Autumn in Beijing

So the past couple of weeks have been a mixture of relaxing and being very busy. Classes are definitely difficult, but I really try to use the weekends to get outside and see something new. I will hopefully see all the big things by the end of this year, but Beijing is so large and there is just so much to see! So let's start with Fall.
The leaves are absolutely beautiful. To tell you the truth, I really didn't expect such colors, I really thought the weather would go from a bright hot summer to a gray freezing winter. BUT, I was mistaken. The entire city is covered with oranges and yellows and it just seems like it has all be gilded. I spent one day walking around the lake of Beijing University (the BEST university of China) and spent the time taking pictures, watching people, and trying to avoid falling in (some of those paths are just so narrow). Anyways, here are a few of my favorite pictures. The lake was just this really peaceful and, amazingly enough, quiet place. There were many people around, and they were all talking, playing, etc. but it just felt silent. I probably just didn't notice the noise, wasn't really paying any attention, but that is the only way I can describe what the lake was like. Gilded silence.














I think my favorite part about many of these photos is how much they look like paintings. I wish I could take credit for that, but the whole lake felt like you just stepped into a canvas. The colors and the reflections on the lake were just so surreal.












Speaking of canvases and art, I also recently went to 798, the Beijing modern art district. I would love to say that I will be visiting all the time, but it felt like traveling to a new world just to get there. Bus, train, bus, taxi, I'm surprised I didn't have to board a boat to get there. Anyways, 798 used to be this collection of many old factories but they are now renovated and filled with the products of China's up and coming modern artists. I think the greatest part of this district is the drastic contrast between the modern and free-thinking with the rigid and controlled. For example, walking around one gallery you see portraits of nude women in suggestive poses, while on the back walls and ceilings remain the red words of Mao.













The displays were also so interesting. Every gallery used all the space provided, ceilings, walls, floors, EVERYTHING. It was actually really a great representation of China. There isn't enough space, so everything is up for grabs, any nook and cranny. In one gallery they hung these transparent woven art pieces from the high ceilings and they went to the floor, thus looking through them at other works of art brought a whole new view.














In another gallery you had to walk through this tunnel surrounded by televisions with Chinese infomercials. I think that short tunnel is the best way to describe living in Beijing. You are surrounded by not very much space and all these loud yelling voices in a different language, and at the end of the tunnel is this slide where you lose control of stopping and keep sliding on the floor into the rest of the gallery. If you come, go there, go through the tunnel, and you will TOTALLY understand.
My favorite part of the visit to the district was watching this little boy. I mean look at his face! He had this expression on the whole time and for about ten minutes, nonstop, he just kept spinning the wheel. It was just the most thrilling thing for him and thus for me as well. Don't get me wrong, I love art and it was really amazing, unexpectedly so. But this boy just cracked me up, while I sat drinking coffee and going through my photos I could hear his laughter as he spun the wheel.And finally, last weekend I went to the Lama Temple, the only Tibetan temple in Beijing (I believe). This trip was very cool for many reasons. One, I put my ipod on shuffle. Walking through multiple houses of worship and going from Regina Spektor, to Nirvana, to Coltrane is way more fun than one would think. Second, the architecture was just layered in a way that I never really encountered in China (yet). The way the houses were set up, you could see connections, overlapping, etc. so that every angle gave some interesting. And lastly, I saw a HUGE Buddha. Ok, I am going to do my best to describe this statue because I have this weird thing about taking photos INside houses of worship, sometimes I do, sometime I don't. On this day, I didn't. So, you guys will have to come to China and see for yourself, or just deal with my description.














So, imagine entering this courtyard like area that is surrounded by this ever present cloud of incense smoke. Walking up the stairs to the largest house of worship you initially see these two bronze-gold pillars. Closer up you see they are attached to feet, and the pillars are legs, you keep walking closer expecting to see the whole Buddha at any moment, but legs keep going, up to a belt in which case you are already craning your neck, then to really see the whole statue you need to get up close and personal. And there it is. This giant Buddha, standing and peering out a window looking over all of Beijing with the sternest eyes (eyes of judgment for sure but that could be a guilty conscience) and draped over him are these colorful scarves and large lotus flowers that tower on his sides. It really is an awesome sight, one that I definitely did not expect to see here in Beijing.



I am really trying to enjoy all the time I have here. Getting out there, granted alone much of the time, but still, discovering my ipod, going wherever I want to go, eating random stuff on the street, all definitely has it's perks. I still have a lot to see, one example is the Forbidden City (yes, yes, I know, I will make it there soon). But I figure I will take it one weekend at a time. Having a whole year is like a mix between rushing and not, on one had I have a whole year, on the other, it's already the end of October...