Houhai Lake

It's spring already, how time really flies. I have been trying to settle down in Beijing for 6 months, yet I still doesn't feel like "I am home" yet. I have to say I am having so many mixed emotions living in China, can't really say that I like living here, but I can't really claim I don't like living here. The city itself amazed me in so many ways and it's really a challenge for me to learn how to speak Chinese. The people..now that is difficult to be explained, difficult to be understood, I am not saying I haven't meet good people here, it's just that I find it so difficult to deal and live together with the local people, amid the language barrier, they are uniqely complicated and yet you can't help feeling you really want to conquer them, to make friends with them, to understand them, to live in harmony with them. But hey, the first 6 months they say is the most difficult time, I hope it pass me soon. I know it's complicated to explain, how tough life is here, but in the same time it's a wonderful experiences. I read a book a little while ago, that might describe my feeling about China ;

"The gnarled pine. That is China. Horticulturalist from around the world have come to study it. Yet no one has ever been able to explain why it grows like a corkscrew, just as no one can adequately explain China. But like that tree, there it is, old, resilient and oddly magnificent. Within that tree are the elements in nature that have inspires Chinese artist for centuries : gesture over geometry, subtlety over symmetry, constant flow over static form..." - Saving Fish from Drowning, Amy Tan-

I miss the lake in Darmstadt, when we visited the Houhai Lake last month. It's a tottaly different environment of course. People can go ice skating on the Houhai or even they swim in it eventhough the water still icy cold. But still I love the view...and the red boat house.

Houhai lake

the red boat house

Not so far from the lake, there is a temple where people go and pray. The temple is beautiful and represent the true nature of Chinese people, like what I've read in the book by Amy Tan ;

"..and the temples, walk in and touch them. That is China. Don't merely stare at those murals and statue. Fly up to the crossbeams, get down on your hands and knees, and press your head to the floor tiles. Hide behind that pillar and come eye to eye with its flecks of paint. Imagine that you are an interior decorator who is a thousand years in age. Start with a bit of Tibetan Budhism, add a smidgen of Indian Budhism, a dab of Han Budhism, plus a dash each of Animism and Taoism.

Guanghua Temple.
 Initially built during Yuan Dynasty, it has five buildings in one compound. The temple was a wellknown Budhist temple in Beijing. It was transformed into the library in 1908 and then restored to the temple now.

do u see the red shoves ? i like that everything is in one red color theme..

even the benches foot are in sync in red...

"A hodgepodge, you say ? No. What is in those temples is an amagalm that is pure Chinese, a lovely shabby elegance, a glorious messy motley that makes China infinitely intriguing " - Saving Fish from Drowning, Amy Tan-

Now..I've gotta get some sleep now..hope I will find some more time to make another posts about our journey in China. Another intriguing experiences that will yet drag us closer to a clear description about China and how we feel about living here. Until then, have a nice long weekend and Happy Easter to you !!

Weekend at the traditional market

What were you doing this weekend, mine was trying to slow down after a hectic week. We didn't have any big plan, just to explore our nearby compound as we just settle in to a new apt. The weather in Beijing is rather cold this day. It is predicted that next week will reach zero degree. I never feel like I am ready when winter is approaching, I hope I could find the guts to brave the cold this time. Time like this all you want to do is just bundle up on the couch, watching TV nonstop. Well they said the heater will be turn on nationally on November 15, which mark an official winter day...can't wait for that...*ehm..

Anyway, we found a traditional market not so far from our apartment compound yesterday. What I like most about traditional market is the hustle bustle of people in a hurry, the bargaining buzz and the local stuff that they offer which could surprise you in lots of way. For example here they sell fresh frogs and turtles that are still aliveas we speak and would be slaughtered right away as soon as we order it, yes they eat frogs and no I don't have pictures of those cute amphibien in their showcase...

Like most of local traditional market in Beijing, they sell groceries such as vegetables and fruits, they also sell rice and peanuts (they are crazy of chestnut)...and fresh homemade noodles. Here are some pictures of things that captured my attention...

fresh made noodle..yummy..

It's orange season now..everywhere you see people are selling orange..small, big, medium orange..

