Day, night, weekend or weekday you can always count on the traffic here. It gives you plenty of time to contemplate the key words they like to post at busy intersections.
The focus these days: Patriotism, Innovation, Inclusiveness, Virtue and "Beijing Spirit". Hard to argue with all that!
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The focus these days: Patriotism, Innovation, Inclusiveness, Virtue and "Beijing Spirit". Hard to argue with all that!
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It was a fairly busy weekend here at the mid point of the trip.
Friday evening was somewhat low key. We spent most of the evening at the hotel with just a short venture out for Italian food.
On Saturday we headed to the Pearl Market and later hiked over to a nearby department store for some Baijiu shopping (that is, the Chinese "White Wine" or my earlier label "VLL").
Afterward we walked through the nearby residential neighborhood and checked out the activities in the park (lots of gambling and smoking):
We also found the bike shop (open but unattended)...
Saturday night, we gathered at the local Hot Pot restaurant which is similar to a Fondue operation. They start you with a pot of soup over high heat; then they start bringing out all sorts of things to toss in (thinly cut meat of some sort, live shrimp, tofu slivers, mushrooms, spinach etc etc). It was quite tasty and hit the spot on a cold evening.
Afterwards we headed to the local KTV (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KTV ) for some really bad Karaoke performances. Then we had a final stop at the Westin lounge to hear the final set of the Juicy Girls (all the greatest hits from the 70's).
On Sunday, a few members of the team headed to church. It was a Catholic service --- all in Chinese. There were about a couple of hundred people there (all Chinese).
After breakfast we headed to the Panjiayuan Antiques Market (aka the "Dirt Market") to check out the "antiquities". It was freezing cold but packed with activity.
Afterwards we headed to the local KTV (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KTV ) for some really bad Karaoke performances. Then we had a final stop at the Westin lounge to hear the final set of the Juicy Girls (all the greatest hits from the 70's).
On Sunday, a few members of the team headed to church. It was a Catholic service --- all in Chinese. There were about a couple of hundred people there (all Chinese).
After breakfast we headed to the Panjiayuan Antiques Market (aka the "Dirt Market") to check out the "antiquities". It was freezing cold but packed with activity.
In the afternoon, the group split up, heading a dozen different directions. I went North towards the airport to visit the 798 Arts District (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/798_Art_Zone).
It's a really unique experience --- probably one that was not imagined by the Chairman!
A few pictures of the sights there....
A few pictures of the sights there....
At the end of my visit I had a real problem getting a cab. A westerner, standing near me finally got one and offered to let me share. Turns out he was a French guy who had previously lived in California. He is now working in Beijing as an artist --- "Riko the Sculptor".
I stopped on the way back to try out the restaurant my Mom had read about --- the Apothecary. It's run by a guy from New Orleans and they have Fried Chicken on Sunday nights. It proved to be a winner --- great job, Mom!
I stopped on the way back to try out the restaurant my Mom had read about --- the Apothecary. It's run by a guy from New Orleans and they have Fried Chicken on Sunday nights. It proved to be a winner --- great job, Mom!
Now, back to work!
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