Recovering in Beijing

Today I booked my ticket at the Liyuan Theatre for the evening daily performance by Beijing Opera. The taxis in Beijing are not great unfortunately - note that they often can't read, so handing them a card will not always help you! Liyuan was difficult to find as it is actually inside the Jiangguo Hotel in Qianmen. http://www.qianmenhotel.com/

Turning right out of Liyuan Theatre I came across a several fairly large music shops (selling both traditional and Western instruments) on the main road (I think Yong'an Lu), where I bought my lovely new erhu. It may well have been the Xing Hai Folk Instrument Factory shop (which is supposed to be on Huaibashi Jie, though I didn't see it signposted). The man and his wife running the shop were very helpful, though unable to speak any English. The area has several very cheap shoe and clothing shops, where I bought two pairs of Nike shoes for £30 - real Chinese prices!!

Later I went to Tian Tan (the Temple of Heaven) which was almost a complete waste of time. Like Tiananmen it was heaving with people, and there was nothing of much interest inside the structures themselves. The park away from the crowds however it quite pleasant, and I'm sure it would be much more so in the early morning as locals come out to play music and dance.

Afterwards I went to visit Niujie Si (Ox Street Mosque), the oldest mosque in Beijing. Not only of interest simply because of the inevitable mix of Chinese and Islamic architecture, the mosque in Xuanwu district was built in 996 and is home to an Imperial edict from the reign of Emperor Kangxi (1694 to be precise) and the tombs of two Sheikhs who visited the mosque to preach in the 13th century. Sadly unless you are muslim you cannot enter the prayer hall. Also be aware of your clothing - if you are wearing shorts you will have to wear trousers. I was fine wearing 3/4-length pants and a top covering my shoulders (no shawl).

It seems that taxis will often drop you off at the Chinese Islamic Association building (which looks far more like a mosque but is completely barren!) - a man working there presented us with a sign in English telling us that Niujie was in fact down the road. I would also have liked to have visited the nearby Fayuan Temple complex. These places have less tourists too.

The evening performance at Liyuan Theatre was well worth it. It cost £28 for a front row seat (where you can sit at a table with some nibbles and tea). I missed pre-performance meet-the-actors-and-watch-them-make-up session, but thankfully I see that a bit anyway being in London Jingkun Opera Association! You're advised to come at 6:40, and the show starts at 7:30. The show itself was only an hour and a collection of some of the most epic scenes from famous operas, but nevertheless well worth it. I was recommended to go to Huguang theatre (nearby) but I can't see how it would have been much different - though it is a much older building where the infamous Mei Lanfang once performed. I'm not sure whether they are full opera performances or not. At the end of the day the performances are designed for tourists but are still performed by top class actors and musicians from the Beijing opera institutes. http://beijing-travels.com/beijing_guide/theater/

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Part of trip: Yunnan

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