East-West Fusing: Beijing

AT first it was hard to believe how different Beijing’s atmosphere, landscape and style are compared to the Shanghai-Hangzhou-Nanjing triangle I had only ever known. No skyscrapers jutting to the moon or hyper-modern design, just three-story buildings, spacious roads, tree-lit sidewalks and plenty of quiet, peaceful hutongs. As the high-speed train sailed into Beijing South Railway Station there was no ongoing urban sprawl announcing we were entering the eternal capital, just mountains and farms. As we sped towards downtown in the subway, digital advertisements flickered on the tunnel walls like a movie, known as a zoetrope, and created a blurry idea of Beijing’s less-than-brash modernity. After refreshing at the hostel and stepping out into a famed hutong, fire crackers filled the night air signifying the Year of the Snake. It also presented me with the chance to explore a city so different to anywhere else I’d seen in China. Thinking back, there were five activities that shaped my Beijing experience and left me wanting more or this eclectic capital.

1. Da Dong Peking Duck Restaurant
When a group of friends from Wuxi took me to this restaurant for a traditional roast duck, I expected a crowded, loud, casual eatery, filled with smoke and bottles of Tsing Tao. How wrong I was. Da Dong is one of the most famous seafood restaurants in Beijing, particularly Chef Dong’s specialty: sea cucumber. Though I didn’t try the deep sea specimen my friends and I did opt for a whole barbequed duck and dish of shrimp. The duck, lean, fresh and roasted to perfection, is carved at your table and served with pancakes and condiments. Since it was the festive season, DaDong presented each table with a sweet pre-dinner appetizer: an intricately designed red toffee apple accompanied with cherry cheesecake balls. Alongside amazing food, DaDong’s restaurant radiates traditional China like I have never seen before. Ornaments and paintings cover this popular joint and give any visitor to Beijing a taste of class in the capital. Be sure to visit more than once. A half duck is more than enough for two people – if you get too greedy, the rich taste can cause sickness. Trust me, I know from experience. After dinner grab an acrobatics show at the nearby Chaoyang Theatre. Address: 3 Tuanjiehu Beikou, Dongsanhuan Lu, Chaoyang District. Ph: 010-6582-2892/4003.

2. Red Theatre
Kung Fu, China and movies are synonymously associated. To have the opportunity to see Red Theatre’s Kung Fu show was an introduction to a traditional China I have little knowledge about. Initially I expected this show to be a display of brute strength and routine but was surprised to find theatrical elements just as vivid as the action. Red Theatre mix gritty Kung Fu moves with the story of a man’s journey from student to Zen master. The show begins on a sombre note with the boy leaving his mother forever to become entrenched in the ways of a monk. A smart series of acts ensues including crowd-pleasing displays of iron strength. The show keeps the audience captivated by swinging from the boy’s story and growth into adulthood to amazing physical feats and some acrobatics. The mix of history, personal sentiment and physicality not only entertains but also educates the viewer about a monk’ sacrifices. Red Theatre’s architecture is also worth a look at with symbolic red metal architecture wrapped over the front of the centre. www.redtheatre.cn For discount tickets phone: 1355 252 7373.


3. Dongcheng District
Walking through Dongcheng District it seems like everyday life unfolds like it has done for centuries before. That is until you unexpectedly come across the Bell and Drum Towers. The monstrous buildings command respect as everyday life unfolds in the surrounding hutongs. A feeling of history waves over you as you soak in this sight. My group saw it at sunset. Although there are shows here through the day, including tours, take time to visit this ancient wonder as the sun fades. A feeling of eternity washes over you. How many others have stood transfixed on the Bell Tower as the sun goes down? Afterwards, check out local markets and enjoy the eclectic clash: history stands next to modernity; western stores pop up crammed between the traditional. Pay a visit to the thirsty-for-blood Vampire in Beijing souvenir store to get an idea of just how multi-faceted and tasteful this district is. From tradition to transition, you will be consumed by its individual charms and creativity. As night sets in, head to nearby Houhai for a drink at any of the several bars. Vampire in Beijing: No. 109-3 Gulou East Street, Dongcehng District, Telephone: 13693338067

