and the Beijing Hotel are located. It then heads north, passing the Wangfujing Xinhua Bookstore, the Beijing Department Store as well as the Beijing Foreign Languages Bookstore before terminating at the Sun Dong An Plaza. Prior to the late 1990s trolleybuses, buses, and other traffic ran through the street, making it rather congested. Modifications in 1999 and 2000 made much of Wangfujing Street car-free (aside from the tour trolley and occasional milatary vehicles doing bank transfers). Now through traffic detours to the east of the street. Wangfujing is now home to around 280 old brands of Beijing, such as Shengxifu hat store, Tongshenghe shoe shop, Wuyutai tea house. A photo studio which took formal photos of the first Chinese leadership, the New China Woman and Children Department Store helped established by Song Qingling were also located on the street. Wangfujing is served by the Beijing subway networks, just one stop away from Tiananmen Square to the west. Line 1 has a station at the southern end of the street, which bears the same name. A word of warning, this street and the shops are so full of people that it´s hard to move yourself! Inside the shops there is no free area more than half a meter for yourself. So keep your money and valuables in a safe place. I had no trouble but if you are not careful it could happen to you. During my 30 day visit in Beijing I kept my money in my jeans and the latger amount in an inside pocket of my vaist coat. Though every chinese told me to be careful, I never had any trouble or heard of anyone having lost their money.

Zai jian!

Peter

The Forbidden City, Gugong 故宫!

