One Saturday's Odyssey in Beijing [Or, A Day of Expensive Cabs]

On Saturday, Mike, Jess and I joined Ethan Tseng to visit his aunt and uncle's Taiwanese restaurant in the industrial area by the airport. They are industrious Taiwanese businesspeople, with several investments in China and Taiwan. They were in Beijing for a few days, so they invited us to come and sample their dishes. Ethan is also from Taiwan, and is ethnically Hakka (we had a good laugh about how Hakka women are traditionally supposed to be husky and do most of the work around the house and on the farm).

We were supposed to meet Ethan at the line 10 stop where you transfer to the airport train at noon, but getting out of bed and ready to go took longer than anticipated so we decided to take a cab. The cab took longer than anticipated because there was a stall on the 4th ring road, which caused a traffic jam. Our cabbie was very confused as to why 3 people were taking a cab to meet 1 person, and Mike and I tried to explain that we were meeting him at the subway, and then continuing on to another location by the airport, but we weren't sure the message was really communicated.

Once we got to the subway station, Ethan was waiting outside, so we had just paid our cabbie when he hopped in and directed him to the next stop: the restaurant. We headed northeast on the airport expressway and then exited about halfway. We found ourselves in an odd neighborhood that reminded me of Southern California or Glendale... generic strip malls, McMansion style housing estates and industrial complexes. It was a little unnerving, because these monstrosities were usually right next door to a typical little Chinese style strip mall that looked just like Duo Buay or the road to Swatow.

Luckily, Ethan's aunt's place was very nice inside, with trendy and unique decor. They serve traditional and popular Taiwanese dishes which we absolutely delicious. We had sweet pickles, bitter melon with salted egg, little steamed bread sandwiches, steamed bream, tripe soup, fried tofu and many other tasty things (that I can't remember).

After stuffing our faces, we caught a cab back to Beijing. Ethan suggested that we go to Beihai park, which was supposed to be really beautiful. The cab ride was quite long, so we napped and arrived refreshed (albeit still very stuffed). Beihai is a park just north of the Forbidden City, and is famous for its white pagoda on top of a hill which gives a nice view of the surrounding city, as well as a pretty lake with boat rental available. We paid 15 Yuan for entrance, which included access to the hill area with the white temple portion. I'm glad we paid the extra amount, because the temple area was less crowded and more peaceful, although you can never escape the crowds in Beijing. The people visiting were overwhelmingly Chinese tourists; we saw almost no foreigners.

Inside the park by the lake we saw a lot of old men practicing calligraphy with brushes using lake water as ink on the stone walkways. They were using traditional characters, which was nice to see. Jessica especially was very excited to see the calligraphy in action. I recognized a Li Bo poem that I had to translate in college--it's about drinking alone (of course... Li Bo did a lot of drinking alone and then wrote about how much it stinks).

The temple grounds were peaceful and provided much inspiration for photography. The temple had a thick bamboo grove so I was reminded of the bamboo forest in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I suggested that we start taking some wacky Wushu master photos--the Prague module and the Beijing module have a sort of informal contest going to to see who can post the best pictures up on Facebook. Right now Beijing is blowing Prague out of the water because all their photos are of people drinking. Ours are much more creative. I figured with kung fu photos we would triumph hands down. Many creative shots were engendered, such as jumping up in the air and kicking, hanging from rocks and fighting, and even fake pushing off railings and Jessica "breaking" a stone (there was a whole one and a broken one, so we employed some trick photography). Most of the photos were taken by Ethan, who has a SLR digital camera with multi-shot technology. I am waiting for him to give me the photos in class tomorrow, and then will post them. They are truly spectacular.

The pagoda thing (confusingly called a dagoba, which is incidentally the name of the swamp planet from Empire Strikes Back where Yoda has been hiding out from the Empire and Luke visits to learn the ways of the force) was kind of ho-hum, but the hill did give a nice view of the city and the setting sun provided some pleasant light for portrait taking.

After leaving Beihai park Ethan split off to go have dinner with the Indian crew and Jess, Mike and I headed to Sanlituan to find pizza. We ate at The Tree, which was ok, not AMAZING like Mozza (truth: nothing is as amazing as Mozza) but thankfully not oily unlike almost everything else in this city. After The Tree we went to the Smugglers Hideout, which features 2 x bottles of Beijing Yanjing for only 15 yuan. We then caught the last train to Wudaokou, back on the west side of town to make a classmate's birthday afterparty at a bar called Pyro. Pyro is every college bar in America with just a higher proportion of Asian people inside--smoky, sweaty, beery and full of empty pitchers and loud rap music. It was fun to hang out with the crew, however, since I have been leaving them behind in the dust as Mike, Jess, Ethan and I explore the city.

798 Art District: East German Factory Complex Breeds Creativity

On Friday Beida arranged for a tour of the 798 Art District, which originally started out as a factory complex built by East German Communists in the 50's and became an artist's enclave once the factory was abandoned. Now it's been officially taken over by the government, so all the real artists have moved away to other, more bohemian approved locations, but it's still a fascinating complex visually and to see some of the exhibitions and art displays that are still there.

We were told we wold get a tour of the complex, but the bus just dropped us off and sped off, so we were left to fend for ourselves. I just wandered around and took photos of things I found interesting. With the pipes, steam and industrial surroundings, there were a lot of inspirational images.

As the day wore on, some of the shops and galleries opened up and we had a nice time perusing the offerings and poking around. I'd like to visit some of the artist's villages that are mentioned in the guidebook but those will have to wait for another day.

Beijing Glasses City Leads Us to Restaurant #9

In our awesome Insider's Guide to Beijing Guidebook Mike and I read about this magical place called "Beijing Glasses City", in which shoppers can peruse 4 floors of glasses frames at bargain prices. Seeing as how the last time I got new frames was freshman year in college, I was really excited to get some new glasses up in here. Mike, Jessica and I hopped the gold #10 train line to the other end. Unfortunately, we did not check the guidebook and realized upon arrival around 5:55pm that Beijing Glasses City closes at 6pm. :( We hopped across the street and looked at a few glasses shops that had some frames that appealed to me, however at US$50 they were a little pricey compared to what the guidebook promised. I did find out that slightly cat-eye type frames actually look really good on me. We decided to return to Glasses City tomorrow after the group tour of the 798 Art District.

