A "relaxing" day in the garden

So Ted and I have been shopping our little hearts out in Shanghai, hence the lack of pictures and blog posts. We've been waking up fairly early, grabbing some Jiang Bing for breakfast (the Shanghai version has less onion and cilantro, but is crispier and just as yummy), and have been hitting the subway to whatever shopping mecca calls our name that particular day.

But as the magic of retail therapy begins to wane and one mall begins to melt into another, one has to find something else to do in Shanghai. Today, we thought we would pay a visit to the most famous garden in Shanghai, Yu Yuan. It took us a while to drag ourselves out of bed, as all of the walking in Shanghai has begun to wear us down, and the day previous most of our calories had come from the best fried rice we had ever tasted, which was washed down with our first taste of Suntory Beer. While we swigged down four big bottles at dinner (don't worry Grandma, it's a lite beer), we still managed to keep dinner at 60 yuan, which was the best bargain for quality yet at a single meal service. Let's just say beef seared with hot red peppers, onions, cilantro and other greens, stir-fried lentils (Chinese green beans) and peppers, fried rice complete with smoked meat, hot peppers, and a ton of onions and soy sauce, and Suntory, a smooth lite blend of wheaty goodness. Even in all of our American gluttony, we still managed to be outdone by the young men across the room, who immediately struck up a conversation which started with "hey joe!" to the tune of "Hey Jude". They were drunk and very friendly as they kept cracking jokes about Yao Ming ("I believe I can fly"), President Bush, and placed bets as to whether we were from the UK or US. Now that's what I call a cross cultural exchange.

Needless to say, the morning started a little like this blog post: slow. So when we finally and forcefully dragged ourselves to Yu Yuan gardens, we were overwhelmed by what we saw before us. No, it wasn't that sense of wonder that fills one upon taking in such a wonder as the Forbidden City, it was the "Oh my God, why did we ever decide to do this, and today of all days?" sense of dread.

It was that immediate acknowledgment that you have just stepped into the biggest and saddest tourist trap within a 100 mile radius. Complete with Starbucks, Dairy Queen, Haagen-Dazs, and a KFC, this Disneyland/fantasyland complete with authentic-looking architecture filled with crappy goods of all sorts, forcibly overwhelmed the senses in the worst way. I couldn't help but be reminded of the Qianmen area which Ted and I will be documenting once we return to Beijing, as authentic (and protected) historic neighborhoods have been demolished to make way for a reconstruction similar to the one you see here. Complete with a trolley-traversed pedestrian area and "authentic" reproductions of the architecture that stood on the site just a few years ago, I couldn't stop thinking about all of the poor people that have been forced out of their homes in Qianmen, and for this.

But as horrifying of an experience as this was, it is also a good reminder that the work that I am doing on my thesis is worthwhile. While I can't do anything about the development that is already underway in Beijing, maybe I can do something about a similar situation in the future. The Yu Yuan gardens was first-hand proof that when few cultural relics remain from a certain time-period, they will more than likely be stripped of all of their authentic historic value in order to bolster their commercial value. While this sometimes comes in the form of total destruction so that some tower can be built in its place, this can also come in the form of romantic reconstruction purely for tourism purposes. This has happened here in Shanghai, and it continues at this very moment in Beijing.

An introduction to Shanghai

I was very excited to board the train to Shanghai on Saturday afternoon from Qingdao. While it was fun to be on the beach for a few days, Qingdao was just too sleepy for my taste. After being in the metropolis of Beijing, which already had a slow pace of its own, this off-season resort town didn't seam to offer much beyond the sea and the food it provides, the latter which this valley girl has never really embraced. Call me crazy, but my idea of a good meal does not involve picking the thing out while it is still squirming in a small plastic tub sitting out on the sidewalk, but to each his own, as demonstrated by Ted's exuberance in finally having his choice of creepy crawlies from the ocean deep to dine upon.

While our taste in food shall eternally divide us, we did both enjoy the European architecture seen throughout the city, which are remnants from Qingdao's time as a German concession. I was disappointed that all the trains coming and going from this beach community had been diverted away from the old town through the Sifang station, as the original train station is a beautiful 100+ year old building which is being renovated in anticipation of the 2008 Beijing Olympics sailing regatta to be held in Qingdao. Even through the rusty scaffolding and standard green construction screens blocked the work from view, its beauty still showed through, half timbers and all.

