Cloudy in Beijing Blogging about my time in China

New and old

From this angle, Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts looks a lot like a flying saucer. The actual building, however, is the egg-shaped dome in the center. Surrounding it is an artificial lake.

It's one of the newest buildings in the city and opened to the public in December 2007. Reportedly, the building cost around $460 million dollar to construct it. The place can seat about 5,452 people. Do the math and that's about $84,000 to make each seat.

Shows of all kinds go on all year.  Swan Lake will be performed next week. The building also holds art exhibitions.

Still you have to pay about $4 dollars to walk around inside. Probably a way to recoup the costs.

In terms of it architecture, there's nothing very Chinese about it. The man behind the building's design was French architect Paul Andreu, who's known for his work on several international airports. Now I think I know why he included this giant window ceiling.

Things aren't all that sleek-looking everywhere in Beijing. A 5-minute bike ride from apartment is an older neighborhood. One of my classmates calls it "the village" and I have to admit, going there feels like entering a time warp.

Blocks of gray concrete form the backdrop. And all the buildings look rundown. People dump their used water in the streets. Unleashed dogs scamper around. There's a lot of mud lying about. Definitely a few plants and trees could be used here.

Whenever I come by, I feel a bit lost. The alleyways can be  like a maze. Once while riding my bike, I also almost crashed into some clothes that was hung out to dry.

Still, somehow cars can squeeze their way into these narrow alleyways. They mainly do so by honking and yelling at you.

They sell lots of things on the streets here, some of which I'm not totally sure if you can buy. The other day, someone flung out some meat and hanged three slabs across a string on the sidewalk.  I wasn't sure if someone was selling it, or if it was trash. I'm not even sure why there was furniture hanging outside on the streets. I didn't see too many customers wanting to buy a snow covered couch.

I'm not sure what to think of this place. Some might call it an eyesore, others would say its home. But one of the best things about this neighborhood is the food. The Kung Pao in the restaurants here is damn good. I keep coming back for more.

Wedding

My aunt invited me to a wedding in Beijing this past weekend. I didn't know the young couple, or really anyone there. But it was a chance to see a Chinese wedding, so I decided to attend.

As you can tell, the room the wedding was held in was quite red. In China, the color symbolizes joy and is central to any Chinese wedding. (As for the color white, it traditionally symbolizes death in China).

Though my experience is very limited, I'd have to say that Chinese weddings are a lot more like banquets. This one was held in the restaurant of a hotel. For much of the time we sat at our tables while the ceremonies commenced. I watched as I ate some snacks.

To officiate the wedding, an announcer was present, equipped with his own microphone . He acted as if he were both priest and comedian, asking the couple to exchange vows, while also commenting about how much sweat was covering the groom's face.

Along with the food available at our tables, free cigarettes were also offered. This despite a sign in the restaurant saying smoking was banned.

I also thought that the dress code was going to be me more formal. But I must have been the only guest wearing a tie. All the while cigarette smoke fumed over a couple of the tables.

In some ways, the ceremony felt very similar to how weddings are held back in America. The bride was dressed in a white gown, and the groom was in a black suit. Even "Hey Jude" played at one point during the ceremony.

I asked my aunt about what she thought of the wedding. She commented that when she got married, the guests bought her gifts, which she could use on a daily basis; she remembers one person buying her a wok. But now at a lot of weddings, people will give the newly wed couple money in the form of cash tucked in a red envelope. "People's expenditures are much higher now," she added.

It was a good event. I got a bunch of free food. And everyone was happy. Yay!

Fake warlord

China has a lot of fake products circulating around. Fake DVDs are the most common. Then there are the fake watches, the fake iPods, the fake Prada bags, and the plenty of other cheap imitation goods one can find in the markets here. A friend even told me his mom once bought a fake sea cucumber in China. (It turned out to be made out of cardboard).

But sometimes these knock-offs can rile the public. A year ago, China had a problem with what was essentially "fake milk." (800 infants were hospitalized). Before that, there was another big scandal with fake tiger photos. A farmer had fabricated them in the hope that people would believe the South China Tiger still existed in the wild.