We decided to check out another glasses store listed in the guidebook, which promised "superfly frames". The store was on a street that was next to the CBD (Central Business District). The street was actually this really funky and cute neighborhood, with hutongs off the side and trendy clothing shops that cater to Beijing's fashionable. We never found the eyeglass store, but we did find the most awesome restaurant.

We found a little hutong and wandered down it, and noticed a neat little restaurant called #9. We asked to see a menu, and it had plenty of vegetarian options for Jessica so we decided to eat there. The owner was quite solicitous and was very attentive. We ordered an incredible amount of food, including a tofu dish that mimicked scallops, a huge fried shrimp dish, pork ribs, fried potatoes and Chinese bacon, scallion pancake and fried green beans. The food was AMAZING, and we got the owner to share a beer with us. We had a nice chat about Mike's and my Chinese moms and how we were studying at Beijing Daxue. The total was so incredibly cheap and the food was so delicious that we absolutely plan to return!

We also were celebrating the fact that we got our Accounting problem set done this morning about 13 hours early. All the other fools in our class are cranking away right now and Jess, Mike and I are free and clear. Tomorrow we are off for a tour of the 798 Art District, which is supposed to be amazing.

Summer Palace - 4 Miles of Circumferencial Glory

Wednesday dawned clear and sunny yet again so Jessica and I decided to head to the Summer Palace. Upon seeing the weather, Jessica exclaimed, "It's because I'm here that we have nice weather!" My response? "We'll probably have a week of sandstorms to compensate." Since the summer palace is one big giant park, good weather was a must for an enjoyable wandering experience.

We took a cab to the palace from our hotel and had a really funny cabbie. He and I chatted (in Chinese) and he said that he really likes Obama, Bill Clinton and basketball. He also drove us about 1km extra after we paid, which we thought was very kind of him.

The Summer Palace was constructed starting in 1750 by Emperor Qianlong, who ruled the Qing dynasty famously for over 60 years. The complex is dominated by a large lake, known as Kunming lake, as well as Longevity Hill and many gardens, pavilions, walkways and bridges. Jessica and I agreed that it is perfect for 1) swanning about in your robes 2) being carried majestically in your robes in a litter and 3) driving a chariot around while in your robes. As you can see, glamorous robes would have added to the Summer Palace experience, but would have been troublesome as the day was quite windy.

The eastern entrance gate was clogged with tourists, almost entirely large Chinese tour groups, which muddle about in large clusters, almost always following a young lady toting a flag and all wear ugly, bright colored hats plastered with the name of the tour company. Jessica and I decided to get as far away from the crowds as possible, and so we started walking clockwise around the lake. We stopped at various auspiciously named locations such as "Hall of Jade Billows", "Hall of Benevolence and Longevity" and "Dragon King Temple." We wanted to rent a boat, but it was quite windy so the boats were all sadly tied up at the dock. As soon as we got away from the entrance area, the crows thinned out considerably.

The Summer Palace is famous for its Western Causeway, which divides the lake into a 1/3 size smaller portion and has beautiful bridges and temples. Even though it was very windy on that side, we enjoyed the bright sun and pleasant temperatures.

When we got back to the side of the lake where Longevity Hill is the crowds bulked up again, so we skipped ogling the marble boat of Empress Dowager Cixi (who built it because she was told by her advisers that China needed a navy... oops). We headed back towards the east gate by way of the Long Corridor (also great for swanning about in your robes) and caught a cab back to the hotel.

The Summer Palace was destroyed twice during the Empress Dowager's rule and she rebuilt it both times. It also displays the same shiny new paint job at major attractions that the Forbidden City received as a lead up to the Olympic games. It is a very pleasant and relaxing place to visit, as long as you skip the crowds who congregate at the northern end of the lake to see Longevity Hill and the marble boat. Jessica and I wanted to know how far we walked, so we found out the surface area of Kunming Lake, solved to find its radius, then found the circumference and discovered it's about 3.27 miles around. Added to the additional walking we did during the day (walking to Beida to get Jessica's ID and visiting the Nameless Lake on Beida's northern campus) we guesstimated a total of about 5 miles of walking! So, to celebrate, today we are getting a massage.

Shopping in Sanlituan

My roommate Jessica arrived very late on Monday night, so she went right to bed and slept for about 10 hours. We had a bit of a lazy morning on Tuesday, given that it was her first morning I did not want to push. When we did get out of the hotel we decided to take the subway to Sanlituan area, which is a trendy fun area where many of the embassies are located. We had investigated the Insider's Guide to Beijing guidebook, which I have come to know and love, and read up on all the markets in Beijing. The Russian market sounded intriguing, with its promise of "larger size underwear, bras and stockings" (Jessica is quite busty and neither of us are Chinese sized, which appears to be essentially cultivating a look where people's legs are the diameter of my arms), but the Nali Market and Patio area in Sanlituan won out with its description of "cute 'designer' clothes at decent prices". The Yashow market (not to be confused with the Yueshow Market in CBD) was also nearby so we had many choices.

Sanlituan is on the same line as our Suzhoujie station, so it just takes about 40 minutes and 15 stops. It's a cute area, with a big, brand new mall area called The Village. Just across from that on the east side is the Nali Market and Nali Patio area, which is this adorable little culdesac with a tile floor and outdoor cafe chairs. We almost missed the market area, but found it because I was looking for a bathroom. The clothes WERE really cute, but mostly ready for spring, and it's cold here in China right now so we didn't buy anything. I was tempted by some "wrist socks", which are like knitted wrist cuffs with little holes by the end for your thumbs. I probably could have got them down to US$5 but do I really need wrist socks? Not really.

