Straight from the horse's mouth

Longqing Scenic Area lit up at night

The Year of the Snake 蛇 began on January 29. If you're birthday fell between the 1st and 28th of January, you are still a dragon, despite what that coffee mug you bought in a souvenir store in your local Chinatown wants you to think. Because here is China, the Lunar New Year time is chock full of taboos, all of which I comfortably ignored, though I can't vouch for my Taiwanese wife. If you're the kind of person who doesn't want to take responsibility for your own decisions, then you might find this CNN article to be useful. Considering the ongoing uncertainty over where I'm supposed to go next (assuming I'm even still going to have a job before mandatory retirement in a few years' time), and with all the emails and executive orders filling up my work mailbox, the reference to my sign (I'm not an equine) indicating this year I'll enjoy success and self-confidence on the job to be most amusing. 

This year the official Lunar New Year holiday break (i.e. the dates I had off from work) ran from January 28 to 31, though many people took advantage of the weekends bookending this period to take an extended holiday. Not us, however. We already recently enjoyed a three-day weekend in Qingdao 青岛 (see here and here) earlier in January, and towards the end of this month we'll be visiting Hokkaidō 北海道 and Taiwan, so in anticipation of avoiding the monstrous traffic jams associated with the LNY holiday, my wife and I decided to stay home in Beijing 北京. For the most part, that is. 

Our holiday kicked off with another visit from our next-door neighbor, who seems to be making herself more and more at home in our home with each visit. Timi always gets excited when Meow-Meow shows up, though she usually doesn't pay him much attention:

On the Saturday before the start of the Year of the Horse Shu-E and I "discovered" a "new" Japanese restaurant/grocery store called Yuqing Fresh Fish Shop 魚清鮮魚店 or, in the small English print on the sign, "uosei's best fish" (uosei being the Japanese reading for 魚清). Over lunch we shared a bottle of Orion Beer オリオンビール from Okinawa 沖縄...:

...while ordering sashimi 刺身, katsudon カツ丼...:

... and karaage から揚げ, among other dishes:

Afterward, we had a look at the small but well-stocked attached grocery store:

Our basket ended up including pancake mix, nattō 納豆, instant noodles, a Calpis Soda カルピスソーダー and an Otaru Beer 小樽ビール Slow Brew  (we might visit Otaru 小樽 while in Hokkaido):

The above-mentioned beer at home:

The sign might have suggested a Happy Chinese New Year* , but that Saturday was a gloomy one, with the AQI over 170 and the temperature a chilly 4°C/39°F. After returning home from lunch, I dusted off my bike for a ride out to Beijing Chaoyang railway station 北京朝阳站 (the closest railway station to our home) to see if there were any crowds. I didn't go all the way around to the main entrance, but surprisingly few travelers could be seen on the newer side, though lots of police officers and security guards were milling about. The car traffic in the area was also not particularly heavy, and in fact seemed lighter than usual for a weekend afternoon. However, this article suggests Beijing South railway station 北京南站 (which we'd used the weekend before to go to Qingdao) was packed with LNY travelers:

A smoking mushroom standing outside a subway station. There's another one in front of the Japanese Embassy, and a third that I know of close to the Third Ring Road:

My wife started getting into the spirit of the holiday as the Year of the Snake approached:

Looking sexy in his studly gold New Year's necklace despite lacking some important pieces of equipment (though Shu-E could only focus on his expanding gut). I would make a comparison to Burt Reynolds' spread in Cosmopolitan, but that would only reveal how old I'm becoming:

On Sunday the 26th Shu-E and I went by subway to the Beijing Olympic Park 奥林匹克公园, exiting from the station and into the warmth of a shopping mall, where we had lunch at a restaurant heavy on Americana:

