Terminally Me

Whew, what a day! I was only out for 5 hours today, but what a productive 5 hours they were.

My cousin Fan Wei and her husband picked me up around 9:30 this morning, and we headed promptly to Jing Shan Park (景山公园), one of Beijing’s famous historical landmarks. Although I had probably been here at some point in my life, I had forgotten all about it, and today turned out to be quite the refreshing experience. Jing Shan is essentially a mountain with 5 pavilions on it, 2 on each side and 1 on the peak. Each pavilion symbolizes something different, and each was previously occupied by a unique Bodhisattva, until they were looted by the Eight-Nation Alliance during the invasion of Beijing in 1900-1901. It was a beautiful day, and the view from the top of the mountain was stunning. Jing Shan lies directly on the invisible line that divides the city into its east and west halves, and from where we stood, we got a great view of the rear gate of the Forbidden City. After we descended the mountain and made our way through the rest of the park, I was presently surprised by the amount of activity that was going on. From practitioners of Tai Chi to people jumping rope and kicking 毽子 (Chinese equivalent of hacky sack), to calligraphers writing on the ground using large brushes and water as ink, to scores of people gathering around and singing folk songs, there was an inescapable feeling of “old Beijing” (老北京) in the air. The sights and sounds reminded of the Beijing I fell in love with as a kid before all the skyscrapers and automobiles took hold.

After Jing Shan, we headed off to 南锣鼓巷, a historical street buried deep in the historical hutongs of the city. It is now serves as a unique shopping and culinary experience for foreigners and locals alike. We took our time wandering through the shops, stopping to taste some of the famous local food such as stinky tofu (yes, it smells bad, but tastes delicious), homemade yogurt (more flavorful than any froyo I’ve ever had), and triangle cakes (a thin outer shell filled with red bean paste). We had lunch at a restaurant called 鬼味, which is famous for its many-flavored chicken wings. I even had some wasabi wings, which ended up being a bit more tame than I expected. Still I was thankful to have plenty of soda to wash it all down. 南锣鼓巷 is adjacent to 沙井胡同, where my dad’s family used to live, and where I spent a large part of my early childhood. About 5 years ago, the government tore down the family’s neighborhood, and my family was forced to relocate. As we walked by the neighborhood today, the old house was still a pile of rubble. My cousin said it’s probably because the developers ran out of money, but deep down inside I wish that they are taking their time to restore the neighborhood to the way it used to be. There is so much history ingrained in each of Beijing’s hutongs; their slow disappearance marks the end of an era.

After our journey down memory lane, we visited Wang Fu Jing (王府井), our last destination of the day and one of my favorite places in Beijing. It’s one of those places that’s designed to appeal to tourists, because in general the shopping is pretty expensive. However, many locals still go because some of Beijing’s oldest and most reputable stores are  located there. The store we went to today, Li Sheng Sporting Equipment (利生体育用品商店) is one such store. I bought my dad a new ping-pong paddle and some ping-pong balls for back home.

Tomorrow, I’m visiting my cousin Meng Meng’s house. It’s my first time going, and also the first time seeing him since he got married, so I’m looking forward to it.

So I must be a bad person for not updating at all in July yet (there goes that promise to blog every week…). Truth be told, I have been pretty busy, although not so busy that I can say that I honestly haven’t had time or opportunity to blog. I am not like most typical bloggers. Sure, I occasionally enjoy talking about how my day has gone (or how this month has gone, haha), but that kind of bogging is more of a kind of release for boredom than anything else (hence the massive posting spree when I go to China). I am more of a newspaper columnist than a serial blogger in the sense that I need some kind of stimulus, some sort of significant event to make me want to get off my ass and proclaim loudly, “Yes. Now THIS is something worth writing about.”

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update

PNC bank is retarded. Rejecting one of my payments after I ordered the parts for my new computer. Then they tell me to call them but it’s after their service hours. Shouldn’t there be a 24 hour service for transactions issues? Outrageous.