Afterward we went to the Yashow Market, which is your standard indoor Chinese market with lots of fakes, doo-dads, gew-gaws and the like. Lots of aggressive sellers saying "Hello, lady, hello, lady you want t-shirt? I give you good price!" and the like. We were using it as a basis for future purchases, so we didn't buy anything. We were very tempted by some Longchamp Pliage bags as well as some funny (and cheap) wigs so we'll probably be back to get some of those.

When we got back to the hotel it was really cold, so I bought a winter coat at the coat store next to the McDonalds. It's a nice black wool/poly blend and very chic. The sleeves are a leetle short, but I've been keeping warm in it!

Factory Girl: A Visit to Snow Lotus Chinese Cashmere Co., Ltd.

We had our second company visit on Monday, this time to a state-owned company. Snow Lotus cashmere was the old communist brand back in the day, and was used as gifts for visiting dignitaries (including Ronald Regan!). Now it's still a state-owned enterprise, but it's one of the profitable ones (according to their chairman) and is a surprisingly clean and well run factory that even has a green water recycling system.

The factory was about an hour and a half bus ride from Beijing, so we were all asleep when we arrived. We were first given a tour, which was fascinating. Far from the structured, sheep-herd event I imagined, the tour was very informal, and we were able to wander around the factory floor and poke around into bins, stand close to moving machinery and interact with the workers.

The raw wool is sourced from Inner Mongolia, and comes from a special breed of goat that has soft, long, fuzzy neck and stomach hair. Apparently China produces 10,000 metric tonnes of cashmere per year, but their production is capped because one cashmere goat requires as much food as five sheep. Snow Lotus owns their own wool processing plants that source the wool from sheep farming cooperatives. The processed wool arrives in its natural color state, ready to be dyed. It is placed in a big oven and then dyed whatever color of the rainbow is being produced that day. The large masses of fluffy, dyed wool are then taken to the spinning area to be spun into cloth. The dyed wool is the softest thing I have ever felt. We were able to sink our hands into a big bin of wool and I seriously wanted to climb inside and make a large nest. I took a small piece and put it in my purse because it was just too soft to leave behind.

The wool is spun by these huge machines that are made in England. They are spun onto huge 2 ft. long spools and put onto another machine that strengthens the yarn and makes it multiple ply. The ply machine puts the wool onto more recognizable industrial sized spools. Once the spools are spun they are sent to the production area where they are knit by machine into pieces of sweaters.

The knitting machines are fascinating, they are large and look like they are from the 1950's. They have little codes on the side that determine the number of rows, stitches, etc. They output little pattern pieces of sweaters that are then sewn together with sergers. Some pattern pieces cannot be produced on the machine, so hand operated knitting machines are used for these. The machines have little teeth that must be adjusted by hand, and then a kind of loom thing is passed back and forth by hand.

The workers are all sourced from far away provinces, like Anhui and Sichuan. The local governments send the workers to the factory where they live in dormitories and eat at the local cafeteria. The factory employs 1000 people. The workers weren't exactly energetic at their jobs, but did not seem particularly unhappy or lazy. I'm sure that they were putting on a good show for us foreigners, however.

After the tour we had about an hour to hear from the chairman of Snow Lotus and ask questions. He said that Snow Lotus has a 6% ROA and he restructured the company to make it profitable. However, since it's a state-owned enterprise, it seems like they have less incentive than a normal company to achieve profitability. The chairman also emphasized that their plant is very green; they have a state of the art water treatment facility that recycles the water used for dying, after several cycles it is used for watering plants and for toilets. He also said that approximately 45% of their product goes for export, and 55% is sold in the Chinese market. They export their cashmere to Europe, the US and Japan.

After the meeting we had a chance to browse the company store, which was delightful, albeit depressing because the prices were still pretty high. I tried on a FABULOUS cashmere winter jacket, but the sleeves were built for Asians, so they were like 3/4 length sleeves on me. The styles were not very fashionable either, more like basics. I did not buy anything.

Overall it was a fun visit, it was fascinating to see the inside of the factory and have a chance to talk directly to the chairman of a state-owned enterprise.

Noodle Show in Wudaokou

After the hell hole horror that was Carrefour/家乐福, Mike and I decided to get some nice comfort food. Hot pot had just been decided upon as the desired food when Mike's friend Cordell fortuitously called us and invited us to hot pot with his friends! We hopped on the subway (the nearest station to us is Suzhou Rd, which I find kind of funny since we are not in Suzhou) and jetted northeast to Wudaokou, which is kind of a fun student area plus Koreans. Chadd, Rob and Hunter joined us; Hunter was very excited to learn that we were going to a Korean area.

We met Cordell's friends, who were somewhat taken aback at the size of the group, which I guess was understandable, but they were still a bit sour about it throughout the meal which was tiring. Luckily the food was delicious, so we could concentrate on that. We had three different types of broth, a chicken stock type broth, a medium spicy broth and a Sichuan style super spice broth that was YUMMMMM-Y! We ordered beef, lamb, tongue, tofu, veggies, fish balls and noodles to cook in the broth. You also got to make up your own sauces from many options, plus tasty peanut sauce. The noodles were very interestingly prepared, they came in large flat blocks and are pulled apart by an enthusiastic waiter right in front of you, twirled around, and fed into the burbling pot. The spicy Sichuan broth got everyone, and we downed plenty of water and Harbin Lager beer (shades of Global Strategy, where Hunter and I had to actually do a 30 minute presentation on Harbin Lager).

After the meal (which came to 50 yuan per person), we went to a local bar called Red House, with 5 yuan draft beers. The bar was full of trendy local Chinese kids drinking and talking loudly, as well as some British expats (Cordell's friends were British as well). A good time was had by all, and we made it back by 12:30, not too late for the next day's company visit.