2007-08-28T11:24:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

The Forbidden City was the chinese imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost five centuries, it served as the home of the Emperor and his household, and the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government. Built from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms and covers 720,000 square metres. The palace complex exemplifies traditional chinese palatial architecture, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. Since 1924, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artefacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Part of the museum's former collection is now located in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Both museums descend from the same institution, but were split after the Chinese Civil War. The Forbidden City is the world's largest surviving palace complex and covers 720,000 square metres (0.72 km2 or 0.28 mi2). It is a rectangle 961 metres from north to south and 753 metres from east to west. It consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms. The Forbidden City was designed to be the centre of the ancient, walled city of Beijing. It is enclosed in a larger, walled area called the Imperial City. The Imperial City is, in turn, enclosed by the Inner City; to its south lies the Outer City. The Forbidden City remains important in the civic scheme of Beijing. The central north-south axis remains the central axis of Beijing. This axis extends to the south through Tiananmen gate to Tiananmen Square, the ceremonial centre of the People's Republic of China. To the north, it extends through theBell and Drum Towers to Yongdingmen. The Forbidden City is surrounded by a 7.9-metre high city wall and a six-metre deep, 52-metre wide moat. The walls are 8.62 metres wide at the base, tapering to 6.66 metres at the top. These walls served as both defensive walls and retaining walls for the palace. They were constructed with a rammed earth core, and surfaced with three layers of specially baked bricks on both sides, with the interstices filled with mortar.
At the four corners of the wall sit towers with intricate roofs boasting 72 ridges, reproducing the Pavilion of Prince Teng and the Yellow Crane Pavilion as they appeared in Song Dynasty paintings. These towers are the most visible parts of the palace to commoners outside the walls, and much folklore is attached to them. According to one legend, artisans could not put a corner tower back together after it was dismantled for renovations in the early Qing Dynasty, and it was only rebuilt after the intervention of carpenter-immortal Lu Ban. The wall is pierced by a gate on each side. At the southern end is the main Meridian Gate. To the north is the Gate of Divine Might, which faces Jingshan Park. The east and west gates are called the "East Glorious Gate" and "West Glorious Gate". All gates in the Forbidden City are decorated with a nine-by-nine array of golden door nails, except for the East Glorious Gate, which has only eight rows. The Meridian Gate has two protruding wings forming three sides of a square (Wumen, or Meridian Gate, Square) before it. The gate has five gateways. The central gateway is part of the Imperial Way, a stone flagged path that forms the central axis of the Forbidden City and the ancient city of Beijing itself, and leads all the way from the Gate of China in the south to Jingshan in the north. Only the Emperor may walk or ride on the Imperial Way, except for the Empress on the occasion of her wedding, and successful students after the Imperial Examination. Traditionally, the Forbidden City is divided into two parts. The Outer Court (外朝) or Front Court (前朝) includes the southern sections, and was used for ceremonial purposes. The Inner Court (内廷) or Back Palace (后宫) includes the northern sections, and was the residence of the Emperor and his family's, and was used for day-to-day affairs of state. (The approximate dividing line shown as red dash in the plan above). Generally, the Forbidden City has three vertical axes. The most important buildings are situated on the central north-south axis. Entering from the Meridian Gate, one encounters a large square, pierced by the meandering Inner Golden Water River, which is crossed by five bridges. Beyond the square stands the Gate of Supreme Harmony. Behind that is the Hall of Supreme Harmony Square. A three-tiered white marble terrace rises from this square. Three halls stand on top of this terrace, the focus of the palace complex. From the south, these are the Hall of Supreme Harmony (太和殿), the Hall of Central Harmony (中和殿), and the Hall of Preserving Harmony (保和殿). The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the largest, and rises some 30 metres above the level of the surrounding square. It is the ceremonial centre of imperial power, and the largest surviving wooden structure in China. It is nine bays wide and five bays deep, the numbers nine and five being symbolically connected to the majesty of the Emperor. Set into the ceiling at the centre of the hall is an intricate caisson decorated with a coiled dragon, from the mouth of which issues a chandelier-like set of metal balls, called the "Xuanyuan Mirror". In the Ming Dynasty, the Emperor held court here to discuss affairs of state. During the Qing Dynasty, as Emeperors held court far more frequently, the Hall of Supreme Harmony was only used for ceremonial purposes, such as coronations, investitures, and imperial weddings. The Hall of Central Harmony is a smaller, square hall, used by the Emperor to prepare and rest before and during ceremonies. Behind it, the Hall of Preserving Harmony, was used for rehearsing ceremonies, and was also the site of the final stage of the Imperial examination. All three halls feature imperial thrones, the largest and most elaborate one being that in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. At the centre of the ramps leading up to the terraces from the northern and southern sides are ceremonial ramps, part of the Imperial Way, featuring elaborate and symbolic bas-relief carvings. The northern ramp, behind the Hall of Preserving Harmony, is carved from a single piece of stone 16.57 metres long, 3.07 metres wide, and 1.7 metres thick. It weighs some 200 tonnes and is the largest such carving in China. The southern ramp, in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, is even longer, but is made from two stone slabs joined together — the joint was ingeniously hidden using overlapping bas-relief carvings, and was only discovered when weathering widened the gap in the 20th century. In the south west and south east of the Outer Court are the halls of Military Eminence and Literary Glory. The former was used at various times for the Emperor to receive ministers and hold court, and later housed the Palace's own printing house. The latter was used for ceremonial lectures by highly regarded Confucian scholars, and later became the office of the Grand Secretariat. A copy of the Siku Quanshu was stored there. To the north-east are the Southern Three Places (南三所), which was the residence of the Crown Prince. The Inner Court is separated from the Outer Court by an oblong courtyard lying orthogonal to the City's main axis. It is the home of the Emperor and his family. In the Qing Dynasty, the Emperor lived and worked almost exclusively in the Inner Court, with the Outer Court used only for ceremonial purposes. At the centre of the Inner Court is another set of three halls. From the south, these are the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Hall of Union, and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. Smaller than the Outer Court halls, the three halls of the Inner Court were the official residences of the Emperor and the Empress. The Emperor, representing Yang and the Heavens, would occupy the Palace of Heavenly Purity. The Empress, representing Yin and the Earth, would occupy the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. In between them was the Hall of Union, where the Yin and Yang mixed to produce harmony. The Palace of Heavenly Purity is a double-eaved building, and set on a single-level white marble platform. It is connected to the Gate of Heavenly Purity to its south by a raised walkway. In the Ming Dynasty, it was the residence of the Emperor. However, beginning from the Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the Emperor lived instead at the smaller Hall of Mental Cultivation to the west, out of respect to the memory of the Kangxi Emperor. The Palace of Heavenly Purity then became the Emperor's audience hall. A caisson is set into the roof, featuring a coiled dragon. Above the throne hangs a tablet reading "Justice and Honour" (Chinese: 正大光明; Pinyin: zhèngdàguāngmíng). The Palace of Earthly Tranquility is a double-eaved building, 9 bays wide and 3 bays deep. In the Ming Dynasty, it was the residence of the Empress. In the Qing Dynasty, large portions of the Palace were converted for Shamanist worship by the new Manchu rulers. From the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor, the Empress moved out of the Palace. However, two rooms in the Palace of Earthly Harmony were retained for use on the Emperor's wedding night. Between these two palaces is the Hall of Union, which is square in shape with a pyramidal roof. Stored here are the twenty-five Imperial Seals of the Qing Dynasty, as well as other ceremonial items. Behind these three halls lies the Imperial Garden. Relatively small, and compact in design, the garden nevertheless contains several elaborate landscaping features. To the north of the garden is the Gate of Divine Might, the north gate of the palace. Distributed to the east and west of the three main halls are a series of self-contained courtyards and minor palaces, where the Emperor's concubines and children lived. Directly to the west is the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Originally a minor palace, this became the de facto residence and office of the Emperor starting from Yongzheng. In the last decades of the Qing Dynasty, empresses dowager, including Cixi, held court from the eastern partition of the hall. Located around the Hall of Mental Cultivation are the offices of the Grand Council and other key government bodies. The north-eastern section of the Inner Court is taken up by the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, a complex built by the Qianlong Emperor in anticipation of his retirement. It mirrors the set-up of the Forbidden City proper and features an "outer court", an "inner court", and gardens and temples. The entrance to the Palace of Tranquil Longevity is marked by a glazed-tile Nine Dragons Screen. A lot of facts to mealt down. A great tip is to be prepared for a long walk in the heat. This is very large. In the south east corner you will find the toilets and can also smoke there, before returning back all the way.

