|
|
 |
798
was an electronics factory built by the Russians. After closure it
was gradually colonised by Beijing's contemporary artists.
(Click for link) |
Like
me, Angel is a Leo with a birthday in August. I arrived a week too
late this year but this image makes me feel I was there. |
Always
the girl from Hunan (birthplace of Mao Zedong), Angel insisted
that we meet her at this Hunan restaurant. |
 |
 |
 |
| Sasha
the reluctant model chose the front of my hotel for this portrait
because she liked the colour of the tiles. |
Another
Hunan restaurant freshly restored to it's former antiquity, like
the rest of the street, for the Olympics. |
Open-air
barber. Quite common and very cheap I'm told. No rent, no privacy,
and no idea what happens in Beijing's cold Winter. |
 |
 |
 |
| Dinner
with Meixin's former hotel friend Wang Hong Rui, her hsband and the
product of last year's pregnancy. |
The
child of a waitress, this little fellow soon caught Meixin's attention
in the hunan restaurant. No fluffy puppies for her! |
At
7.00 a.m. through
the curtains of my hotel room I could hear these school
kids noisily file into class. I did not need an alarm clock. |
 |
 |
 |
| The
squat - how we all sat before chairs. In China people do it everywhere
from an early age, apparently. |
Mooncakes,
rich, sweet... and expensive for one day - the Mid Autumn Festival
which is the biggest festival in China after New Year. |
Wherever
I go in Beijing people stop and stare open-mouthed... even small dogs.
But I bought a nice shirt here. |
 |
 |
 |
| Same
place, Meixin is buying a seal with my name on it. His wife told
Meixin I should not be allowed to bargain - I'm hopeless at it. |
Back
in Coffee Language looking at house plans. Meixin wants a big kitchen to
entertain her friends. |
The
Tibetan Medicinal Bathing Hotel lives on but only just. Only the
Tibetan restaurant and the Tibetan Medicine
clinic still seem active. |
 |
 |
|
| My
heart leapt at the sight of this glorious old gramophone in the Panjiayuan
Flea Market where I had to leave to stop spending. |
For
an introduction to tea culture and the myriad of tea varieties you
can't go past the proverbial tea shop with a pretty girl outside. |
Hu Jin Tao spent National Day in Shanghai pressing the flesh and
looking like a politician before opening the Special Games. |
 |
|
 |
| A
few steps from my 2007 hotel, the Hao Yi She, I stare wistfully
at the distant Tibetan Hotel of previous visits. |
CCTV9's
new presenter James Aitken has the style of a US rock DJ, but they
also have a Pom and a Scot on the team - balance! |
Meixin
demonstrates the allure of mooncakes on September 25th 2007 - Mid
Autumn and fullmoon. |
 |
 |
 |
| Chinese
pizza? Why not? Actally it was quite a pleasant meal AND they do
deliveries... to my hotel for instance. |
Beijing
hot-pot smorgasbord. You may think my friends spend a lot of time
in restaurants but here food is cheap so no-one cooks. |
Still
in the hunan restaurant where the food was bu tai la but this could
not be said of Meixin. |
 |
 |
 |
| The
Olympic Main Stadium, known as the "Birdsnest", close to
the Australian designed "Watercube" in the Asian
Games area: round and square - Heaven and Earth. |
Coffee Language never changes;opposite the old Tibetan Hotel with
western-style food and free internet, but with a squat
toilet! |
The
Grand National Concert Hall opposite the Great Hall of the People
in Tian Anmen. That's an artifical lake behind Meixin. |
 |
 |
 |
| Meixin
leads the way towards the main entrance of Yuanmingyuan - otherwise known
as the Summer Palace. (click
for link) |
The
day Meixin and I discovered the 798 Art District we also discovered another
important contemporary artist - Quyan (click
for link) |
What
is all this lining up and drilling? They look like paratroops but they
park cars for a Korean restaurant... and take care of security. |