Speaking of retro I was in my Los Angeles Kings jersey. I followed the team from the mid-1970s to the early 80s. I witnessed in person the Miracle on Manchester (video), otherwise known as Game 3 of the 1982 semi-finals when the Kings came back from 5-0 down to win 6-5 in overtime over Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers. The reason I could be there was thanks to my best friend being the nephew of then-Kings owner Jerry Buss, who gave us tickets to the game at the Fabulous Forum, where we sat in the VIP section with luminaries such as Buddy Ebsen and Jimmy Connors. And if those names aren't familiar to the young 'uns out there, look them up on Wikipedia:

I had the Beijing Duck Tacos. They were similar to the actual dish, except with a tortilla instead of the usual thin pancake:

Our destination that Sunday was the China National Arts and Crafts Museum...again. It was my first visit since the language school's "Immersion Week" activity in the autumn of 2022, while the girls were there back in December when our daughter was visiting during her college's winter break:

The reason for my wife and I going was a special exhibit on the Lunar New Year. Here Shu-E dances along to the video playing behind her:

Many families were present and out in force:

My wife sits down to enjoy a virtual LNY eve feast:

The "exhibition" turned out to be a massive holiday market:

Images of celebrations across China included this photo from the Taiwanese city of Chiayi 嘉義. According to the caption two coastal villages on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share the same name, Dongshi (東石 vs. 东石), and a similar Lantern Festival custom, and of course we all know what is being implied here: 

Buying a cup of Yunnan-style milk tea...:

...brewed with edible flowers, though I ended up leaving them in the cup. I don't order bubble tea because I don't care much for tapioca balls, so I'm not a fan of extraneous items floating in my drink:

One of the few items on display in the museum that actually appeared to have some age to it was this ancient-looking door:

One of my wife's favorite pieces was a ceramic blue and white vase with "nine sons and thirteen grandsons" (2008) on it:

The one time we left town during the holiday happened on New Year's Eve (Tuesday the 28th). From past experience we gambled that as most locals would be focused on spending the day with their families (culminating in a big feast), roads and sightseeing spots (assuming the latter were open) would be largely free of vehicles and visitors, respectively. That assumption would turn out to be correct. 

After doing some research, Shu-E decided the Longqingxia Scenic Area 龙庆峡 would be worth a visit. Traffic was light as we left the urban area (Longqingxia is still located in the Beijing municipality). Having a Chinese-style hamburger for lunch at a relatively quiet highway service station:

We drove past the Great Wall as we headed deeper into the mountains:

The last time we drove by the site of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics the rings were barely visible through all the smog. On this New Year's Eve, however, the air was much cleaner:

We reached our destination in around 90 minutes, dropped off our things at the minsu 民宿 (homestay) my wife had reserved, and then drove to see the Longqing Gorge:

The gorge is a scenic canyon that was flooded by a reservoir after the Longqing Dam was completed. The yellow dragon to the right of the dam is actually a series of escalators taking visitors to the water on the other side:

Throughout most of the year there are boats that take visitors on a short cruise at the bottom of the gorge. However, in winter the reservoir largely freezes over, and in place of boats ATVs take sightseers to the end of the canyon to enjoy some ice-related activities. What follows are some photos I took, including these bubbles frozen in place:

Red carpets were placed over the frozen surface to reduce the risk of slipping. Having had a couple of nasty spills in Lithuania, I've become very leery of ice as my bones become brittle:

Shu-E really enjoyed using the ice sled, something she hadn't been able to do up until this point as this winter in Beijing hasn't been as cold as in past years. The result has been the lake at Chaoyang Park 朝阳公园 (near our home) so far hasn't been covered with ice thick enough to allow people to venture out onto its surface:

Even though the temperature was only -4°C/25°F the act of removing my gloves in order to take photos and thus exposing my hands to the cold air left my appendages in pain, so I let my wife record the majority of the scenes. Here are a few of her pics and videos:

Riding out to the play area at the end of the canyon:

Being taken back to the exit:

I approved of the choice of holiday destination:

Another attraction of the area is Beijing's version of the famous ice sculptures of Harbin 哈尔滨. Over 150 sculptures were on display inside an ice pavilion: 

