Interesting Beijing Sights

Sometimes the unexpected sights catch my eye. All of the pictures for this post were taken on the way to or from school over a period of time. I noticed quite quickly that the Chinese don't like to get rid of any old wires. Maybe there isn't room for them in the garbage dump. I am not quit sure. I guess rolling the wires up and leaving them makes some kind of sense somewhere. The part I really had a hard time understanding was why they left the wire hanging down where people and cars could come in contact with it. I assumed it wasn't a hot wire, but I didn't grab it to find out. They did eventually get rid of the hanging wire.

This next few pictures are of a remodeling project in the hutong nearby. I couldn't see exactly what they were working on because the changes were on the other side of the wall; however, based on all of the bricks and roof tiles they carried away, they were completely redoing home of some sort.

But the fascinating part was where the workers set up their home away from home while they worked on the project. The blue tin building was their kitchen and washroom. You can see the pipe where they connected up to the water. There also was an electric cord that came over the wall into the shed.

Last of all came the bedrooms which I am sure were very hot when the sun hit them, but it didn't stop them from taking a little nap after lunch.

Good thing no one was inside when I snapped the picture. 

This last picture shows a great way for UPS or FedEx to get rid of some of their overhead. Every morning between 7:00 and 7:30 a truck arrives and unloads boxes onto the sidewalk. About that same time, 5 to 8 delivery tricycles arrive, and the work begins. The men toss packages back and forth to each other until they are all sorted, and then they drive off to make their deliveries. Forget all those big warehouses with fancy conveyer belts. You really just need a few "stout hearted men" who are willing to sort the packages in sun, rain, snow or wind.

Unexpected Surprise at Zhongshen Park

May 12, 2013

We purposely went to Zhongshen Park on that beautiful spring day to find the spot where Pres. McKay dedicated had given the dedication prayer for China. We were told the tree was by the moat which originally had surrounded the Forbidden City. We spent about an hour making our way through the park to the moat through very picturesque and quiet surroundings. However, the further we moved into the park, the noisier it got, and we were soon a part of about two or three hundred people. Some of them were sitting with posters in front of them. Others were walking around looking at the posters, and if they liked what they saw, they would stop and visit with the poster people for a while. Su Wei then realized that we had just joined the "Marriage Fair"which takes place one Sunday every month. I guess the fair has taken the place of the matchmakers. i thought about returning another time with a poster of my own qualifications, but I don't think anyone there was looking for an old lady. Not sure how long the fairs will last now that the Internet can help people find each other.

The article that follows gives a little more information.

House market to spouse market: Beijing's matchmaking fairs

• Chen Jing-ting and Staff Reporter
 
• 2011-04-21
 
• 08:47 (GMT+8)

Chinese parents seeking spouses for their children set high conditions. Picture: A parent checks information on a matchmaking message board. (File Photo/Xinhua)

A simple matchmaking idea which began in Beijing in 2004 has turned into a market where parents promote their own child or try to choose a future spouse for their offspring, according to the Beijing Morning Post.

Thousands of parents gather in parks in the Chinese capital on weekends to participate in the fair as they search for a future wife or husband on behalf of their children, who are too busy to do so.

Some parents display information about their children such as height and profession along with their requirements of a future spouse, while others browse the listings.

While several parents chat and exchange contact information, others just simply walk around as they search for a potential marriage candidate.

Beijing District Women's Conference

May 18, 2014

Every year the women from the three Beijing branches get together to work on a humanitarian project. This year we made pillows for children in an orphanage in the Beijing area. It was a great opportunity to visit with each other and do something worth while at the same time.

Some of the women sewed the pillow cases together.

Some put the stuffing in the cases.

A couple of the younger sisters thought the cotton filling was a good place to try and disappear.

Allison, Mary Latimer and Isabel Berrios were happy to be part of the project.

Su Wei, Marilyn Taggart and Mary Ann Morris helped sew the pillows up.

I got to help with the yellow pillows because I was wearing a  yellow sweater.

Just kidding of course.

Mary Ann Morris, Katie Hoskins and Wendy Jong helped coordinate the project.

In the end we were able to make a pillow for every child in the orphanage.

As my Chinese teacher would say, "It was very warming to our hearts."

Zhongshan Park - Looking for the Dedication Tree

May 12, 2013

Edith is leaving to go back to the Phillippines the next Friday, so we thought we needed to take one final outing to Zhongshan Park where President McKay dedicated China in1923.
We decided we would go after church.

In case you can't recognize me, I am the tall one in the picture between the two beautiful ladies.

We took our lunches to church with us so we wouldn't starve to death. A friend of Isabel's was visiting from another city in China, and we invited her to join us.

Zhongshan Park is one of many parks and lakes that surround the Forbidden City and were imperial playgrounds when the emperors ruled China.

A walk towards the Forbidden City.

Looking south across Tiananmen Square to Mao's Mausoleum.

The Great Hall of the People, which would be compared to our congress, is directly across the street.

Entrance into the park. 

Zhongshan Park is a quiet park and doesn't attract the mobs of tourists like some of the other places.

We took our time wandering through it and enjoying the surroundings.

We were told the Dedication Tree was by the moat and 11 columns from the west wall.  

We counted carefully and were sure we had located the tree.

But then we counted the columns again. That took us  to a square where a tree used to be, and we decided tree had died. We were told later that we were in the wrong spot, and the tree is still alive. I suppose we will need to go there again with somebody who knows where they are going. 

Even though we didn't find it, there was beauty all around us, and we had a lovely afternoon.

Beijing National Museum

May 9, 2014

It is hard to stay inside after a long winter when the blue sky and warm sunshine seems to be calling your name. Four of us - Marilyn Taggart, Edith Dela Cruz, Isabel Berrios and I - decided to answer the call and made our way through Tiananmen Square to the National Museum.

It is a spectacular building, but I forgot to take pictures until the very end of our walk through. That is when you know you have been in a place for a while. You forget to take pictures. We did see a fabulous show by a very famous Chinese artist. They asked us not to take pictures in it. I think they meant not to take pictures with a flash, but I am very obedient and didn't take any. I really wish I would have, but too late now.

Besides we couldn't spend all day looking at a museum. We had to move on to something more important like FOOD.

Just in case you're interested, the food was delicious, and the company was great too.

Beijing Hutongs

The Beijing Hutongs (old lanes) have a very special place in the rich history and culture of Beijing.

The alleys give a wonderful glimpse into yesterday’s world, the old way of life and traditional Beijing culture, and highlight the dramatic changes the rest of Beijing has undergone.

Hutong now means a lane or an alley, formed by rows of siheyuan (a compound with buildings around a courtyard) where old Beijing residents lived. The word "hutong" originates from the word "hottog" which means "a well" in Mongolian, in ancient times villagers dug a well and then lived around it.

Beijing still has about 400,000 residential siheyuan now, mainly distributed over the East, West, Xuanwu, and Chongwen districts. When urban construction threatens the existence of the hutongs, Beijingers become worried. The municipal government has earmarked a number of them for protection, but they are disappearing very quickly and being replaced by modern buildings. (china highlights.com)

A bird's eye view of a hutong in Beijing.

All of the streets are different. Some are businesses, some are homes, some are a combination of both.

 The one thing I have learned is that each hutong is a small community where people often meet together to talk or play mahjong - very similar to chess.

There is a hutong right next to the school that I can see it from my second story window. One day I realized they were tearing one part of the hutong down. However, two weeks later (May 3 to May 17, 2013), it was ready for the owner to move into it. Obviously it doesn't take long to build a place about the size of my front room, but I was still surprised at how quickly it all came together.