Tourist Traps and Squirmy Snacks

Recently, I went to the touristy area of Wangfujing. Others had warned me that it was just for tourists; that no locals go there. Well, it was a total tourist trap but, it was a really fun and interesting tourist trap.

Wangfujing is a pedestrian only shopping section of Beijing. It is accessible using Line One of the Beijing subway. Just get off at the Wangfujing stop.

In in this neighborhood, the cool thing to do is to go down Snack Street. Snack Street is a collection of little alleyways that are lined with food stalls. Be ready for this. This is not like anything you’ve seen before. There is a lot of weird stuff on a stick.

While wandering through Snack Street, I saw all manner of odd and repulsive looking food. There were scorpions, snakes, starfish, seahorses, and one lizard, all on skewers, at various stalls. Many of the critters were still alive while speared and waiting to be grilled. It is not a place for the squeamish. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I only ate some mini candied apples on a stick. So, I can’t say how any of the weird stuff tastes. Maybe it’s delicious and I really missed out on an exquisite delicacy. But, I’m ok with this.

Interspersed with the food stalls are larger souvenir stalls and shops. If you’re looking for souvenir type trinkets, like little tea sets or Mao magnets, this is a good place to load up. However, just remember to bargain. It seems like none of the prices are set in stone so, be ready to haggle.

After the gawking at the food stalls and souvenir shopping, I hit the Western style mall. Here, I found Gap, Sephora, Zara, and many other familiar brands. I also found a large bookstore with a huge English language section. The store is called the Wangfujing Bookstore. There were also several stores that sell Chinese brands of clothing and shoes. If you need to shop for clothes, this is a popular shopping destination.

Once gawking and shopping were over, it was time to look for a restaurant. My friend, Kelly, and I ended up at a Peking Duck restaurant called DaDong Roasted Duck. The food was excellent! We had Peking Duck and hot pot. Both were great. Unfortunately, we had no idea how popular the restaurant is. As a result, we had to wait about 40 minutes for a table. But, it was worth it. The restaurant does, however, take reservations.

So, if you’re ever in Beijing and feel like being a total tourist, go to Wangfujing. It completely on the beaten path but, you’ll have a fun time.

Scorpions on a Stick. 

By the way, the scorpions were still moving!

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Some kind of Bug on a Stick

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Starfish on a Stick.

How do you even eat a starfish?

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Really Big Scorpions on a Stick

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Big Scorpions, Snakes, Seahorses, Starfish, Bugs, and Lizards on Sticks

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Yum!

Seriously, this will haunt my dreams for life.

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Our Complete Meal

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The Hot Pot

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The Platter of Stuff that Goes into the Hot Pot

(We'd already taken some off the ingredients off of the platter by the time I remembered to take a picture.)

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1/2 of an order of Peking Duck

You  take the crepe, put some duck in it, and then add some condiments from the condiment plate.

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Complimentary Candied Apples

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The Details of the Trip:

How to Get There (Source: Wikipedia)

* The Wangfujing Station of Beijing Subway Line 1 is located at the intersection of Wangfujing Street and Chang'an Avenue. 

* Bus and trolleybus routes 103, 104, 201, 211, 420 and 特11 stop at New Oriental Market (新东安市场) east of Wangfujing Street and at Wangfujing Intersection North (王府井路口北), near the southern end of the street. 

* Bus routes 10, 41, 59, 90, 99, 104, 120, 126, 203, 205 and 420 stop at Wangfujing on Chang'an Avenue.

Dadong Roast Duck -Wangfujing Location (Source: SmartBeijing.Com)

* Phone:  6528 8802

* Address:

6/F, 301 Wangfujing Dajie, 

(opposite the Wangfujing Bookstore),
Dongcheng District
东城区王府井大街301号
京新旅大厦6楼（王府井书店对面）

* Website:  www.dadongdadong.com

The One Child Policy

China’s One Child Policy has been getting a lot of news recently. A few days ago, the ruling Party announced changes to the Policy that will ease the restrictions a bit. In all honesty, while the Policy is not exactly loose, it was a lot freer than I thought it was.

On one of my first days in China, I went sightseeing with some teachers from my school. Our guide for the day was one of the school’s Chinese staff members named Tracy. While we were walking around, Tracy mentioned something about her sister. This struck me as odd since I assumed that all Chinese people under a certain age were only children.  In my confusion, I finally just asked Tracy how it is that she has a sister since China has the One Child Policy. She said “Oh, my parents paid a fee and they were able to have a second child.” I brushed this off as an anomaly and stopped thinking about it.

About two weeks later, my kindergartners came in for their first day of school. All of my students were accompanied by their parents. Some students also had grandparents with them. One little girl came in and she was far too young for our class. I was about to tell her mother that she had the wrong class when I realized that the mom was with another child who was the right age. It turns out that the too young girl was my student’s sister. Then, more families came in and several of those families had more than one child with them. In all, it turns out that almost half of my students have at least one sibling. This is when I realized that the Policy is not as strict as I thought it was.

In China, there are several exceptions to the One Child Policy. Under the old system, people could have more than one child if they met one of several conditions, such as:

* The parents are members of an ethnic minority.

* Both parents are only children.

* The parents are farmers and their first child is a girl or is disabled.

* A woman is pregnant with twins, triplets, etc.

* The child is born in a different country or Hong Kong and is not a Chinese citizen.

* The parents pay a high fee to buy another birth permit.

Since my students are wealthy, their parents are the kind that can afford to buy another birth permit. (A child without a birth permit is like an undocumented person in America.)  This is why so many of them have siblings.