The theme this year appeared to be based on Journey to the West 西游记:

Shu-E thought this mountain side resembled a face. I was seeing traces of Jabba the Hut:

Another highlight for visitors is the illumination that takes place as the sun goes down:

We returned to our guesthouse for dinner, and then eventually bed. Sleep was difficult due to the fireworks being set off quite literally next to our room, but I was able to get enough rest. Fireworks are supposedly illegal in Beijing, and the area we visited in particular was dry and therefore a high fire risk (signs could be seen everywhere warning people to be careful with open flames etc.), but I guess the emperor was far away: 

It was -13°C/9°F the next morning (the first day of the Lunar New Year) as we made our way across the courtyard to have breakfast. I'm not a fan of Chinese-style morning meals so I made do with an egg and some zhayoubing 炸油饼, deep-fried cakes that were actually quite tasty:

After checking out of the guesthouse we drove around 30 minutes to the site of the Guyaju Caves 古崖居. And, no, I'd never heard of them, either. My wife had only learned about them from a list of local attractions provided by the minsu owner at the time she made the reservation. Which is a pity as the caves were a fascinating site. Discovered only in 1984, there are 350 rooms in 117 caves (though signs onsite stated 137 or 147 of the latter) carved out of exposed granite. Who carved them, and when and why, are still a mystery. Visitors follow a walking path, along which are informative signs in Mandarin and English on the archaeological and geological features. 

Whoever lived in these caves, it can be stated with some certainty they weren't Buddhists. This statue is a modern touch (something also seen in Taiwan, where ancient cave dwellings have unfortunately been turned into Buddhist or Taoist shrines):

This cave's excavators must have been tall, something of which I was appreciative:

An example of a geological feature called a tafoni:

Shu-E speculated that this room might've been used for keeping animals, with a feeding trough on the left:

One of the two most impressive dwellings was the Residence of the Chief of Xi Tribe 奚王府 (see the English description below). Entry inside was forbidden, however:

The other was described as a "Three-bedroom Apartment in Granite" 花岗岩中的三居室, and could be entered through a narrow opening. It consisted of three rooms that taken together were larger than my first apartment in Tōkyō 東京. Pictured below is a stone bed:

The view looking out of a small "window":

Looking down on the Yangqing District 延庆区 of Beijing. While the skies were gloriously blue at the caves, the same couldn't be said down below:

Near the exit. We hardly saw any other visitors during the 90 minutes we were at the Guyaju Caves:

Just next to the parking lot was this complex of European-looking houses. Presumably they serve as weekend or second homes for some of Beijing's more affluent residents:

The road was bereft of traffic as we left Guyaju for our next stop:

Cars and people became more evident as we approached Yongning Ancient Town 永宁古城. The town was first laid out during the Ming dynasty 明朝 and was restored to its original appearance in 2002. The neighborhood is dominated by the Yuhuang Pavilion. We approached it from the side as we couldn't find any parking spaces on the main road:

We had lunch next to the town square tower. Based on the recommendations from the enthusiastic owner (I think I may have been his first obviously non-Chinese customer), we had this dish consisting of some kind of mountain vegetable (sour but delicious)...:

...as well as some fried tofu to go along with the grilled fish my wife ordered:

Following lunch we strolled up and down the market. According to Shu-E the market is held every day of the year, including holidays:

Our only purchase was of some raw honey from this stand:

These frozen pears were a local specialty:

A traditional dwelling with posters outside heralding the LNY:

The drive from Yongning to our residence in central Beijing took just over an hour, a remarkably quick time. While there was traffic on the highways, we never encountered a traffic jam as would normally be the case on most weekends and holidays. My wife speculated that was due to many Beijingers having left the city to return to their hometowns, while incoming visitors most likely came in on buses and trains. 

For the most part the remainder of my holiday week was relatively quiet. On Thursday we enjoyed lunch with some friends at a nearby brewpub, while on Friday I went for a bike ride late in the afternoon. Although it only took a half-hour to reach the University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the state of my heart and knees made it feel like an ordeal, despite the lack of hills to climb (the 2°C/36°F temperature didn't help matters). On the positive side the normally busy avenues were still relatively quiet. 

