Return to Beijing

( some scenes of "China's China Town")

My family took our vacation this year; and while not as exotic as last year's (as you could imagine), I was still reminded of my study tour to China one year hence. In keeping with my idea of "a summer in pictures", here are some more excerpts from my stay in Beijing. You can revisit the original post here, recently re-edited for your enjoyment. There's more to discuss than I can ever try in one sitting; and I don't want Blogger to be sucked into a black hole or something. Well, I guess that depends on the day of the week!

Peking Duck is served only in "official" restaurants in China. As I noticed, they are marked by a large, fiber glass duck character. Beijing's licensed eatery looked important from the outside, decked out in a rainforest's worth of paper lanterns; but the inside was truly spectacular. The lobby featured live music and an enormous fountain/wall. As for the Peking Duck itself, it's actually like making fancy little burritos. Specially prepared duck meat is sliced into thin strips and wrapped with a small green onion in a pocket of flat bread, then dipped into a soy-like sauce.

I must have had six. It's good. On a cultural note, Beijing offers many oddities to delight the senses.

The World's Biggest Drum and The Longest Pee In History

The ancient drum tower still stands in Beijing's center. From the top, you can look down into the rustic Hutong neighborhoods - the old city. Tours of this labyrinth are based at the drum tower, sending swarms of "pedicabs" into the secret world of the lower class. The tower itself is quite an attraction, with hourly drum shows that haven't skipped a beat for several hundred years. Among the giant drums they beat inside is a retired colossus hailed as "the largest drum in the world".

Prominently displayed inside is the secret to the drummer's punctuality. Is that a word? Clever in it's simplicity is an ancient water clock that kept time for as long as the station's drummers. Every hour, enough water overflows into the channel containing the little bronze figure to make him crash his symbols together. If you can watch it without being hypnotized or wetting your pants, you'll know it's time for the next big show. Of course, having the ancient bell tower across the street makes the whole thing a little superfluous...

Weird Architecture

Asia is home to some strange (and cool) buildings. The image below shows the typical style in Beijing. The office buildings all looked like secret headquarters for The Shredder. Those that break the mold use daring designs and outlandish shapes to capture your attention. In an area with so much business, individuality and recognition are important. Pushing the envelope is probably necessary to come out ahead in the Asian business world. Let's face it, they know how to make buildings that look like something other than giant penises.

Seen around Beijing...

(click to enlarge)

The Temple of Heaven is one of the most famous - and photgenic - sites in all of China. It was, of course, closed for cleaning when we arrived. Worse, I nearly got heat stroke while wandering the courtyard. That was unpleasant. Fortunately, it's a temple complex; and there were plenty of air-conditioned sacred-temples-turned-shoddy-museums to retreat to. The overheating would last until I finally collapsed on the train to Xi'an...

Beijing train station

(note the funky clock tower)