The Beginning in Beijing
Posted by Afrojew2 | | Posted On Tuesday, April 13, 2010 at 2:05 AM
True to my word, I left Seoul on a boat headed for Tianjin, and my much talked about journey had begun. Towards the end of my stay in Korea I was seriously questioning my desire to avoid flying, especially considering my only real phobia is of large bodies of water. But, I put my head down, powered through, bought a ticket, and boarded a huge motherfucking boat for China. It was everything I had hoped for. Nice beds, a smooth ride, time to relax and reflect on time well spent on the other side of the world. And the sea is beautiful. At night, when it was ear-numbingly cold, I went out on the deck and saw complete blackness, except for a few dots of light on the horizon and the wake of the boat.
We also sailed under the longest bridge in the world, the Incheon Bridge, completed just a few months ago. Very cool.
When I got to Tianjin I boarded a bus to Beijing. I thought the ride would take an hour or so, but it ended up taking three. Once in Beijing, I managed to negotiate a taxi ride and by nightfall I had met up with my step-sister Sara, her husband Petri, and their 2 year old son, Emil. They live in a really cool studio where Sara is getting schooled on architecture. One of her classmates put me up in a hotel room he wasn't using in their village. The village, Cao Chang Di was easily the coolest part of Beijing for me. A small village on the outskirts of the city, Cao Chang Di is home to a thriving arts community along with a hard working local community trying to avoid being sucked up into the gigantic vacuum cleaner that is Beijing. I spent a few days biking around the area, eating at the small restuarants, hanging out with Sara, Petri, and their friends, and soaking up the lifestyle.
Petri showed me a really great view of the city from the top of a landfill, where we also found many kids playing. In the village at the foothills of this landfill I had one of the best meals of my life, and I got it simply by pointing blindly at a Mandarin menu.
Right next to Cao Chang Di is the center for contemporary art in the arts center of China: 798. 798 was at one time a factory complex, and now houses the most intense consentration of art galleries I've ever seen. I spent a whole day walking around the place and I'm sure I didn't even hit half of the galleries. I find most contemporary art to be strange and silly, but there was also some really cool stuff there.
One of my days I spent with Petri and Emil walking around Tianamen Square. It's not that easy with a two year old, but aside from the incredible scale of the place and the awe-inspiring feeling I got from standing in front of the seat of government of the biggest and most powerful country in the world, it was relatively unimpressive.
The National Museum of China was closed, and the Forbidden City, while gigantic, is not so very different from many of the temples I saw in Korea. Though, if you were going to visit only one, I'd say this is the one to see. Also, there are so many reasons to call it the "Forbidden City." First, locals have to show their passports to get in and some were denied entry. Second, theres like 4 gates to get through before you're in the city itself. Third, theres so many people there that you can barely move. Fourth, the ticket office is no where close to the entry way and its not easy to find. I could go on, but I won't. This is how I've found most of the touristy stuff in (developed) Asia: too many visitors and not enough satisfaction.
The Great Wall was different. It is one of the few places I've seen that has lived up to its billing. Of course, that may be because I didn't go to the touristy part. Theres about 6 sections to choose from around Beijing, and I chose the furthest from the city. After I found the bus station, thanks to the help of two German guys, a mini-bus driver picked me out of the crowd and asked if I was going to Simatai, which was the section of the wall I wanted to see. Two hours later I was climbing a ridiculously steep section of the Great Wall, unrestored, and with very few tourists.
The views were stunning, even in winter, and the scale of the wall was amazing, exciting, terrifying, and... confusing. There was no way this wall could hold up against an assault. It merely added 10 or so feet to the tops (and bottoms) of 2000 meter high mountains, making them essentially 2003 meters tall with semi-flat places for soldiers to stand. Effective or not, that anyone could construct this thing is absolutely astounding.
My impressions of Beijing were mixed. It is a huge city with an incredible number of people, many of them extremely wealthy and many of them extremely poor. The city itself I did not like. Too big, too many people, too much pollution. Basically its your typical developed Asian city, and I had had enough of that in Korea. Once you step outside the fifth ring road, though, it gets interesting and fun. The small villages give an insight into what I think is, or what used to be, real China, and I am so glad to have stayed in one of the last remaining vestiges of that culture in Beijing.
