By injera, on October 18th, 2009%
I’m still going through the photos from China (slowly! Resizing for the web takes time, although I’m sure there are quicker ways – hints and tips appreciated!) and have decided to break the Beijing photos into categories. This should 1. take care of the is-this-Temple-of-Heaven-or-the-Summer-Palace-(or-even-Forbidden-City)? issues this end and 2. make the task seem less daunting for me.
Today I tackled the smallest subset of Beijing photos – the pics from our visit to the Dashanzi Art District (also known as 798). I was something of a reluctant visitor; the Wallpaper guide was all “oh, Dashanzi is so over, you’ve really got to go to [somewhere much less accessible]” and, to be honest, there was a lot of pretty kitschy stuff. There was, however, some really interesting work and it was wonderful to spend time wandering around a precinct so thoroughly dedicated to art. (Oh, and there was decent cake, too!) It’s definitely on the itinerary as a longer visit next time.
Chen Wenling’s “farting bull” – “Emergency Exit”, a commentary on the global financial crisis – was extraordinary, and Yan Pei-Ming’s “Landscape of Childhood” installation was truly affecting. The photos do neither justice, but do serve as an aide-memoire for us – hopefully they give you an idea of the work.
Click here for the Dashanzi photoset.
By injera, on October 13th, 2009%
China wasn’t all multi-dish meals and dumplings, contrary to how it must seem from the previous post. Oh, no. There were also breakfasts. And snacks. Many, many snacks…
Continue reading China – snacks and street food
By injera, on October 12th, 2009%
I always forget to take a notebook with me when I go on holidays. This means that one of the first essentials once a destination is reached is to find a stationery shop (the others being eat and find some tonic. The latter proved difficult for the second time in as many holidays – we need to rethink our duty free purchases). Travelling in Korea, Japan and Malaysia has raised my expectations of stationery but it soon became clear that I wasn’t going to find anything as cute as “Pochi and Mongi together forever, happiness always” in Shanghai (try a Morning Glory shop near you). After the supermarket in the basement at Times Square managed to achieve the ultimate disappointment – instead of not stocking tonic, it only stocked diet tonic – I realised I was going to have to settle compromise and bought a serviceable but mostly unremarkable exercise book1.
Flipping through my notes from the trip, I am struck by the contrast in detail. Each dish in every meal is recorded, but a whole morning in the Forbidden City is noted in two lines:
- eggy pancake b/fast on the run towards Forbidden City
- lots of ppl but many areas deserted – so huge
Clearly the most important aspect of our visit to the Forbidden City was the breakfast en route. No wonder Mao didn’t care to visit2.
So the highs, and not-so-highs, of the food in China…
Continue reading Shanghai and Beijing – one mouthful at a time
