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A residential area in an older part of Beijing inside the 2nd Ring Road. It
looks dilapidated compared to all the new modern high-rises out by the 4th Ring
Road. With cars parked on both sides of the street, it's difficult for 2 cars
from opposite directions to pass each other. The whole neighborhood feels
overcrowded. However, a haircut, at less than $1 USD, is cheap.
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A sign advertizes a cybercafe on the second floor. After climbing the narrow
staircase, there is a large room, filled with computers. Even so, all the
computers are being used, and there are still people waiting. The room is
dark, and reeks of cigarette smoke. If there were a fire, I don't know how
many people would make it downstairs. To use a computer, you must let the
attendant hold your government ID card, I assume as a means to allow the
authorities to track down Internet users, but I wonder how effective it is,
given that there are stickers everywhere advertizing "documents".
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I haven't had McDonald's in China, but if the identical store layout is
any indication, the food will probably taste exactly the same as it is in the
United States.
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Taken aboard the maglev train from the Shanghai airport. It does go pretty
fast, but the ride is not as smooth as one might have expected. There is a
little display in the car that shows the current speed. Not surprisingly, it
spends almost half of the time accelerating to the peak speed, spends maybe 5
minutes at that speed, then spends the rest of the time decelerating to a stop.
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The subway system in Shanghai seems much newer compared to the one in Beijing.
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This is an odd juxtaposition of a historic building with a Christmas tree in
front of it. Christmas, specifically, the commercial aspects of it, is rumored
to be popular among Chinese urban youth.
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| As seen from the top of the Oriental Pearl.
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A hot pot bar is great during the frozen winter in Beijing. If someone in your
party doesn't like spicy food, the pot is divided into halves, with only the
one half filled with a spicy soup base.
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The employees at this particular branch of the Industrial and Commerical
Bank of China (ICBC) were on their lunch break, and practicing, of all things,
tap dancing.
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... and the fun is over. It's back to work time.
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During the summer, this is a popular spot for foreign tourists, and it shows,
because the lake is completely surrounded by bars, which are all empty during
the winter. A lot of people do utilize the frozen surface to skate.
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This is a cozy tea shop beneath a large mall, where Peking opera enthusiasts
come together to perform. People get up to perform a segment when they feel
like it, then sit down to listen, talk, drink tea and eat sunflower seeds.
Most of the regulars seem to be retirees.
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A more traditional hot pot experience. The pot is actually heated by charcoal
in the middle, instead of being heated by electricity earlier.
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It's Harry Potter! And the Goblet of Fire. I saw someone reading a Harry
Potter book in the Beijing subway once, but it seems to be for practicing
English.
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Traditionally, people buy holiday decorations for the Spring Festival. This
very bright red is the only color.
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A chef carving up a Peking
duck; he is supposed to be following some precise guidelines on how to do
it. The accidental action-shot nature of this photo makes it so much better
than the one at Wikipedia.
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