Take It Back Now Ya'll

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Now that I am settled in, I owe a few stories of my Beijing adventure. So where were we...

Beijing is also known as 毒都, which means the poison capital. It was given such a name for a good reason. The air quality is horrid. There were days the sun was hidden by the dense Beijing smog. I would be noonday, and the exact location of sun would stll be unknown. After a few days, breathing felt like a small battle. Fellow teachers began developing what we called the Beijing lung; it was characterized by cough, mild asthma and mild apnea. The streets of Beijing were filthy, although not quite as bad as some parts of Manila. Despite the people constantly picking it up, there was always trash. The day of great rain lead to ankle deep water mixed with garbage. Surely, this is not all Beijing has to offer.

Even though the streets, the air and the water of Beijing were all dirty, the city did have character. Unlike Shenzhen, this city is ancient history melded with modern skyscrapers. The older portions of the BeiDa Campus were newish buildings based on old Chinese architecture. There were portions of campus with newly built halls that reflect a new modern identity.

So even though Beijing is a dirty city, it is a cultural relic with a modern twist.

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Photos

The Pond
Directly next to the West Gate is a beautiful pond.

The New
One of the newer buildings on the North side of BeiDa

The Path
A path that lies along a creek

The Old
There were several buildings on campus that reflect the old styles of ancient China.

The New 2
All of the newer buildings do not reflect old styles of buildings but create a new modern appeal.

The Pagoda by the Lake
A tall pagoda resting by the lake.

The Lake of Beida
I don't know how many campuses have lakes, but this one did.

Comments

[lisa]

What a neat experience! I guess it's not too shocking to you, but I so enjoy the commentary!