家乐福 : The 10th Circle of Hell

I helped Mike move into his new apartment on Sunday afternoon, which was an interesting adventure. It took him almost an hour and a half to exchange his travelers checks into RMB at the bank, and then the lease signing took another hour and a half. Finally he was done and I offered to go to Carrefour (家乐福 in Chinese) with him to find stuff like sheets, a pillow, soap, etc. The Carrefour is located near the hotel (and his apartment) in the big underground mall by the Sinosteel building in Zhangguancun. I had read a case in Competing Through Strategy about how Carrefour has been a huge success in China because they really cater to the Chinese market, so I was excited to see it in person. It turns out by catering to the Chinese market they have made it a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad place that is miserable.

First of all, the place is packed with so many people. Everywhere. They are pushy, shoving and in the way. Secondly, nothing is arranged in a logical manner. We found sponges, dishwashing gloves and trash bags together, but no dishwashing soap or laundry detergent. There are no staff anywhere to ask for help. The store is crowded with narrow aisles. It's also kept at a much higher ambient temperature than the rest of the mall and the outside temps. It was so miserable that Mike wanted to just leave without buying anything, but then I pointed out he'd have no toilet paper or sheets, so we waited in the line. The checkouts have 3 cashiers next to each other in a row, and each cashier has her own separate line, so it is a complete madhouse, of course, with everyone milling around confusingly. We had such an awful time in Carrefour that we stopped at Bellagio (this cute, modern Taiwanese style place nearby) to have a pick-me-up snack of passion fruit tea and mango rice balls. We found shampoo and detergent at the fake 7-11 next to Mike's apartment building, so I think I will just stick to Watson's and 7-11 from now own for toiletries and the like. Neat trivia, the detergent works for both hand wash and machine wash, I guess because not everyone has a clothes washer in their apartment. Dryers are non-existent here.

Also funny, we went out that night in Wudaokou and came back around 12:30am. I got a phone call from Mike telling me that his apartment complex locks the entrance gate with a PADLOCK at night! He had to jump the fence to get in. Talk about a fire hazard!

Touristy Stuff: Forbidden City and Tian'anmen Square

This morning the program arranged for a free tour of Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City. Even though the bus left at 8:30am, I still wanted to go because hey, it's free, and the Forbidden city is a bit of a hike from the hotel so we figured we might as well get our money's worth! When I woke up this morning iI saw with amazement that it was a beautiful clear day, sunny and blue skies. That was the deciding factor: I had to go!

I made the bus with plenty of time to spare, although the karaoke crew came rolling in late and very hungover. I was quite glad that I ended up skipping--KTV will always be there and I can go for round II next time.

We had a guide take us around to Tian'anmen first, although we only walked up the length of the square and did not go into Mao's tomb to view the preserved body of Dear Leader (not that I am complaining about that). It was really chilly, probably about 55 with a continuous chill wind blowing. The communist hat vendors were making a brisk business selling the furry hats and gloves to frigid tourists. The Forbidden City looks much the same it did in 1997, although it has been spiffed up quite a bit for the Olympics. All the major buildings/gates are freshly repainted, which looks pretty from afar but close up looks a little bit shiny. The side areas are not restored, and to me were more interesting. As soon as we got in the City Mike and I ditched the group and went off to do our own thing. we made a pact to take only non-postcard type pictures, so we had a really fun time looking for interesting photographic subjects and unique shots.

After working our way north and leaving the city we met up with Ethan (native Taiwanese) and decided to find a place to eat. We were walking towards the Wudakou subway station and were talking about how much we wanted some dumplings when we found this literal hole in the wall dumpling shack! It was just a narrow room with a couple of tables and chairs, with a guy in the front steaming everything. The place was crowded though, so we ordered some dumplings, xiaolongbao and xiaobao (which are like small dumplings but with rice inside). The total was 15 yuan! What a crazy deal!

We walked to Wudaokou so I could buy the Insiders Guide to Beijing at the English Language bookstore. I also got Lonely Planet Cambodia so I can get a feeling for what to do there besides just go to Siem Riep and Ankor Wat. We took a cab back to the hotel so Mike could check out of the hotel and move into his apartment. He and I will hit up Sanlituan area tonight to hang out with Cordell. So far it's been a great weekend!

Where Few White People Tread

On Friday night Mike Logan and I decided to get the heck out of dodge and avoid the T-bird crew, who were planning a Karaoke night. Before anyone starts busting out the kindergarten rhymes (i.e., Mike and Ginger sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G), let me just point out that he is married and we joke that we are "older brother, younger sister" since he is half Asian as well (Taiwanese to be exact). We are both here trying to practice our Chinese so we can pass Thunderbird's language requirement, so we figured that a night out with the locals would help with that.

Mike has this great guide book to Beijing, called the Beijing Insider's Guide. It listed a couple of cool clothing stores that we decided to check out. The first one was called simply The Thing, or Dongxi in Chinese. It was in the Xidong district, which is south of where we are living in Haidian. It is located in a brand spanking new mall, called Joy City. Since it is full of every kind of shop you could ever imagine, Joy City is an appropriate name! Each floor has a funny name, like Youth, Anarchy, etc. The Thing was interesting, but had US style prices so we did not buy anything--they carry unique t-shirts, hats and sweatshirts all with urban modern graphic design styles on them. Very similar to www.threadless.com type stuff. We wandered around Joy City just taking fun pictures of the stores, all of which were shiny, new and brightly colored/lit.











Afterwards we decided to check out the Huayuandonglu area, which Mike had been to already with a local friend. He promised me that there would be delicious food, and no white people, which was music to my ears. We had a fun adventure asking where the subway is, but we didn't know how to say subway. First we asked where the "huoche" was, as that means train, but the man we asked didn't know. Then we showed him the subway map that Mike had and he said "Oohhhh, ditie", which means subway. Great, now I'll never forget it. The subway ride took about an hour, because we had to go around a slightly long way and change trains twice. We exited the subway and then had to walk a ways down a dark side street to get to this little area where there definitely were no white people--heaven! Even though it was about 10:30 at night many restaurants were open and had a few tables of patrons. We bought a stick of "beef" from a guy grilling it on the street (he added this local chili spice and it was yummy) for 1 Yuan. It turned out to be mostly fat, but it was still yummy since we were very hungry. We picked a restaurant that was pretty crowded and were amazed to find they had an English menu, with decent translations and nice pictures. We ordered a bunch of vegetarian food plus some pork congee and two bottles of beer. The total came to only US$10. The standout dish was fried string beans with Sichuan peppercorns, which make your mouth go numb in a lemon spicy kind of way--really unique!





