Beijing in 2.5 Days

It's the Holidays but I find myself still talking about my trip to Beijing. It's as though I visited a city, a country, on the verge of a big shift and I can't stop marveling.
Some highlights:

First stop was the Beijing Zoo. First and Foremost I wanted to see pandas. It was in fact my initial desire to put in volunteer work in the Wolong Natural National Panda Reserve.. but I have to confess, I chickened out due to weather and possible disease. So instead I saw them at the Zoo. And with only 2 and a half days in Beijing, I could've spent the entire time just watching these amazing animals.
This is one of the 8 panda cubs that were brought to the zoo for the Olympics.

A grownup panda is really just mostly interested in munching down snacks. Still fascinating to watch. Note that all the pandas look much cleaner in photos! ha!

It was onto the magnificent Forbidden City after that. A good portion of the structures were refurbished, again for the sake of the Olympics and boy could you tell! There were the proverbial crapload of pictures taken that day, but I'll just leave you with this one.

Cleanliness and hygiene could be spotty in certain attractions and establishments. This restaurant calmed my western squeamishness with its shrink-wrapped serving set; but when I saw Dog Stew on the menu, well, let's just say the squeamishness came back.

Another sight on my list was the National Centre for the Performing Arts, also known as The Egg. Another amazing building designed by a French Architect that was not without its own controversies. You may notice by this point that I'm wearing the same thing in a lot of the pictures. Well, I'm a Californian and I was bloody cold there. I wore the same beanie, jacket, and gloves pretty much every day.

And here we are. The Great F&ckin' Wall. It does go on and on, as far as the eye can see; humbling anyone in its presence. And look how incredile those mountain ranges are in the distance. I've never seen anything like it.

I can't even really tell you much more about this picture than: Me + Llama = Awesome!I'm not usually a Starbucks drinker, but at the Great Wall? I had to do it. And with the milk crises going on, the default was soymilk. Perfect!
Definitely a highlight of my trip. I had to visit the 798 Art Zone.
A decommissioned military factory, it is now home to a thriving modern art community. And by chance there was an exhibit melding Christian Dior haute couture and Chinese artists. Here were curtains of pearls you had to walk through to begin the exhibit. This completely blew me away.
Some minor example of Shock Art. Naked chick on a bike (not me!).

I couldn't resist!

A Visit to Beijing

aka: Where Ancient and Modern Collide
I'm 2 days into Beijing and I'm marveling at this transformed city. I thought Hong Kong was a chaotic blend of the old and new.. but it has nothing on Beijing.

While here I've visited both the Ancient and the Modern. The Forbidden City and the Great Wall humbled me with their majestic scale and history. But tears welled up in my eyes when I came upon the National Stadium(aka Birds Nest) and all the new history it had made in such a brief amount of time. It is a tremendous site to see up close; it's the 2nd building I have ever seen that has brought tears to my eyes. (The Disney Concert Hall being the First.). Perhaps it seems silly to cry at the site of a building. But visionary architecture can do that, it can soar above just steel girders and right angles to be glorious and full of hopes and dreams.


And one wouldn't think I would find it here, in the Communist Motherland. Where men(and women) spit freely and pick their noses with matching aplomb. But there's the juxtaposition. I fear using the toilet while away from my Ikea-like hotel because squatting is just not in my DNA(is there ever enough Purell??). But it seems this damn city is wired and I can surf the internet wherever I wish. The Great Wall warns against cellphone usage during thunderstorms; and I still find stewed dogmeat on the menu.

I reckon there are some things technology still can't do.....