My Last Sunday in Beijing
Sometimes an almost perfect day can make everything all right. Sunday was as close as I'm gonna get for a while. I slept in a bit and then did laundry. I had to move rooms from the second floor to the fifth because of some big group. I could have raised a stink about it but our tour gal, Jasmine, is so nice that I just went with the flow. With my laundry drying, I had a lot less to move which was nice.
Then I grabbed some lunch and headed to the Dongyue Temple in Chaoyang district. I had read about this Taoist temple and was fascinated. In Taoist belief, the world is divided into different departments that deal with everything from birth to death. The temple has a huge courtyard with small rooms or shrines lining it. Inside each is a department dealing with an area such as The Department for Implementing 15 Kinds of Violent Death to the Department of Water. Each room has figures on each side consisting of men, women and a variety of other creatures with a major Tao figure sitting in judgment above them all. Here's a small sample:
The rest of the temple was just as interesting and there were very few people which suited me just fine. I wandered around from room to room to room. At the back of the temple, the Beijing Folk Arts Museum had a nice collection of items from different Chinese festivals with really nice English notes and titles. Often when I go to a museum everything is in Chinese or I get a tour in Chinese. So this was a nice turn around.
After Dongyue, I headed to the Lama Temple which is the largest Buddhist temple in Beijing and its dominated by Tibetan and Mongolian monks. Given China's relationship with Tibet, its interesting to find this small Tibetan oasis in a bustling city. As I exited the subway, I simply followed my nose because the smell of incense was really strong. Fortunately the crowds were small here and I wandered around for another hour. Here's a small sample of pics from Lama Temple:
Eventually I decided to head down the street to find the Confucian Temple and Imperial College. This proved a bit more challenging than I thought, but after some walking and a quick walk down a hutong, I finally found it. As I entered the courtyard, it was clear that renovations were underway which were really needed. China's government has a conflicted relationship with its Confucian past and had really let the site go. It was nice to see the investment in the site even if it meant that I couldn't really enjoy it to its full potential. It was in this college that students were placed into small cells as part of the completion of their degrees. While many were successful and had their names placed on tablets within the temple, many others went mad from the process. The most outstanding feature of the temple was large archway made of green glazed tiles that challenged the students to study hard and learn. Also there seemed to be some sort of art installation being put up involving a scaffolding, old bikes, and a couple of Italians yelling. Here's a few pics of from the Temple/College:
After all of this temple action, I decided to have some American food and headed to the subway to go to Steak and Eggs. Just as I was finishing my meal in walked Asher from our program. We sat and chatted for a few minutes as he ordered some food. Then two more students walked in, Sara and Jenny, and we all chatted and ate. After everyone finished dinner, we headed to Tiananmen Square to see it at night and also because Sunday marked the 17th anniversary of the Chinese army's violent reaction to the democracy protests.
The whole mood was pretty somber and the no one was being allowed in. The police presence was really high and we tried to take some pictures but they only ended up blurry. After that we decided to head to Wanfujing which is a major shopping district in Beijing and also close to Jenny and Sara's hotel. They are working for a very prestigious law firm for 3 weeks after the program ended.
Wanfujing is also known for its food vendors which sell everything on a stick, including scorpions, cicadas, squid, starfish, and lots of other things that I couldn't even identify. Asher wanted to try the scorpions so Jenny and I agreed to try them too. They were so fresh that they were still moving on the stick! But they weren't moving after they were fried on the grill for a few minutes. Then pop them in your mouth and they tasted like fried potatoes or french fries. Could have been the grill but they weren't bad. Asher's got the pics of use eating them so I'll try to post that later. We also tried the starfish and I would not do that again. Imagine chewing on seaweed with a really crispy shell. It was awful! The veggie pancake that I had with a spicy chili sauce was nice. The banana fritters were also really tasty. Here are some pics of the various offerings available streetside:
We said goodbye to Sara and Jenny for the night and Asher and I walked down the street to get a cab. We had a great chat on the way home about traveling and politics. He was excited to be heading home the next day and I envied him a little bit. I was excited to go to Jakarta and see my buddy Mike for his birthday, but I was also ready to come home soon. Finally we arrived back at PKU and I hit the bed for lovely night of sleep.
Then I grabbed some lunch and headed to the Dongyue Temple in Chaoyang district. I had read about this Taoist temple and was fascinated. In Taoist belief, the world is divided into different departments that deal with everything from birth to death. The temple has a huge courtyard with small rooms or shrines lining it. Inside each is a department dealing with an area such as The Department for Implementing 15 Kinds of Violent Death to the Department of Water. Each room has figures on each side consisting of men, women and a variety of other creatures with a major Tao figure sitting in judgment above them all. Here's a small sample:
The rest of the temple was just as interesting and there were very few people which suited me just fine. I wandered around from room to room to room. At the back of the temple, the Beijing Folk Arts Museum had a nice collection of items from different Chinese festivals with really nice English notes and titles. Often when I go to a museum everything is in Chinese or I get a tour in Chinese. So this was a nice turn around.
After Dongyue, I headed to the Lama Temple which is the largest Buddhist temple in Beijing and its dominated by Tibetan and Mongolian monks. Given China's relationship with Tibet, its interesting to find this small Tibetan oasis in a bustling city. As I exited the subway, I simply followed my nose because the smell of incense was really strong. Fortunately the crowds were small here and I wandered around for another hour. Here's a small sample of pics from Lama Temple:
Eventually I decided to head down the street to find the Confucian Temple and Imperial College. This proved a bit more challenging than I thought, but after some walking and a quick walk down a hutong, I finally found it. As I entered the courtyard, it was clear that renovations were underway which were really needed. China's government has a conflicted relationship with its Confucian past and had really let the site go. It was nice to see the investment in the site even if it meant that I couldn't really enjoy it to its full potential. It was in this college that students were placed into small cells as part of the completion of their degrees. While many were successful and had their names placed on tablets within the temple, many others went mad from the process. The most outstanding feature of the temple was large archway made of green glazed tiles that challenged the students to study hard and learn. Also there seemed to be some sort of art installation being put up involving a scaffolding, old bikes, and a couple of Italians yelling. Here's a few pics of from the Temple/College:
After all of this temple action, I decided to have some American food and headed to the subway to go to Steak and Eggs. Just as I was finishing my meal in walked Asher from our program. We sat and chatted for a few minutes as he ordered some food. Then two more students walked in, Sara and Jenny, and we all chatted and ate. After everyone finished dinner, we headed to Tiananmen Square to see it at night and also because Sunday marked the 17th anniversary of the Chinese army's violent reaction to the democracy protests.
The whole mood was pretty somber and the no one was being allowed in. The police presence was really high and we tried to take some pictures but they only ended up blurry. After that we decided to head to Wanfujing which is a major shopping district in Beijing and also close to Jenny and Sara's hotel. They are working for a very prestigious law firm for 3 weeks after the program ended.
Wanfujing is also known for its food vendors which sell everything on a stick, including scorpions, cicadas, squid, starfish, and lots of other things that I couldn't even identify. Asher wanted to try the scorpions so Jenny and I agreed to try them too. They were so fresh that they were still moving on the stick! But they weren't moving after they were fried on the grill for a few minutes. Then pop them in your mouth and they tasted like fried potatoes or french fries. Could have been the grill but they weren't bad. Asher's got the pics of use eating them so I'll try to post that later. We also tried the starfish and I would not do that again. Imagine chewing on seaweed with a really crispy shell. It was awful! The veggie pancake that I had with a spicy chili sauce was nice. The banana fritters were also really tasty. Here are some pics of the various offerings available streetside:
posted by jen @ 11:24 PM
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