Kathy & Paul's Adventures Abroad

Today we thought we would publish some photos of the daily sights we see on our walks and outings in Beijing.

Yesterday we went to Wumart and bought our new bikes. The first ones we had were very cheap and had no gears so they were very hard to ride. Paul pretty much wore out his with all the riding he did during the first term and Kathy gave her’s away so we could both have better ones.Our new ones are 18 speed sports bikes at 1300RMB or $200 Canadian for two. We checked the Walmart website and found similar sports bikes with 21 speeds for $361 US. Note that Wumart and Walmart are two different chains.

We love our new bikes – they’re very fast and a lot easier to ride. They will greatly increase our range and allow us to see many parts of the city not on the tour route. We like seeing the real Beijing and its many different layers.
Last night we went out to dinner with friends. It was wet and started snowing about 7:00. We were told this was the worst winter in fifty years, but it’s still mild by Canadian standards.

It snowed all night and most of the morning, and now our new bikes are covered in snow. But in a day or two (we hope) the snow will be gone and we will be out touring the city. As Kathy says “Not to worry,we’re living the dream!”

We arrived in Beijing too late for the Chinese New Year (or Lunar New Year) on February 14, which is the start of the Spring Festival. It is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays.

The origin of the Lunar New Year can be traced back thousands of years involving a series of colourful legends and traditions. One of the most famous legends is of Nian, an extremely cruel and ferocious beast. The ancients believed he would devour people on New Year’s Eve. To keep Nian away red paper couplets are pasted to the door, torches are lit and firecrackers are set off throughout the night. Nian is said to fear the colour red, the light of the fire, and loud noises. Early the next morning after successfully keeping Nian away for another year the most popular expression heard is “Gong xi fa cai” or congratulations.

Last night was the final day of the Spring Festival, the fifteenth day, known as the Lantern Festival. We have been back in China six days and there have been random fireworks every day. We were told that the Lantern Festival rivals New Years for fireworks but nothing could prepare us for last night. You should know this is not a government sponsored event. It is the average person who buys and sets off fireworks. A city of seventeen million people setting off fireworks is hard to believe and harder to describe.

It started around dusk and ended six hours later around midnight – continuous, massive, unbelievable – they were everywhere.You could look in any direction and there was a light show.

The view from our tenth floor window was amazing! The fireworks sound like popcorn popping – deafening popcorn! Looking down at the street outside our apartment we saw a family of four with their car trunk full of fireworks. Dad was setting them off while Mom and the kids watched. One hundred meters up the road four young men in a white van were setting off large bottle rockets. When it explodes a bottle rocket sends a shower of colour down from the sky. At the same time we could see three or four people setting off five feet long strings of firecrackers.

Block by block all over the city this was happening. It is something everyone should experience at least once. It is hard to describe how beautiful it was but I will make an attempt and say it was like Canada Day fireworks multiplied by 10000!

A new bakery has recently opened a fifteen minute walk from our place or five minutes by bike. It is located next to the entrance of the new Merry Mart grocery store. They even have a website and the address is www.bjxqs.com.cn.

Our friend Mike introduced us to the owner Barry who gave us free cappuccinos, three different cake samples, and some cookies, an unexpected treat which were all very tasty. In conversation with Barry we found out he lived in Australia for seven years and opened the bakery on his return. They carry over thirty beautiful and different cakes in an assortment of sizes. They also sell many pastries, cookies, doughnuts and a type of eclair made with a doughnut-style pastry.

Barry told us both his parents taught at the Beijing university and he lived his entire youth on the university campus. The university has its own community on campus and Barry was not allowed to travel around Beijing by himself until he was fifteen years old.

My favourite - dessert!

So many choices!

North American style fast food is infusing itself into the Chinese culture. The first and most popular was K.F.C. followed by McDonald’s and Dairy Queen. A meal deal at KFC costs about 25 RMB or $4.00 Canadian. Yesterday at Dairy Queen we paid 41 RMB for two large blizzards, about $7.00 Canadian.

By Chinese standards Western food is very expensive. To put it in perspective, for 20 RMBs (a little over $3.00 Canadian) you can fill two average sized shopping bags with fruits and vegetables at any of Beijing’s thousands of local markets.

When asked to list their favourite foods, most kids in Kathy’s eight classes said fries, burgers, or both. The love of fast food is growing rapidly among the young.

The original fast food vendors are the street merchants. They are and will continue for a long time to be an integral part of Chinese culture. In this post you will see a small sample of some of the many vendors who ply their trade on a daily basis on the streets of Beijing.

