As we wandered through the antiques market we heard a man playing a strange instrument but songs that sound familiar to us. Take a listen and see if you know any of them. Mr. Wood will probably be better at this name game than I am.
Archive for the ‘Beijing’ Category
Antique Market Music
Sunday, April 12th, 2009Chinese Music and Dance
Saturday, April 11th, 2009On Friday, we had lunch at a restaurant that featured traditional Chinese dance and music. Here is a short clip of some of the performances we saw at the restaurant.
Zaijian,
Mr. Crawford
Pictures Added
Saturday, April 11th, 2009Pictures have been added to the Flat Mr. C., Olympic complex, and the Great Wall galleries. It has been a great to see all of these locations so far. On to Jinan tomorrow!
Zaijian,
Mr. Crawford
Ms. Lily
Friday, April 10th, 2009Li Hong Ying, Lily
Ms. Lily is our tour guide in Beiking. She is a young Chinese woman who was a junior school teacher for five years, so she has a connection with our group of educators from the start.
She provided us a presentation on the long bus ride through Beijing traffic after we arrived at the airport tired and weary.
I enjoyed her explanation of her name. Lily is her English name. Her family name is Li. Her given name is Hong Ying. Hong means red in Chinese and Ying means Cherry. She is Red Cherry Blossom which fits her quite well.
Most tour guides in Beijing carry flags on poles for the group to follow. Take a look at what Ms. Lily carries. We can always tell her apart from all the other guide flag in the large crowds.
Mr. Wood
Silk Market Experiences
Friday, April 10th, 2009The Silk Market in Beijing is not exactly what I expected in a city with such a long history.
Years ago, I lived in England for a year. I shopped at the local market. It was outdoors on the main street of the town. Vendors would set up in the same configuration every Wednesday. I guess I expected something similar and from what I understand, it used to be.
Today, the silk market is a multiple story building that occupies an entire city block.
We had been briefed on how this place works and after being glued to a tour group since arriving in China, I was ready to be alone for while.
Did I say “alone”? I must mean “on my own” because I was far from alone.
As soon as I entered the doorway, sales clerks in red vests started in. “Mister, Mister, Buy this ….” “Mister, Mister, your wife like a new…” “Mister, Mister, You want a new…..”
There were not hundreds, but what seemed to be thousands of stalls of more stuff than Walmart could dream of and not just silk, but everything. (Even iPods which most likely where not really iPods.)
The sales clerks called out as soon as I came into sight, sometimes following me or taking my arm to talk to me. The only way to move forward was to look straight ahead and keep walking. Eventually I reached the other end of the building and saw the mens room. I ducked in there for a moment to get away from the constant attention.
After gathering my wits, I decided to see the whole place. I determined to look like I knew where I was going and that I had a purpose. This seemed to help. I didn’t receive quite as much attention.
The way shopping works here is quite different than routine shopping in the US. A price is given in RMB (the Chinese currency) and is probably 10 or 20 times what you will eventually pay for the item. Back and forth one must bargain with the clerk until an agreement is made. Well that’s just not me.
I decided to try buying a silk scarf. That seemed like a typical thing to buy at the silk market.
A bit of luck! I came across a group of three young women from our group and observed that one of them seemed to be a very good bargainer. She was going back and forth with a clerk and was getting a reasonably good price. Eventually all three women started selecting piles of silk scarves. I asked what price they got.
I walked up to the clerk who started the whole routine again with me and I said, “Same deal!” She said, “Okay, and proceeded to give me price highly inflated over what the others were paying. I simply picked out the number of scarves negotiated as she kept at me. Finally I said, “Same deal!” again and handed her the money. She took it happily, gave me her business card and told me to send my friends.
Hmm…. I wonder how good this deal really was. Oh well, it was fun and it didn’t break the bank.
Oh, and by the way, if you are ever in Beijing, there’s this great sales clerk at the Silk Market. Her name is Sally. She’s on the third floor of the silk market near the escalator at the Hang Zhou Silk Shop. I can even give you her cell number. Tell her the teacher sent you.
More photos of the silk market in the gallery under Beijing, Silk Market.
Mr. Wood
Hutong Visit
Friday, April 10th, 2009We visited a hutong riding in rickshaws.
A retired teacher hosted us in his home for a brief tour. I did not get his name.
He had some pets.
Do you know what these are?
Mr. Wood
Children
Friday, April 10th, 2009As A teacher, I have always enjoyed watching children being themselves. I’m doing the same here. Here are a few shots from today.
Mr. Wood
What is a Hutong?
Friday, April 10th, 2009Hutongs are narrow streets or alleys, most commonly associated with Beijing, China. Hutongs were formed by lines of traditional courtyard residences. Many hutongs were formed by joining one courtyard to another and then joining one hutong to another. The word hutong is also used to refer to such combinations of neighborhoods.
The number of hutongs has decreased rapidly recently because of the expansion of new roads and buildings in Beijing. Recently many hutongs have become protected as national landmarks to protect and preserve them.
“‘Real people’ transition in China’s old hutongs,” USA Today, August 14, 2008
Sights and Sounds of Beijing From USA Today - Scroll down the slides to find an interesting feature on Hutongs entitled “Progress threatens traditional Chinese lifestyle.
Zaijian,
Mr. Crawford
Tiananmen Square History
Friday, April 10th, 2009As seen from the Google Earth Video, Tiananmen Square is a very large open plaza. It is extremely flat with only lampposts breaking up the long streches of concrete. The square itself is 880 meters by 500 meters, almost 100 acres large! It was originally designed and built in Beijing in 1651. It was expanded to current size, fourtimes the original size, in 1958. In 1958, the Monument to the People’s Heroes was also added to the square.
The square itself has been used for many different purposes over the last few centuries. Occupying armies have used it to station their troops specifically the English and the French in the 1860’s and the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Tiananmen Square has also been a location to showcase national pride and strength. It has frequently been the site used for parades and speeches. This includes the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China by Mao Zedong on October 1, 1949.
Zaijian,
Mr. Crawford
The Forbidden City
Thursday, April 9th, 2009Today we should be traveling to the Forbidden City which got me thinking how it got it’s name and how big it really is because it looks massive on Google Earth. I found a map of the Forbidden City online with a description of many of almost 1,000 buildings inside of the 26 foot tall walls that surround the city. The Forbidden City is also surrounded by a moat that is 18 feet deep and 170 feet wide. Those seem like formidable defenses to protect the city.
The Forbidden City, also known as the Forbidden Palace, was home to the rulers of the China from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It took over fourteen years to build, starting in 1406. The Forbidden City covers almost 7,800,000 square feet. For a comparison a football field covers about 48,000 square feet. The Forbidden City is almost 163 football fields large! It is a rectangle 3,150 ft from north to south and 2,470 ft from east to west.
When you get a chance read about the symbolism in the colors and architecture of the Forbidden City. Find out why most of the buildings have yellows roofs, except for the library at the Pavilion of Literary Profundity and the Crown Prince’s residences.
Zaijian,
Mr. Crawford
First Meal in China
Thursday, April 9th, 2009After arriving safely but weary, the group of 24 teachers and principals with whom we are traveling, all went out to dinner. It was a feast and everything was delicious.
Clockwise starting from the teapot:
fish, pork, rice, celery, chicken, beef, egg, and in the center, lamb, and egg plant.
Mr. Wood