First day off!

I am sitting outside of a small pizza joint/bar in downtown Beijing, it is kind of cold out.  I have a large YanJing beer that I am happily consuming, and I am watching as travelers, tourists and bargain shoppers exit the 'Silk Market' ecstatic about their trophy bargains on fake designer brand items.  I have been told that the third floor of this 7 story tall 'market' has real silk - undoubtedly it is the least occupied floor.  I am cracking up watching the scene - it makes me think about image, and marketing, and how powerful a brand name can become, and how easily it can be duplicated.  I am wearing a fake D&G belt that I bought in Bangkok right now as I write this, so I am by all means fitting in with the crowd!  

Two women approached me.  One asked if I would purchase some fake Louis Vuitton purses.  Me? A solo male typing away on his computer?  Get out of here!  She was persistent though and sat down at my table for a minute or so and pouted.  Once she left, a younger girl came up and asked if I want to go on a Great Wall tour tomorrow.  I gave her the dagger eyes and she left.  Six days after arriving, it finally feels like I am back in Asia. 

Monday is the bands day off, so I had a chance today to escape from the super ritzy little area that I have been in the past week.  I had a late start because my hours are so reversed, but I decided to go and check out every first timer to Beijing's first destination, Tiananmen Square.  I could have taken a taxi for a minimal fare, but instead I opted to figure out the subway situation.  The Red Line, or #1 literally stops 12 floors below my room, so it should be very simple to get around on, and the fact that it only costs 2RMB or about $.30 makes it a great bargain.  

As I descended into Raccoon City (I have aptly named the mall after the underground city in Resident Evil) I was immediately set upon by two art students and their professor.  I could not get away - and I might have been the perfect pray for them having been an art student myself.  Obviously after showing me their art exhibition they laid it on thick "Oh which one do you like?  You should buy, all money goes to donation for the art school..." blah blah blah, I could not escape and they would not leave me alone!  I felt like I needed to pay the Mariachi band to leave - so I did.  I bought a small painting on a scroll, and let them show me how to calligraphy my name.  I am sure I was totally ripped off, but in the off chance that I was really buying from some art students I would feel okay.  The paintings were definitely cool, but I am on a budget for the first few weeks so I was annoyed as well.  I also got their contact information, after talking my face off and 'bamboozling' me into buying their stuff they are going to show me some cool local spots to hang, where I will NOT be 'bamboozled' again.  They were in fact very nice to me.   

I finally got down to the subway, where I watched as people slammed themselves into a subway car about twice as full as any ever was in New York or Boston, seriously.  I then took a running start and shoulder checked myself right into a position in the middle of the train.  I could not hold on to any of the rails, but because I was literally being spooned on all sides by standing Chinese men and women, I was not going to fall over.  Then as I approached my stop I had to start squeezing towards the door to make sure I could get out in time.
  

The Peoples Monument on right, Mausoleum on left.

I heard that Tiananmen Square was nice at night, so I made sure I arrived at 18:00 - but for some reason right when I got there the police were funneling everybody out of the square (this is a LOT of people).  I still do not understand why, I thought you could walk through the square at night but maybe not.  

Most of the tourists were Chinese from other parts of the country, coming to take a 'obligatory' picture of themselves with a huge Mao portrait in the background.  Similar maybe to how everyone has a picture with the Hollywood sign, the space needle, or the Lincoln Memorial, although different too because of how things are here... I digress, I am not talking about government in this blog.  

Tiananmen Square is very important in China, it is the center of the capital city.  It is branded as the heart of the country, and the heart of the Chinese people, but I think it seemed more like the brain.  Very important protests, fights and political gatherings occurred here as it can hold more than one million people so it is just coated in history.  To the north of the Square is the Forbidden City, and to the south are some museums and Mao's Mausoleum.  (He wanted to be cremated, similar to Ho Chi Minh, but the people decided that what he wanted was not so important.)
Slightly disappointed I could not go IN the square, I wandered around it in the dark.  I do only live 5 km away, I can come back any day I want.  It really reminded me of Washington D.C., which I guess is only natural since they are both the ruling brains of the two biggest countries in the world.  Eventually I wandered into some Hutongs (alley streets) south of the square, where I immediately got lost.  Alone I wandered in the Hutongs, they are not always laid out in such a nice grid as the streets.  The smells of Asia assaulted my nose, fragrances of fish, pastries, chestnuts, garbage, urine, sewage and incense.  I argue that although a person can see many beautiful things while in Asia, the sense of smell gets the most action.

Performance hall on Right, Gov't building on left

After about three hours of walking probably six miles, I found China's National Performing Arts Center.  It is a beautiful dome shaped building that appears out of a tranquil pond.  People access it by walking through tunnels that take you under the surface of the water.  Very cool.  This theater where some of the best classical music in the world is performed is surrounded by a concrete park, and thousands of Beijingers were outside working out in group classes, rollerblading, skate boarding, dancing with ribbons, or just smoking and joking.  From here I could locate myself on the map, so I sought out a nearby jazz bar called the Saw Wai Bookshop.  When I got there it had closed down, the inevitable fate of many a jazz club.  I wandered a bit more, now in an area with gigantic super malls, then decided to catch the subway back towards my place, 5 km away.  

When I got near, I jumped off the subway and went in search of a place to chill and rest my feet.  ( I brought a bad selection of shoes for walking, but a good selection for looking cool and playing gigs!! ) It is different traveling alone - especially in China, I do not think I said more than fifteen words the entire five or six hours I was out and about.  It was kind of nice, and kind of exciting, but also kind of quiet.  With someone else here it would have been easier to ask to try a bit of that strange looking food that grandpa was selling on the side of the street!  I am getting used to being a solo traveler though, and I am also making friends here so either way things are looking up!

M

Southern Gate