It’s been a busy couple of days. On Saturday, Fan Wei, Meng Meng, his wife, and I had dinner at a restaurant (Wang Shun Ge) famous for its fish head (I’m pretty sure the English translation is just “Fish Head Restaurant”). Although I have never been a big fan of eating fish head, the one we had on Saturday was delicious. I never thought one fish head could be so filling, but I was proved wrong: some of the bigger fish heads weigh five of six kilograms! If you’re ever in Beijing, I highly encourage you to give this restaurant a visit. The next day, Fan Wei had to teach a class in the southern part of Beijing, so I made the long trek to meet her and her husband Feng for lunch. We then drove to Pan Jia Yuan and visited Beijing’s famous “Glasses City,” where I managed to purchase a pair of glasses for 150 RMB! The most ridiculous part was that I got them in about a half an hour. In the U.S., the same thing would probably cost at least $150 and take at least a week or two to manufacture and deliver. Of course, the quality in China isn’t as great, but for the price and convenience, I think it is completely worth it. Plus, I primarily wear contacts, so it’s even less of a problem for me.  After feeling very good about the bargain price that we got for the pair of glasses, the three of us went and saw How to Train Your Dragon in 3D. I have to admit, was a little hesitant at first, but I was presently surprised by the movie and the 3D effects. It was the first full-length 3D movie I’ve ever seen (yeah I know, I’m a loser for not seeing Avatar), and the whole experience was amazing. And while the movie itself is geared towards a younger audience, I saw plenty of adults in the audience who were having a great time (myself included). I feel like with recent films like Avatar, Alice in Wonderland, and now How to Train Your Dragon, 3D movies are making a bigger impact at the box office, which only means that there will be more and more 3D movies in the future. While not all films will be appropriate in 3D, I think that those of the action and animated genres will benefit greatly from the growing prominence of 3D technology. If implemented correctly, the 3D effect will definitely be a great draw for audiences of all ages.

Earlier today (Monday), I traveled to my grandparents’ house in Mai Zi Dian, where I’ll be staying for the rest of my time in China. It feels good to have visited all of my closest relatives after nearly a year of absence. All in all, it’s a good change of pace, and it’s a trip that I’d like to keep making every year for as long as possible. I spent a good portion of my childhood here, so I always feel like I’m coming back to a second home rather than just visiting.

Of course, no trip to China would be complete without my getting demolished by mosquitoes, and as if to prove a point, one mosquito gave me no less than 20 bites last night (my very last night at my uncle’s)! FML.

With not much to do here, I finished Heroes through Season Five, and have been reading about options and futures in the meantime. Tomorrow, I’m going with my cousin Fan Wei to get a new pair of glasses and a little shopping at Xiu Shui Jie and maybe a movie afterward.

Woah, I can’t believe it’s almost been a week since I arrived in Shanghai. I’ve been hanging out with Ben Wang for the past couple of days. On Friday, we visited his friend at Shanghai International Studies University. It was about 45 minutes out of the city (aka the middle of nowhere), but the campus was pretty amazing. Probably around 5 times the size of Penn, with only 5000 students. (Btw, tuition is only 10,000 RMB a semester.) I think it brings up an interesting issue though. Chinese people are always concerned about “saving face,” so they build magnificent buildings and facilities that drive them into debt, and the facilities end up not being used to their fullest potential. When we visited in the afternoon, the campus was nearly deserted. Although this was partially because many city kids had already gone home for the weekend, Ben’s friend mentioned that even on a normal day, most of the buildings are never fully occupied, with many classrooms permanently left empty. It’s a shame that such resources end up going to waste, and it only makes sense that schools such as this one begin to increase their class size and use their campus more efficiently.

On Saturday, we visited several major shopping districts in Shanghai, including Xu Jia Hui, Nan Jing Xi Lu, and Xin Tian Di. I’m always impressed by the size of China’s shopping malls, and even more surprised at the number of people who actually shop at these places. Places like Nan Jing Xi Lu and Xin Tian Di are considered high-end shopping districts, and yet, there are still a noticable number of Chinese people who are making purchases at stores like Loius Vuitton and Tiffany & Co–stuff that even the average American would find expensive. I feel like urban China is becoming increasingly capitalist and materialist. Thanks to the booming real estate market, more and more people are becoming millionaires overnight, and are defining China’s increasingly prominent upper-middle class. At the same time, the gap between the rich and poor continue to grow, and the disparities are alarming. Just a few blocks away from the bustling nightlife of Xin Tian Di, Ben and I witnessed a man taking a shower in the middle of the street.