Zai jian!

Peter

Shopping in Beijing 北京

2007-08-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

Now you know a little about where we live when we are in Beijing 北京, and about the nearest area around us. You also know a little bit more about Beijing, if you have been reading my blogs. Right now I feel like I would take you out on a shopping round in this lovely city. Firstly Beijing is a fantastic and wonderful place to go to when you want to shop. You will find all kinds of things to buy, and it´s very cheap. So one good tip is to come here with very little in your bagage. You will fill it here. There are many places to go when you want to shop, and they are spread all over the city. The first place we went to was the area near the Drum Tower. Here we found two department stores. One with clothes, shoes, perfume and so on, plus one with everything from electronics to clothes. In fact this last one had everything. I bought sunglasses, memory cards to my mobile phone, t-shirts, thing to use when sewing, umbrellas you name it! Fill up your bagage before going home! In the first department store we bought clothes and shoes mainly. A few days later we went to Xidan. A very large area with many department stores and smaller stores. Here we looked at mobile phones, but we bought one later nearer our home in Dongzhimen. But we bought winter clothes on sale for the last week, and also other clothes. I also bought a second battery for my Olympus digital camera in Xidan. As I told you Beijng is full of shops all over town, but there is also special areas or streets where you go when you want to buy a special thing. Like a street with music stores or department store with curtains for your windows! It´s really very much a paradise for shopping. Though you have to know that I had my special guide, Liping born in and living in Beijing for 40 years with me. So here is what you can do before you go there. Read and learn a lot from the internet and write down the names of the areas where you want to go and shop. Anyway I went to a special musical instruments street to buy a guitar. And found an accustic in green and black for only 380 yuan with case, strap and plectrums! I will not tell you about all these areas in this blog spot. It will come later. But there is one that I just have to tell you about right now. It´s the Wangfujing. It has very many department stores, and also many smaller stores on side streets. It is very exclusive and is very popular among young people and the tourists. We didn´t buy many things here, but we did buy t-shirst, Beijing 2008 caps, souvernirs, and some books(a Beijing Guide book and a Mandarin language book). On this street you will find China´s largest book store. It has 6 floors and some 200.000 volumes of books and CDs! You have to read on a sign at the elevator to find out on which floor the books that you are looking for are placed! Anyway the toilets are on the sixth floor! In my mind comes up the one question that I would like to answer about Beijing! I would like to describe Beijing with three words. Very difficult! But I found out that these words are: large, friendly and building! Both the way people are friendly, helpful, understanding and temprament is the same I have only met in Rhodes, Greece!

Zai jian!

