Hengshan is unusual for a Chinese sacred mountain. For some reason it doesn’t get as much attention as any of the other eight mountains. It is unmentioned in the lonely planet and in other travel guides. This is particularly mysterious as it is located right next to the very famous Hanging Temple, to the south of Datong. I was concerned that it would be uninteresting because of this omission, but thankfully I was wrong. Hengshan is in fact very beautiful. The difference between it and the other mountains I’ve been to is that it is quite small and you can’t climb to the peak. Nevertheless, there is a climb involved and there are at least ten beautiful temples built onto the sides of cliffs. Because of its small size I was able to finish the mountain in an hour and a half. Slower people could easily take double that amount of time.
On the way down from Hengshan, the taxi and I encountered a terrible traffic jam. There is a tunnel in the road and today – of all days – road work was being done in the tunnel. Only one lane of traffic was open. Of course, being obnoxious drivers, many people tried to pass the cars waiting by using the opposite lane. This was started by one horrible driver of a black Buick who had sirens and went into the other lane. Since all the cars were stationary going in his direction when he met oncoming traffic, he tried to turn into the correct lane but wasn’t able too. Many other cars followed his example and after fifteen minutes of honking all of these cars had to back up. I was more and more concerned about time. It took about an hour to get back down to the bus station, and I caught a 3:30 bus to Yingxian.
Saturday, 14 August 2010
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
Laiyuan
During a picturesque bus ride through the mountains and rural countryside, I began to notice a layer of smog and a flattening of the landscape. We had arrived in Laiyuan, an isolated town in Western Hebei. I wanted to come here to see Geyuan Temple which contains one of the oldest wooden buildings in China, dating from 966 CE. I was not impressed with towns wall-to-wall white tile buildings. I did notice that behind these ghastly pieces of architecture, there still existed some traditional hutongs. I doubt they would be there for much longer. Even Geyuan temple wasn’t hemmed in by a buffer zone of traditional architecture. It was there on its own, powerless in the white-tile onslaught.
Two of the temple’s three buildings were under renovation. Thankfully, the Wenshu Hall (the building from 966) was not under renovation and could be visited. The building was definitely in need of restoration, as it featured fading paint, sagging timber, and murals that were covered in white plaster. Overall the temple was a disappointment. With two of the buildings under renovation, it didn’t have a good feeling too it. Perhaps when the renovations are finished, the temple will be worth visiting.
Two of the temple’s three buildings were under renovation. Thankfully, the Wenshu Hall (the building from 966) was not under renovation and could be visited. The building was definitely in need of restoration, as it featured fading paint, sagging timber, and murals that were covered in white plaster. Overall the temple was a disappointment. With two of the buildings under renovation, it didn’t have a good feeling too it. Perhaps when the renovations are finished, the temple will be worth visiting.
Monday, 21 June 2010
Yuxian
This small town is located in Western Hebei, just north of Laiyuan over a beautiful mountain road. Descending to the plain upon which Yuxian sits, a familiar landscape of dusty roads and ugly buildings returns. After ugly Laiyuan, I was not expecting much from Yuxian, the dusty town that greeted me at the bus station seemed to reinforce my expectations. However, once taken into the old town, I discovered that hidden behind the ugly new town outside, Yuxian still had an interesting old town.
I researched Yuxian prior to coming as I did the rest of my off-the-beaten track destinations. I have a Chinese Hebei travel book which I looked at, and I also consulted photos that people had uploaded to Google Earth. The most interesting site that Yuxian had to offer was called the Jade Emperor Pavillion (玉皇阁). When I asked the three-wheel car driver to take me there from the bus station, he didn’t even know where it was, which tells you how many people visit the place. It was up a dusty alley fringed with old hutongs, built into the old city wall. Dating from the 14th century, it is a two story pavilion and a few outbuildings. I’m not sure what the purpose was, but it seems that it was some sort of temple. I did encounter two other tourists there, both of them from Beijing and about to return.
I spent the rest of my time in Yuxian’s old town walking around to various points of interest. A temple near the pavilion was closed, but I did get to see the drum tower, a pagoda surrounded by hutongs and a temple that had been converted into a museum. Besides these key sites, I also enjoyed the old architecture of Yuxian. I truly hope that the local government tries to preserve what they have. If done correctly, I could see Yuxian becoming a successful site like Pingyao, although it would take at least ten years to develop the requisite infrastructure to accomplish this.
