As the title suggested, it had been three years since I went back home. So what had changed? You might ask. Well, for starters, this time I took my camera with me and acted totally like a tourist.
I was generally satisfied with my flight with Northwest Airline but I noticed minor changes as well: They stopped offering free drinks. Instead, they were sold for $5. Well, considering the soaring gas price, I forgave them.
Following my experience last time, I did not sleep at all the night I arrived at Beijing in order to deal with the 12-hour jet lag more efficiently. I learned this method from somewhere; it worked pretty well. The next morning, I was walking on the streets of Beijing. I could notice the poor air quality the moment I got off the plane and the booming number of automobiles and the lack of forestation explained it all.
I stayed at a friend's condo, which had an unbeatable location and an amazing view.
One of the items on my to-do list was to revisit my alma mater, Tsinghua University. This was the East Gate.
Started as a university known for its liberal arts program, then focused largely on science and engineering following the Soviet Union model, Tsinghua began to rebuild its liberal arts and professional schools like the law school and the business school, this time following the United States model.
The Main Building was a Soviet Union-style grand complex, whose utility was second to its symbolic stand. By the time we reached it, we couldn't stand the chilly weather any longer. So we gave up the visiting plan and returned. But we did stop at a small gift shop, where I bought myself a new Tsinghua t-shirt.
We did some grocery shopping in this nearby, newly built shopping center, dubbed "The Place", or more informatively in Chinese, "世贸天阶". It featured a huge display on the ceiling, which could be read only when you looked upward.
A nice sunset.
The next day we headed to one of the emerging modern art scenes in Beijing, the 798 Art Zone.
This place was built on top of a deserted military factory code-named "798". First, a big warehouse was used as a gallery dedicated for modern art. Then hundreds of galleries followed suit. Now the whole place became an "art zone", spanning several blocks. And not just galleries, there were art book stores, coffee shops, restaurants/cafes and arty gift shops: everything a bourgeois needed to spend a sunny little afternoon.
This doll house caught our attention.
Two adorable dolls of Red Guards were on display. If you happened to know a little about the "Cultural Revolution", you would feel the huge contrast between the sweet faces of these two figures and the bitter memory they remind.
I had read about a story that the Olympics-minded government of Beijing decided to spend millions of yuan's to replace every single sign of "W.C." to "Toilet", as if "Toilet" is SO much posher. But this one was too far away to be replaced. It looked interesting in light purple but believe me you don't want to go in there unless you are really out of choices.
We spotted this minimalist wall ad for prostitution, which is rampant in many parts of China due to extremely high rate of unemployment. However, the government is in constant denial, as always. For an excellent exploration of this social problem, see "Liulian Piao Piao" or "Durian Durian"（〈榴莲飘飘〉）. Check out this NY Times review.
This one is hilarious. The number was a Chinese cell phone number and the characters behind it meant "Blow Job!". I wasn't sure whether it was an art installation or not.
I haven't see this kind of tractors for a long long time.
You could find plenty of graffiti around. They usually mixed the old and the new.
Now this was where it started: A factory warehouse-turned art galley named "798 Space". The current exhibition was named "Labyrinths: Comics and Contemporary Visual Arts", an event of the Cultural Year of Greece in China 2007-2008 sponsored partly by the Embassy of Greece in Beijing. I liked the space, not much for the exhibition. But I really liked the 798 Photo Gallery, which was right next to the 798 Space.
They deliberately kept some of the Mao era propaganda around to give it a modern feeling. Modern Chinese, that is.
Even some old machines.
We walked around and stopped by interesting small galleries and gift shops here and there. They had some nice potteries in this gallery.
And this was an interesting photograph of a half-naked, emotionless woman dressed in a Qing royal attire, probably as a concubine or a maid.
This was one of the few things people missed about the Mao era: social security for all employees of state-owned businesses. I didn't think this office was running anymore.
The "people" in the People's Republic of China.
Finally a road sign to end the tour. We had a great time in the 798 Art Zone and I would recommend it to anyone who likes modern art.
Another thing I always enjoy in Beijing is the food. Being the capital, Beijing offers a huge variety of cuisines from all over the country. Although some of the good ones are a little pricey, you can get the best of each cuisine as long as you know where to go. And I do.
Our latest finding was the "Na Jia Xiao Guan", specializing in the so-called "Imperial Cuisine". The food was absolutely first-rate and the environment was elegantly Manchurian. As with all good restaurants, we waited for a while to get a table but it was so worth it.