After the eating adventure we went to a cafe for some green tea, which was served in a nifty little glass teapot with as many refills as desired. We caught a cab back ($15 spent on cabs--the whole night, what a bargain!) and went to bed around 1:45am. It was later than I wanted, but I was excited to try new foods in new areas of Beijing. While we were walking around the place we saw a lot of barbershops, but I suspect they were brothels, because there were only chairs and no hairstyling equipment, and just a few bored looking girls in heavy makeup looking outside at passers by. Interestingly there were also real barbershops next to the fake ones, which was funny (you could tell the real ones because there were people in there actually getting haircuts). We also saw some tents on the street with people inside eating what appeared to be dumplings, so they must have been some kind of illicit restaurant. We definitely want to come back to try those places, which we have termed "Expert Level Chinese Dining Only". That will likely be in a few weeks!

I'm Now Fully Invested in Arsenal

Yesterday's class transitioned from talking about China to discussing Japan and Korea. Goddard emphasized the isolationist nature of Japan, which was pretty much old hat to me, being an East Asian Studies major and all. For lunch we tried "Franklin's House of Dumplings" as Panos calls it, which is basically the dumpling-themed cafeteria. In typical confusing style, they have a lovely menu on the wall with many delicious sounding jiaozi listed, but only serve a fraction of the available dumplings every day. Tragically they did not have the "pork and pumpkin" flavored ones I wanted to try, so I made do with pork and cabbage (which were still good, and at 4 Yuan for a large plate, a steal!).

After class Ben Malki and I went to the electronics superstore to buy him a new charger for his computer. I was blathering on in Chinese about how "this object does not work and he would like to buy a new one" and then the salesman busted out with perfect English, saying "Yes, your charger is not functioning and you would like to purchase a new one!" Oh well! We chatted with him for a while and it turns out he is from Urumqi, which is in far western China, Xinjiang Province. Ben and I also swung by the Off Price Mart (doesn't it just sound full of bargains?) which appears to be a sort of super ghetto department store, which is full of racks of clothes, shoes, appliances, etc., all on sale. Some group members had purchased some fly football [soccer] jackets at Off Price and we wanted to scope out the selection. The authentic Adidas section was somewhat paltry, only having one Bahamas jacket, which Panos already owned, and a Rio de Janeiro one that Ben rejected on account of it having a silkscreen of Jesus. Ben being a Jew but one inherently suspicious of all religions (including his own), he did not feel comfortable wearing Jesus around. Apparently he is not a Jew for Jesus.

We decided to try the fake Adidas section, and found two options that intrigued us, a bright orange jacket with the name Robben on the back and a mysterious man's face on the front. We called Panos and learned that Robben is a Dutch player who is currently on Real Madrid. I rejected it on the basis of Robben's Dutch-ness and checked out the other option, a white and red number mimicking a retro jacket from the Egyptian soccer team Zamalek. Ben rejected it on account of funny construction ("Your shoulder pads look like Star Trek" was his reasoning). I finally found a jacket I liked in the Arsenal section (English premier league fans will be intrigued to know that there was no Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur, just Arsenal) and got it for 180 Yuan. I have no idea if it's real or fake, but it's sharp looking and appears well constructed. Finally I have bought something in China!!! (yay) Ben was joking that now I'm fully invested as a (long suffering) Arsenal fan and I'd better get cracking on their statistics. Looks like their next match is today (Saturday) vs. Newcastle United, but due to the magic of China being ahead of Europe, it will take place at like 1am Beijing time.



After shopping we met up for a dinner/lecture at the hotel restaurant so that Goddard could give us a breakdown of how to behave at a fancy Chinese banquet. It was an interesting and informative lecture, some of the more useful tips were to just push things around on your plate if you don't like it, no one will notice, and to claim you are on medication if you don't want to drink. There is much importance given to the retention and potential loss of face, and how the guest must ensure that the host does not lose face in front of his/her peers. We have a fair number of Mormons at Thunderbird, most of which are cool, but some insist on rubbing in EVERY TIME that they can't drink and it gets very tiresome. Hopefully Goddard's little lecture will make some impact on them. The food was pretty good, too, not too oily and fresh vegetables. I found this surprising, especially given the fact that this was a hotel restaurant.

Today was the last class of RBE: Asia, hallelujah! The focus shifted to India, which was interesting as I know a lot less about the country than I probably should. Some of our Indian students (who not surprisingly are all from the top echelons of Indian society both caste-wise and income wise; we have all Brahmins except one Sikh) got quite argumentative about some topics, such as the issues with poverty in India. One student tried to claim that the poor people are happy in their situation, which sounded rather fishy. I kept thinking of my friend Christy's work rescuing prostitutes in Calcutta, where they had some girls whose villages were so poor that the life of a prostitute was preferable than living in the village--the girls had 3 full meals a day, new clothes, their own room and didn't have to work. If there are people in your country who would rather sell themselves than live in their hometowns, there is a serious problem with poverty! Compared to China, India has a much lower GDP per capital and a higher percentage of people living below the poverty line. Additionally, even though very high quality education is available to those who can pay for it, the literacy rate is not that high (60% compared to China's 90%). India still has a lot of growth potential in the world economy. The government's protectionist policies and perceived corruption have been retarding the countries growth, so Goddard emphasized those factors as a reason why India has not grown as quickly as China.

We finished up class FINALLY and broke for the weekend (what's left of it). Tonight I plan to hit up the Wudaokou area with Mike Logan and maybe some karaoke later. Tomorrow we have an arranged tour of the Forbidden City and Tian'anmen Square. I figure since they are providing transportation and I paid for it, I will be going. More updates to come later!

