Dizzying heights

Approaching the top o' Beijing Ma! 

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. The big story coming out of Beijing 北京 recently is the election of Xi Jinping 习近平 to a third five-year term at the helm of the People's Republic. I don't claim to be a "China watcher" or "Sinologist", so don't expect this paragraph to be the lead-in to an expert analytical piece on what this means for China, Taiwan, Asia, the United States and just about anyone and anywhere else you can think of. If you're curious, you should already know the significance of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party 中国共产党第二十次全国代表大会, and have read/watched at least some of the many articles/news reports on the event that have appeared in the media in recent days and weeks. Seeing as it appears Xi is going to stubbornly cling to the zero-COVID strategy, I've lost what little interest I had regarding this "hot topic" in the first place. 

OK, I should care more, not least because I'm expected to converse in Mandarin on Chinese politics as part of my lessons. But I have far more important things to concern myself with, namely my 健康. Recently those feelings of lightheadedness and disconnectedness that I had suffered through for most of 2021 have recently returned, along with a few disconcerting moments related to my 心脏. I've even felt at times like I was being pulled to one side (my 右边, to be more specific), an issue I've had periodic bouts with for more than a decade. I had thought that the surgery I underwent last November had taken care of these problems, but apparently not. 

Back to 政治. One way the party congress did effect our 生活 (I promise to stop now), at least in a small sense, was that it led to our deciding to spend the weekend the shindig opened close to home, and sticking to the mundane rather than explore the unknown. To wit: 

Shu-E took this nighttime shot with her more-up-to-date iPhone (I'm still using an 8, as you can no doubt deduce from the quality of my photographs in comparison):

An exhausted Amber following back-to-back-to-back swimming races (50-meter freestyle; 100-meter individual medley; and 50-meter backstroke) on a Saturday morning at her school. We had to wait for her outside while she was taking part due to, you guessed it, COVID restrictions (though I suspect the lack of sufficient seating inside the pool building also was a factor):

 

Sometimes you just have to give in to the novelty of things, like when we had lunch at Spacelab. Nobody goes there because of the food; rather, it's the experience of watching your pub grub delivered to your table via a series of rollercoaster-like tracks suspended from the ceiling that draws in the punters:

Spacelab naturally appeals to a childish clientele, but at least there was beer on the menu for the adults:

Baker & Spice is one of those urban coffee shop chains that appeals to China's many (at least before the coronavirus epidemic started) Western residents. Nevertheless, the girl and I struggled for more than twenty minutes with the phone app, trying to decipher the Chinese on the menu. It wasn't until near the end of the meal that I realized we could've just gone up to the counter, and ordered directly off the bilingual menus kept there. And then after that, discovering that the phone app did have English translations, after all:

With the girls kicking back at the house, I went for a walk on a sunny Sunday in Beijing's expansive Chaoyang Park 朝阳公园:

Kite-flying is a popular activity in China, including this massive monster:

Can you identify the building in this skyline scene that serves as CCTV Headquarters? Hint: it's known by its nickname 大裤衩, or "big boxer shorts":

A container crane that has found a new home in a flower garden:

This photo of Chaoyang Park as seen from the opposite side of the Liangma River was actually taken on a Monday when I should've been in class. Except that my rapid heartbeat and all-around lightheadedness that morning meant I was in no condition to sit in classrooms for six hours. Except that the beautiful weather pulled me outdoors for a walk when I should've been resting in bed. It's difficult to describe the sensations I was feeling (a sense of not being part of my surroundings, along with a seeming lack of full control over my right arm), but the sunlight filtering through the trees as I walked along the riverside started taking on hallucinatory overtones, as if I were micro-dosing. Somehow I found my way back to the house and sensibly stayed indoors for the remainder of the day:

My daughter snapped this pic of one of the several feral cats that call her school their home. I'm beginning to feel my resistance give away in the face of Amber's repeated pleas that we add a 猫 (sorry) to our small family unit, especially since her mother is now appearing to side with her. Stay tuned...:

