China Travels

It was so much fun to see Beijing through Matthew’s eyes!  

My last experience of Beijing was  October  2009 as a tourist here, never thinking I would one day live in China.  The twists of fate.....

We stayed in a hotel that is so close to the subway you could just about spit and reach it.  This is a huge bonus (as we REALLY found that out in Hangzhou later, but that is another story!)  The subway in Beijing is great!  2 RMB (40 cents NZ) to anyplace on the subway!  AND it is extensive.  

The bell and drum towers in the Hutongs, Beijing

We visited the bell and drum towers - not far from our hotel in the Hutongs (the old, maze-like area of Beijing).  In the older days in China, these towers were very important.  Originally they were used for music, but later they were used to tell the time - the only way people had to tell time in those days.  The bell went in the morning and the drum in the evening, in certain patterns.  

Seahorses, starfish and wriggling scorpions on
skewers.  You choose - they cook!

Tiannamen Square, looking at the Forbidden City

Matthew and I explored the Hutongs. the Forbidden City and Tianammen Square, which are the main highlights of Beijing.  the night markets are Wangfujing Road proved more than Matthew’s stomach (and mine!!) could handle - wriggling scorpions on skewers, starfish and seahorses! 

Peking Duck restaurant

We went to a restaurant that specializes in Peking duck (like of COURSE you have to have Peking duck in Beijing!!!)  It is well-known and you get your own carver who sorts out the carving of the duck.  We both enjoyed it, and also enjoyed the amazing dessert served with dry ice afterwards!

The National Performing Arts Centre

The Performing Arts Center looks like a space blimp.  We walked around it and could not figure out how to get in - until we did 360 degrees (yes, that is looooong walk) and saw that the entrance and walkway are UNDER the water, and  the clear perspex allows the ripples to glow as you walk under it.  

Entering the Performing Arts Centre

The Temple of Heaven

Matthew then went to the Military Museum, while I went to the Temple of Heaven, which is a World Heritage site.  It was beautiful and the grounds were great, too, full of dancers, karaoke singers and people enjoying the sunshine.  Dinner at a hotpot restaurant was different and  we enjoyed that novel experience.  

Matthew on the Great Wall of China

We went to the Ming Tombs and of course the Great Wall was AWESOME!!!  We were  at Mutianyu and went up by chairlift, enjoyed the quiet scenery (which was Matthew’s specific request) and then luged down to the bottom (a real highlight)!  What I noticed most was the difference in foliage.  I was last there in the autumn and this time, in the spring, there were many blossoms and buds, lashings of color and wonderful smells.  

Next we went to a sculpture / art area of Beijing.  It is fairly new and we both really enjoyed the little shops, cafes and restaurants.  

Although we didn’t go to the Summer Palace, we DID go to the old Summer Palace, which was a  park setting and really interesting.  


And there ends our trip to Beijing.  We really had a great time!!

The Garden Center - Chinese-style! (Pudong Flower Market)

24th April, 2011 (late posting, I know!)

Pudong Flower Market

I had fully intended to write about my recent Beijing trip, but I had an unexpected adventure in Shanghai, so Beijing will have to wait a bit longer.

This morning after I went to the local market, I decided to look for some plants and seeds for our upcoming unit about plants.  I had heard there is a flower market in Pudong, so after a bit of research, off I went!

The place was not at all what I expected, having thought it would sort of garden-center-ish.  It was a long strip with little cubicles of shops, some with plants, seeds, jade, small pieces of furniture, seeds, containers and vases, picture framing, fish, birds, dogs and kittens and much, much more! 

Fighting crickets

I had heard about the fighting crickets and this is the first place I have seen them.  The little red-rimmed rings you can see in the photo are plugs of food that the keepers plug in from below so they don’t lose the crickets! 

Bird cages

The bird cages are very traditional (and quite lovely), made of bamboo and had china water containers.  There were also stray chickens on the ground eating any stray bits of food that came their way!  

Fish to buy.  Dinner or pets???

There were many types of fish, some in tank, but these storage facilities amused me.  Nothing flash or pretentious about fish in basins on the ground!

A unique pet!

The next thing to catch my eye were these worm things in a round fishbowl.  Upon investigation (and investigation is quite hard here because they hit you up to buy as soon as you take a second glance!), I decided they were silkworms.  The silkworms are interesting, but at a garden / pet bazaar?  Names?  How about Bonnie or Silkie?  Tweed?  Spinner?  How would you tell one pet silkworm from the other?  

What cracked me up the most were the “doggie fashions”.  This is popular here and almost all dogs have “clothes” and sometimes even shoes!  (Although I had never seen them hanging on hangars to purchase until now.)  So have a close look at these little numbers for the well-dressed dog!

What the best-dressed dog wears!

My post about Beijing will come to you very soon!

xxx,

Shanghai Suz