Peter

Public transportation in Beijing 北京

2007-08-26T07:44:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

A little about public transportation in Beijing 北京. Our apartment is situated very central in this town. You have several ways to help you to get around the city as a tourist. The means of transportation I can put into five groups: 1. Taxi, 2. Subway, 3. Bus, 4. Rickshaw, 5 Boat and 6. Walk! Many times it´s the best to combine them to reach your destination. When I went to the Beijing Zoo and the Summer Palace I used this combination: Walk, Subway and Rickshaw for the Zoo and Boat to the Summer Palace, and finally home by Bus and Taxi. It took me and my two family guides 11 hours before reaching home. I think when you visit for a shorter period like a week or 10 days you must use the taxi a lot. It is very cheap here and you will reach your destination very quick. Though you have to be aware of the language! If not they can charge you night fare prices during the day time as you can not read their equipment. A little warning of this and maybe they don´t always take the shortest way! So know your surroundings and the map! I go mostly with Liping, who is born and has lived here for 40 years. So I don´t have this problem. But anyway it is very cheap for westerners. In Stockholm I would pay 10 or 15 times more for the taxi ride anyway. So for me it´s ok paying 20 or 30 yuan for the same ride. My visit was for 30 days. So I had plenty of time to learn about how to get around in Beijing. Public transportation map in Beijing is from summer 2007. The very fast evolving Beijing Subway has four lines(two above ground, two underground), with several more being built in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics. There were 599 bus and trolleybus routes in Beijing as of 2004. Beijing has simplified its bus fare system from January 1st, 2007 as follows: Pay by cash - Lines 1-199(Mainly operated in inner city) 1 Yuan per single journey. Lines 200-299(Night services): 2 Yuan per journey. Lines 300-899(Mainly operated in outer city/suburb): 1 Yuan for the first 12 km and another 0.5 yuan for each additional 5 km. Lines 900-999(Mainly operated from city center to rural area): 1 Yuan per 10 km. Pay by prepaid Yikatong smartcard - Lines 1-499: 0.4 Yuan per single journey.
Lines 500-899: 0.4 Yuan for the first 12 km and another 0.2 Yuan for each additional 5 km.
Lines 900-999: 0.8 Yuan per 10 km. 3-day, 7-day and 14-day bus passes are available for travellers. Surcharges of air-conditioned buses have been cancelled. Subway tickets cost 3 Yuan for the 1, 2, 13, and 8T lines; 5 RMB for tickets allowing a transfer from Line 1/2 to 13, and 4 RMB for tickets allowing a transfer from Line 1/2 to 8T. There is no discount for smartcard users. Taxis are nearly ubiquitous, including a large number of unregistered taxis. As of June 30th, 2006 all fares on legal taxies start at 10 Renmibi for the first 3 km (idling time is also a factor), and are 2.00 Renmibi per extra kilometer. Most taxis are a mixed fleet of new Hyundai Elantra and Volkswagen Jetta(Borla) cars. After 15 km, the base fare is increased by 50%(but only applied to the portion of the distance over 15 km, so that the passenger is not retroactively charged extra for the first 15 km). Between 11pm and 6am, the fee is increased by 20%, starting at 11 RMB and increasing at a rate of 2.4 RMB per km. Rides over 15 km and between 11pm and 6am apply both charges, for a total increase of 80%(120%*150%=180%). The Beijing subway system is very good and growing all the time. It´s a really quick and cheap way to get around in the town. Though it´s a long way to walk between the stations as Beijing is a very large city. The bus is a much better way to get around as the stations are closer and a little less to walk between. But still very long! Still though the busses cover all of central Beijing and the suburbs too! Together they both use electronic smart cards for payment. It´s a very good system. You fill you card with money and then use it all over Beijing. I now see Stockholm will also use smart cards, but in a different way. I think Beijing´s smart card is better for the local traveller. Stockholm has to learn from this! In Beijing you don´t need to pick up your card, and you can touch with your bag or clothes with card still in it´s pocket!

Zai jian!