Speaking of my offspring, following another swimming event at her school this past Saturday morning, she was finally persuaded to visit a hair salon to see to her split ends. This was the result:

I, on the other hand, am letting my 头发 (oops!) grow out, as you can obviously discern from this shot taken just as we were about to partake of lunch at a málàtàng 麻辣烫 (hot spicy soup) restaurant not far from Chaoyang Park:

The three of us walked off the meal with a stroll through the park, where the leaves were beginning to change color:

There'll be dancing in the park:

With the aforementioned shindig finishing up this weekend, however, we decided to go into central Beijing this afternoon (Sunday), but not before having lunch at a Thai restaurant close to the facility where we had our throats swabbed in the morning (an every-other-day chore that has to be undertaken, rain or shine):

Our destination would be Jingshan Park 景山公园, which we reached by taking the subway to Nanluogu Xiang Station 南锣鼓巷站. The neighborhood behind the metro stop was vaguely reminiscent of Kyōto's 京都 famed Path of Philosophy 哲学の道:

We then returned to China by wandering through a warren of traditional hutong 胡同 neighborhoods, which seemed to confuse Apple Maps at several points:

We love you, too, キティちゃん:

After around twenty minutes of meandering through various alleys, we eventually reached the south gate of the park, directly across the street from the rear of the Forbidden City 紫禁城:

Jingshan Park is the site of one of the very few hills located within the capital's inner rings (making Beijing a good place to ride a bicycle). This particular mound was created using the sediment excavated to make the Forbidden City's moat:

A few of the trees were in the process of changing their hues, though most of the vegetation within the park remained stubbornly green in the eyes of my wife:

This stele marks the spot where of the tree from which Chongzhen 崇祯帝, the last Ming dynasty 明朝 emperor, hung himself in 1644 as rebellious peasants approached Beijing. The tree was cut down in 1971, during the stupidity known as the Cultural Revolution 文化大革命:

It was short walk uphill to the top, with my heart being completely cooperative (unlike at home, where several times recently I've been short of breath just going up and down our short set of stairs):

It should come as little surprise that Jingshan Park is laid out along the Central Axis of Beijing. The dictates of feng shui 風水 required that the imperial residence be shielded from any evil spirits approaching from the north (the direction in which the below photograph was taken). Hence, the need to construct an artificial hill in the center of the city:

The result for modern-day visitors is an excellent view of the Forbidden City when looking to the south. I could insert a snarky remark or two at this point as to how certain white folks, no matter how hard they try, still remain clueless as to the inherent ridiculousness of Chinese geomancy, but the weather was nice this day, so I won't:

 

A very few of you readers may recall that the three of us spent a frigid day exploring the Forbidden City back in December 2013:

Actually, the views in all directions from the top make the park a worthwhile stop on any Beijing itinerary:

You may recognize the White Dagoba 白塔 of Beihai Park 北海公园, which we visited earlier this month:

I wouldn't exactly say we worked up a sweat coming down from the hill, but the afternoon was pleasantly warm, and therefore merited an ice cream break:

The final stop on our tour of the park was Shouhuang Temple 寿皇殿, built in 1749 by the Qianlong Emperor in honor of his royal ancestors:

Shu-E captured these images of fall foliage on the temple grounds:

And so we enter the next stage of the Xi Jinping era, but that's a topic I'll leave to others on which to pontificate (which so many in the State Department love to do). Instead, I intend to devote my time outside of class pondering on this world as a place to learn, and on taking better care of this body that I've earned. For I'm in no great hurry to embrace the void. Not just yet. There are still places in Japan I haven't visited...

Beijing blows

Jingxing Studio, Beihai Park

What's this? Another long holiday weekend, so soon after last week's five-day break for China's National Day 国庆节? Thanks to the kinks of the American and Chinese public holiday calendars, today (Monday) is a federal government day off, still known by the politically incorrect moniker of Columbus Day. I'm more comfortable with calling it something along the lines of Indigenous Peoples Day. Due to further quirks in national calendars, October 10 this year also happens to be Canadian Thanksgiving, so I'm assuming my Canadian peers in Beijing 北京 are also enjoying a three-day weekend. I don't know if the students at the Canadian International School here have the day off today; I do know, however, my daughter has to go to classes at her school. 

