Donghua Men "Snack Street" (1), Beijing: Everything from Soup to Bugs...

I don't know what it says about me that, amidst ancient temples, Chinese opera and the Great Wall, one of the high points of my trip thus far is Donghua Men Street, where you can find every exotic snack from the mild (fruit kebabs) to the challenging (bugs)!

 I know that you are waiting to see me eat bugs, and I promise not to disappoint!  But for now, let's take a walk past each of the stalls and choose a snack...

Click here  for the YouTube link.

Beijing Smog: A Fashionable Solution...

Supposedly the smog has gotten much better since the clean-up efforts that surrounded the Olympics.  But people who live here will still say that the smog is a serious concern. During humid times of year the fog can be of equal concern from a visual perspective, but at least the rains that follow help clear the air.

I tried to take the following pictures from approximately the same place, so as to illustrate the differences in air quality.  Here is a picture of a typical smoggy day:

Here is what it looks like on a rainy day (smog + fog):

And here is a picture of a rare, but beautiful clear day.  This is what they refer to as "Blue Sky" days in Beijing and you can measure the air quality by the number reported in a year.

If you are looking for an ironic and fashionable solution to the smog problem, from a personal approach at least, you can protect your lungs a bit with a cotton face-mask.  But rather than going around looking like a surgeon on lunch break, you can instead opt for a stylish cartoon face-mask, like this one I found at an "all panda" shop in one of the busy houtongs!:

Notice the little skully-carcinogen looking bad guys inside the panda?  He is saying "No,no!" and looks very perturbed.  Priceless.

In order to see what it looks like on, I have engaged this individual to model it for you.  For his sake I have protected his identity ;)

WangFu Jing Street: Dichotomies at their best...

If you are looking for a place to buy your upscale European gear and still be able to grab some fried cicadas and silk worm kabobs on the way home, WangFu Jing Street has it all.  If you start at one end you can buy your Prada and Burberry, then weave your way through the crowd to the far end, turn the corner and you're on Donghua Men Street where you can snack on fried bugs until you come to your senses!

WangFu Jing street has actually been around since the middle of the Ming Dynasty and has housed commercial activity nearly the entire time.  the area was originally settled by eight aristocratic estates who located there when a particularly special water source was discovered he the well there.  The name "WangFu" means "aristocratic residence and "Jing" means "well".

Sorry some of these pics are a bit blurry, but that's what happens when you are trying to keep up with a long legged white man in a crowd like this ;)

  Next post: Donghua Men Street!

Temple of Heaven (7): Music in the Temple Gardens (VIDEO)

Beyond the beauty of the historic architecture, the gardens on the grounds of the temple are beautifully landscaped, and in the open areas musician gather to play and sing traditional Chinese music. 

Below is a video of a man playing a traditional Chinese instrument as people gather and (try) to sing along.  Here is the YouTube link.

Here is a group of men who have gathered at the gates of the temple to sing.  Here is the YouTube link.

One of the beautiful old trees in the temple gardens.

Temple of Heaven (6): Sketching at the Temple draws a crowd of children (VIDEO)

Since he was last here in 1982, Beijing has changed... a lot.  But historic sites like this one change very little, aside from the multitude of baseball hats and cell phones.  So D chose to sketch the hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, since it was one of the landmarks he remembered most from his childhood trip.

At times like these, since I'm not really into drawing inanimate objects, I generally just sketch D as he is sketching.  I know, its seems weird, but I'm not that great at drawing architecture, so I would only do it an injustice.  Plus, its kinda funny.  People definitely had a laugh when they watched D drawing and then came around to see what I was drawing, amidst all this historic architecture, and its just a sketch of him sketching.  Oh well, I amuse myself ;)





  

Here is my sketchbook with my phone set to the Temple of Heaven page from the Beijing Taxi Cards app on my iphone. 

Wherever he goes to sketch, he always draws a crowd of curious children and sometimes adults.  They always want to pose for pictures with you too, which I agree to do with children, but not adults.  Its not that they think you are a celebrity, just that, you look different... or at least he does.  Anyway, the children were cute and funny, especially this solid little man in the yelllow tshirt.

And here is some of the video of the children watching him sketch.  So cute!  Here is the YouTube link, if you prefer.

Temple of Heaven (5): The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests... VIDEO!

Here a brief look at the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests on video.  You can see how crowded it was, and this was not even the most crowded area.  Its interesting also to hear the variety of languages in the background.  Here is the YouTube link.

Temple of Heaven (4): The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is the main attraction on this site and even the path leading to it is significant.

This sign explains the Danbi Bridge, which is the oldest overpass in the "ancient capital of Beijing".  It had separate walking areas for people based on social rank.

 



Next you  approach yet another set of gates to pass through and following that a kind of bridge building which would have been guarded, I presume.

The detail and color of all of these buildings is repeated throughout the site.  They have been restored to their originally intended color, which is much brighter than you might expect.  Much like when the Sistine chapel was restored and everyone thought it was too bright, despite records showing that those were the original colors.

Now, finally we get our first glimpse of the Circular structure of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.  It is set an a circular marble structure, much like the altar mound, and the building is much larger in size than the Imperial Vault.

One is not allowed inside, but if you worm and crush your way into the front you can snap a picture over the heads of the other tourists.  I'm very tenacious ;)

More to come...

Temple of Heaven (3): The Temple Grounds

Surrounding the Imperial Vault are smaller, but equally beautiful buildings housing symbolic offerings and prayers. Knowing that nearly everything about this type of architecture is symbolic, its easy to begin reading into the meaning and purpose of everything.