Peter

Yong He Gong Lama Temple 雍和宮

2007-08-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

In this blog I will tell you more about the lama temple near our apartment in Beijing. We can walk there, but better with the bus for two stations stops. The Yong He Gong Lama Temple 雍和宮, also known as the "Palace of Peace and Harmony Lama Temple", the "Yong He Gong Lamasery", or - more popularly - the "Lama Temple" is a temple and monastery of the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism located in the northeastern part of Beijing, China. It is one of the largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world. The building and the artworks of the temple combine Han Chinese and Tibetan styles. It´s history goes like this. Building work on the Yong He Gong Lama Temple started in 1694 during the Qing Dynasty. It originally served as an official residence for court eunuchs. It was then converted into the court of the Prince Yong(Yin Zhen), a son of the Kangxi Emperor and himself the future Yongzheng Emperor. After Yongzheng's ascension to the throne in 1722, half of the building was converted into a lamasery, a monastery for monks of Tibetan Buddhism. The other half remained an imperial palace. After Yongzheng's death in 1735, his coffin was placed in the temple. The Qianlong Emperor, Yongzheng's successor, gave the temple imperial status signified by having its turquoise tiles replaced with yellow tiles which were reserved for the emperor. Subsequently, the monastery became a residence for large numbers of Tibetan Buddhist monks from Mongolia and Tibet, and so the Yonghe Lamasery became the national centre of Lama administration. The temple is said to have survived the Cultural Revolution due to the intervention of Prime Minister Zhou Enlai. It was reopened to the public in 1981. Architecture and artworks: The Yong He Gong Lama Temple is arranged along a north-south central axis, which has a length of 480 meters. The main gate is at the southern end of this axis. Along the axis, there are five main halls which are separated by courtyards: the Hall of the Heavenly Kings(Tian Wang Dian or Devaraja Hall), the Hall of Harmony and Peace(Yong He Gong), the Hall of Everlasting Protection(Yongyoudian), the Hall of the Wheel of the Law(Falundian), and the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses(Wanfuge). Formerly an imperial palace, later converted into a Tibetan Buddhist monastery, the Lama Temple is one of Beijing's most famous monasteries. Board of Yong He Gong Lama Temple with 4 most important writings in China; Mongol, Han, Tibetan and Mandchu. The Hall of the Heavenly Kings is the southernmost of the main halls, it served originally as the main entrance to the monastery. In the center of the hall stands a statue of the Maitreya Buddha, along the walls statues of the four Heavenly Kings are arranged. The Hall of Harmony and Peace is the main building of the temple. It houses three bronze statues of the Buddhas of the Three Ages, the statue of the Gautama Buddha(Buddha of the Present) is in the center, it is flanked by the statue of Kasyapa Matanga(Buddha of the Past, right) and the Maitreya Buddha(Buddha of the Future, left). Along the sides of the hall, the statues of the 18 Arhats are placed. A mural in the hall shows the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. The Hall of Everlasting Protection was Emperor Yongzheng's living quarters as a prince and the place where his coffin was placed after his death. Today, a statue of the Bhaisajya-guru(healing Buddha) stands in this hall. The Hall of the Wheel of the Law functions as a place for reading scriptures and conducting religious ceremonies. It contains a large statue of Je Tsongkhapa, founder of the Geluk School. The hall also contains the Five-Hundred-Arhat-Hill, a carving make of red sandalwood with statues of the arhats made from five different metals (gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin). The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses contains a 26 meters tall statue of the Maitreya Buddha carved from a single piece of White sandalwood. The statue is one of three artworks in the Temple which were included in the Guinness Book of Records in 1993. It´s location: The Yong He Gong Lama Temple is located in the Dongcheng District of Beijing, near the northeastern corner of the Second Ring Road. The postal address is: 12 Yong He Gong Dajie, Beixinqiao, Dongcheng District, Beijing. I´m impressed by all the young chinese visitors. We live in the shadow of Beijing 2008 Olympics!

Zai jian!