Of course, October 10 is also Double Ten, aka the National Day of the Republic of China 國慶日, but seeing as we're living in the 中华人民共和国加 and not in the 中華民國, it's best to keep any celebrations/observances of this occasion to our ourselves. 

So how does one observe a most controversial American public holiday while in China? Why, by going to a Japanese-themed restaurant area, of course! At least that's what the three of us did on Saturday, riding bikes on a gloomy late morning/early afternoon with an AQI reading exceeding 160 to the Ichibangai First Avenue 一番街 Food Court, a strip of Japanese bars and restaurants: 

Most of the establishments inside the first building we entered were closed. The Japanese embellishments in the hallway included this mikoshi 神輿, the authenticity of which wasn't immediately clear:

Amber was in the mood for some oden おでん, but this stand wouldn't be open until the evening:

Normally, seeing the hiragana ゆ on a noren 暖簾 would indicate the entrance to a public bathhouse 銭湯; here, it was pointing out where to find the restrooms:

Back outside, and the incongruous sight of Japanese-looking buildings flying PRC flags:

Entering a different part of the Ichibangai complex:

Eventually we decided on having lunch at Teppanyaki Ebisu 鉄板焼恵比寿:

We've been to quite a few Japanese restaurants during our short time in Beijing, and Ebisu turned out to be one of the best. Our daughter ordered the Sirloin Set サーロインステーキセット; Shu-E went for the Filet steak set ヒレステーキセット; while I settled on the Seafood set シーフードセット, with the proviso that we would share amongst ourselves what we ordered. All the sets came with salad サラダ, egg custard 茶碗蒸し, assorted seasonal vegetables, garlic fried rice チャーハン, miso soup 味噌汁, pickles 漬け物 and some fruit for dessert. I'm loathe to use the word "authentic" to describe meals, but everything was very good and I wasn't surprised to learn as we were paying the bill that the assumed owner/head chef of Ebisu was Japanese:

Across the road from Ichibangai stands this Japanese-themed building 渋谷横丁, which appears to cater more to a 水商売-type clientele", at least judging by the dark-clothed middle-aged Chinese men standing in the entranceway:

U.S.A.! Chevrolet! Zippo! Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie...:

The highlight of this long weekend happened yesterday (Sunday) when we visited Beihai Park 北海公园, the former private gardens of the Emperor Qianlong 乾隆帝 located in the old imperial city, and a public park since 1925. A taxi deposited us outside the south gate, and the first thing that came into view as we went inside was the Tibetan-style White Dagoba 白塔, sitting atop Jade Islet, an artificial island created at the same time as the surrounding lake during the Jin dynasty 金朝:

Feeling fortified following a quick lunch, we proceeded to make our through the Yong'an Temple 永安寺 to the White Dagoba:

A shot taken in secret as photography was prohibited inside the temple buildings:

The girls make their way to the top:

Built in the Tibetan style, the White Dagoba stands 36 meters (118 feet) high. It was erected in 1651 by the Shunzhi Emperor 顺治帝 in honor of a visit by the Dalai Lama:

It isn't easy to tell from these photos, but gale force wind warnings were in place in Beijing throughout Sunday. It was extremely gusty at the top of the islet:

The waters would normally be filled with pleasure craft, but the winds kept all the boats tied up along the shore. At least the AQI was very low:

The view from indoors, where took a coffee break:

On the way down from the White Dagoba:

The music these folks were strutting their stuff to could be clearly heard while I made this short video. Did the wind blow the sounds away from the camera's microphone?:

Boat operators took a figurative bath this day thanks to the gusty conditions:

We strolled around the eastern half of the lake:

