My First Chinese Intersection

July 19, 2010 Beijing

I don't want to know what substance they paint on these peaches to get characters on there.

      Started the day off with a breakfast lychee.

Check out the view from the balcony.

    Then we zipped downstairs to the local coffee shop for a "long black" (translation: americano).  By the end of our trip, it became clear that "coffee shops" in China do not actually serve coffee, just espresso.  Mysterious.  
    Brian, Malva and I strolled to nearby Yashow Market.  Brian and I got to try crossing the street in Beijing for the first time.  It was absolutely terrifying.  Cars, pedestrians, variations on the concept of a bicycle, buses and the occasional dog enmeshed in a dense net, stopping or starting unpredictably.  The distinction between sidewalk, street and bike lanes is indistinct.  Cars, people and vendors go where they please. Lots of honing for no discernible reason. We made it across in fits and spurts.
  Yashow is an indoor market that sells knock-off electronics, shoes, purses, clothes and souvenirs.  As soon as you step in you are assaulted by young girls in pink polo shirts shouting "Hello, Lady! You need t-shirt/purse/shoes/iphone!," and thrusting said product in your face.  If you look at the item "I give you good price."  The "good price" is 5 to 10 times higher than what they will take after haggling.  We went upstairs for manicures and pedicures, an essential part of expat life.

We were told that Beijing has more sex shops per capita than any other city.

   This is the alley behind the fancy, Western style shopping mall next to Yashow Market.
   Next stop, the local police department to register as foreign aliens, which you have to do within 24hrs of entering China.  Afterward, we went to what was to become our favorite place in Beijing, Ritan Park.

This is one of the entrances.

Close up.

      Ritan Park is home to the Temple of the Sun, where Emperors used to offer sacrifices to the sun.  There are beautiful trees, jays, magpies, man-made rock formations, pagodas and a great lotus pond.  Young Beijingers were relaxing, chatting, playing flutes.  Women were line dancing and men were squatting around playing board games or cards or just talking on cell phones.  It is all very serene and lovely.

This is a real tree.  Real pretty.

 

   
      Brian and I had a drink at a bar inside the park, called the Stone Boat.  It is actually a boat made of stone.  Then we had dinner with Malva at Xiao Wang's restaurant which is also inside the park. 

Yum.

 

   Our server was very nice about showing us how to eat Peking Duck.  It's served with thin pancakes.  You rub some brown sauce on, add onions and celery and a piece of roasted duck, making sure to get a piece with skin on it.  In the background of the above photo, you can see a tower of fried potatoes.  Very salty, lots of chilies and onions.

Voila!

The first of many plates of dumplings we enjoyed in China.  My favorite food.

    After the delicious dinner, Malva lead us on a quick walk to a shopping center simply called The Place, to see the largest LCD screen in the world.  Which is cooler than it sounds, due to the jubilant atmosphere underneath.  Lots of babies in their splits pants.  Chinese parents don't use diapers, resulting in much peeing directly on the sidewalk through the giant split in their pants, which in my opinion sort of defies the point of wearing pants at all, but whatever.  The overhead screen is so far overhead that kids were flying kites underneath it. 

That's Brian and me in the blue and red respectively.

  It is notoriously difficult to hail a cab in Beijing when it's raining.  Black taxis and pedicabs try to get your business by simply pointing shouting "Hello" and gesturing to their vehicle.  Black taxis are unregistered taxis who often offer rides to people who are attempting to hail cabs.  It's not a good idea to get in one, because with no accountability they may drive you any place and demand an exorbitant amount of money just to let you out of the car.  While we were trying to outdo the natives at catching a cab, we saw a man stop his car to get out and by some fruit from a stall, thus stopping traffic.  The city bus behind him patiently waited to finish his transaction.