Peter

Dongzhimen 东直门

2007-08-24T11:05:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

This day I will tell you about Dongzhimen 东直门 in the Dongcheng District, Beijing.
Dongzhimen is the name of one of the gates in the old city walls of Beijing, it´s now a transportation node in Beijing. The 2nd Ring Road links with Airport Expressway. The Beijing Subway has a station at Dongzhimen, where Lines 2 and 13 connect. Line 13 has its eastern terminus at Dongzhimen. The Dongzhimen bus station is also situated here. For me it feels and seems like the central station in Stockholm! It really is near and we can walk there from home! Talking about minutes! We reach all corners of Beijing very easily from here during our 30 days visit. The subway station is only 8 minutes walk from our own apartment. West of Dongzhimen is Guijie, or "Food vessel street" (Dongzhimen Inner Street), extremely well-known to locals in Beijing as a food street. We go often to the restaurants on this street. There are so many different restaurants there. I think they must be 100 ones! We go and eat Sichuan food walking 7 minutes from home, nearly the same distans for all the other ones. Add a few minutes! It feels like paradise! The prices are very low and the food is very good. Walking our local food street(Dongzhimen Inner Street) every restaurant wants you in and they have people trying to catch you as a customer of the night. You just walk down the block to eat Russian food or what ever! The character for Gui (簋) refers to a round-mouthed bamboo container for food. The name is frequently mistaken for a similar sounding word, meaning "ghost", so some refer to the street as "Ghost street". East of Dongzhimen is Dongzhimen Outer Street, which connects with the Embassy area, including the swedish embassy, and ultimately to the 3rd Ring Road and the National Agricultural Exhibition Hall. 1.5 km from Dongzhimen lies the nearby Sanlitun bar street, well-known to the expat community. If you go here the prices are much higher! All westerners used to go there to celebrate and enjoy themselves. Now everybody(= chinese and laowai) go on their bar rounds to Shi Sha Hai 什剎海 in central Beijing to party! It´s a vey nice hutong area with a very old bridge leading over the lake with very many restaurants and clubs on both sides. I went to Shi Sha Hai with Liping on my first night in Beijing, after sightseeing in Dongzhimen and shoping in Xidan. We found a nice restaurant there and did eat dumplings. I also had my first Tsingtao beer in China that night. And for the first time in my life I tried the local Yanjing beer. I will tell you more about this in my later blog posts! By the way I spent many weeks time trying to catch a girl sitting the way they do when they get a ride on a bicycle in Beijing. You can see my best picture of this taken in Dongzhimen Nei Dajie! Yes it´s right that I went all over Beijing to take it, and found it in our own block! Dongcheng district have many cultural influences from all parts of China. Han chinese, Tibet, Muslim, Mandchu and many more. This area around Dongzhimen has stolen my heart completely. Back home in Stockholm I live here in my dreams every night!

Zai jian!

Peter

In Beijing: Shanghai Hua Lian Supermarket 上海华联超市

2007-08-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

Today I want to show you where I go shopping on my way to or back from the Nan Guan Park. I go to the local supermarket here in Beijing, Shanghai Hua Lian Supermarket 上海华联超市. In the same house three floors up is also the internet cafe I used to go to when needing an internet connection. Here I have to show my passport as ID, that is the law here. The staff is very friendly anb helpful. They can not speak english, but we manage the internet computer very easily. From here I sent my emails and checked in to our flight back to Stockholm via London. I paid 7 yuan for one hour. It´s very cheap. Now back to my park walks. I go shopping on my way back home and find this supermarket being very good. Here you can shop everything you need. And I mean everything! You can buy anything from food, wine, cameras, electronic products, clothes to taylored clothes. Yes they actually sell taylored clothes. For 500 yuan you will get your own chinese dress handmade. The Shanghai Hua Lian Supermarket Ltd. was established in May 1991. Now it´s a large chain of supermarkets in China. I go here to buy my special chinese garlic sausage. It´s in front to the left in the picture. I also buy some other sausages, chinese bread and chinese red wine. Yes chinese red wine! I didn´t know that they did make red wine in China! The wine is on sale for 17:60 yuan! It tastes very good, so I go back some days later and buy two more bottles and more chinese garlic sausages. I would say it would cost some 60 to 70 swedish crowns if on sale in Sweden. On the top floor they have sale of different gift boxes with two bottles of wine, both red and white, including two wine glasses! Very interesting products! I can see that in this two floors supermarket there are different brands in every segment. At least two international brands and some local ones. The local ones also have english names! I find international brands like Whiskas, Friskies, Head & Shoulders, Johnson & Johnson and so on...... I do also see that they have cheese, but only sliced hard cheese and there is soft cheese as well. Sausages I find in many different kinds and tastes. Some taste a little bit sweet, but you eat it fresh. I believe it´s a smoked product! This man likes to try everything new and find out if it´s good! And the milk is sold in big plastic bottles here! I think they must be two liters. In this store I don´t buy any beer. I buy it in a small local store nearer to home. They have Tsingtao beer on 60 cl bottles and I pay 2 yuan for each bottle. I also get half yuan back when I return the bottle. In a restaurant I pay 6 yuan for the same beer. It´s very cheap here in Beijing. On the last picture you can see at back the taylors department. Here you can choose quality or colors you want on your handmade dress. They will measure you and you pay, coming back a few days later to fetch your product. Services and shopping is a big business in Beijing. You will find out that there are different areas in this town to go to when you want to buy a special product. Buy musical instruments you go to a special street where all the shops are situated. The same for clothes and other products. You may find an odd store here and there, but going for real shopping you must go to these areas of every product. One other important thing to know about is that the price is never fixed. You have to negotiate all the time. If you are a westerner they think you have a lot of money, and they start very high. The best thing to do is to look like you are not interested to get the lowest price! You have to practise this by learning not to buy now but later. After that you will know how to do this!