4. Long Qing Gorge
My friend and I spent about as long researching and planning how to get to Longqing Gorge Ice Festival as we actually did there. The hostel staff was incredibly unhelpful- even after 3 hours of continuous questioning until they finally remembered you could take a train to Yanqing City. Trains depart half-hourly from Beijing North Railway Station and a one-way ticket costs RMB6. The train trip took 1.5 hours and was totally worth it. You see mountains, the Great Wall, snow, creeks and a lot of pine forest. It definitely set up the afternoon/evening for a magical experience. After arriving at the Yanqing City train station, a friendly couple from a nearby village escorted us to the gorge. There's a lot to see here in any season but perhaps most spectacular during January and February when event organizers chip ice block into a mass of temples, churches, igloos, and sculptures that stand proudly in the frigid winter temperatures beneath the gorge wall. During summer, hiking, boat tours and water sports – including bungee jumping – are up for anyone wanting adventure. If in winter, toboggan down the gorge and drive a bumper car on  ice. They’re cool extra's after you’re done sightseeing. The last train to Beijing from Yanqing City is at around 9:15PM but we got a taxi back to Beijing for RMB400. It’s definitely worth going to see the Ice Festival even if it's a time consuming effort to organize how to get there.
Travel: S train from Beijing North Railway Station to Yanqing City or ask hotel staff for bus route.

Wangfujing Snack Street
5. After visiting several cities on the China seaboard, traipsing Wangfujing Snack St in Beijing is the most vivid, traditional food market I have ever seen. Packed with people, there is a plethora of different foods to feast your eyes, and if you’re daring, taste buds on.

Want some crackle and pop, try scorpions, seahorse, sparrow or snake. One friend was up for the challenge and after devouring snake on skewer said it tasted like fried chicken. This snack street, set in the heart of Beijing’s busiest shopping district, is an exhibition in itself: a unique east-west fusion of Chinese traditional culture united with a nation’s modern vision for the future.

Icy Art At A Beijing Gorge

A sea of snow-covered mountains encompasses a train track north-west of Beijing where the Great Wall towers proudly and, in places, lays dormant through age and ruin. As the train weaves past rock protrusions, snow, creeks and pine forest, it’s easy to be mesmerized by the scenery of Badaling’s mountains and forget your destination: Long Qing Gorge - Beijing’s answer to the Harbin Ice Festival.

After disembarking at Yanqing City station a driver takes you for a leisurely 20 minute ride to what seems to be nothing more than a series of parking lots. Leaving the warmth of the ultra-small jeep the cold is inviting, not too bitter. Flocks of Chinese tourists head towards a colored-pillar decorated with lights, similar to an amusement park entrance. The walk, perhaps 500 meters, provides time to appreciate the atmosphere and buzz of the crowd. What exactly will you experience? Will you walk on ice? Is the festival actually on top of the icy gorge? How much ice will there be? Why are there so many lights? Questions seem endless until you take a sweeping look around at the panoramic view. The sun is slowly setting and the mountains glow with the soft, relaxing texture of snow. Trees stand plentifully. A series of bright, yellow lights work their way up and down mountain sides depicting an artificial Great Wall.

You buy a RMB5 ticket and get whisked away on a fast buggy to the ice festival entrance. Riding into the gorge, mountain walls close in. You enter the festival gates and see a series of trees covered with lanterns and lights: blue, red, green, white. Is it Christmas? A small voice inside says: “I hope this isn’t a light show.” In the background water gushes. Is it the gorge? No, a small man-made water course with ice jagging up its sides straddles a pagoda. Surrounding the pagoda and stream, lights and sculptures stand still on fields of ice. Touching the sculptures it becomes clear they are foam and concrete, not ice. Where’s the ice? Be patient. It’s still stunning stuff. A festive Chinese New Year spirit reminds you the Year of the Snake has arrived. Beijing’s traditions seem so vivid and strong: Exuberant.