A friend I made along the way, one of several felines we encountered in the park. I named it "Mao Zedong", congratulating myself on my linguistic brilliance in substituting the character for "cat" 猫 in place of the character of the dictator's family name 毛, hence 猫泽东. That lasted until I got home later that day and learned that acquaintances of ours had a cat with the even cleverer name of "Miao Zedong"!:

Stopping at the Painted Boat Hall (1757):

Reaching the north entrance to the park, we visited the Jingxin Studio 静心斋, described as a "garden within a garden". The aforementioned Qianlong Emperor would go there to sip tea, listen to music being played on guqin 古琴 and enjoy the carp-filled ponds:

Competing selfies:

As it was getting late in the afternoon, we decided to call it a day, even though there was still a lot more to see in Baihei Park. My wife suggested returning next spring, when flowers should be in bloom. One thing of which I'm certain: there will be a lot more people there the next time we go! October 3rd, 4th and 5th (Monday-Wednesday) had been official public holidays, but although both Amber and I returned to our respective schools last Thursday, many in Beijing had the entire week off. Those extra two days came with a catch, however - Saturday and Sunday were make-up school/work days, which was why a tourist sight as well-known as Beihai Park was virtually bereft of visitors on a sunny (though windy) Sunday!

Of course, that also meant empty seats were scarce on the subway going home. Except for one enterprising young lad, who came prepared:

Today being Columbus Day Indigenous Peoples Day Canadian Thanksgiving ROC National Day Monday and with the girl back in school, things were pretty quiet at home. Shu-E and I did ride share bikes to the Sanlitun 三里屯 area to have some lunch (conditions were a lot calmer compared to yesterday):

That's right, we went to Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐, that Taiwanese favorite of wàiguórén 外国人 everywhere. Amazingly, neither Shu-E nor I had ever eaten at a branch, anywhere - the closest we'd ever come was at a Seattle Mariners baseball game back in August 2018 when my wife had bought a milk tea for me from the ballpark's Din Tai Fung outlet:

Taiwan Beer 台灣啤酒 and I have a less-than-friendly relationship stretching back several decades. To me it tastes like the Formosan equivalent of Budweiser or Heineken. Back when we living in Taiwan, I would often write of my distaste for the national brand, and of the beer situation in Taiwan in general, on earlier versions of this very blog. Unbelievably, these observations would generate abusive comments directed at your humble scribe, most often from fellow foreigners. I could only feel sympathy for these lost aliens, desperately trying to convince themselves the imaginatively-named Taiwan Beer actually tasted better than human urine, all in the delusion that by doing so they would better fit into Taiwanese society. The poor sods:

 

Oh, yes, Din Tai Fung. Shu-E wasn't too impressed with the their renowned dumplings. She claims most Taiwanese only started taking an interest in Din Tai Fung when they learned the restaurant was being prominently featured in Japanese guidebooks on Taiwan:

She also stated that many of her compatriots preferred the fried rice over the dumplings. So I ordered the Shrimp and Shredded Pork Fried Rice (With Egg) 虾仁肉丝蛋炒饭 / えび豚肉チャーハン and, damn, it turned out to be pretty 很好吃!:

After lunch we had a look at some of the stores, what the Chinese call 逛街. Our residence is already provided with a big-screen TV, but the picture quality on some of these models made me go "hmmm...":

On weekends people will line up to go inside the Apple Store. On weekdays...:

The afternoon concluded with a minor victory, of sorts. You may (though probably don't) remember from the last post my frustrations in trying to find a decent bookshop in Beijing that carries English-language titles. One store I couldn't find in Sanlitun was Page One Books. Well, as it turned out, the shop had recently moved from the ground to the second floors, but the map apps I was using (Apple and Baidu) hadn't been updated yet. It wasn't a complete triumph as the shop didn't carry any historical references or travel guidebooks in English, but it did have a good selection of art and architecture books. And these, which I was surprised to find in a society governed under an authoritarian political system (and, yes, a copy of Animal Farm was also on the same shelf):

Or, as a friend pointed out, they spelled "Guide to better living" wrong...