Half way: trick or treat?

Today marks the mid point of my stay in Beijing. My assignment is supposed to last 6 months and the first three months have passed so fast that it is hard to believe. Beijing and China is undergoing such a rapid transformation that everything seems to moves a little faster here, even time. There is an eclectic energy in the air that is very addictive: a country full of movers and shakers, full of opportunities and challenges, full of surprises, full of great people eager to learn and to explore, full of contrasts, full of opposites, full of dreamers, full of hopes… you get the picture. I had the opportunity to travel a little and see some amazing places but at the end the most memorable experiences will be the ones where I connected (successfully or otherwise) with the local people. I took as much pictures as I could but still the experiences are best shared in stories. So expect some more stories to be posted on this blog for the remaining three months. My treat.

Shi Cha Hai park

Sunday afternoon, I took a stroll through one of Beijing's parks that has not been discovered yet by too many tourists. It certainly did remind me of my hometown Bruges: stone bridges, weeping willow trees, ponds with ducks, etc... It had rained the night before and there was a strong (chilly) wind creating one of those rare days of clean air. A perfect day to walk and observe and to take pictures. I dipped my hand in the water and it was freezing cold. There is a reason the guy in the picture reading a book was warmly dressed, but that didn't scare a dozen people to take a dip into the lake. I could only think about a hot chocolate drink when I watched a few cross the lake.

Tandem

This one is for Linda and Chris ! Single speed but you have to love the back support and colors.

A weekend in Beijing with Mike: priceless!

This weekend I had the pleasure to host Mike (my boss) in Beijing and a blast we had. Mike is not only the biggest “Gator” fan I know but also a man who approaches life with abundant energy and joy. Just the right type of guy you want to have as a travel buddy. For those non-Americans reading the blog, the Gators is the nickname for the University of Florida Football and Basketball teams. During Mike’s short visit, we did of course the top three tourist attractions: 1) hiking the Great Wall, 2) strolling the Tian’an Men Square and the Forbidden City, 3) bargain shopping in the Silk Market.
At the Wall, Mike wanted to take a few pictures for the local Cincinnati Gator website as the fan club collects pictures from all over the world. So he came dressed in the blue-orange uniform: Gator’s sweater and Gator’s cap. Believe it or not but of the handful Americans we met at the Wall, wasn’t there another Gator? Is there truly a Gator nation as Mike tried to explain me? Take a look at the picture with Mike and the Gator girl: what better proof!
However the most fun at the Great Wall was observing Mike haggling the price down for the “Red Book of Chairman Mao”. Comrade Mike is now fully engaged in the struggle of the working class. Watching Mike, I was laughing so hard my cheeks were hurting. He is a master negotiator and the practice he had in the Bazaars of Istanbul was showing. Looking back the shopping experience we had at the Great Wall came in handy the next day. On Sunday morning we stormed the Silk Market in Beijing for some last minute shopping before Mike took a flight back home. Wow, talking about a haggling game. The vendors (mostly girls) are literally grabbing you and dragging you in their stores. On principle, we tried to get away with a price that was 10 percent the original asking price but we had to endure a slur of insults (I hate you, you are making me cry, you are not nice, I don’t like you,…) and even bloody scratches. One of the girls was hitting us and screaming for a better price (I remember you, why don’t you remember me?). We played along and our performance was pure Commedia Dell’Arte. Mike is first generation Italian- American, you can imagine the drama. Shopping at the Silk Market is pure entertainment and pure survival. After 90 minutes of chaos, we were more than ready to conclude the day with an espresso and cappuccino. Priceless.

Terracotta Army and Qin's Mausoleum

stairs to the top of the mausoleum

Work brought me to Xi’an, capital of the Shaanxi province for the next coming days. An hour drive outside the city is the UNESCO world heritage site of the Terracotta Army and the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. Words cannot describe the once in a lifetime experience, so I’m not even going to try. Enjoy some pictures. Personally I enjoyed the mausoleum more as it was less crowded and also offered some more mystique. They still have not opened the tomb of the emperor, buried inside the hill. Walking up the hill and releasing that an incredible treasure is buried under your feet is just surreal. There was also a little theater group doing some martial arts dances at the entrance of the mausoleum which made it all more memorable.

Hermits and Zen Masters

Last Tuesday (Oct 16), I attended a lecturer by the anthropologist Bill Porter in the bookstore, called The Bookworm. Bill took the audience (150 people) through a slide show about Taoist and Buddhist monks and nuns living in huts and caves deep in the mountains of central China. Bill is an American who lived in a Taiwanese monastery for three years in the 1970’s where he got introduced to the Zen Teachings. In the 1980’s when China opened up to traveling, Bill began to search for hermits who might have survived under years of communism and interviewed more than 20 male and female hermits. His presentation was loaded with humor and along the way I learned a few things about this amazing hermit tradition. The most fun was the Q&A session, where Bill clarified a few fantasies that we might have about these monks and nuns: they don’t seem to have found the “Answer”, some use special herbs (read drugs) to clear their mind, they do seek company, etc. The biggest insight came from the fact that their simple live allows them to totally clear up and free their minds and with that can come a crystal clear focus. They seem to have found the pleasure of simplicity but nothing more or less. I’m trying to see if I could get Bill to give the same lecturer in our office. His message: “keep it simple” is worth sharing.

St. Joseph's church

While looking for the Foreign Language Bookstore on Wangfujing, the major shopping street in Beijing, I stumbled upon a charming catholic church. Needless to say, I was very surprised to see a church in the vicinity of the Tian’an Men Square and the Forbidden City. The church is only a short walk away from the “heart” of the communist government. The church offers an almost surreal contrast with the hyper commerce that is happening on Wangfujing, aka the Champs Elysees of Beijing. I had just taken a picture of this cool Nike ad mural on my left, while on my right appeared the triple-domed St.Joseph’s Church. Talking about the combination of the old and new in one spot. The church was built in 1655 and rebuilt a few times after being destroyed by earthquakes, fire and during the Boxer Rebellion. It serves mass in the early morning hours, all in Chinese but one service on Sunday morning at 6.30 am is in Latin. The church was closed but I’ll put attending a Latin mass on my-to-experience-list. To be continued.