Prince Gong's Garden and Hutongs

On Friday, August 10, we did not have our weekly test. Instead, we were allowed to explore Beijing. I decided I wanted to go and see the Hutongs, the traditional Beijing homes found in the alleyways. It took us about an hour to get to the Houhai Hutongs, the area where we were visiting. Hutongs are spread throughout Beijing; the ones we visited were near Beihai Park in a pleasant area. I spent about two hours strolling the Hutong area and speaking with one of the locals. This Hutong fieldtrip would be part of my final exam so I had to investigate what it was like to live in these homes. Not all the people who lived in the Hutongs were so eager to talk. After my second try, an elderly lady welcomed me into her home and answered all my questions. The living conditions in the Hutong are very poor. There is a public restroom for about 15 families and there are no showers. It is very crowded and dirty. The lady I spoke to had been living in the same Hutong for about 40 years and was just very unhappy with her life. She told me that meat is too expensive to buy so she only eats rice and vegetables; she has to lock her doors because it is getting very unsafe; there are a lot of people from the country moving into the Hutongs and Beijing people don’t like them; the government repairs the outside appearance of the Hutongs but not the inside (trying to make the city pretty for the foreigners who are coming next year for the Olympic games). One thing that I did not do while I was in the Hutongs was go on a rickshaw ride; there’s always next time. She was just not a happy camper! After spending about two hours strolling the Hutongs, I had lunch in Houhai by the lake and then went to Prince Gong’s Residence. On my way to his residence I signed up to be an Olympic volunteer. Although I already filled the online form, I filled out the paper form – who knows, maybe that will help. They took what seemed a thousand pictures, and then I got a sticker. Cute!

Prince Gong’s Residence
In the mid 19th century, Emperor Xianfeng gave his half brother, Prince Gong, this residence. It is one of the larges private homes in Beijing. Prince Gong is well-known for having negotiated with the British during the second Opium War. Prince Gong agreed to the terms of the Treaty of Tianjin, handed large amounts of silver and part of Kowloon to British Hong Kong. In exchange, the British did not interfere in Beijing and supported the Qing against the Taiping Rebellion. We are actually not allowed into the Prince’s home, but we are allowed to see the garden. The garden is full of winding paths, rockeries (taihu rock structures), water, and buildings. All these elements form part of a traditional Chinese garden. For example, a visit to a Chinese garden should be an engaging and surprising experience. You have to walk around, look through the walls, the windows, the gates, etc. You must actively participate in the “garden experience.” You can also admire the interaction between the solid structures such as the buildings, pavilions, and rocks and the water (huge pond). I was also very excited to visit Prince Gong’s home because in my Art History class I also studied Chinese gardens. It’s always rewarding to see first hand what you’ve studied for months in a text book. One of the garden’s highlights is the theatre almost in the middle of the garden. Although I did not go inside, I was able to sneak in a picture of the ceiling which is beautiful.

Yonghegong Lama Temple - Incredible!!

One of my family friends, Tiana Kamen, was in town for a few days in Beijing so Jimmy Hu, my new best friend, took us to this place. Jimmy is actually Tiana's family friend, but is soon becoming one of my good friends. He is a local who went to Beijing University where I'll be studying and lives near where I am studying for the summer. Jimmy owns an advertisement company and drives everywhere. He has taken me out a few times to eat and meat his friends (he is actually helping me store my luggage while I go to Beijing). Bottom line, Jimmy is amazing. Jimmy took Tiana and her friend and I to this temple. It is a must see! Count Yin Zhen used to live here until he became emperor Yongzheng and moved to the Forbidden City. His home became the Yonghe Palace, but in 1744 it was converted to a Lama Temple for Mongolian and Tibetan monks. Today, it is known as one of the most famous Tibetan Buddhist complexes outside of Tibet. Many of the sculptures are covered in drapes - to me it just looked like decoration but Tiana (who has been to Tibet and seen similar statues there) told me that the statues are actually covered because they portray sex or murder scenes, so the Chinese cover those sections with drapes. Funny huh, censorship is still around. The Lama temple has many halls with statues which you can walk around and see. The complex is beautiful: the decorations, the incense, the praying, the spirituality of the place. This temple also has the tallest Maitreya Buddha statue carved from a single block of sandalwood (there is a Guinness Book of World Records plaque outside the hall). If anybody comes to visit me in Beijing, I will take them here because the architecture, the statues, the buildings are all so beautiful. Thank you Jimmy for taking us here!