Hi everyone! We arrived back in Beijing last night at 7:00 p.m. local time. We went to friends for fresh dumplings and stayed there until about 10:00. Then we went to our apartment and yes, the key still fit which was a relief. We opened our luggage and did a bit of putting away and went to bed at 12:00 midnight. We then got up at 4:00 a.m. finished unpacking, rearranged the apartment and went back to bed for a nap around 7:00. It’s now 10:15 a.m. and we’re going grocery shopping. We will be posting some pictures of our winter holiday in Canada later, and hope you will continue to follow our adventures in China.

Just a few bags for our trip!

The school takes up an entire city block. Its students are the children of Beijing’s elite. This new campus was built three years ago.

One of seven school gates and security checks.

This twelve storey building is where the foreign teachers and some Chinese staff members stay. We call it
” The Hotel”.

Track and field area with the hotel in the background. Off to the right is the recreation center.

The recreation center holds the swimming pool, excercise areas, badminton courts, etc.

Kathy is sitting in one of the many sitting areas. In the background are two of the three wings of the E-shaped elementary building.

Part of the elementary building.

Classes go to Grade 12. Students are being prepared to attend German, Spanish and English universities around the world.

Part of the primary school.

Part of the primary school.

Dormitory buildings. Half of the students stay at school all week.

School guards

Entrance to primary school

More school

Sports field. Basketball and tennis courts to the left and right.

Cafeteria building for students. The hotel has its own cafeteria.

Student Cafeteria

Another gate. All in all, this school is a small community unto itself.

We’re leaving Beijing tomorrow to visit our son and his family in Calgary, Alberta. We’ll be there for a week and then it’s off to Ontario for another two months holidays. Yes, you read that right, two months holidays!! I can’t believe it either, since it feels like we’re already on holiday. But we can’t wait to see our family!!

The picture says it all. Have a great holiday!

The Beijing bus system efficiently covers the entire city. The photo below shows Tangli Road. On each side of the centre lanes are sheltered bus stops. To the left are four more lanes and to the right are four lanes for a total of ten lanes. As you can see the mediums between the sets of lanes are very wide. This is so that bus passengers can be let off at this subway stop.

This is a residential area. Note the homes (condos) in the background. it is truly amazing how little litter there is all over the city.

Left background - more homes

In the background a subway station and more homes

Below is Tangli Road. The pedestrian overpass has eight access ramps – six on the north side and two on the south side. Four of the ramps are from the bus drop-off so pedestrians can access the overpass. Crossing Tangli Road on foot is prohibited. I can only guess the number of people transferring from bus to subway and subway to bus in peak rush hour. Again I am struck by the lack of litter.

East end of overpass

Below notice the red brick subway station and enclosed elevated track. Note also the homes in the background.

Northwest side of overpass

This is a single train car with a minimum eight feet wide by fifty or sixty feet long. At full capacity there are hundreds of people per car. There are six cars per train. At Shangdi station I counted three trains in five minutes and there are more in rush hour. There are millions of people moved daily by this system. The bus costs seven cents and the train thirty-five cents. You swipe your pass when you get on and off. This allows the computer to recognize flow pattens and to accurately allocate resources as needed, which means you get a ride when you need it.

Skyline at northeast of overpass and more homes

Skyline to the south

Homes to the southeast

Cool statue in front of a store

On Friday we have a weekly lunch at our apartment and invite all the western teachers in our office to come. This week a small group arrived around 12:00 – Jeannie, Max and his girlfriend. Hamish, Mike and Henry often show up to sample the menu. Paul does the cooking on our hot plate and the menu alternates from week to week between spaghetti and beef stew. Considering the cooking facilities the choices are limited, but the food is always delicious and we enjoy having the chance to conduct lively discussions about many issues. We don’t often get an opportunity to do that at school.

At 4:00 some of the Chinese teachers came over to our apartment to visit for a while before we all went out at 6:00 to a Christmas dinner with a few of the high school teachers. After a great meal at a local Sechzaun restaurant we got taxies to the Wudaokou area for a little K TV, commonly known as karaoke. It was quite different from what we expected, as there were dozens of private rooms fully equiped for any up and coming karaoke star. There was a comfortable couch, big screen TV, two microphones and an amazing variety of songs in several languages including English. So it was much easier to get up and sing your heart out in front of people you knew, instead of strangers as is the western style karaoke. A beer or two also made it that much easier!!

We cancelled Saturday activities due to hangovers!!