So it's not always easy to tell what is real and what isn't in China; now I'm always a little afraid I might be poisoning myself when I drink milk here.

In my experiences, many of the people in China are just as cautious. But their suspicions don't just extend to the products they're buying.

Back in December the media reported that archaeologists had discovered the ancient tomb of Cao Cao, a Chinese warlord made famous by the historical epic Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

In my own freelancing I had interviewed one of the archaeologists, who was convinced they had found the legendary figure's final resting place. I wrote the article, thinking that was that.

If it was a lesser-known warlord this might have been true. But Cao Cao is a major cultural figure in China. The ancient ruler, though dead for 1,800 years,  has become a legend, being featured in movies, televisions shows, plays, and even video games. News of the discovery was thus a major headline. And as more people read about it, very quickly suspicions were raised.

Immediately, there were experts and netizens wondering if the artifacts archaeologists were fakes. Their reasoning was that the tomb had been tainted by looters, who had first discovered the site, and may have planted fabrications inside. (One of the discovered artifacts is pictured above.) Other netizens and news articles suggested that government officials were motivated to make the discovery simply to turn it into a tourist attraction and raise money for the province.

Soon there was a flood of doubt within the public to disbelieve the discovery, even as archaeologists have tried to make their case. Now An online poll shows that 60 percent of the people surveyed don't believe the tomb is real. A few friends of mine don't believe it's genuine either.

I'm sure the archaeologists would have saved themselves quite a bit of trouble if they had just said they had "possibly" discovered Cao Cao's tomb, rather than with full affirmation. It was only after the controversy exploded that China's archaeology department was forced to back peddle and say they hadn't made a final conclusion on the discovery yet.

The story is still ongoing; a university in Shanghai has offered to do a DNA test on a corpse found in the tomb, which is believed to be Cao Cao's body. But regardless, the credibility of China's archaeology field has taken a major hit from this. The next time a big discovery comes along, I'm sure the archaeologists involved will be more careful, if not hesitant, to announce it.

I think it's good for a public to question the authority. (This is what journalism is all about after all.)  But the level of disbelief in China is surprising.  I can't quite imagine this ever happening in America, or at least becoming such a big topic. At the same time I've never heard of a fake archaeological discovery before. Yet China does have a history of fakes. Thus it's easy for caution, doubt and a great deal of cynicism to foment among the people here.

But this is also a country where information is filtered and censored. It may not be fake, but the information can make you wonder what you are reading is genuine and not missing something. That very fact makes news here feel untrustworthy, even if it may be 100 percent true. (Thankfully, foreign media outlets are not blocked on the Internet here.)

What it'll take for China to gain that sort of credibility in the future I don't know. Still, I like a lot of the fake stuff China has to offer; I recently bought some bootleg computer games for less than 25 cents. (I'm worried they might be loaded with viruses though.) But as for the possibility of a fake warlord tomb, let's hope it doesn't get to that level.

So long Harbin

The taxi driver laughed when we told him it was cold.

"What are you talking about? It's warm," he said. "The weather has been much better these last several days."

True. Relatively speaking Harbin's weather has been warmer than the -2 Fahrenheit temperatures it usually sees in January.

"It just takes a few days and then you get used to it," the taxi driver told me.

I looked at myself. Two sweaters I had on, which were then covered below a thick winter jacket. I then wore a double layer of pants, as well as double layers of socks and gloves. A long gray scarf wrapped around my neck, with a red winter cap topping things off. And still my bloated body of warmth could feel the bitter cold seep in whenever I stepped outside.

My ass you get used to it.

Harbin is a very exotic place. The city has a whole industry devoted to the building of ice sculptures. The ice itself is created at the nearby lake, and chopped into blocks by a machine. Our taxi driver said the ice festival gets bigger and better every year. "During this winter, the ice was especially thick," he added.

When you look back into the history of a city in China, you often find buildings constructed in the style of Chinese traditional architecture. But in Harbin, that's not the case.

Harbin is located so far north that the city once had a large Russian population during the early 20th century. This is a picture of St. Sophia Cathedral, a former Russian Orthodox Church.

