Fish Tanks

After a 3 hour flight from Beijing to Shenzhen, we had a 2 hour drive to reach the city of Zhongsan. Along the ride, we saw nothing else but factories and apartments housing the workers: a concrete jungle of manufacturing. One industrial zone after another, it reminded me of the military cemeteries we have in Flanders, where one will see row after row of crosses. Here the picture becomes rows after rows of factories. The whole area is just buzzing of activity and you realize where all the jobs went that were lost in the manufacturing industry in both the US and the Europe.
The first thing I noticed when arriving in Zhongsan was the clear blue sky, something I had not seen in the last 4 weeks, since my arrival in Beijing. Zhongsan is just a few kilometers from the sea and a clear breeze keeps the city air clean on most days. With the ocean so nearby, no wonder we had a great choice of fish and seafood for lunch the first day. As is the habit in China you walk to a fish tank in the restaurant (see picture) and show them which fish you want to have for dinner. They’ll catch the fish right in front of your eyes and slice it up right away. This time I stayed away from jelly fish and sea cucumbers, which acquire a special taste to appreciate and something I prefer to just try once in my life.
I’ve been now in China for one month and it feels like I’m still in my honeymoon phase: everyday I experience something new or at least I look at things from a new perspective. I’m currently in Shanghai for the next two days and can hardly wait to get to know the city a little better. More to come later.

Lama Temple

When I woke up this morning, there was a drizzle outside and grey skies were hanging over the city. I figured this might be a good day to do some sight-seeing as most tourists and locals probably would prefer the indoor convenience of shopping malls. So I decided to head out and take a cab to the most famous Buddhist temple outside of Tibet. The Lama temple makes the list of the top 10 places to see in Beijing, so it was time to get it off my to-do-list. I had an English map with me that showed the location of the Lama temple but still the first two cab drivers I walked up to had no clue what I wanted to do. I started to feel a little desperate, even frustrated with my incapability to communicate, but decided to try one more time. The third one seemed to repeat Yonghe Gong every time I mentioned Lama Temple and I almost decided to walk inside the lobby of the apartment to ask the reception to translate for me, when it suddenly hit me; Yonghe Gong was the metro station next to the temple. So from now on, I’ll mention the name of the metro station to the cab driver to get me somewhere and walk the remaining blocks if needed.
When I arrived at the temple, I realized that lot's of people had a similar idea and the placed was quite busy with tourists and worshippers. The temple was build circa 1723 and consists of 5 main halls, each taller than the last one. Worshippers are praying with incense sticks in the hand in front of each hall, which gives the whole place its unique smell. There was a dad who seemed to be teaching his 3 year old son how to pray, it was really cute and I kept bumping into these two during the next hour or so. Needless to say they appear in many of my pictures. The highlight of the temple is a 25 meter (80 ft) high statue of a Buddha like figure. It was a present given by then Daila Lama to the emperor in 1750. It appears in the Guinness Book of Records as it is carved from a single piece of sandalwood. While the Dalai Lama lives in exile, the second head, the Panchen Lama resides in Beijing. Although the place currently hosts around a 100 monks, I didn’t see any of them. The Panchen Lama is a matter of controversy because China supports one while Tibet recognizes another.

Bird's Nest

Every day on my way to the office, I drive past the National Olympic Stadium (still under construction). The stadium will host the athletics (track and field), soccer games, opening and closing ceremonies and can seat 91000 spectators. It is a jewel of architecture, really amazing and resembles a bird nest (see picture taken from my taxi). Here is a description taken from the internet: “The main body of the stadium is composed of 24 columns of trusses, which surround the bowl-shaped stands in the stadium. The structural elements support each other and converge into a grid formation, just like a bird's nest with interlocking branches and twigs.” As an ex-birdwatcher, I have a soft spot for the stadium although birds are few and rare in Beijing. The best places to see birds would be in cages in the pet markets. From my 18th floor window, I sometimes see a lost pigeon or a sparrow. Even in the parks, despite the available habitat, there is little wildlife to observe. This brings me to Beijing’s famous dish: Peking duck. During my first week in Beijing, we had a company dinner where Peking duck was. Tradition demands that the whole duck must be sliced into 120 pieces and the best part is the thin, crispy skin. There is actually very little meat and mostly skin, not my favorite dish but still a great experience. The Quanjude restaurant also keeps count of the numbers of ducks served since the restaurant opened in 1864. So at the end of the dinner I got a commemoration card for my roasted duck with the number 36665. It seems that they almost served a roasted duck each day since the opening of the restaurant some 140 plus years ago.