Returning to the bus station, I was incredibly surprised to see a group of four foreigners! Never did I expect to see foreigners in an isolated place like Yuxian. It turns out they were doing a Chinese immersion summer program and had come here as part of their studies. Yuxian truly surprised me, and I just hope that other people might also discover its hidden charms.
I researched Yuxian prior to coming as I did the rest of my off-the-beaten track destinations. I have a Chinese Hebei travel book which I looked at, and I also consulted photos that people had uploaded to Google Earth. The most interesting site that Yuxian had to offer was called the Jade Emperor Pavillion (玉皇阁). When I asked the three-wheel car driver to take me there from the bus station, he didn’t even know where it was, which tells you how many people visit the place. It was up a dusty alley fringed with old hutongs, built into the old city wall. Dating from the 14th century, it is a two story pavilion and a few outbuildings. I’m not sure what the purpose was, but it seems that it was some sort of temple. I did encounter two other tourists there, both of them from Beijing and about to return.
I spent the rest of my time in Yuxian’s old town walking around to various points of interest. A temple near the pavilion was closed, but I did get to see the drum tower, a pagoda surrounded by hutongs and a temple that had been converted into a museum. Besides these key sites, I also enjoyed the old architecture of Yuxian. I truly hope that the local government tries to preserve what they have. If done correctly, I could see Yuxian becoming a successful site like Pingyao, although it would take at least ten years to develop the requisite infrastructure to accomplish this.
Returning to the bus station, I was incredibly surprised to see a group of four foreigners! Never did I expect to see foreigners in an isolated place like Yuxian. It turns out they were doing a Chinese immersion summer program and had come here as part of their studies. Yuxian truly surprised me, and I just hope that other people might also discover its hidden charms.
Saturday, 15 May 2010
The infamous Beijing penis restaurant
In an article published on the BBC website about five years ago, the reporter went to a restaurant in Beijing that specialized in penis. With vivid descriptions, the article describes how penis is served and who eats it. Since I am very interested in food, this article retained a place in my mind. Now that I am in Beijing, I thought that there would be no better time than to follow in the reporter’s footsteps and dine on dick.
Despite sounding truly repulsive, many people that I know were also interested in tasting the delights of penis. I managed to get seven people to join me on this culinary adventure, including two girls!
The restaurant was quite small and did not have a main dining room, but rather four private rooms. Besides our room, there was one room filled with middle-aged Chinese men. No doubt they were interested in the reputed aphrodisiac qualities of penis.
To my great disappointment, only four of us ate anything. The others were merely curious and wanted a look. Our meal began with a cold dish of bull and sheep penis with a delightful vinegary sauce. The bull penis was quite meaty, but the sheep penis had been made into a headcheese type thing and sliced, and was truly repulsive.
Our second course was sheep penis kebabs. It was presented beautifully with a wax sculpture to accompany the dicks. The penises had been sliced in half and lovingly threaded along skewers. Despite reservations, I took a bite and tasted something tough, chewy and disgusting. It was almost gooey like some sort of perverse candy. I nearly gagged on the second bite. By that point everyone had had enough, so we left satisfied that we had tried one of China’s greatest global culinary contributions.
Despite sounding truly repulsive, many people that I know were also interested in tasting the delights of penis. I managed to get seven people to join me on this culinary adventure, including two girls!
The restaurant was quite small and did not have a main dining room, but rather four private rooms. Besides our room, there was one room filled with middle-aged Chinese men. No doubt they were interested in the reputed aphrodisiac qualities of penis.
To my great disappointment, only four of us ate anything. The others were merely curious and wanted a look. Our meal began with a cold dish of bull and sheep penis with a delightful vinegary sauce. The bull penis was quite meaty, but the sheep penis had been made into a headcheese type thing and sliced, and was truly repulsive.
Our second course was sheep penis kebabs. It was presented beautifully with a wax sculpture to accompany the dicks. The penises had been sliced in half and lovingly threaded along skewers. Despite reservations, I took a bite and tasted something tough, chewy and disgusting. It was almost gooey like some sort of perverse candy. I nearly gagged on the second bite. By that point everyone had had enough, so we left satisfied that we had tried one of China’s greatest global culinary contributions.
