Did not expect my blog to be blocked in China, so I’m playing a little catch up now that I’ve finally figured out how to bypass it.
Through a connection my dad had, I was able to meet up with Dana, who graciously was willing to meet me at the airport. Dana has been teaching english in China for over 15 years and knew her way around Beijing very well. She was able to get me setup for my stay in Beijing. She gave me a metro card for the subway, converted some of my money, helped me purchase a Chinese SIM card for my phone, and helped me get from the airport to my hostel. Then we sat down and had my first chinese dinner.
 |
| Forbidden City |
After a cold nights sleep in the hostel, followed up with an ice cold shower, I went and checked out the near by Tiananmen Square, then the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was interesting, but it seemed to just be palace room after palace room that such and such emperor built and was used for one specific task. This one was used for holding court, this one for making decrees, this one for changing his robs, etc., etc.
I was disappointed with how little of the forbidden city you are actually able see. It’s a massive city, but you can’t really get a feeling of that from inside. Fortunately, just north of the city is Jingshan Park which has a temple at the top of a hill with an awesome view of the entire palace. Very much worth the ¥2 to get in.
The next day, I boarded my first bullet train to meet up with former classmates of mine, Will and Jon in the city of Jinan. They just flew over a week before I did and have been working for a German company to teach how to use post-production software at a Chinese studio. The chances that both of us were in the same country, only a few hours away was too big of a coincidence, so I changed my plans slightly and headed to Jinan to meet them.
We met up at their 5-star hotel they’re company was putting them up in and we went out to some supposed local expat bars, that ended up having no other foreigners in them. We played some liars dice, which is apparently popular in China, and some darts. I crashed in one of their rooms that night and after a fancy breakfast buffet, I took the bullet train back to Beijing.
 |
| First couchsurfing host: Silo |
Once in Beijing I had my first couch surfing experience. I met Silo, a Beijing native who had agreed to host me for the next couple days at the subway station near her apartment. She greeted me curtly and led me back to her apartment. I had a rush of second thoughts about trying out this couch surfing thing as she lead me into the dirty back alleyways of China. I thought for sure she was going to lead me to some dark ally where some would rob me. Or at the very least, I began to wonder what her accommodations were going to be like once we approached her place in what looked like the slums, what hole-in-the-wall place did I just agree to stay at? She leads me into the apartment building, and opens her door, and inside I see a very sleek, modern, Ikea-furnished apartment.
Inside she lets me drop off my gear, and we rest for a bit and watch some Chinese TV and to chat. The questions she asked me were very intriguing: what is it like to vote? Do you own a gun? Don’t you need one to protect yourself from all other people with guns?
After a little while she takes me out and shows me the night markets around the Drum Tower in Beijing. I sample some Tanghulu, candied hawthorn on a stick, some Beijing cheese, which was more of a pudding/yogurt, and some milk tea with pudding balls.
 |
| Summer Palace |
The next day, the smog came back with a vengeance. The days prior it really hadn’t seemed that bad, and I was wondering what the big deal about it was, but today it was obvious. Despite it, I choked my way around town and explored the Heavenly Temple park, the old olympic park, and the Summer Palace. It started to get dark as I was in the middle of the palace grounds, and I was afraid I was about to get locked in. Trying to make my way back, I go a little disorientated, but eventually found myself at the door I entered from, and said door closed and locked. Wandering some more, and playing charades with the guards to find out the location of the exit, I eventually found my way out.
 |
| Approaching the Great Wall |
The following day was my last full day in Beijing, so I took a train out to Badaling to see The Great Wall. I was hoping the smog wouldn’t be as bad today, so I’d be able to actually see the wall, but it was even worse today. On the train ride there, it looked like I was in some kind of post-apocalyptic movie, unable to see more then a few meters a head through the smog. As the train neared Balading, I could see through the smog the outline of the wall...barely. Fortunately as I came closer to the actual entrance to the wall, the winds were stronger and the smog wasn’t nearly as bad. All the same, my view could certainly have been better with less of the smog blocking it.
 |
| The Great Wall |
No comments:
Post a Comment