1.14.2007

xiao jie (little miss) in a big city


so i've pretty much finished exploring beijing, although we didn't get a chance to see some of the sights (i.e. White Dagoba, Temple of Heaven, eating another round of Peking Duck) because we ran out of time or we had seen enough temples or it was just too cold to warrant further exploration as we sipped our delicious hot tea. one bonus due to the freezing weather is that the rivers and lakes are all frozen over...so much so that you can definitely shortcut across the frozen lake (like at the Summer Palace) from the Buddhist Fragrance Pavilion to the 17-Arch Bridge (yep, all the chinese residents disregard the "stay off the ice" signs so we joined in as well like a good pair of lemmings). at Beihai Park, you could even pay an exorbitant amount (100 rmb or about $12.50) to ride across the lake on a bicycle with sleigh runners! the Great Wall was quite a sight, but the scenery was not as delightful as it would have been in the spring, summer, or fall. incidentally, the driver we hired was great and if you will be in beijing, check out www.beijing-driver.com.










on our last day, we tackled the Panjiayuan or Dirt Market, which takes place only on the weekends and is jam-packed with vendors selling all kinds of "antiques" and tchotchkes. we did find some fun stuff and attempted bargaining, which we were sort of successful at considering i would sometimes give up because i was too worn out from haggling or was too cold. i did "trick" some sellers into thinking i was from beijing with my improving chinese conversational skills.
so now i'm in chongqing (or chungking) and will be embarking on a river cruise down the Yangtze to see the 3 Gorges in first-class style before the area becomes flooded with the opening of the 3 Gorges Dam. hopefully i'll be able to post some purdy photos. oh and i have yet to find funny chinglish signs in beijing. the signs are almost too well-translated and have an odd ring to them, such as the sign that said "a single act of carelessness leads to the eternal loss of beauty" which was seen in the Forbidden City, but i'm still keeping an eye peeled for the next one to share with you all!

6 comments:

Greg said...

The ice bike is just awesome. What are those people doing in the background? It almost looks like ice toilets that they are sitting on, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I am wrong ;)

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