Many of the buildings in the city have a certain Russian/European flair to them. This is a picture inside a Russian restaurant. Russian souvenirs are also very popular in the stores here. I bought some vodka.

Just outside of the city is a Siberian Tiger park. For some extra money you can watch the keepers feed the tigers a live chicken, lamb, or other animal. I decided to forgo the tiger feasting so kept my wallet closed.

They call this the "Kill Pig Dish" or 杀猪菜, an unnecessarily violent name when said in English. Popular in Northeastern China, the dish originated as a way for farmers to celebrate the coming new year. They would kill a pig and then boil it with some pickled Chinese cabbage. Nothing too fancy, but hearty.

Harbin also possesses some very sad and horrifying history. About 12 miles south of the city are the remains of what could be perhaps called China's version of Auschwitz.

The site was where a Japanese military division called Unit 731 researched and developed germ warfare during World War II. They did so by performing experiments on captured test subjects, many of who were Chinese.

According to the museum based at the site, at least 3,000 people were cruelly terminated in the unit's laboratories. Prisoners were often infected with a disease and then had their internal organs removed for study. At least 300,000 people were also maimed or slaughtered by the germ warfare the unit produced.

One of the signs at the museum reads below:

"Early in the 20th century, the Japanese militarists flagrantly flouted the international conventions, and clandestinely plotted biological and chemical warfare in an attempt to realize the political ambition of dominating Asia and ruling the world. Very quickly such weapons were used in the battlefield, making the Japanese militarists the most vicious Fascist war criminals in human history."

This is a picture of bombs Unit 731 created. The designers made sure to make the casing ceramic, perhaps so that the bomb would shatter and thus spread out the the germs encased inside.

These were hangers used to hold up dissected remains of test subjects.

The original site of where Unit 731 worked once covered a vast campus of buildings. But at the end of the war, the Japanese soldiers abandoned the facility and destroyed many of the buildings. Now only a few remain. Real estate developers have already built on parts of the original site.

Still, the museum is quite intent on preserving the past. As one sign reads below:

"Forgetting about the history means betrayal. By exposing the criminal past of unit 731, we want to preserve the facts in order to warn future generations. Let history usher in a peaceful, civilized and progressive human society, and prevent a recurrence of historical tragedy."

I can only imagine how awkward it would be for a Japanese person to visit this museum.

I left Harbin last night, saying a goodbye and perhaps a tiny bit of a  good riddance to this ultra-cold city.  But indeed, this place is quite special.

Now I've returned to Beijing, where temperatures are at 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Feels like winter is ending.

Ice festival

For most of the day, I couldn't feel my hands or feet. My face could barely even smile when I posed for a picture.

At times I've felt like a frozen zombie as I've walked through this frigid city. Harbin has to be the coldest place I've ever been too. I don't know why people live here.

Still, it has a pretty awesome ice festival.

Harbin has an annual snow and ice festival, which has become the main attraction for the city during the winter. The structures are made out of blocks of ice with LED lights giving them color.

The place reminded me of Disney Land. The builders even carved this giant ice slide which people could ride on.

These people were forming a conga line as music played from a concert floor. I don't know how they could dance. I could barely move my body.

Harbin

It may seem kind of stupid, but I've decided to take a short trip to even colder place than Beijing.

Today, I arrived in Harbin, a city up in China's northeastern corner.  Harbin is infamous for it's extremely cold winters; the average temperature in January is -2 degree Fahrenheit. My landlord told me when he went to Harbin, one of his ears froze and now he can't hear quite well from it anymore.

In spite of the temperatures, Harbin is a very pretty city and well-known for its ice sculptures. All across the city streets are statutes and art made out of blocks of ice.

While exploring Harbin last night, my classmate and I came across this statue of a Pac-Man. Sadly, we found no ice ghost statues chasing after it.

When I arrived in Sunday, the temperature was warmer than usual for Harbin. Still it was quite cold, at about 16 degrees Fahrenheit. It was somewhat painful to take these pictures, since it meant I had to take off my gloves and expose them to the cold air in order to properly hold my camera.  This picture is of Central Street.