Zai jian!

Peter

Nan Guan Park 南馆公园 and Tong Jiao Temple 通教寺

2007-08-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

Ni hao!

Nan Guan Gong Yuan 南馆公园. Originally built in 1956, and reconstructed June until August 2002 by Garden Bureau of Dongcheng District, Beijing. Nan Guan Park is the first ecological water garden using reclaimed water. A reclaimed water treatment station of 720 square meters is built inside the park, which supply the water for construction of water spaces, irrigation of trees and flowers and cleaning of park after processing domestic sewage from neighboring residential quarter into first level water. The park has water sights of natural lakes, bridge, fountains and falls. It is a public park of 4.000 square meters. It´s situated near the tiny Tong Jiao Temple. The park is a little green oasis for the local inhabitants. Nan Guan has a pleasant looking restaurant overlooking the water. It also has physical training equipments for the public to use free. I just love this beautiful park. Everybody, young and old, goes there for a walk or more. I met a chinese man walking all around the park I think nearly twenty times for exercise. He passed me so many times during my two hours in the park. Other people just sit in the shadows and relax or read the newspapers. One man played the drums at the lakeside on my last visit to the park on the 14th of May 2007. On the other side a young boy was sitting on a bench with his girlfriend and playing guitar and singing. So the different contrasts of sounds and silence in this park is amazing! In Beijing people go to the park to relax in all kinds of ways that they find nice. I just love it, when I sit down on a bench and enjoy it all! In Beijing people do not sit indoors after work or when they are free from work. They go out to meet other people in their own neighborhood or in restaurants, not only in the park, also in the streets, or at the stores! Everybody is outside! Everything like stores, cutting my hair or buying a new apartment is open very late at night! Anyway on this very special last day in the Nan Guan Park they did run all the water fountains for me! Very lucky me! What a great final for my one month visit to Beijing. I get this great wonderful feeling of earlier traveling in my life. It feels like when I visited Rhodes in Greece in the 1990s! The same kind of people and the same atmosphere right here in the heart of central Beijing! Now a little bit more about the Tong Jiao Tempel (通教寺, Hanyu Pinyin: Tongjiao Si) . It´s situated at No.19, Zhenxian Alley, Inner Dongzhimen North Street. Just right across the street from the eastern gate of the Nan Guan Park. I go this way from home through a street south of the park to an internet cafe, and to the Shanghai Supermarket Store, where I buy my special garlic sausage, chinese red wine, bread and more. I will tell you more about these two places later. Tong Jiao Temple is a famous Buddhist temple in Beijing located in a deep alley off a back street of the Inner Dongzhimen area. It was recognized as a national key Buddhist establishment in the Han area by the State Council in 1953, and became a practicing activities. More history of this temple. The temple was built in the Ming Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, the temple was renamed Tong Jiao Nunnery. Expansions to Tong Jiao Temple took place after 1942, when funds earmarked for temple repair and expansion were put into use. At that time, the nunnery was renamed Tong Jiao Temple. The expanded temple, now 2,500 square meters in size, covers the gate as well as three halls inside, including a grandiose Mahavira Hall. In its heyday, Tong Jiao Temple was home to around 70 nuns and monks. Back in the late 1980s, Tong Jiao Temple used to be situated inside Zhenxian Hutong, which has since given way to a new residential complex (Min'an Community Area 1). Current maps show the temple to the northwest of Nan Guan Park, at the southeastern corner of an 4-way junction between Dongzhimen North Alley, Houyongkang Hutong and Min´an Street. Geographically, it is still located on 19 Zhenxian Hutong inside Dongzhimen North Alley. Today a lot of local Beijing history, but also some interesting experience of my number one park in the world!