After a pleasant 19 hour train ride (which gave me plenty of time to knit on my new hand-made needles from Beijing), Ted and I crawled out of our soft sleepers and onto the streets of Shanghai. To our great relief, our very cute hostel was only four subway stops from the train station, so we dropped off of our bags and ran out to see more of the city. Because we hadn't really done much research into the best places to go, we both decided to head for the most popular spots for tourists: People's Square, Nanjing Road, and the Bund.

This, needless to say, was overwhelming. Being a beautiful and mild Sunday afternoon, these areas were absolutely crawling with tourists. Ted and I, who had become accustomed to being some of the only laowais around, were taken aback by the sheer number of western tourists, as white people were everywhere. We quickly became judgmental and competitive, making fun of those sporting hiking boots, safari vests, backpacks, and Asain girls that looked like they were not enjoying being paid company.

Yeah, Shanghai is just that kind of town. After leaving the very conservative Beijing where you see families and couples everywhere, Shanghai sports lots of singles, partial nudity in subway ads, and at least two cathouses within a two block radius of our hostel. If it means anything, the girls look largely bored, as they are usually dolled up with nowhere to go, resulting in the funny sight of scantily-clad women zoning out on a torn up couch watching TV in a small, nondescript office.

But don't let this fool you; Shanghai is a great town. Even though we got taken to the cleaners today for a very mediocre lunch (the guy tried to charge us 40 yuan each for some Tsingtao beers when they cost 5 yuan at any corner store - we laughed at him and still offered to overpay at 20 when he looked at us pathetically), there seems to be something to do on every type of budget.

And, of course, there is all of the shopping. This town has everything from Gucci to bargain basement deals, and they are usually on the same block. One could say that there is too much, but all of the selection just makes for a fun scavenger hunt, and gives you a great reason to explore all the different areas of the city.

Finally, just like in Beijing, there are some great parks here in Shanghai. While they are not incredibly extensive or elaborate, they are relaxing in their simplicity and stillness in a city that is always moving forward. While we have only been here for two days, I can tell that we are going to have a great time in this town, and will hopefully return to Beijing a little better dressed than we came.

Saying goodbye (for now) to the hutong

We both knew the moment would have to come sometime, but Ted and I both left our hutong last night knowing we would miss our little corner of Beijing. This hutong has been a home away from home for us, as we went from the strange laowais who must be lost in the eyes of the neighbors, to the local patrons who couldn't live without their morning sweets and evening snacks.

Living in the hutong, we got a first-hand experience of the state of development in Beijing's hutongs, and just like many things in Beijing, things may not always be what they seem. The scene to the right shows a house that we saw being torn down, brick by brick, with a pick ax. Everyday we would walk by and see a little more of the building had been knocked down and carried away, and we couldn't help but feel disappointed at the sight of this destruction.

But as we explored deeper in the hutong, we also found this example of traditional craftsmanship being used to build new siheyuans where older ones had been torn down. While it is not pleasant seeing the historic fabric being torn down by two men at a time, it is still reassuring that in some areas of Beijing measures are being taken to ensure that new structures will be as authentic as possible, and will blend in with the existing landscape, which is a far cry from the disney-fication of the hutongs of Qianmen and Chongwen. These two men are working in a tandem to prepare beams, with the man in the foreground shaving the log, after which the other man uses an adz to square the log.

Beyond the mounds of information that Ted and I were able to gather from our experience here, I think we will remember the people and the food the most. So used to our faces at all times of day asking for two thick slices of Tamarind bread, the woman working the sweets stand to the left gave us one of those tasty looking muffins as goodbye gift when we stopped by on our way to catch the overnight train. Even though we only speak about 10 words of Mandarin and she speaks no English, I could tell by her smile and kind gesture that she got a kick out of our frequenting her stand, and knew that we were thoroughly addicted to her bread.

Now that we are in Qingdao (which Ted is going to write all about), it has made me realize how unique the hutong experience is. Before I could only read about how people valued or devalued the hutong, but seeing it myself, I know I will miss the community there.

But all is not lost: Ted and I loved the neighborhood so much that we are going to stay there again at the very end of our time in China, at which time we will be going on a tour of the great wall with the great staff at Templeside.

