Sunny Beijing

16 October

One of the Olympic mascots

So last week I lived through my first Typhoon. Now I have lived through hurricanes, tornadoes, hail storms, ice storms, etc .. but never a typhoon, so I turn to my good friend Google and ask "What is a typhoon?"

noun

1. a tropical cyclone or hurricane of the western Pacific area and the China seas.

2. a violent storm or tempest of India.

3.( initial capital letter ) Military .

a. a single-engine British ground attack aircraft of World War II.

b. NATO's namefor a class of nuclear-powered Soviet ballistic missile submarine carrying 20 multiwarhead missiles.

Origin:
1580–90;  < dialectal Chinese,  akin to Chinese dàfēng  great wind, altered by association with Greek tȳphôn  violent wind

 Personally, I thought it was all a bit over sensationalized. A few days of near constant rain from dribbles to buckets where it comes down straight or sideways. Pssh, I have played soccer in worse weather, but still, it makes you want to see the sun. So, I decided this was a good time to share some photos from just before I left Beijing. Nothing fancy, just some shots from a walking trip I took around the city.

The first photo is one of the life size statues of the Mascots of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Outside of Olympic Park

 This picture really shows Beijing mentality in two parts: 1) a glossy vernier in select tourist areas with the average Chinese lifestyle tucked back and away. One can look and find it easily, but it won't be forced on you. 2) Do what you need to do to maintain your own comfort level, despite its inconvenience to others. Comfort may seem a strange word to use here, but when you have a stomach ache; you are too hot; or the music is too loud it is appropriate to say "I am uncomfortable"and it implies that you want to change the situation that you are in. So it has a bit stronger meaning than the translation would imply, but back to the point -- If you want to wait to cross the street in the shade so you are not uncomfortable, then of course you should despite you are now blocking the pedestrian path.

Inside of Olympic Park

Everyone knows that tourist attractions attract hawkers of all sorts, and in China where hawkers are reliably more aggressive, but there are always a few that make things interesting. The guy who owned the stand that sold these soldiers is one of them. What better way to sell you merchandise than to make a play for nationalism? This little crawling soldier does not come with a flag, but watching the number of Chinese boys who wanted one after viewing this little display is almost laughable.

Inside Olympic Park

I found this sculpture interesting because the artist manage to make metal mesh appear diaphanous. There are of course images of the Water Cube, and the Birds Nest in the online album but I used them as subjects to play with sun position which is pretty interesting if you want to check that out. But for space, we are going to move along to the Hutongs.

Hutongs are a Beijing phenomenon. Hutong is the name applied to the old Beijing style neighborhood where the road is very narrow, there are lots of alley ways, and the buildings are no more than two stories. Now-a-days the 'main' roads in the Hutongs are lined with shops and restaurants while the residential sections can be found down the side alleys. The above is the entrance to a restaurant, who, instead of cutting down the tree in the middle of their doorway, painted a face on it as an attraction.

Oh, heaven!

This is a nice shot of one of the 'main' streets in a Hutong. You can see why so many people flock here in the summer --- I swear there is a 5 to 10 degree temperature drop once you walk under this green canopy. And sure there are lots of vendors selling ice cold drinks, but heaven for me is ice cold coffee, and it just so happens on this day the sun was shining right on that Siren Sign. From a photographer stand point, it was a pain to get her into focus, but instant gratification afterwards makes it all come into focus!

This is a decent example of 'Public Living'

'Public Living' is a term I came up with when wandering around Beijing because people here greatly enjoy community. You always see grandparents with little kids at the park, groups exercising in open spaces, audiences watching a mahjong game etc... Here you have the bottle collector on his wide load scooter waiting for the shop owner to finish looking something up on the computer there. Yes, that is a laptop hooked up to speakers blaring music and from what I could tell these two men were arguing over a singer.

Side Alley

This is what I mean by a side alley leading to the residential section of the Hutong. It is in no way glamorous, or ancient chic like the store fronts on the 'main' road. It is crammed with bikes, the cobble stones are broken in places, and the houses are a patchwork of repairs.The way these are set up is something like a modern day apartment building: This doorway is listed as an address, and then inside is the unit number just a little more convoluted.

Fisherman

This is Houhai where locals and tourist alike flock for a little R&R. Some swim, some fish, some eat, and some simply hang about.

Mahjong Players

Lotus

There is also a large colony of Lotus flowers here which are protected from all the viewers by their natural habitat in the water. But for those unlucky species of vegetation not growing in the water, the only protection offered to them is the sign below.

So much better than "Keep off the Grass"

Yes, perhaps just another example of poor translation, but maybe not. When I took this photo I thought is was a funny translation. I have seen it now maybe half a dozen times and I appreciate the sentiment behind it a bit more now. I am greatly attracted to nature, and am continually in awe of what can be found in the spaces outside of civilization. I spent every weekend in August going out on a day long hike to escape the pollution of the city, and see a bit of the Chinese wilderness. In cities, Chinese or American green spaces can be rare and should be cherished for that minute break from the concrete jungle it brings. In short, maybe we should start a campaign to change those "Keep off the Grass" signs to "Cherish Green Lives" signs.

I will sign off here, and hope you forgive me for still not posting about Shanghai. Honestly, I have no idea what to write on it -- I live in a hotel and go to school. Maybe you can send me some questions or things that you are curious about to give me some inspiration.

Album Link
https://plus.google.com/photos/108488715129842232914/albums/5913846361424166241?authkey=CPGKi42UhvPxcw