Zai jian!

Peter

Finally home in Beijing 北京!

2007-08-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

Ni Hao!

After 4 years in Sweden Liping is back at her newly bought home at Dong Yang Wei Jie No 1 in Minan Residential Complex at Dongzhimen Nei Dajie, Dongcheng district, in Beijing 北京. When leaving China in 2003 she lived in Maoer Hutong, Dongcheng district, in Beijing. 15th of April 2007 we started our journey very early in the morning on the first train to Stockholm Airport. We stopped at Heathrow Airport in London for 5 hours waiting for our next flight to Beijing with British Airways. We had time to rest, smoke, visit stores and drink a few english beers before going to the gate for the take off to China! For me this was a hugh challenge as I am a smoker. First nearly three hours with no smoking, only "snus" to use. Then comes a new ten hours bringing the same again, but much longer! I thought it would be a very big trouble for me, but it turned out to be no problem at all! Maybe because I had "snus" and was so excited to visit Beijing and China for the first time in my life. To meet Liping´s family, to meet chinese people when I am the foreigner that does not look the same way and not speak the same language as they do. Now I know not to worry about this! Every person that I met during my 30 days visit in Beijing was friendly, helping a lot and very understanding. I have been visiting many countries in my life, but I think this is the most wonderful people in the world. On second place comes the people in Rhodes, Greece. I have been visiting Rhodes two times for 14 days stay. My first day in Beijing was fantastic. Liping´s son Yan Fan met us at the airport and we went by taxi to Liping´s apartment. We installed us at our Beijing apartment, eat some chinese food, and then went out for a walk in the neighbourhood. I wanted to get to know how to get around in this beautiful and wonderful town. During this walk I took photos and found a good map over Beijing. At this time I found the love of my life, after Liping, the most beautiful and interesting park in Beijing. But first we bought hot grilled lamb meat and cold beer to go with it. Nan Guan Park is an ecological water park showing the nice and slow pulse of Beijing. During my visit I go there every afternoon to relax and enjoy myself. Then I go home to our apartment and eat chinese food. Later at night I go to the local chinese-russian restaurant for some beers in the very hot summer night. Our chinese home is situated near to the Russian Embassy. It is right across the street. Only 8 minutes walk to the restaurant Club 19 passing the embassy on the way. Many people from the west go there. I meet people from Russia, England, Germany, Italy, Spain, USA, Denmark and many from other parts of the world including China! I sit here at night reflecting on my day. I have seen most of Beijings sights and want to think about what I have seen today and what I want to see the next day. I see sometimes two sights the same day, like Beijing Zoo and the Summer Palace. Leaving home at 10 in the morning and coming home at 9 in the night. Very tired but always ready for a new beer at the restaurant! My night at the local restaurant always seemed to start with a chinese draft beer for 5 yuan followed by another one, to be finished with an Heineken for 20 yuan! But one night the waitress told me about their russian strong beer and wanted me to try it. I didn´t! But two nights later I did! It was very strong and no Heineken after the two chinese draft beers! I could find my way home, but was very reliefed when the elevator girl pushed the button for the fifth floor in our house for me. Anyway Beijing is full of elevator girls and guards in the new residential areas. They write up your car number when you come and go. Though walking straight or not is no problem! The guards only look at you wishing they were me! No work, just having fun. Late, late, late..... Just look at me and find out how happy I am with this situation! No work, no work, no work..... Just free to do what I want and when I want to do it. Hello... Where am I? In Beijing in China? To me China is not like communist Eastern Europe. I feel like was in the USA or Sweden. Economy is ruling here. I learn on the chinese news that now more than 50 % of the economy is owned by private companies. And so what? The young people here look like in the west and do the same things as here. I see them sending SMS riding the bicycle while I am worried about crossing the street walking! This is my first blog and I hope you will like it. Thanks for reading it.By the way our apartment is marked on the map of central Beijing with a large red X! You will find it easily as you know that if you click on the pictures they will be shown as large pictures!

Zai jian!

Peter