For now though, we are bumming on the beaches of Qingdao, where fitness is a way of life, and the architecture is a strange mix of dilapidated European sophistication and Asian modernism. I can tell you already that while the beach is nice, I would kill for some of that Tamarind bread right now ...

Just so you know ...

Ted and I just wanted everyone to know that we will be out of touch for at least a day, as we are taking the night train to Qingdao in a few hours. We will be staying there for a few days (a few blocks away from the beach), where we will be sipping on Tsingtao straight from the source.

After that, we will be making the 20 hour train ride to Shanghai, where we will be staying for about a week before returning to Beijing on the 20th. We'll make sure to update regularly, and post a few pictures from the beach and the shopping mecca of Shanghai.

On a more serious note, Ted and I had a great meeting with the volunteers down at Friends of Old Beijing, which had been doing great grassroots advocacy for the preservation of the remaining hutongs in Beijing. If you have a second, you should check out their website so you can get an idea of the fantastic work and advocacy they have been doing in the Beijing community.

But, I'll have to talk about that later. Ted and I have a soft sleeper calling our name ...

"Lazy" Sunday

So Ted and I finally decided to take the subway for the first time yesterday. We had to get to a market all the way across town, and to be honest, my feet have been killing me. I can count three band-aids on them as of right now, and that is even after the restful day we had today. After our plans to see the national museum earlier this week were thwarted when we found out it was closed for repairs, we saw yesterday numerous posters throughout the subway for the capital museum. They were hosting a Greek exhibit on loan from the Louvre, which perked Ted and I's interest immediately.

So when we had no other plans for our lazy Sunday, we decided to go check out this brand spankin' new museum, which was just completed last year. While the in-house collection was not that extensive, we really enjoyed the few pieces that were on display in the special Greek exhibit in the main hall.

The collection was comprised of stone statuary and red and black Attic vases, but was hard to see because of the hordes of people pushing to get a look at the art, all snapping photographs. One man Ted and I saw took at least three pictures of every piece, and at least one of all of the information cards. Sheesh. But instead of me tiredly mumbling on about the exhibit, I thought I would share the few pictures I took:

After a while of pushing through people to get a glimpse at some art, Ted and I had worked up a big appetite and found a little but boisterous place to grab some lunch close to the museum. Everything on the menu was either seafood or spicy food, so we decided to go for the latter. To our table came buckwheat noodles which were smothered in chili oil, and ground chicken floating in a sea of red peppers, ginger, and green onions. Needless to say, the Tsingtao was chugged to extinguish the fires in our mouths, and we left with noses running but pocketbooks barely dented. It makes my nose hurt just thinking about it!

So we rolled ourselves down to the subway for the ride home, where we got to share some intimate moments with our fellow riders... all 100 thousand of them. At one point, I thought Ted and I were going to get separated, as I got pushed onto the 1 line by a sea of Beijingers, while Ted almost got left behind. Luckily he made it in the car with the last desperate push of riders to make the train, and we managed to get home intact.

It was still fairly early in the afternoon, so I decided to let Ted live out his Beijing dream: take a paddle boat out onto Houhai lake. Note to potential paddlers: avoid the damn thing when the wind has been gusting all day. The boats are not necessarily what you would call "aerodynamic" so expect to paddle hard against the wind to get to your destination. Also, if you are above "typical Asian stature", this may not be the ride for you. About 5 minutes in, Ted had to ghetto rig a front seat so that he could paddle from the front, where there was enough leg room to prevent, and I quote, "my ass from cramping up something fierce". But again, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:
Before I forget, I also have to mention the band that we listened to for quite some time before hopping onto the paddle boat. The great thing about Beijing is that there are people doing great things in public all the time. If you visit a park, there is usually something going on, and today at Houhai there was a classical Chinese band there that blew Ted and I away. The violin player (Chinese two string violin: I don't know the technical term) was amazing, and you could tell these old guys knew how to wail. They had drawn a huge crowd, and still had one hours later when Ted and I walked by the same pavilion after the boat ride.