Next week on Plains, Trains, and Wagons East: The Hard Seat - Curse, or Death Curse?
Real Time Update: I've just arrived in Lviv, Ukraine after four wonderful days in Kiev.
We also sailed under the longest bridge in the world, the Incheon Bridge, completed just a few months ago. Very cool.
When I got to Tianjin I boarded a bus to Beijing. I thought the ride would take an hour or so, but it ended up taking three. Once in Beijing, I managed to negotiate a taxi ride and by nightfall I had met up with my step-sister Sara, her husband Petri, and their 2 year old son, Emil. They live in a really cool studio where Sara is getting schooled on architecture. One of her classmates put me up in a hotel room he wasn't using in their village. The village, Cao Chang Di was easily the coolest part of Beijing for me. A small village on the outskirts of the city, Cao Chang Di is home to a thriving arts community along with a hard working local community trying to avoid being sucked up into the gigantic vacuum cleaner that is Beijing. I spent a few days biking around the area, eating at the small restuarants, hanging out with Sara, Petri, and their friends, and soaking up the lifestyle.
Petri showed me a really great view of the city from the top of a landfill, where we also found many kids playing. In the village at the foothills of this landfill I had one of the best meals of my life, and I got it simply by pointing blindly at a Mandarin menu.
Right next to Cao Chang Di is the center for contemporary art in the arts center of China: 798. 798 was at one time a factory complex, and now houses the most intense consentration of art galleries I've ever seen. I spent a whole day walking around the place and I'm sure I didn't even hit half of the galleries. I find most contemporary art to be strange and silly, but there was also some really cool stuff there.
One of my days I spent with Petri and Emil walking around Tianamen Square. It's not that easy with a two year old, but aside from the incredible scale of the place and the awe-inspiring feeling I got from standing in front of the seat of government of the biggest and most powerful country in the world, it was relatively unimpressive.
The National Museum of China was closed, and the Forbidden City, while gigantic, is not so very different from many of the temples I saw in Korea. Though, if you were going to visit only one, I'd say this is the one to see. Also, there are so many reasons to call it the "Forbidden City." First, locals have to show their passports to get in and some were denied entry. Second, theres like 4 gates to get through before you're in the city itself. Third, theres so many people there that you can barely move. Fourth, the ticket office is no where close to the entry way and its not easy to find. I could go on, but I won't. This is how I've found most of the touristy stuff in (developed) Asia: too many visitors and not enough satisfaction.
The Great Wall was different. It is one of the few places I've seen that has lived up to its billing. Of course, that may be because I didn't go to the touristy part. Theres about 6 sections to choose from around Beijing, and I chose the furthest from the city. After I found the bus station, thanks to the help of two German guys, a mini-bus driver picked me out of the crowd and asked if I was going to Simatai, which was the section of the wall I wanted to see. Two hours later I was climbing a ridiculously steep section of the Great Wall, unrestored, and with very few tourists.
The views were stunning, even in winter, and the scale of the wall was amazing, exciting, terrifying, and... confusing. There was no way this wall could hold up against an assault. It merely added 10 or so feet to the tops (and bottoms) of 2000 meter high mountains, making them essentially 2003 meters tall with semi-flat places for soldiers to stand. Effective or not, that anyone could construct this thing is absolutely astounding.
My impressions of Beijing were mixed. It is a huge city with an incredible number of people, many of them extremely wealthy and many of them extremely poor. The city itself I did not like. Too big, too many people, too much pollution. Basically its your typical developed Asian city, and I had had enough of that in Korea. Once you step outside the fifth ring road, though, it gets interesting and fun. The small villages give an insight into what I think is, or what used to be, real China, and I am so glad to have stayed in one of the last remaining vestiges of that culture in Beijing.
Next week on Plains, Trains, and Wagons East: The Hard Seat - Curse, or Death Curse?
Real Time Update: I've just arrived in Lviv, Ukraine after four wonderful days in Kiev.
Seth you're amazing! C and I are off to Keeneland this weekend and will place bets for you. Can't wait to see you very soon! All our love, P and C.