The colors, quantities, shapes, directions and, of course animals or symbols depicted, all have specific meanings.  For instance, Earth is represented by a square and Heaven by a circle.  The number nine refers to the Emperor and the number twelve refers to the hours of the day and the months of the year.

The colors that seem to prevail over most of this type of architecture are also significant.  All of the buildings in the Temple of Heaven have dark blue roof tiles, which symbolize Heaven.  Red, generally considered a good luck color, also represents a fire element, which can chase out evil spirits.  Gold, or golden yellow, represents Earth, wealth and happiness.














 
Also on the Temple grounds are these precious protected trees which are hundreds of years old and also believed to hold special spiritual qualities.

Here is the "Nine Dragon Juniper", so called because of the spiral grooves encircling the trunk like "dragon writhing up to the sky".  Or, as the translation below says "wreathing" up to the sky ;).

More to come... 

Temple of Heaven (2): The Imperial Vault of Heaven

The second structure you encounter at the Temple of Heaven is the Imperial Vault of Heaven.  It is a circular structure like the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, which is the main attraction and resembles it in design.  

This is the sign above the entrance to the Imperial Vault of Heaven.  Notice the chicken wire to keep the birds from roosting in there.

 Here is the carving that goes up the steps leading to the from entrance (although they direct the tourists around the side, as you can see).


























Below the carving is this sign.  I don't know what it says... maybe, "don't walk on the carving".

The Imperial Vault of Heaven is surrounded by an Echo Wall, which can transmit sound long distances, most likely used for prayer.  If you look closely at the wall you can see where people have scratched in graffiti.  I wonder if they are prayers or just "I was here" scrawls.

Inside, the first thing I noticed was the beautiful, intricate ceiling. Partly because It was so crowded you had to worm your way in to get a look at anything below head level.  Well, thank God for long arms (to hold up the camera) and determination.  I was able to squeeze in to get this picture of the inside, which contained some beautiful, symbolic offerings.  

More to come...

"Beijing Cool": Beijing Fashion and Sub-Culture

Remember Fruits and Fresh Fruits, the collection of photographs by Shoichi Aoki, documenting Tokyo street fashion and subculture?  That book was an obsession for me for years.  So I was excited to find this book "Beijing Cool".

Like "Fruits", this is a collection of photos of street fashion by Ai Weiwei, whose style is decidedly more hands-on artistic, rather than the more removed journalistic style of Shoichi Aoki.

The fashion in each book differs as well.  One can assume it is due to cultural differences, but I will also point out that, as a photographer, one still chooses what and whom to shoot.  So the images also reflect the photographer's tastes.  




















In any case, Weiwei's collection from "Beijing Cool" seems to reflect an edgier, grittier more New York style while still maintaining the Asian penchant for bright colors and cartoon references.  It was only in relation to this new book, did I notice how the Tokyo fashion in Aoki's book seemed much more innocent and optomistic, reflecting the politics and mindset of the young people and their personal expressions.  Perhaps Beijing kids have more reason to be a bit darker and more realistic in their views of the world and therefore, their personal self-expression through fashion and art.

In any case, this book is my new obsession, inspiring me to feel more freedom and individuality in my fashion expressions, as I hope it inspires you :)  I will post more images in the future, but for now this is a taste of  street fashion from the other side of the world!

Temple of Heaven (1): You are now entering the Temple of Heaven...

You are now entering the Temple of Heaven.  Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to try to take pictures that  do not include baseball hats.  Good luck.

Its summer, vacation season, and despite the fact that there are thousands of international tourists visiting these historical sites, there are even more Chinese tourists visiting.  With Westernization being what it is today (and the fact that baseball hats no longer require any association to the game of baseball) its virtually impossible to take a photo that does not have a baseball hat in it somewhere. Really.  Look closely and count them in the photos.  It could be a drinking game.

Oh well, I am taking photos document my trip, not to get published in National Geographic.  And besides, this is China as it is today.  Part of what I have enjoyed seeing is a culture incorporating input from around the world (well, limited input due to the Great Firewall of China, and other kinds of censorship) and blending those things into their own unique interpretation.  Even if I'm not down with all the baseball hats.

 











The Temple of Heaven is a complex of Taoist buildings in Beijing built between 1406 - 1420 by the Yongle Emporer, who also built the Forbidden City, so the style of architecture, colors and architectural details are very similar.  

The complex is as much landscape design as it is architecture, which you can see illustrated in this aerial map from Sacred-Destinations.com.  Both of which influenced design in the Far East for many centuries afterward.

After entering through two sets of gates, and crossing walkways with sections that include designated areas for people, depending on their societal class, you arrive at the Circular Mound Altar, where the Emperor prayed for good harvests.

    The Circular Mound Altar is a marble structure made up of three circular platforms.  It was built originally a in 1530 and re-built in 1740, so it was not part of the original design.  However, it is a distinguishing feature of the site and one hat sets it apart.  

According to Wikipedia, "The number nine represents the Emperor and is evident in the design of the Circular Mound Altar: a single round marmor plate is surrounded by a ring of nine plates, then a ring of 18 plates, and so on for a total of nine surrounding rings, the outermost having 9×9 plates".

Also, for some reason, people like to do the Titanic pose in the center of the top level.  So naturally, I must join in.  I should mention that this is listed as a "sacrificial altar", so I can only assume there were animal sacrifices of some kind?  I will have to research further.

Here is the view towards the rest of the complex...

Stay tuned for the next installment of the Temple of Heaven, featuring the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and the Imperial Vault of Heaven...