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
The Horror of Xizhimen Subway Station
Everyday I commute to work on the subway and I have to transfer from Line 13 to Line 2. Normally a transfer is an unpleasant part of the subway, exasperating but not too horrific. However, Xizhimen station is not a normal transfer station, and its ease of transfer is clearly on the ‘horrific’ side of things. It’s pretty bad. Every time I go through the station I want to pull my hair out and maim the management behind the station. You see the reason the station drives me crazy so much is not really because the transfer is bad, its because it could be so much better with minimal work. The infrastructure is there, so why have there not been any changes?
Let me explain through a series of photos (these will have to wait until I get home) how you are supposed to transfer from Line 13 to Line 2. Line 13 is an elevated line, and Line 2 is underground. When I first came to Beijing they were changing parts of Xizhimen station to improve the transfer and to add another line to the station, Line 4 (which I don’t use very often). While they were building a corridor to transfer from Line 2 to Line 13 (and presumably vise-versa), they built a ‘temporary’ way to transfer. Temporary is in quotations because they still use this transfer route! The temporary route takes one outside of the raised portion of the station, down a sidewalk and into underground section. The sidewalk area has been fenced off so people from the street can’t sneak on. It is very slow and, and they have inexplicably built what I like to call a ‘cattle corall’ for everyone to walk through to make it even slower.
Before the indoor corridor was completed, passengers transferring in both directions (13 to 2, 2 to 13) had to use this outdoor abomination, and it was very slow going indeed. Presumably, with the completion of the corridor, the outdoor transfer would be abandoned. It has not been! Half of the corridor is used for Line 2 to Line 13 passengers, while the other half is not even used! It sits empty. Line 13 to Line 2 passengers must still use the nightmarish outdoor transfer. Why, why, why? I would love to have a good talking to with the sadistic managers of the station to hear why perfectly good infrastructure sits unused while passengers are subject to daily torment.
I have however found a way to prevent myself from being subjected to such daily pain. I now jump over a barrier in the raised part of the station to go use the corridor to transfer from Line 13 to Line 2. No one seems to care that I do this, and it makes my day so much better!
Let me explain through a series of photos (these will have to wait until I get home) how you are supposed to transfer from Line 13 to Line 2. Line 13 is an elevated line, and Line 2 is underground. When I first came to Beijing they were changing parts of Xizhimen station to improve the transfer and to add another line to the station, Line 4 (which I don’t use very often). While they were building a corridor to transfer from Line 2 to Line 13 (and presumably vise-versa), they built a ‘temporary’ way to transfer. Temporary is in quotations because they still use this transfer route! The temporary route takes one outside of the raised portion of the station, down a sidewalk and into underground section. The sidewalk area has been fenced off so people from the street can’t sneak on. It is very slow and, and they have inexplicably built what I like to call a ‘cattle corall’ for everyone to walk through to make it even slower.
Before the indoor corridor was completed, passengers transferring in both directions (13 to 2, 2 to 13) had to use this outdoor abomination, and it was very slow going indeed. Presumably, with the completion of the corridor, the outdoor transfer would be abandoned. It has not been! Half of the corridor is used for Line 2 to Line 13 passengers, while the other half is not even used! It sits empty. Line 13 to Line 2 passengers must still use the nightmarish outdoor transfer. Why, why, why? I would love to have a good talking to with the sadistic managers of the station to hear why perfectly good infrastructure sits unused while passengers are subject to daily torment.
I have however found a way to prevent myself from being subjected to such daily pain. I now jump over a barrier in the raised part of the station to go use the corridor to transfer from Line 13 to Line 2. No one seems to care that I do this, and it makes my day so much better!
Friday, 11 December 2009
Finding an Internship in China
When I graduated from university I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do: go to China (specifically Beijing), study for a bit and then find a job. I had no idea how actually go about finding the job, but felt that with my qualifications (a history degree) that I would be better-off finding something in China rather than Canada. I’m not picky, and all that I wanted was a job in business. After I started working I could decided whether I liked it or wanted to find something else.
According to recent media reports, many recent graduates have been departing the west to search for opportunity in China. A New York Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/business/economy/11expats.html) describes this phenomenon indicating that China is a ‘land of opportunity’. Opportunities may abound, but how does one find them, especially without connections? This was the problem that I was confronted with after completing my Chinese studies in Beijing in January. I didn’t want to study anymore because I felt I needed to get going with my life. I wanted to be self-sufficient.
I met a couple of people who were studying in my program who were also looking for internships. These two girls were looking for internships in PR. Now, I didn’t really know what PR actually was (something to do with the media?) but I decided to look in the same field after doing some research. The work seemed well-suited to me, as it involved a lot of writing and critical thinking, both things that I could do.