Here are some photos to tide you over:



The crepe master outside my hotel.



Beijing biker gang! Nikhil and I show off our student bikes. Dig my pink Chuck Taylors!

"Well Versed in the Art of the Squat"

Apparently not only do my mixed genes give me superior resistance to icky bugs (have been eating street food for breakfast with no ill effects so far plus sat next to Mike Logan for 12 hours and did not catch his cold) but I appear to be immune to the effects of jet lag. I was tired when I landed, but not inordinately so and not such that my functions were impaired. I have gone to bed between 11pm-12am every night and risen at 7am easily. The only signs I can see are more mental--I get distracted easily and have to make sure I'm not spacing out in class in an obvious way. If only I could patent and bottle my ability to resist jet lag and sell it--there's an entrepreneurial idea for you!

Yesterday was a busy day; we had a company visit in the afternoon with the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment, which is a non-governmental organization that tries to assist existing companies with foreign investment, and attract foreign companies to invest in Chinese companies. Their office is by the Dong'an market, which is famous for it's "everything under the sun that is remotely edible on a stick" shtick. The area is also famous for the GIANT pedestrian shopping mall area that was erected for the Olympics. One can buy all the luxury brands here, from Gucci to Cartier and back again. We had a little time to wander around before our meeting with CAEFI, so we checked out the market area plus did some people watching. I didn't look at the stores because I didn't come to Beijing to buy Gucci. I came to buy dirt cheap knockoff clothes in the markets! Soon, you will be mine. Oh yes, you will be mine.





The meeting with CAEFI was interesting, although tedious because the chairman spoke in Chinese. I understood most of the operative words he used, but I did not know the economic and other technical words he used so I had to rely on Donny, who was translating. Interestingly, the chairman actually spoke very good English, which he lapsed into occasionally. His sentence structure was excellent, and he had very little accent. I don't know why he bothered with a translator, probably to maintain face. He talked about the measures they use to try to help companies with foreign investment, mostly in the form of a print publication and a website. He talked about how exports have gone done because of the financial crisis, so it's harder to attract foreign investment right now.



After the talk we had to go back to campus, where a gentleman who works for the UN I believe gave a talk on Chinese Intellectual Property rights, at least, that is what it was billed as. Instead he talked about counterfeiting instead. He said he thinks that the penalties for counterfeiting should be much more strict (i.e. death!!!) so as to act as a disincentive. He said the counterfeiters have gotten very crafty, even sewing the handbags on a truck that moves around the city so they can't get caught. He was quite candid about the state of China's government, and how they face a big potential problem in that the inland provinces are poorer than the coastal areas, and the residents are getting unhappy about the increasing income gap. It was nice to hear from someone who wasn't giving the party line all the way.

Today we had another 12 hour day, Goddard during the daylight hours and then Donny gave a talk about Chinese cultural differences. I was in my element in class because we 1) had a geography quiz in the morning which I of course rocked (Goddard made it purposefully ambiguous for a few questions, so I put as many options as possible--it was a map quiz) and then 2) talked about Chinese history and culture all day, which of course was my college major so I had a lot of insights. He also showed a picture of Shenzhen from 1975, which featured dirt roads, 1 story buildings and cows on the street. I piped up and said "This is like Mitchell/Chu family Christmas every year, when we have a slide show featuring photos from when my Dad went to China in the late 1970's and everyone laughs about how no one had running water or shoes back then." Goddard got a good laugh out of it.

I have continued to sample delicious street food--one of our Taiwanese students found a Taiwanese bakery and picked up this sort of rice bun thing for breakfast for me, plus the most delicious and creamy dou jiang (soy milk)... I will say it's tastier than my breakfast cart, although at 8 kuai it's not as cheap as the 3 kuai milk and crepe thing I normally get. Tonight I had 3 xiaolongbao from a campus vendor, I think they were made with lamb because they were good, in a slightly gamey sort of way. I also had a steamed sticky rice thing with roast pork sausage wrapped in bamboo leaf. Getting out of lecture at 8:30 is kind of a pain because all the restaurants are just getting ready to close at 9pm. I don't care to eat at McDonalds while I am here. There's a really sketchy cart down by the electronics store that sells the fried white steamed breads, so I might venture there sometime to get just the bread, but I won't be eating meat from them! I may have iron stomach, but I don't want to push it, especially so early in the game.

I have started parking my bike on campus right by the gate that is close to the hotel (just under the 4th ring road) so as to avoid parking it essentially on the street by the hotel. I figure it blends in perfectly with the 10's of thousands of student bikes parked there, so it is a good compromise to bringing it in the hotel.

Had a funny run in with one of my fellow students today in the classroom bathrooms today; the stalls are all squat johns except for one Western style toilet, which caused some consternation amongst the ladies in the group (wimps). I of course had no qualms using the squat john since I have squatted in many a john around the world, plus these are nicely maintained and clean. I had just come out of the stall and this woman (who is incredibly annoying and appears to be a terrible traveler, which I can't stand) tells me, "I just wanted to let you know that there's a real toilet here." Several very rude and cutting remarks ran through my head (uncharitable as they were) but I just smiled and said, "Thanks, but my mom's family is from China, so I'm well versed in the art of the squat."

Adventures Via Bike and at Student Canteen #5

We had our first full day of classes today, Regional Business Environment: Asia with Professor Goddard (whom I had last trimester for Global Political Economy). Class actually went decently fast, Goddard was generous with breaks and we discussed the Susan Shirk book in the afternoon. We broke down into smaller groups to present certain chapters from the book and my group had the Japan chapter. It was pretty interesting and our summary provoked a long discussion. The gist of our thesis was that while Japan has not been helpful in refusing to properly acknowledge and take responsibility for their atrocities, China has not been helpful in their petty squabbles directed at China, which I chose to represent in doodle form as China blowing a big international raspberry at Japan.