Out and About in Beijing

I've attached random pictures that I have taken of Beijing. Some are pieces of artwork from the 798 Art district, others are of Chaoyang District where I live now. Three of the images are of Wanfujing (the first ones)- a wide road where no cars can go by and you just walk and shop. Next to it there is a small eating area where I saw they sell starfish and spider-looking things on a stick that you can eat... yummy. When I feel the urge to have diarrhea I'll try it, but for now, I'd rather be safe. One day I wanted to go to the Forbidden City because the weather was beautiful. As soon as I got off the metro and walked around Tian'anmen Square that was about it for me. The weather was too hot. I'm going to wait until the weather cools off to visit the Forbidden City. That day I walked around the Square and the Forbidden City. There is another picture of the National Musuem in Beijing. One Saturday I went to see the exhibition called "From Tiziano to Goya." The Musuem had a special exhibition on Spanish artists that was very beautiful. This is the year of Spain in China so throughout the country there will be special Spanish-related exhibitions taking place.

How to Survive in Beijing

Being in Beijing can definitely get you down sometimes. You are away from home, family, friends, the convenience of the USA, the cleanliness, the space, the fresh air, the blue sky, etc. There are times when I felt suffocated in Beijing - too much pollution, too many Chinese, too little foreigners, too little of what seems familiar. When this happens I know I need to get out, spend time with people I know, be with foreigners, and eat Western food. It is slowly getting better and I am adjusting to Beijing but when I get down, I find ways to work around those sad moments. Here are some things I've down to cheer me up.
Yale in Beijing - There are so many Yalies in Beijing!
Yale Club in Beijing. I went to their annual summer barbecue and met some of the Yale alum that are now living and working in Beijing. It was great to know that after the summer when most Yalies I know leave, there will still be some new faces to know and network with ;) At the BBQ I met some of my friends from when I was at Yale and we all eat a really good dinner together. After that there was the swimming competition between alums and students. We lost but there is always next year. I might have to start training now.
Yale Friends. I was really surprised by how many Yalies came to Beijing to study or work during the summer. While I was at Yale, I made many Chinese friends, which was great because I met up with them this summer. For instance, I went to the Moscow Restaurant to celebrate Yuefei's Birthday. Then, there was a CUSY (Chinese Undergraduate Students at Yale) dinner at Shinkong TianDi, a very nice, upscale mall. The CUSY members rented the VIP room where we had dinner. Yes, I was the only non-Chinese looking student there, but I had a lot of fun. I saw my old friends and met the new Chinese students who will be starting at Yale in fall. I also went shopping with my best friend Zhang Yue for a day. I went out for sushi with Yuefei. On the weekends when we go out, I meet a lot of friends from other programs who are studying Chinese or other students who are interning in the city. Meeting familiar faces has definitely made me feel more at home in Beijing.
Yale teacher visit. In July two Chinese teachers and other Yale staff toured Asia. My Chinese teacher from Yale came to see all her students and research the programs where we've all been studying. At Yale I was in the Heritage language track, which means I was the only non-Chinese in my class. I was taking Chinese with all Chinese-Americans. My professor was very supportive the whole year. When she came to visit us, I was really glad to see her. She was like our Chinese mother. My professor along with another Chinese teacher and another professor took us out for dinner at a Japanese restaurant near our school. We had such yummy sushi that I went back another day by myself to eat there again.
That's Beijing
My bible in Beijing. That's is a monthly magazine that has different sections on what is going on in Beijing - music and art events, lists of clubs, lists of doctors, lists of spas, and the most important section list of restaurants! I love this magazine. The section on food is divided by the different types of cuisine, so when I'm in the mood for Greek I can look under that section or I can look under Indian or American. There are just so many restaurants. Below the name of the restaurant is a small description of the place and food so I know what to expect. The best part is that many of these restaurants have lunch buffets or set lunches that are not expensive and very tasty. The magazine also helps me finds sights to go and see in Beijing. I wait every month for that magazine to come out.
Explore
The best thing that I've done in Beijing is actually see the city. I do prepare for class, but I don't spend all day in my dorm studying. I usually go out for lunch at one of the restaurants that I've read about in the magazine and then sightsee. Walking is great because it's not only a way of exercising, but you really get to see the city as well. Get out and eat, go out with your friends, explore the city! Beijing is my new home; I'll be living here for a year, so I might as well start liking it by seeing it. Also, when you are feeling tense, I recommend a massage. I’ve gone to Taipan Oriental, which is really close my school for an hour long relaxation massage. What can I say, I guess I’m starting to like Beijing a lot!

