The New Year celebration continues here although the sound of fireworks is now mor occasional than continuous. It is quite a celebration compared to the one evening/day event at home. Even more interesting is the number of businesses that stay closed for a large part of this week. As busy as this country is, they have maybe a better respect for work/life balance than we do.
As the days have gone by, the streets get busier and busier. In the first days after new year, people stay home and visit close family. As time goes by, more and more people are out and the streets are filled with vendors.
We visited the Lama temple today. It was quite busy with most people there for praying for the new year and some tourists like us. The burning of incense is an important part of the prayer so there was much smoke and fire.
Tags: Beijing
The New Year celebration continues here although the sound of fireworks is now mor occasional than continuous. It is quite a celebration compared to the one evening/day event at home. Even more interesting is the number of businesses that stay closed for a large part of this week. As busy as this country is, they have maybe a better respect for work/life balance than we do.
As the days have gone by, the streets get busier and busier. In the first days after new year, people stay home and visit close family. As time goes by, more and more people are out and the streets are filled with vendors.
We visited the Lama temple today. It was quite busy with most people there for praying for the new year and some tourists like us. The burning of incense is an important part of the prayer so there was much smoke and fire.
Tags: Beijing
We visited the Summer Palace in northwest Beijing today. It was a popular place today as it was sunny and just above zero.
It really illustrates the power of the Emperor. There is a large man made lake along with a hill from the creation of the lake – all to create a summer retreat that would remind someone of their home in China.
We were lucky to see some traditional and local New Year celebrations. There was a little fair set up along the road. A typical ring toss game becomes unique when you are tossing the rings over little cages holding birds, bunnies or hamsters. I think the little animal was the prize.
The bargain of the day is more difficult to choose today. We had an excellent crepe filled with an egg, cracker and chili sauce mixture for 80 cents for our lunch. Cooked to order by a street vendor. But, the real buy was a trip of close to 40 km by subway for about 60 cents!
One more full day in Beijing and we move on.
Tags: Beijing
The day started cool and a bit breezy in Beijing – leading us to expect we would freeze on the Wall. We drove to the Mutianyu section of the wall – a bit farther but less touristy than the section typically visited. When we arrived, it was very windy in the valley. And cold!!
But, amazingly, the top of the wall had less wind and the sun and clear skies made for a gorgeous day. We walked for about 90 minutes on the wall. Up hill and down. Really very special.
We stopped at the Olympic grounds on the way back to the hotel … But everything would pale in comparison to the wall experience.
By the way, the fire crackers/works continue to be heard regularly. New Years is no one day event here!
Tags: Beijing
After a night of indescribable firecrackers/works, we awoke to a New Years day that was mostly sunny.
We visited the Bell and Drum towers. The drum tower was first built by Kubla Khan so these sites are very old. We then joined the locals exploring the shops and cafes of the Hou Hai district of Beijing. This district lies along three small lakes near the centre of Beijing. Today’s picture show the activity on the frozen lake. One can rent a small sled with runners and then use ski poles to push yourself around the lake. A long trian of the sleds had formed.
Tags: Beijing
It is New Year’s Eve Day here today and there has been no break in the sound of fire works/crackers. From early this morning, the pop and bang has continued to celebrate the year of the dragon.
We visited the Temple of Heaven today. As we left the temple grounds, we stopped in a tea house for a tea ceremony. We tasted about 6 different teas and learned some of their properties. It was suggested I should consume the pu’er tea as it was good for losing weight and would help me. I give that sales lady full marks for honesty!
Later, we stopped for the traditional meal of roast duck. It is a special event as they bring the whole duck to the table and then slice it for you.
We walked down a major and modern shopping street this afternoon. A interesting contrast with capitalism thriving in a communist country. All the big names from Paris and New York are on the street. Gucci. Armani. Burberry. All with the prices we see at home.
The duck dinner is the bargain of the day. How can you go wrong having such a famous meal for about 10 dollars a person?
Tags: Beijing
As Canadians, we thought we were prepared for winter in China. Yesterday, our Canadian confidence was shivering in it’s boots. Minus 10 with a good wind and about 3 hours outside walking through the Forbidden City had us chilled to the bone.
As the photo shows, we had a sunny, sunny day. A rare event, actually, with the air pollution that is common in Beijing. The Emperor’s palaces of the Forbidden City make up a hugely impressive site. 500+ years in existence and likely about 2 km long by 1 km wide, we only saw some of it in our 3 hours.
The bargain of the day came at dinner. A 600 ml Nanjing beer for a little over a dollar. It is still very reasonable to eat here.
Tags: Beijing
A long days flight to Beijing.
The Rockies were spectacular with the clear skies under the Arctic ridge. The quality of the image is affected by the dirt on the airplane window.
We arrived in Beijing at 4:30 local time. We had intended to use a taxi to come to our hotel but found the prices more than 5 times what they should be. So, we used the airport express train and then a taxi to our hotel.
I will post pictures tomorrow. Our hotel is 300 years old on a street that is 700 years old. Completely refurbished, it is heated by geothermal and solar energy. It is a courtyard hotel – all rooms face into one of two small courtyards. a very cool place.
After an extended warm and dry period through December and some of January, winter arrived this week with a little sow and a lot of cold. It has been interesting reading various science and pseudo-science organizations try to explain the winter this year. In the fall, the prospect of a La Nina winter caused most forecasts to suggest a cold winter particularly in western north America. Which largely hasn’t happened – although winter isn’t over.
Increasingly, people look to the significant change in the Arctic oscillation to explain the different behavior tis winter.
It is also interesting to note the near record minimum extent of Arctic sea ice and the minimum volume of Arctic sea ice. It has been slow to re-freeze and thicken -especially on the Russian side of the pole.
It is perhaps not surprising there have been difficulties forecasting this winter. Given the highly anomalous sea ice patterns, we haven’t seen anything like this combination before. Our atmospheric and oceanographic models have never been tested against such a low ice cover. This winter might be providing a good case study – perhaps we will learn more about some processes that will improve forecasts in the future.
Our passports returned to Edmonton today complete with visas to visit China. Just one week before we go.
The visa process for China is interesting. You have to have your passport taken to one of the Consulates — Calgary serves the Prairies and northern Canada. But, you don’t have to take it yourself — you can entrust your passport along with application etc. to a travel agent that offers the service. Depending on where you live and whether you have any unexpected results (i.e. if it is refused for some reason), this could get to be expensive.
The picture above was taken in 1999 along the river above the Three Gorges Dam — under construction at that time. So, this is no longer visible — it will have been flooded. There were buildings in many places along the cliff walls. If you look carefully towards centre-right, you can see a white fence along the pathway that people presumably used to travel from place to place.
Tags: dam, Three Gorges
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