After a good meal, we took an enjoyable walk in the festively illuminated streets.
I was generally satisfied with my flight with Northwest Airline but I noticed minor changes as well: They stopped offering free drinks. Instead, they were sold for $5. Well, considering the soaring gas price, I forgave them.
Following my experience last time, I did not sleep at all the night I arrived at Beijing in order to deal with the 12-hour jet lag more efficiently. I learned this method from somewhere; it worked pretty well. The next morning, I was walking on the streets of Beijing. I could notice the poor air quality the moment I got off the plane and the booming number of automobiles and the lack of forestation explained it all.
I stayed at a friend's condo, which had an unbeatable location and an amazing view.
One of the items on my to-do list was to revisit my alma mater, Tsinghua University. This was the East Gate.
Started as a university known for its liberal arts program, then focused largely on science and engineering following the Soviet Union model, Tsinghua began to rebuild its liberal arts and professional schools like the law school and the business school, this time following the United States model.
The Main Building was a Soviet Union-style grand complex, whose utility was second to its symbolic stand. By the time we reached it, we couldn't stand the chilly weather any longer. So we gave up the visiting plan and returned. But we did stop at a small gift shop, where I bought myself a new Tsinghua t-shirt.
We did some grocery shopping in this nearby, newly built shopping center, dubbed "The Place", or more informatively in Chinese, "世贸天阶". It featured a huge display on the ceiling, which could be read only when you looked upward.
A nice sunset.
The next day we headed to one of the emerging modern art scenes in Beijing, the 798 Art Zone.
This place was built on top of a deserted military factory code-named "798". First, a big warehouse was used as a gallery dedicated for modern art. Then hundreds of galleries followed suit. Now the whole place became an "art zone", spanning several blocks. And not just galleries, there were art book stores, coffee shops, restaurants/cafes and arty gift shops: everything a bourgeois needed to spend a sunny little afternoon.
This doll house caught our attention.
Two adorable dolls of Red Guards were on display. If you happened to know a little about the "Cultural Revolution", you would feel the huge contrast between the sweet faces of these two figures and the bitter memory they remind.
I had read about a story that the Olympics-minded government of Beijing decided to spend millions of yuan's to replace every single sign of "W.C." to "Toilet", as if "Toilet" is SO much posher. But this one was too far away to be replaced. It looked interesting in light purple but believe me you don't want to go in there unless you are really out of choices.
We spotted this minimalist wall ad for prostitution, which is rampant in many parts of China due to extremely high rate of unemployment. However, the government is in constant denial, as always. For an excellent exploration of this social problem, see "Liulian Piao Piao" or "Durian Durian"（〈榴莲飘飘〉）. Check out this NY Times review.
This one is hilarious. The number was a Chinese cell phone number and the characters behind it meant "Blow Job!". I wasn't sure whether it was an art installation or not.
I haven't see this kind of tractors for a long long time.
You could find plenty of graffiti around. They usually mixed the old and the new.
Now this was where it started: A factory warehouse-turned art galley named "798 Space". The current exhibition was named "Labyrinths: Comics and Contemporary Visual Arts", an event of the Cultural Year of Greece in China 2007-2008 sponsored partly by the Embassy of Greece in Beijing. I liked the space, not much for the exhibition. But I really liked the 798 Photo Gallery, which was right next to the 798 Space.
They deliberately kept some of the Mao era propaganda around to give it a modern feeling. Modern Chinese, that is.
Even some old machines.
We walked around and stopped by interesting small galleries and gift shops here and there. They had some nice potteries in this gallery.
And this was an interesting photograph of a half-naked, emotionless woman dressed in a Qing royal attire, probably as a concubine or a maid.
This was one of the few things people missed about the Mao era: social security for all employees of state-owned businesses. I didn't think this office was running anymore.
The "people" in the People's Republic of China.
Finally a road sign to end the tour. We had a great time in the 798 Art Zone and I would recommend it to anyone who likes modern art.
Another thing I always enjoy in Beijing is the food. Being the capital, Beijing offers a huge variety of cuisines from all over the country. Although some of the good ones are a little pricey, you can get the best of each cuisine as long as you know where to go. And I do.
Our latest finding was the "Na Jia Xiao Guan", specializing in the so-called "Imperial Cuisine". The food was absolutely first-rate and the environment was elegantly Manchurian. As with all good restaurants, we waited for a while to get a table but it was so worth it.
After a good meal, we took an enjoyable walk in the festively illuminated streets.
Comments