I don't know why carrots are so big in this city..

I think every city has its own authenticity, they know best of what locals would buy and their favorite food. The Chinese loves grilled chestnut and all kind of peanuts, you could see chestnut stalls everywhere. I remember when we went to Istanbul last summer, the Turkish also loves all kind of peanuts and when we stumbled in a traditional market which sells fresh vegetables, we saw that they too are selling different kind of homemade olives,which is unusual...by this I mean not all traditional market sells olives like this below..

yummy olives

 

 

The vegetables in that Turkish traditional market were so colorful I couldn't help but took tons of pictures of them, but of course I wouldn't bore you with my vegetables obsession. Anyway, I know you'll get the idea of what I am trying to talk about here. There so many things happens in a traditional market, it reflects real people in its own root, and of course local markets provide fresh goods with affordable price, that is the best thing about it. Enuff said, gotta take a rest, have to run again tomorrow, hope you all had a good weekend and ready to face another Monday. Cheers !!

Beijing Skyscrappers

When we decided to move to Beijing, first thing that came into my mind is the ancient city. The traditional building on the Tiananmen Square where people used bicycle everywhere and all of that. Those imagination faded when I first landed in Beijing few weeks ago.

True we haven't yet visited Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall (they say autumn is the perfect season to go to the great wall). Nevertheless what we experienced in the last few weeks were beyond my imagination. One thing that is correct when people describe this city as huge, wide and massive. The street was really wide and just to go from one district to the other will take one day of your time. That how huge this city is. People. Yes, men and women, they are abundant, especially when you try to commute every morning and compete with them to get in the subway.

However, last weekend, we wandered to other part of the city, Guamao District the oldest business part, CBD (Central Business District). This section is full of skyscrappers, tall and huge buildings back to back. When we first saw these buildings, they're a little bit wow-ed us. It was like you expecting to see a traditional picture and come out and look at one modern urban city that tempted you to explore more.The more you see it, the more you want to get to know more.

CCTV Headquarters

One of them is the huge China Central Television Headquarters which was designed by Rem Koolhaas from Netherland. Believe me when I said, we just standing in front of it and stunned. What was that ??? It is difficult to explain whether you would compliment the building or anything else. Even the Chinese are undecided whether this building is a towering landmarks or lasting eyesores. One of the local newspaper wrote about this China new face architecture and said : 

"Is china a playground for international architects or an abused testing ground for bad design ? These Urban Gurus not only brought their cutting edge design here, but also brought the whole worlds attention to what can be built in China....but later raised doubts and reflections of whether the country was being misused as a testing ground for maverick projects."  

(Bad Boy Architects & China New Face, Liu Yujie, China Daily, Oct, 16, 2011)

 

 I love this pink building !!

Reignwood Tower

 

Huuwaa..enuff about the skyscrappers...not far from Guamao section there is a traditional market where the gate is exactly what I have in mind when I haven't got arrived here.Somehow I thought that all the architecture building in Beijing would look like or similarly have these kind of design...however..reality check wouldn't misleading you..

" Zaha Hadid, the world's foremost female architect drives it home when she compares China to 

"a perfect blank canvas" for architects with unlimited creation."

(Bad Boy Architects & China New Face, Liu Yujie, China Daily, Oct, 16, 2011)

Now, what have the Beijing urbane-ers do in their leisure times ? We went to the famous Sanlitun, shopping section and saw how packed the Apple store, most of the youngster used iphone or ipad almost everywhere...

apple store is packed with customers

However, you could enjoy all the festivities of weekend in this area, it's beautiful in its own bizarre way. Now I have to revise my description about Beijing whenever family and friends ask me, because in every way it is now becoming as a huge metropolitan city where you could find almost anything, anything beyond your imagination. However I will hold that revised description until I visit other part of Beijing that were labeled traditional...another trip to Forbidden city will do for that..until then...

 

Well, there it goes, and this is only the beginning of our own journey...will post another story on how I find this city surprising in every corner...meanwhile I must get back to my unpacking duties..and a plan to search for some furniture to decorate our new home...hope you have an exiting weekend too !! ciao !!