I came to Harbin to meet several of my classmates already here. Tonight we visited an ice bar. The entire building was basically an igloo, with all the walls, tables and chairs fashioned out of ice. The makers had even carved an ice piano at the bar. As can be expected, it was quite cold in there. I felt a little sorry for the bartender.

The apartment

This past week I finished my finals (feeling: good), and bid farewell to a few of my departing classmates (feeling: sad).

I also had to pack my things and move into a new apartment. Now that I'm finally here and settled, I have to say this feels like I landed a nice deal: a ten-minute bike ride from my classes, an own room to myself, and pretty cheap. A definite upgrade from living in the school dorms. It also has some pleasant views.

I decided to move off campus so that I could better immerse myself with Beijing's local culture. Below my apartment is a supermarket 齐天府超市, along with some barbershops.

I also have a new roommate named Max, who happens to be from Germany. I've only met him once; recently he returned back to his home country to see family.  Apparently, he may be gone often because he works for Hainan Airlines.

The apartment is a bit worn and feels old. The doors to elevator are a faded green and they grudgingly pry themselves open when a passenger needs to enter. Sometimes I'm not sure which elevator button I should press  since a few of the coverings have fallen off; today I figured out which one closes the elevator doors.

There's also a small table in the corner of the elevator with a phone placed on top of it. A sign located on the wall says: "If the elevator stalls don't panic."

My apartment, located on the tenth floor, also has an old man sitting on the steps leading to it. Next to him is a pile of collected trash, which he sorts. Once done, the old man bundles them up and heads down stairs.

With this past semester done and now in a new apartment, it feels like a new chapter is beginning for me (although New Year's has long passed, the Chinese one is just around the corner.

I do feel lucky to have found this place, especially after having to deal with apartment hunting in Beijing. That itself was an experience I hope I don't have to go through again anytime soon.

Normally you would say "no" when you've found an apartment that has no bathroom. (Instead you had to go walk out and use the public facilities. That or go to the local McDonalds.)

You'd also say "no" if you found out it took an hour to get from your apartment to your school. (Traffic in Beijing sucks).

And you would also want to avoid dealing with an apartment agent, since they just add more to the cost. (Some of the shadier agents have also been known to cheat unsuspecting people for their money my Chinese friend warned.)

But this is Beijing, where cheap apartments aren't easy to find. Working with my budget, suddenly the no bathroom apartment didn't look too bad.

Thankfully, I caught notice of an ad at The Beijinger, an English-language magazine which has a forum geared toward foreigners. No need for an agent.

Apartment hunting in Beijing has also made me realize living in the school dorms wasn't bad at all. To get to class, it only took a 3-minute bike ride. My classmates all lived nearby. The cafeteria food was cheap and sometimes good. Even the housing staff cleaned my room every other day.

Still, it had its rules and restrictions, a few I thought absurd. Hot showers in the morning were only allowed from 7 to 9 am. Who willingly gets up that early, I do not know.

Visitations from friends living outside the dorm were also barred after 11 pm. Why this was put in place, I can guess, since the school probably doesn't want any late night partying. Still, I was recently offended when I was forced out of another neighboring dorm due to the curfew. In response, I secretly snuck back in with the help of six of my classmates who devised an elaborate plan to distract the housing staff. Heheheh...

Now I'm off to live in a new place and excited. It has two bedrooms, a kitchen, living rooms, and of course bathroom. But in no way can it compare to how housing is like in America. A classmate of mine, who is returning to the States, brought up an interesting point. In Beijing, nearly everyone lives in an apartment, and some are faced with rather cramped spaces. But when my classmate returns to America, he'll visit his parents' suburban home. Though their house might be typical for America, compared to the average urban homes in China, it's a near mansion.

I guess one advantage of living in Beijing, is that I'm only paying $161 a month for rent here. Perhaps I'll never live in a place cheaper.

Michael the Diva

One thing that people love to do in China is karaoke.

Last week,  my classmates and I went to one of the many karaoke clubs in the city. Apparently, I got really into it at one point. I think I'm singing Back Street Boys in this picture. Oh Lord... what is my hand doing?