I went back home to Canada in February to get a new visa and researched companies while there. I sent some emails directly to companies and was delighted have arranged an interview for the day after I got back. The day of my interview I was very tired, but I thought it went quite well. I was only interviewed by the lady in HR and given an exam. She assured me that someone would get back to me. The following week, I got a call from another HR manager about doing an interview. Since I had been rejected from the first place, this was a welcome development. I did an interview with the HR manager and then another interview with a senior person in the company. Finally I had an interview with three Chinese people, which did not go well. A week later I was turned down. However, the failed interview was a valuable experience for me. I learned that the way to be successful in interviews is to tell the interviewee what they want to hear. I did not follow this, and said some things which, in hindsight, someone hiring would not want to hear.
At this point, I had no more leads and was in a difficult position. I had already emailed most of the PR companies in Beijing. I decided I would have to more aggressive. However, I had not yet contacted Chinese companies, just multinationals. Instead of emailing into a black hole, I decided to go directly to a company’s office. I chose one company quite randomly based on its location.
I was extremely nervous, but persisted, and visited the company’s office. I had some difficulty communicating with the receptionist about what I wanted (I didn’t know the word for internship), but I managed to get a meeting with the HR manager. She was very nice and she told me she would arrange an interview for me. A few days later, I had an interview with a foreigner who worked at the company. He was very young, but was nice and seemed very professional. His interview went well, and then I had a second inverview a week later with another person, a guy from Hong Kong. This interview also went well, and I was hired as an intern with a small salary.
The whole process took two months, but it does show that even if you have no connections in a city you don’t know, it is still possible to find an internship, or (hopefully) a job.
According to recent media reports, many recent graduates have been departing the west to search for opportunity in China. A New York Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/business/economy/11expats.html) describes this phenomenon indicating that China is a ‘land of opportunity’. Opportunities may abound, but how does one find them, especially without connections? This was the problem that I was confronted with after completing my Chinese studies in Beijing in January. I didn’t want to study anymore because I felt I needed to get going with my life. I wanted to be self-sufficient.
I met a couple of people who were studying in my program who were also looking for internships. These two girls were looking for internships in PR. Now, I didn’t really know what PR actually was (something to do with the media?) but I decided to look in the same field after doing some research. The work seemed well-suited to me, as it involved a lot of writing and critical thinking, both things that I could do.
I went back home to Canada in February to get a new visa and researched companies while there. I sent some emails directly to companies and was delighted have arranged an interview for the day after I got back. The day of my interview I was very tired, but I thought it went quite well. I was only interviewed by the lady in HR and given an exam. She assured me that someone would get back to me. The following week, I got a call from another HR manager about doing an interview. Since I had been rejected from the first place, this was a welcome development. I did an interview with the HR manager and then another interview with a senior person in the company. Finally I had an interview with three Chinese people, which did not go well. A week later I was turned down. However, the failed interview was a valuable experience for me. I learned that the way to be successful in interviews is to tell the interviewee what they want to hear. I did not follow this, and said some things which, in hindsight, someone hiring would not want to hear.
At this point, I had no more leads and was in a difficult position. I had already emailed most of the PR companies in Beijing. I decided I would have to more aggressive. However, I had not yet contacted Chinese companies, just multinationals. Instead of emailing into a black hole, I decided to go directly to a company’s office. I chose one company quite randomly based on its location.
I was extremely nervous, but persisted, and visited the company’s office. I had some difficulty communicating with the receptionist about what I wanted (I didn’t know the word for internship), but I managed to get a meeting with the HR manager. She was very nice and she told me she would arrange an interview for me. A few days later, I had an interview with a foreigner who worked at the company. He was very young, but was nice and seemed very professional. His interview went well, and then I had a second inverview a week later with another person, a guy from Hong Kong. This interview also went well, and I was hired as an intern with a small salary.
The whole process took two months, but it does show that even if you have no connections in a city you don’t know, it is still possible to find an internship, or (hopefully) a job.
Friday, 28 August 2009
Weird request at work
Today at work I was whiling away the time by watching Chinese music videos when, to my surprise, someone came by needing my assistance. She did not speak any English, and while I understood she wanted me to make a phone call the England, I did not know why. One of my coworkers who speaks great English helped me. Apparently she wanted me to call Guinness World Records to inquire about having a new record established for most number of people with joint replacements walking together. Yes, people who have had their knees and hips replaced. Thankfully when I called the lady was not in the office.
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