At lunch Franklin took us to the student meals office to get our meal cards set up. For 10 yuan plus whatever you want added you get a special card that is usable in any of the student canteens on campus. The food is subsidized by the government so it's incredibly cheap. Franklin also said he'd take us to the cafeteria afterwards, but in what was not a shocker, there was only one lady at the meals office who could process the cards, so I made sure to get in line first and then jet once I was done. I went to Student Canteen #5, which Franklin had recommended yesterday. The setup is total madhouse by Western standards, pretty normal for Chinese standards. You walk in and join the milling mass of students waiting by the kitchen. There are handwritten signs on the glass displaying the dishes available, none of which seem to designate what kinds of meat are being used. I found it best to just point and wave at what I wanted. One must wriggle to the front of the line somehow and then order dishes as desired. The attendant then punches in the price to a little reader and you swipe your card. Or, should I say, you insert you card, wait a few seconds for it to register and then you're good to go. I had some kind of spicy chicken, a green peppers and pork dish and rice. It was very tasty and at only 5 yuan, a total bargain. As it turned out, I'm glad I bounced because everyone else went to a slightly more sedate and less chaotic place to eat, which did not sound as authentic and fun.

After lunch I broke down and bought a bike from the student bike shop. Total plus basket and longer seat post (yeah, it was too short for me) was 270 yuan, about $40. It cuts down on the commute like something crazy. I still get some funny looks but not as many as just walking. I commuted home on the bike, which was nice because I go through campus to avoid the nasty traffic and it took about half the time of walking. I did some kind of funky maneuvers however which were a little bit heart attack inducing (I will save the descriptions so as not to freak out my parents) but I made it back safely. I parked it in the bike parking lot by the corner of my hotel. For 3 mao (like 30 cents) a guy is supposed to keep an eye on my bike. One thing about Beijing that is very odd--everyone only locks the wheel of their bikes but not the frame to anything solid. No wonder bike theft is such an issue! I only hope that this bike doesn't get stolen. Otherwise I am taking a cab to the nearest Carrefour and will buy a fold-up that I keep in my room.

I grabbed a quick ramen to go from the Japanese restaurant next to the hotel, I managed to communicate that I wanted to get my meal "to go", which was fun. The ramen was OK, kind of oily (like everything here). I wanted a rice dish but they were out of rice (WHAT?? I know, ridiculous) so I had to make do. I watched a great soap about Qing dynasty China that is kind of like Kung Fu Panda but with people instead of pandas, and now am watching some Chinese opera. I don't care about what Cross Cultural Communications says about embracing other cultures, but this stuff sounds totally terrible. I wish Jessica were here! She comes in a week. :/

Power Walking & Critical Mass

Today was a very busy day; Franklin from the Beida Exchange Program Office met us at the FX hotel in the morning to walk us to the campus. I was comfortably ensconced in the lobby, consuming my exciting breakfast of giant scallion egg crepe pancake and warm soy milk purchased from the breakfast cart across the way. For just 3 Yuan I had a yummy and fulfilling breakfast--way better than the cold, crusty buns the rest of the kids picked up at a local bakery. The ordering process is really fun, you have to push to the front of the line, avoiding being cut, and then quickly order what you want or else they get impatient. I will have to take a photo tomorrow of the crepe maker--he has a round stone and little wood pusher, just like les crepiers francais!

The walk to campus took over 30 minutes. We walked in a group (of course, ugh, I'm so over groups) and had to cross several streets. With the Chinese easy-come-easy-go method of road rules (both vehicular and pedestrian), crossing the road can either be very convenient (as one does not have to wait for a crossing or even a light) or a complete nightmare (as it's completely laissez-faire). Busses, cars, taxis, mopeds, scooters, electric bikes and delivery tractors all compete for space on the road, and don't appear to necessarily observe all traffic signals or rules. Meanwhile, groups of pedestrians congregate at crossing points and eventually reach a critical mass such that they can forge out into the street without fear of being run over. I'm not really sure who decides when the appropriate time for crossing is reached, but the herd mentality takes over and everyone steps out into the void together. Franklin told us that if we always cross the street with a group of Chinese people, we will not get hit. I am 95% convinced this is true.

Our classroom is way over by the eastern gate of campus, whereas our hotel is near the Southwest gate. We did not have our Peking University IDs in the morning, so we had to go the long way around, which took forever. I did at least get to see the Olympic Ping Pong venue (oh, joy). There is also construction for the last bit of the walk, so you have to walk in the bike lane which is used as a two way street for non-vehicular traffic as well as pedestrian. Everyone stared at me, which is par for the course in China, although you can always tell who is a country bumpkin vs. sophisticated city dweller; the bumpkins stare openly and blatantly, whereas the Beijingers make covert little glances. At least no one has run up to me and tried to shout "HELLO! HELLO!" like they did the last time I was in Beijing.

Orientation was pretty standard stuff, the usual about cultural sensitivity and survival. We did at least get our Beijing Daxue student IDs, which are super key--we can use them to access facilities on campus such as the gym or library (although we have to pay an extra 10 yuan in order to get a reading card), and because Beida is so prestigious (the Harvard of China) we can also use them as ID outside of campus, such as for our credit cards or if we get pulled over and questioned by the police. [Just to clarify, there are many names for this school, all of which I use interchangeably: Peking University, Beijing Daxue and Beida.] The T-bird students were surprisingly quiet during the orientation and stupid questions were kept to a minimum--I think it was the jet lag. Lunch was provided, in the form of Subway (the horror!).

I wolfed down my sandwich and went outside into the lovely early spring day (high 60's) to purchase a SIM card for my mobile telephone. The cards are purchased at tobacco/magazine kiosks, inevitably staffed by a somewhat lackadaisical albiet friendly young lady. One asks for a "SIM ka" or "dian hua ka" and is presented with a list of available telephone numbers. The more 8's in the number, the more expensive. The more 4's, the cheaper (the word for four, si, has a phoenitic but not tonal match to the word for death, whereas eight, or ba, is the same as fortune). I shelled out for a number with TWO 8's (the luxury!) plus a 50 yuan credit for the phone. For a total of US$15 I am now a proud China Mobile customer. After returning to the lunch room, I turned around and went back out again with Ben Malki, and bought a second card for him. I felt accomplished in that I was able to speak Chinese well enough to make myself understood.