We ended the day with an indulgence that Ted and I have been craving: pizza. Since we were down on Houhai we decided to stop into one of the trendy bars (which was empty being Sunday night and all) to have a beer and some 'za (thanks Lee). The pizza was very mediocre, but it was the first melted cheese we had had in over a week. Yum. And you know, the place was pretty cute. We decided to sit at the big booth with high benches and a low table, where we had to take off our shoes and sit cross-legged on big over-stuffed cushions. This is a far cry from some of the places we have been frequenting since our arrival in Beijing, which usually feature chairs with removable seat covers and chopsticks which come in the same packet as a moist towelette. It almost made the overpriced pizza seem worth it.

Since we only have a couple of days left in Beijing before we head to Qingdao and Shanghai, I thought I would leave you with a shot of the Drum Tower across Houhai at night:

lolbeijing

Count da craens!
Dis Partee propagandeh brot to u by Nintendo Wii!
Um, which wey did the Revolushun go?
U takes us home naow? Pleez?
U doen yet? Iz embarassing.
Huuuugs!
Im in ur marckets maeking a mockery of UO outreech programz
Sad hutong kitteh... iz sad.
O knee how! Pinyin Kitteh halps dumm laowai!

Qianmen, day two

It seemed this morning that Ted and I had began to face the dreaded traveler's burn out. You know, that feeling that you've already seen a lot of things in a city, and its gotten to the point where you no longer wake up instantly with a destination in mind for the day. This morning we had that feeling, as we were clueless about what to do today as we shopped at our local corner store for some essentials and picked up some more delicious tamarind bread (which Ted described on his blog) for breakfast from the hutong.

But while we sat and drank our morning cha (jasmine tea), we both agreed that we should head down to the Qianmen area again. No, we didn't want to go back for the expensive duck, but instead were intrigued by something we had seen the day before.

It was this: a billboard for a new shopping mall, which is to be completed in a hutong style. While it was hard to tell through the gates what exactly had been there before as it had been entirely cleared out for construction, I had heard about sections of Qianmen (historic sections none the less) being torn down to make way for a pedestrian mall as part of an overall city improvement plan to ready Beijing for the Olympics, so we thought we would go down and take a look for ourselves what was happening at the site.

What we saw was quite astounding. While this shopping mall was in no way a sporting venue for the games, it had Olympic logos, complete with Olympic mascots and the Paralympics logo pasted all over the walls which hide the construction site from view. They also showed a computer generated image of what the mall would look like, complete with a trolley system and a multi-cultural shoppers. A similar wall around the corner states "All brands coexist harmoniously: Ideal ancient streetscape for tourists".

Uh-oh. I could see the biggest no-no known to preservations in the making. To a preservationist, tearing down a historic building is bad enough, but building fake disney-fied ones to replace them? Even worse. It is widely accepted internationally that preservation, no matter what the intention, should make it clear which buildings and building sections are originals, and which are new additions or structures. This way, no one is fooled into believing that something is a historic form when it is clearly a reproduction.

But what is happening in Beijing is that the hutong, which was once a non-deserving form that was thrown to the wayside of economic growth, has now been targeted as a huge moneymaker for the city of Beijing. As more and more international-looking, forgettable skyscrapers fill the landscape of Beijing, any and all historic structures, including the hutong, are now bringing in loads of money acting as tourist destinations. International tourists, who can see big buildings anywhere (and whom I know didn't come for the pollution), come to Beijing for the historic value of this place. There is history everywhere, and as the government has recently realized, there is also valuable history in the vernacular form of the siheyuan and the winding hutongs that give a glimpse into imperial life hundreds of years ago.

Now that this realization has occurred, it has almost been to the detriment of these areas, especially those in close proximity to larger cultural sites, as seen at Qianmen. And who knows what is in store for the bombed-out areas I showed you yesterday: they could be luxury apartments, luxury siheyuan (which, by the way, sell for over $1.3 million US), or could be a part of this retail development down the street. With all of these walls up blocking what is really going on at these sites, hidden by phrases such as "600 years of commerce" and Beijing 2008 logos, it is hard to tell at this time what the future holds for Qianmen.

But on a more pleasant note, Ted and I did get to see the Temple of Heaven, which was beautiful in the morning light. There were roses everywhere of all different varieties, and the park was full of beautiful green grass and perfectly planted trees. We followed this up with a nice, cheap lunch in the alley (eating like the locals do, and at the local price - 71 yuan), and made the long trip home, stumbling north through the Xidan shopping district and financial street. Tomorrow we rest in the park, if the weather permits - it started raining just now ...