Chinese Torture

Last evening I took two spinning classes and both made me realize how much I’m going to miss the classes at Queen City. When I walked in the 6 pm class, the first thing I noticed was the teacher: a Rambo-looking guy who is build more like a body-builder than a cyclist. He gave me that alpha-male, testosterone-loaded look and had a haircut that would make any US marine proud. I tried to shrug it off but he kept eyeing me during the warm-up and started to freak me out. The class started soon and from the first song he tried to challenge me to stay with him. We started in the second position out of the saddle and stayed there for the rest of the 45 min class (yes, the whole time). People were dropping back in the saddle left and right of me, some were staying with us for the first 20 min, some for the first 30 min but after the first half hour, there was only Rambo and me. By now I started calling myself mentally Eddy (yes, the Eddy like in Eddy Merckx) and there was no way I would surrender to Rambo. Message to all the spinning teachers reading this blog: please, please don’t teach a class for 45 min in second position and out of the saddle. I call that now Chinese torture. Still fired up from the first class, I decided to hang around and take the 7 pm class as well. A different experience all together. The teacher dimmed all the ceiling lights and turned on those disco-type of lights (flashing balls and so) and blasted beat music through the speakers. On top of that he screamed his lungs out. My ears are still hurting from the deafening noise. Before I realized what happened he had turned the place in an instant rave. Maybe very hip and underground but for me it turned into another very long 45 min and another form of Chinese torture. Anyhow, I'm going back tonight for some more. Real cyclists love some pain, don’t they?
Maybe I need to seriously consider teaching some classes myself (in English of course).

Soccer Rules!

I’m becoming an expert on the English Premier League. For my American friends this is the ultimate soccer league. At least, so it seems. It never stops to amaze me how popular the Premier League is all over Asia. You turn on the TV in any Asian country and there is always a game on. You open the sports pages of any Asian (English written) newspaper and there are at least two pages on the Premier League and sometimes that is 75% or more of the sports news. I have only two sports channels on my TV: one is ESPN (Asian version I assume) that seems to always show soccer and sometimes baseball, the other one is Star Sports and shows local favorites such as ruby, ping pong, badminton and the eXtreme sports (skateboarding, MBX, motocross,..). As I write this review, I keep one eye on the tube where they are now showing a ruby game between South Africa and New Zealand. It makes me realize that I’m really at the other side of the world. I have not seen any American football game yet although the pre-season is in full swing (?). I’m planning at going to the Hardrock Café this weekend (just 10 min form my apartment) to get a healthy dose of “Americana”, including burgers and fries with a cold Budweiser. I need to stay connected with the motherland, don’t I? Oh, yes, for the Belgian contingency reading this blog, I got some Belgian chocolates while in Hong Kong. Just to make sure we keep the patriotic emotions in balance.

Be on Your Guard

Guards are plentiful in Beijing. Not only every government building, but it seems that every store, restaurant, hotel, apartment complex, office, etc.. have one or a few guards at the entrance. It took me awhile to get used to seeing them everywhere but I still haven’t figured out why they are there? There is very little crime or public disorder. Everybody feels safe and the punishments are so severe you would think once, twice and thrice before doing something stupid. Some of the guards carry an armband (colored red of course) that says in Chinese and sometimes in English: “public order control volunteer “. The funny thing is that they are paid, there is no volunteering. Even my Chinese friends (read comrades) don’t know the answer on why they are there? Actually they have never asked themselves the question in the first place. Probably part of a Big Brother program. The only problem I have had is when I wanted to ride my bike through a gate to take a picture of a nice apartment building and the guard came rushing towards me, waving me to turn around and leave. I was probably the only excitement he had in the whole day, especially when I tried to convince him to allow me to take a picture of him. Needless to say, I failed. However, I took a picture of the guys across the street (really, you find them everywhere) when they looked the other way. You should have seen the face of my not so-friendly guard. I jumped back on my bike and gave him a big friendly (somewhat smug) smile. I know these guys are just doing their job but in my eyes this was a small (and yes meaningless) victory against mindless uniforms, one of those small pleasures in life.
By the way, I was reading in the newspaper today that there will be 100,000 security guards from across the country on duty during the Olympic games and about 30,000 police will keep a tight watch over the city. There are also currently an estimated 263,000 surveillance cameras covering the city. For those thinking about coming to the games, you and 2.3 million of other expected visitors will be well-guarded. Oh, and please don’t spit, there is a 50 RMB ($7) fine for those caught spitting.

Hong Kong: Asia's Manhattan

I’m currently in Hong Kong for a visit to the consulate to pick up my Z visa. I’m not sure if I understand the whole process that will ultimately lead to receiving a Chinese work permit and Beijing residence license but heck if they tell me to meet Bobo (yes, that is the name) at 8.30 am on Monday in Hong Kong, I go along. As I said before, it is sometimes easier to just go with the flow and explore every day as another opportunity to gain a new experience.
On top of that, Hong Kong is one of my favorite places, sometimes referred to as the Manhattan of Asia. When in the city, I’m always staying at the Renaissance Harbor View hotel which , as the name alludes, gives you at great view of the bay area and the Kowloon skyline. Especially at night the view from my room (this time on the 21st floor) is spectacular. It also gives me the chance to catch up on the news with some uncensored English newspapers and relax a little at the outdoor pool. Hong Kong for me will always be connected with relaxation because in the past I would come here in the weekends after a hard weeks’ work across the border in Shenzhen or Guangzhou. The place helped me re-charge my batteries, take in some fresh air and enjoy some great food.
A sense of home, far away from home.