I took an alternative route home so I wouldn't simply double back on myself, and came upon this old-looking building next to a river. However, there were no signs to indicate it's age or function:

There was a signboard next to the river indicating I was in the Yuan Dynasty City Wall Relic Park 元大都城垣遗址公园. However I couldn't find a map to point out where any actual wall relics could be located so eventually I hopped back on the bike and headed home:

On our final holiday weekend we had our friends over to our residence for dinner on Saturday night. Meanwhile, over in the Pacific Northwest our daughter on Friday evening her time took part in an LNY event sponsored by her university's Taiwanese students club, of which she is a member:

On the last day of my break (Sunday), and at Shu-E's suggestion, we took the metro to visit the enormous Central Gift Antique Management Center 中央礼品物管理中心. It's a museum devoted to displaying the gifts that Chinese leaders have received over the decades from foreign dignitaries and delegations. This description evokes images of North Korea's notorious International Friendship Exhibition, and China's version would turn out to be taken very seriously, though maybe not quite as cultishly as the DPRK institution. Information in English online seems limited to very nationalistic posts like this article and video.

Before going to the museum we had lunch at a restaurant popular with members of the Qing imperial household: 

The restaurant specialized in noodle dishes so of course we ordered fried rice and grilled chicken:

China's ruling class - be they emperors or the Chinese Communist Party 中国共产党 - seem to have a fetish for gigantic buildings, as a reminder to the common people of who's in charge:

After going through the security check and a careful review of our passports and visas we were allowed entry onto the hallowed grounds. Once inside visitors are greeted with a massive wall panel called "Strength of Like Minds" 志合越山海:

The museum timeline began with the establishment of the People's Republic of China 中国人民共和国 on October 1, 1949, and the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union (the first country to recognize the new government) soon after:

It's no surprise the propaganda is hard and heavy, but the items themselves on display were interesting. This black wooden box with mother-in-pearl inlay, and with words wishing Mao Zedong 毛泽 a long life, was one of the earliest gifts presented by North Korea's Kim Il Sung to Mao in 1953:

Speaking of propaganda the exhibit introduced its guests to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 booting the Republic of China 中華民國 from the UN and having its seat taken by the PRC:

My attention was soon directed to the displays related to Nixon's visit to China in 1972 (an event I have vague memories of as an elementary school pupil):

The groundwork for Nixon's visit was partially laid by the visit of a U.S. table tennis team to China in 1971:

In the wake of the breakthrough in Sino-US relations, Japan (under the leadership of the remarkable and remarkably corrupt prime minister Kakuei Tanaka 田中角栄) broke relations with the ROC and recognized Beijing. The painting below, Rhyme, was given to Zhou Enlai 周恩来 by Tanaka on the latter's visit to China in September 1972:

This electronic clock was presented to Mao by Zentarō Kosaka 小坂善太郎, a member of the Japanese House of Representatives 衆議院 and chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's 自民党 Council for the Normalization of Japan-China Relations, during a visit to China in September 1972:

One of the most popular exhibits in the museum is the pair of porcelain swans presented by Nixon to Mao on his February 1972 visit:

This wooden scepter, given by the chairman of the Mozambique Liberation Front on a visit to China in 1975, stood out from the other items in its display case when my wife noticed Mao's head carved into the top:

A teak carving of an elephant moving lumber, courtesy of a visiting Thai prime minister in November 1978:

A Hakata fan dancer doll that was presented to Deng Xiaoping 邓小平 by House Speaker Shigeru Hori 保里茂 during his visit to China in the fall of 1978:

This brass-plated wooden box was a gift from Zambian President Kenneth Kuanda to Deng in early 1988. It appears to be engraved with an image of slaves in chains:

