So soon?! This one better be good...

All dressed up with no place to go

I know what you're thinking - "Didn't he just upload a post only a few days ago?" And, yes, you're correct, I did post something a mere four days prior. But next Friday will be the Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节, followed by National Day 国庆节 on Sunday, the first of October. The latter occasion segues into what's known in China as "Golden Week" 黄金周, when many students and workers receive an extended holiday lasting up to 7-8 days*. My daughter will have a total of ten days off, while yours truly is looking forward to a six-day weekend. We have plans to go out of town during part of that time (provided we don't get mired in any of China's epic traffic jams), so expect a detailed blog post to follow once the holiday period ends. In anticipation of having something more interesting to write about later, here's a brief roundup of what has been happening since the last time you were perusing this blog.

We're fortunate enough to live not far from one of Beijing's 北京 most pleasant public areas, the Liangma River 亮马河. If I'm not running late, I like to stroll along the pathway on my way to the office. I also take the river route home on occasion, which is when I snapped these shots:

Currently there's an outdoor art exhibit extolling the charms of the Liangma through photographs and artworks**. Here a few examples on display to the public:

"Blue Water Clean the Liangma River" 蓝水净, Qiao Jian 乔健

"Overlooking the Liangma River" 俯瞰亮马河, He Li 何丽

"Liangma Harbor" 良马港湾, Zhao Rui 赵瑞

"A Place for New Internet Celebrities to Check-in" 新晋网红打卡地, Wang Guobin 王国斌

“Liangma Riverside" 亮马河畔, He Yongliang 何永亮

The management of our housing compound has put up these neon-red lights in observance of the upcoming Moon Festival. The effect is somewhat akin to that Seinfeld episode where a Kenny Roger's Roaster opens up across from Jerry and Kramer's apartments. Fortunately for us only the guestroom is affected: 

This past Saturday evening (last night, to be more precise), my increasingly active spouse suggested we drive to one of the city's most famous sightseeing spots, the Temple of Heaven 天坛, to see it lit up in all its first-night-of-autumn glory. It was quite a sight, and Shu-E in particular took a lot of shots (most of the following images are from her cell phone camera):

The overall cost of tickets to get inside to see the lights was low, namely because only my wife had to pay. Amber and I were free, as one of us is too old, and the other still too young:

By the light of the silvery moon...:

In case you're wondering why we haven't yet visited the imperial religious complex in the daylight, we have...way back in December of 2013. We made a couple of trips to China's capital while posted in Shanghai 上海 around a decade ago. During that time we did a lot of sightseeing in this country, operating under the assumption we wouldn't be returning following the end of our tour. Little did we know...

Driving home on the East 3rd Ring Road. The strange-looking structure on the right is the CCTV Headquarters building. And, yes, that is the Beatles you hear in the background while I'm driving:

Something I neglected to include in last week's blog entry was the T-shirt I picked up in Mutianyu 慕田峪 last Sunday:

Clad in my tourist tat, and with no special plans for this afternoon, and in conjunction with the already-cooling weather following the official end of summer yesterday, I dusted off my bike and made a tentative first attempt at getting some long-overdue, much-needed exercise. My modest goal was the 25-minute ride from our home to the Beijing Workers' Sports Complex, aka Workers' Stadium 工人体育场. I didn't go inside, but did make a circuit of the outside of the extensive grounds:

Media presented the old-fashioned socialist way...:

...and utilizing that newfangled technology:

Old men gathering to watch other elderly gentlemen play games, a very Chinese sight on holidays and weekends:

My trusty steed, which I've had since our time in Shanghai. I'd like to use it more now that the humidity is abating. But I first need to figure out where to lock it when not riding, as Beijing has a serious shortage of bike racks and other similar facilities. The municipality's convenient share bikes just lock in place wherever riders choose to park them, but my Trek isn't equipped in that manner:

As stated above, we will most likely be heading out of town for a few days during the upcoming holiday. The wife is doing all the planning, which means that I'll get all the blame should anything go wrong. Until then, remember that the love you take is equal to the love you make:

*Before you start feeling envious of the Chinese, note that some of these days off have to be made up by working or going to school on a following weekend. Fortunately, this barbaric system doesn't apply to me or my daughter. 

**My apologies to the artists and photographers for my poor attempts at translating their works.