After 20 minutes of continuous Kodak moments an enormous, colorful dragon attracts a large crowd. More pictures. You touch the dragon. It’s not ice, again just foam. A fellow foreigner walks by and says to her companions confidently: “I’m ready to see the real sculptures now.” Relax, there is more to this expedition.

At the end of the ice field a ceaseless stream of visitors walk past a large hotel. Following them down the route, ice abounds all around. The path descends deeper into the gorge flanked by 10-foot walls of ice. It seems to be growing off the wall like a green fungus might in a rainforest. In fact it has been shaped by relentless wind hammering at water as it transforms into ice. The path opens up into a concrete yard and the first icy highlight - an igloo – comes into sight. You pull off a glove and feel the dry ice with your bare hand. The ice is clear and pure like the actual water of Long Qing Gorge. So clear and clean it could pass for glass. People fill the interior of the igloo shouting with excitement, children run and adults test the building’s strength by stomping. Nothing breaks or cracks - cannot be glass. Reassured you enjoy the feel of the ice on your hands and the insulating warmth it brings.

Ice structures the shape of building pillars pop up colored with neon- lights. A tent stretching the width of the narrow gorge blocks any visitor from seeing more. Inside the tent an abundance of life-like sculptures stand perfectly still. So intricate in detail, life-like creations of waves, fish, and Chinese temples are reminders of the festival’s location in northern China while Greek Gods Zeus and Hera stand ruthlessly and capture everybody’s attention. Visitors admire the talent it takes to chisel ice block into such versatile and fragile shapes. Where does the sculptor find the motivation and passion to chisel frozen water into an array of awe-inspiring figurines, like a metamorphosis, testament to mankind’s history? 
 
In the distance a fortified city of ice emerges, complete with a series of buildings including a church, temple, God and Great Wall-style entrance gate. An army of people enjoy the novelty of walk up ice stairs and through the entrance gate. Children run up the steps innocently, not fearful of the damage ice can inflict. Every sculpture stands firm in the frigid temperatures beneath Long Qing Gorge’s dam wall.

 Eventually you weave your way through the ice city to the end of the tent. The gigantic dam wall towers above you. Icicles plaster the wall creating yet another family portrait opportunity. The base of the wall consists of ice penguins and plum blossoms. A perfect setting and conclusion to a festival full of surprise. Finish off the night by taking escalators to the top of the dam wall and tobogganing down around the ice festival. If you want to soak the atmosphere in a little more, enjoy a bumper car ride on ice at the summit of the toboggan track- something you’ll only see in China.

If time is scarce to get to this year’s Ice Festival don’t worry. Touted a summer paradise where people can escape the concrete jungle of Beijing- and its smog- Long Qing Gorge is also home to a wide variety of activities including bungee jumping, water sports and hiking. There’s always something to do at Long Qing Gorge.

The City

Mega-City Pace And You

Pudong skyline at dusk.

SHANGHAI: the 24/7 city that sucks you in. Everyone wants a piece of this dynamic, global centre. The pace never slows, it only gets faster and often leaves you in a whirlwind. If you’re not on the go, then you’re probably working in an office 30 floors high in the sky. Such is life here: crammed and overloaded elevators, jammed subways with elbows jabbing, furious traffic honking, cell phones and iPads blaring tunes and last but definitely not least, digital advertising screaming at your face. Whether it’s a brightly-lit digital billboard on the street, or loud TV infomercials in the Metro and taxi, advertisers have got you in check. Stress, lack of space, never-ending chains of skyscrapers, and some serious noise lead any Westerner into a confused frenzy. Sleepless in Shanghai, if you like – not stress-less in Shanghai.