I was a junior high school student in Orange County, California when the news broke that Jimmy Carter had switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei 台北 to the PRC. I rushed to tell my mother the news, thinking it was a major event. She looked at me, shrugged her shoulders and said "So?" I now understand that Mom had a better grasp of international relations than I did:

Following the establishment of relations the Illinois state government presented this bust of Abraham Lincoln to Deng on his visit to the States in early 1979:

This shippō-yaki 七宝焼 vase was presented to Chinese President Jiang Zemin 将子民 when Emperor Akihito 天皇陛下 made a state visit to China in October 1992:

On the left is a pewter bowl given by President Bill Clinton to Jiang during his visit in October 1997. On the right is an amber ornament presented to Jiang when the president of Lithuania paid a visit in late 1993:

This huge celadon vase was presented to Jiang by a high-level North Korean official. Shu-E pointed out it had a rather prominent crack:

A Pittsburgh Steelers jersey and autographed football given by President Barack Obama to Chinese President Hu Jintao 胡锦涛 when the latter attended the G20 summit in Pittsburgh in late 2009:

This table and chairs set came courtesy of recently overthrown Syrian President Bashar al-Assad:

A wooden replica of Zheng He's 鄭和 treasure ship, a gift from the Seychelles:

Arita ware 有田焼 porcelain bowl and plate, presented to current president Xi Jinping 习近平 by House of Councillors 参議院 member Kensei Mizote 溝手顕正 in early 2016:

Vladimir Putin gave this model of the Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood to Xi in June 2019. It's certainly been living up to its name the past three years:

Some of the gifts were in questionable taste, like this oil painting called Chinese Nation in Eternity given by the president of the Czech Republic in 2018. I wouldn't want it hanging on the wall in my home:

Just when we had finished looking at all the gifts on the first floor, my wife announced there was more to see upstairs. However, the second floor collection was not as interesting, consisting largely of gifts given by Chinese leaders, though Shu-E was taken with this white porcelain ornament called Blooming Prosperity, presented to foreign guests at a BRICS summit in the fall of 2017:

There were also more items from foreign countries, but these (like this gold lacquer dragon boat from Thailand) lacked any details on who gave what to whom:

An Ethiopian gilded reticulated silver platter:

This sea coconut seed brought back memories (and giggles) of our trip to the Seychelles just as COVID-19 broke out there:

A commemorative bronze plate for the Apollo 11 moon landing:

Overall, the Central Gift Antique Management Center is taken very seriously. As we were walking around there were guards holding up signs requesting silence from the visitors. The official propaganda is heavy, but easily ignored if you just want to focus on the gifts. The English captions were uniformly well written, an indication perhaps of the attention to detail seen throughout the displays. The items were fascinating, with many looking like something I would like displayed in my home (except for that one oil painting). Hell, I'd even take the Mao scepter!

Meanwhile, over in the Pacific Northwest, our daughter reported her town had received a light snowfall, the first she started school last fall, though eventually it all melted, to be replaced with the usual rainfall. It's still more than what we've seen here in Beijing - except for a very light dusting one autumn evening, we haven't had any 雪:

And if you're wondering why I haven't shared any photos of this most recent weekend's activities, it's because I've been isolated indoors, trying to overcome yet another nasty cold before we leave for Hokkaido next weekend on our final R&R trip of this tour. If you clicked on the link, you're aware of the recent weather there. This season has seen record snowfall in Japan, so in addition to fervently hoping for a speedy return to health in time for our flight, I'm also beseeching the 神 to please not let the weather interfere with our plans. 

While the temperature here has recently gotten colder, it hasn't bothered our resident feline, who knows how to enjoy indoor heating combined with a large window facing the sun. If reincarnation turns out to be real, this is how I hope to be reborn as:

*I prefer to call the occasion the Lunar, and not Chinese, New Year, as even though the holiday's origins lie largely in Chinese culture, this time of year is also a major festive celebration in places like Korea and Vietnam. And seeing as the term gets Chinese nationalists all riled up, LNY it is! 

新年快乐！恭喜发财！