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Published: April 23rd 2006
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Joanne's last day off work and we don't really have any big plans for the day so we take it easy in the morning and head out in the afternoon towards Taijichang daije and Wangfujing daije in the southwest not too far from Tianamen square. This area has some dedicated pedestrian streets only and is filled with chic shops and restaurants and foreign devils mucking about. Of course this means that I am targeted by hopeful touts roaming the area. Let's take Suzy the teacher as the typical example. A young English speaking woman wanting to know where you are from, what you are doing in China, how long you will stay, what you like best etc. It just so happens that she has a friend (or a friend of a friend, or whatever) that operates this really nice gallery just a few blocks away and would I be interested in having a look? Etc. etc. What we do find more interesting is one of the many tea shops to be found in this part of the world. And unlike trendy coffee shops and cafés there is a sort of magical aura that encapsulates these botiques. If I gave it some
time, I am sure I would be drawn into the subculture of tea and its many aspects, as there are so many weird sorts to try out and truly beautiful pottery and porcelain works that go with it. At a glance it is hard to have any idea of what is supposed to be especially good or bad, the inflated price tags will help. 1200 USD for a kilogram of tea anyone?
We have our dinner in a chilly basement restaurant that specializes in some kind of hot noodle soup. Joanne and Kay have a look at the counter to pick out some additional pig spare parts but I prefer to keep my distance to these things. I think the photos are enough explanation as to why. The waitress brings in three large bowls of noodle soup and an assortment of plates with things to shove inside it. It doesn't rank as one of my favourite places but the soup is nice. After dinner we walk around the shops of the area and I have a look for interesting books and cds. I pick up some dirt cheap official cds including some poetry by Mao and a compilation of
selected military march music. Who can possibly resist titles such as
March of the Rocket Troops,
March of the Women Soldiers or
The Three Main Rules of Discipline and the Eight Points for Attention of the Chinese PLA?
Never mind the fact that we just had dinner, we wander into the Wangfujing food courts and the many stalls of vendors offering exotic snacks for consumption. The general rules of engagement, as always, seem to be, "We saw it moved, we caught it, now you eat it". Joanne offers us to try some delicious fish balls and Kay is happy to locate a vendor offering meat sticks. Unfortunately they were not quite up to the standards of the ones we had in Shanghai. The more exotic and terrifying snacks on offer include impaled live scorpions slowly writhing their tortured bodies on sticks next to (thankfully) dead sea horses, starfish or what is supposedly some kind of silkworms.
We end the night walking west along the gigantic Dongchangan Jie boulevard, flanked by some of Beijing's most imposing concrete colossi, it just seems to be tailor made to offer an army or two to parade their divisions through the heart of
the city. The entrance to the forbidden city glows impressively in the chilly night, a sight to carry with me as I return to my own cold and just generally dark hometown.
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