The afternoon was taken up by "Survival Chinese Class", which was advertised as being for those with zero Chinese skills. I took the opportunity to jet out of there, and went on a quest to find a bike. Beida has a bike shop on campus, which was run by some surly and rather unfriendly young gentlemen who refused to bargain even a little bit on a dusty bike, the only one I could see that would fit my ridiculously long legs (both by US and metric measurements). They wanted 210 Yuan, which I found out later was a decent price, but I don't really want a shiny new bike--I want to hit up the used bike market at Wulikou bridge (or something like that, I will have to check tomorrow) so I can find my beloved used Flying Pigeon brand bike (the Communist state-owned bike). I'd also like to find something with front basket already attached. I've noticed that outside our hotel there is a bike parking lot where you pay 1 yuan or so and then you can park your bike supervised. The other option is to get a foldable bike and bring that up to the room. I think it's more of the Beijing experience to get the clunker and park it outside, however.

I went back to the hotel and checked email, and then walked back to the classroom. All I can say is that it is FAR! I clocked myself, walking pretty darn fast, and it took me exactly 20 minutes to get to the beginning of the construction section, where I ran into the group heading for the group picture. We all stood in line for a while, got the photo and then went into the Shaoyuan building for a yummy welcome banquet. Many delicious northern Chinese foods were offered, including some new melon varieties I hadn't yet tried. Mike Logan and I had fun introducing the foreign students to various wacky vegetables and meats. Nikhil just got in from Mexico, so he was very excited to see Peking Duck, which he called a "Chinese taco."

After the dinner Mike Logan and I hit up the electronics superstore to get him a cell phone (250 yuan) and me a flash drive (160 yuan, not the best price but whatever I needed one). Then I had to sit down and write my stupid critique for Goddard's class tomorrow on Susan Shirk's book China: Fragile Superpower. Pretty much everyone left it 'till the last minute, so we're all ensconced in our hotel rooms cranking away. I finished up around 11pm, so I'm off to the old sensory deprivation chamber for bed. Tomorrow classes start for real... or at least our first class.

Welcome to the FX hotel. Give us your money!!!

The flight from SFO to Beijing was very uneventful. My brilliant plan of "stay up all night before your flight leaves" yielded very poor results on the way to the airport, as I was super tired, but is genius for trans-Pacific flights as you can't help but sleep almost the whole way. I sweet-talked the gate agent into giving me Economy Plus without having to pay for the upgrade, so I was able to have a little more room than usual. I woke up only to eat, which is pretty impressive for 12 hour flight.

Landing in Beijing was quite a trip for me--the last time I was in Beijing it was 1997 and things were completely different. Terminal 3, the new international terminal completed for the Olympics, is spanking new and enormous. It has a beautiful, skylit roof, that resembles the Needler gun from Halo 1 on the outside, but results in a fascinating architectural element on the inside. The immigration line was typically LONG, since China always puts all foreign nationals in one line and you are stuck behind all the Filipinos trying to come into the country without a visa. I waited so long that the immigration officials actually opened up the Chinese Nationals section to everyone. I immediately defected and ran over there and got waved through no problem. I even conversed with the agent in Chinese! Yay, me!

Baggage was already on the carousel, so that was easy. I was able to take a shuttle from the airport to the FX Hotel, which was pre-arranged by the Beijing Daxue people. The hotel is OK, it's very modern styling, but somewhat impractical. The room is tiny and has almost no storage space. We'll have to see what happens when Jessica arrives; we may not both fit. The hotel also tried to suck me into paying 30 days up front, to which I said no way--we agreed on 2 weeks in advance.

I went to what I thought was Panos' room but found Mike Logan instead, hanging out with his friend Cordell (who lives in Beijing). We chatted for a while and then went to get dinner. We just walked around the area until we saw a place that was crowded. It turned out to be an "everything on a stick" restaurant that was REALLY tasty and so cheap! We had chicken wings, beef skin muscle, lamb, chicken hearts and grilled bread plus green papaya salad and tomatoes with two beers all for just 50 Yuan (approx. $7). Mike and I plan to hang out and use our Chinese skills together. We're kind of the Wonder Twins on this one, him being a halfie as well.

I had grand plans to read more of China: Fragile Superpower for Goddard, but am pretty tired. The beer got to me I think. I will just hit the sack and get up fresh for tomorrow.

Off with a bang!

I'm finally off! Friday was a crazy mix of running errands, packing, tying up loose ends and taking Caroline to Sky Harbor. I made my necessary farewells to everyone and got a ride to the airport (6am, ugh) from Morgan, whom I bamboozled into giving me a ride the other night.

I'm finally excited to hit Beijing--I also managed to fit everything into my nice normal sized orange LL Bean bag. Everyone else brought like ridiculous amounts of clothes and bags and whatever. I'll just buy what I need. I'm hoping Beijing won't be too cold, as I did not bring a serious winter coat; I plan to have James In Beijing's tailor, Mr. Ding, hook me up with a cute little 18th century riding habit style coat. Yes, like the Cylons, I have a plan.

I just have to get through the flight to SFO on US Airways, and then the 14 hour long trans Pacific flight to Beijing. Donny (our Beida contact) promises to have a bus pick us up at the airport at 4pm local time on Sunday. See you all on the flip side!

The Set Up

I decided to start a blog so that I could share my travels and experiences with a wider range of folks. I'll be abroad in China for the next few weeks studying abroad at Beijing Daxue, aka Beida, aka Peking University and then I'll be off to South Africa for the summer to intern with Wizzit, a microfinance institution that uses cellular phones for banking. It's gonna be wild! Welcome, and hang on tight--this one goes to 11.