Ah, to be back in Beijing

Even though our train pulled in at a very early hour, Ted and I were both relieved to be back in the city where this trip all started for us.

Don't get me wrong, we had a great time in Qingdao and Shanghai, and I think seeing other areas in this huge country not only gave us the opportunity to get a small break from being in Beijing, but also made us appreciate some aspects of the city more than ever. For example, it became clear as soon as we stepped of the train in Qingdao how far Beijing had come in using English and pinyin to aid international travelers in exploring the city. In Shanghai, where we thought food would be everywhere, we were surprised not only by the lack of street food but also the lack of the good quality, middle-of-the-road dining establishments that offer big plates of tasty food at very reasonable prices. We had become dependent on these kinds of places to have a large midday meal that could sustain our daily walk-a-thons, and in Shanghai we found ourselves wandering for blocks looking for a place that had an English menu (or even pictures on the wall) which wasn't a Coldstone Creamery or Pizza Hut.

So, weighted down with fashionable duds that we had picked up in Shanghai, we happily drug ourselves onto the subway this morning on our way to our new hostel in Qianmen. Ted and I had two reasons to be thankful: it was only a few short blocks away from the Qianmen subway station, and our room was shockingly ready when we arrived at 8:00 AM. So after a quick spot of tea and breakfast, armed with notepad and camera we got started on our quest to document the Qianmen area.

As you can see from the picture at left, this was no easy feat. To begin with, I had to take this picture, which is facing due south on what is Qianmen Dajie, through a hole in the gate while no guards were looking. This is the main street which will run through the Qianmen street development, and everything to the left of that construction worker is a protected area under the Beijing conservation plan for its 25 historic areas. The gate I shot this through was due south of Qianmen Gate, which in on the axis which runs directly through Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. Needless to say, after snapping a few shots through this little peep hole, I turned to snap a shot of Ted in front of the gate, turned back, and saw that an attentive guard from the other side had used his spidey sense to sniff out suspicious photographers. I don't think he saw me taking pictures, but he was definitely giving me a look as he peeked his head out to see what flim-flammery was afoot.

From here, we walked around the entirety of the site, which runs south to Zhushikou Dajie, and is bordered by Qianmen Donglu on the east and Liangshidian hutong (which runs between Qianmen Dajie and Meishi Jie) on the west side. This west side is where Ted snapped some great photos for me of the site over some simple barriers, showing me how it was done while climbing onto piles of bricks to get a better view. What is most telling in these photos is how exposed this side of the site is, as it is not in the conservation area. As you can see in the picture to the left, the east and protected end of the site is entirely blocked from view from the street, complete with informational panels which detail the history of the Qianmen area back to the Qing dynasty. If there are any gates they are guarded, and at the first sight of laowais like Ted and I, they jump to attention and make sure we get nowhere near the door (we tried to walk into one gate, and immediately got thrown out, while locals came and went without trouble). We even spotted an extra security measure; one billboard like those blocking the exterior was located inside the construction site, blocking even more from peekers like Ted and I from really knowing what is going on behind those walls.

While the experience was infuriating, it was not as maddening as going back to the hostel and finding out that SOHO, a Chinese development firm that was founded by a former Goldman Sachs broker (which will over double their profit this year and just floated a $1.6 billion Hong Kong IPO) is behind this development. Nothing crushes a girl's soul more than the thought that the center of her research is thoroughly protected by hordes of (Saudi) money and political dreams, but I'll just have to keep doing my best to find more information everyday as my time in Beijing will end sooner than I realize.