Now, at the famed M50, you can see life in Shanghai through a microscope. Art collaborative island6 has created an exhibit entitled Need.Want.Hunt. It’s about people’s attitude in this mega city, or to be more exact, human instinct. To the artists of island6, collectively known as Liu Dao, their original inspiration - traffic - looked at the psychology of life in Shanghai. “Traffic could be seen as very literal or a direction in life,” French director Thomas Charvériat says. “It’s about where you are going and coming from.” 

In their exhibit of Shanghai’s human instinct, the team has portrayed urban modernization through LED artwork of animals and people caged and in transit, images of bike traffic, opposing panoramas of vast open spaces, and construction site models (the trademark symbol of China’s mass modernization and urban sprawl). In essence, Need.Want.Hunt. is all about how people interact with one another and live, as animals, in this concrete jungle. “Instinct is about what you want and have to do,” Charvériat says. “Look at the traffic jam, there are so many fights on the E-Bike. You just adapt to living here and if you don’t like it you go.”

Trying to escape people and activity is almost impossible in Shanghai. Charvériat says Western expats don’t unwind here at all but prefer to take vacations abroad to get peace, quiet, sun and nature. Many Westerners think of parks or a natural space as a place to relax, rest or rejuvenate in order to get priorities and thoughts straight - even during a lunch break. In the concrete jungle of Shanghai, the park may not offer the same result. Body and Soul Medical Clinic’s clinical psychologist Trine Pless-Rasmussen, from Denmark, says Western people find public green spaces too stressful here. “The big green areas in Shanghai have traffic all around and it’s not like we know it back in the West,” she says. “Westerners don’t get that peace in the park and they appreciate nature, quiet and space. I know a number of people who are really craving nature here.”

What to do? If peace and quiet in the park isn’t easily accessed in your district or it’s a stressful venture, try a traditional Chinese activity. “There are many Chinese traditions to incorporate into life here to de-stress,” Pless-Rasmussen says. In China, fortunately, mental exercises are in abundance. Yoga and Tai Chi are proven to relax the soul and gain peace of mind. Spa, massage and acupuncture are also popular ways to let go and get some personal time. “It’s important to get your own mental space that you can create in your own home, or a restaurant or a place where you can just relax,” Pless-Rasmussen says. “It’s all about personal comfort.”

Keeping your cool through the daily commotion of life in Shanghai can be a challenge for any Westerner. Adaptation and acceptance of Shanghai’s fast pace and ultra-competitive nature are essential. Counselor at Balanced Heart Counseling Christine Forte says people try to keep up with “strenuous work hours” and the fast-pace of life here without being conscious of how it’s affecting them. It can create a sensory overload. “It can be more exhausting if you feel you’ve seen, heard and experienced so much in one day than if you have been in a quiet place with less stimuli,” Forte says. Couple that idea with the stress of feeling like there’s no space to breathe. In mega cities like Shanghai, London and New York, people become more sensitive about their personal space, which is often lost in the hustle and bustle of the daily grind.

So, for foreigners new and old to Shanghai, being resourceful is crucial to getting away from the fury of the masses, ear-splitting noise, buildings that stretch endlessly into the distance, and saturated advertising. “If there’s something inconvenient prepare for it, don’t be angry,” Forte says. When commuting or stuck in one of Shanghai’s numerous cues, listening to a pod cast, relaxing music or audio book are good time-passers. The other option is to play games like solitaire, do crosswords, read, or travel with someone. 

Whatever it takes, make sure you don’t lock yourself indoors like a prisoner to relax all the time. Get out of your apartment for some fresh air and sunlight. After all, that’s a large sum of the reason why people choose to live in Shanghai. Interaction, energy and a never-ending hive of activity keep us all interested in this evolving city. In the words of Pless-Rasmussen: “Just get out there – you have to look for it.” It’s a challenge that should pay off. After all, this city offers whatever you desire.