Former Foreign Legation Quarter

Dongjiaomin Xiang - East Diplomatic Alley
After reading about a European area in Beijing in a magazine called That's, I decided I wanted to go and check it out. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong time period because I really love "old" architecture. It doesn't matter if it's European or Chinese, I'm just drawn to the old look. I took the metro - yes, indeed I'm a Beijing metro wiz (which is good for you if you come and visit me because we can very easily get around the city) and decided to go on this walking tour/adventure and find all these ancient buildings. It was a very nice stroll - lovely neighborhood really. The map from the magazine was not very clear, but from what I understand I saw the Belgian, Japanese, French, and British legations. I also saw a Church and the French post office. Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to go into the buildings (I did happen to befriend the guard of the Japanese legation who was new on the job and he let me walk around. I also saw the inside of what used to be the French post office because it is now a restaurant). However, I wasn't allowed in the other buildings. I did argue with the guards quite a bit about not being allowed. They finally told me to leave because it is government property. In the future, if you ever try to argue with Chinese guards about trying to see property I recommend you never go alone because they do get quite aggressive and mad and you never know what can happen especially if you are alone. For example, I was taking pictures of one of the houses and this huge guy walked over to me and told me to delete the picture immediately. I told him I did, but I actually saved it. Funny story though, when I checked the image later it was all black. The Chinese mafia is scary :( Even the area is really well protected and the security guards are intimidating, it was really beautiful to walk around and just admire the architecture from the outside. Less than a hundred years ago this was the area where all the foreign diplomats lived and congregated. Can you imagine?

Longqing Gorges

On a Saturday morning at 8:30am we were supposed to load the bus. I set my alarm clock for 8:10 but kept sleeping. I finally woke up at 8:29! Ha, I made it down there at 8:35 and was just on time. I slept the whole three hours it took us to get there because of all the traffic. When we finally arrived we took a walked through the entrance which looked like an amusement park and then took a boat to the part where we could climb and have a view of the landscape. The boat ride was about 20 minutes; it was really beautiful. You might notice that in some of the pictures it looks foggy - like some type of romantic mist. Nope! That's pollution. Even a few hours outside of Beijing you still have that wonderful thing that clogs yours lungs and makes you cough like crazy called pollution... a beautiful thing really. Well, the boat ride was pleasant because the water looked turquoise and clean and I wanted to go swimming. When we finally arrived we had instant noodles and lucky us that we were under a roof eating lunch because it started to pour. We waited it out and the walked around. We actually only had two and a half hours to see the place. I walked around the area with some friends, other students actually bungee jumped. Overall, we spent more time on the bus then in the actual place. It was exhausting. I'm really glad I went though because it was nice to get out of the center of Beijing and see some nature even if it’s polluted. I couldn't see the blue sky but at least I saw the water and the mountains and thought I could breathe somewhat “fresher” air.