The One Child Policy will now allow couples where only one person is an only child to have a second child. So, that will give many more couples the option of a second baby. This means that in a few years, I might start to see more middle class kids with siblings.

Maybe more families will look like this is 5 years.

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Fading Fast

I have a neighbor, whom I’ll call Mr. Lee. A few mornings a week, I see him outside with a really long stick and a bucket of water. The first time I saw him, it took me a couple of minutes before I realized what he wass doing. Mr. Lee practices water calligraphy aka temporary calligraphy.  

Water calligraphy is exactly what it sounds like. A person, typically a retired man, makes a homemade calligraphy brush from a sponge and a pole. This is then dipped into a bucket of water to write on the ground. The person typically writes on the pavement or sidewalk. Mr. Lee writes on the parking lots and roads of our apartment complex.

Water calligraphy is a cross between a really polite form of graffiti, calligraphy practice, and mental exercise. Practitioners write a variety of things on the ground. Some write criticisms of the government and society. Hence, the label of polite graffiti. Others write lines of poetry. Often, it is passages from famous poems. Other times, it is original poetry. This is where the mental exercises come into play. The calligraphers often memorize the poetry to write it. Also, they practice writing quickly, before the water evaporates, without mistakes. In a character based language, this is harder than it sounds since a missing or extra stroke can change a word.

Water calligraphy is considered a temporary art form. The practitioners know their work is going to evaporate and disappear in a few minutes but, it doesn’t matter to them. They do their calligraphy for themselves, not for others.

I can’t read what Mr. Lee writes on our parking lots. So, I don’t know if he’s writing an angry rant or beautiful poetry but, I do enjoy seeing his calligraphy on my way to work. It’s a nice way to start my day.

Mr. Lee - My Friendly Neighborhood Water Calligrapher

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One of His Characters

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China Standard Time - The 10am Sunrise

This weekend, the US and several other countries entered into daylight savings time. So, the clocks went back an hour. In China, this did not happen. Now, this is not unusual. Many countries do not have this habit. What is odd about China is that, despite its size, China has only one time zone.

The Chinese time zone is called China Standard Time (internationally) or Beijing Standard Time (domestically). Officially, every part of mainland China, from east to west and north to south, has the same time. (Hong Kong and Macau are exceptions.) This would be like if New York and LA observed the same time zone.  This has been the Chinese government’s policy since 1949. Prior to 1949, China had five time zones.

I haven’t been able to find exactly why the government discarded the old time zones and instituted the current system. The theories I found were that it was either to streamline government operations, make the country appear more unified, exact control over outer regions, or some combination of these factors. Either way, there are parts of China where the sun doesn’t rise until 10am because they are so far west of Beijing. Many of the western regions are home to Chinese minority groups who often feel discriminated against. It seems like some of them also feel like the policy of one time zone adds to this feeling.

Now, some of these western regions, like Xinjiang, have their own, unofficial time zones. In Xinjiang, the local time zone is two hours behind the official time. People do this to be more in sync with the sun. From what I’ve read, this can get confusing because not everyone follows the same custom in these areas.

So, if you’re ever in China, check the local time, check the official time, and good luck being on time. 

World Time Zone Map

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Map of Chinese Time Zones Before 1949

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Bargaining: Chinese Style

Everyone loves a bargain. No one, it seems, drives a bargain like the Chinese. Their bargaining is insane. In many countries, most bargaining starts out with the seller and the buyer in the same general price bracket. It’s just a matter of each person adjusting a little to come to an agreement. For example, the seller says "$100” and you counteroffer “$80.” Then, the two of you meet at $90. Here, this is not the case. In China, the seller says “¥100” and you counteroffer with something like “¥5.” Then, the two of you meet around ¥30.

In addition to bargaining starting at radically different prices, customers here drastically change their personalities to bargain. When I went to the Badaling section of the Great Wall, my sunglasses broke. So, I went to a little stall to buy a new pair. A co-worker’s Chinese wife kindly offered to come with me to bargain. For the entire two hour car ride, she had been a polite, slightly shy lady. Well, when she started bargaining, her entire demeanor changed. Gone was her shy and reserved nature. Out came her inner demonic, haggler. This woman (I forgot her name…) told me to pick out the pair I wanted. Once that happened, she took them from me and shoved them into the clerk’s face and asked how much. When the clerk answered ¥45, she laughed sarcastically and said something like “Are you kidding? You want ¥45 for this trash?” She then offered ¥10. The seller acted insulted and lowered the price a little. My lady then made derogatory comments about the quality of the sunglasses and raised her offer slightly. After a few more rounds of this, she finally looked at me and whispered, in English, “Don’t smile! Now, I got her down to ¥25. I think this is a good price. Are you willing to take it?” When I said yes, she told the seller something like “Ok, we’ll take it but, we are still paying far too much.”

From what I've observed, when bargaining in China, it’s important to remember a few things:

1. Never seem excited. This will raise the starting price.

2. Always be prepared to walk away and not buy anything. Remember, it’s a big country. Someone else will be selling the same thing later.

3. Don’t name the first price. Wait for the seller to name a price and then counteroffer.

4. Offer something like 10% of the initial price.

5. Look for the item’s flaws to help your bargaining position.

6. Always have the seller show you the price on a calculator. This way, there will be no language barrier and everyone is sure of the amount.

If you follow these tips, you will be ready to bargain like the Chinese.

You'll be as happy as Scrooge McDuck when you score a bargain.

Pollute-y, with a Side of Asthma

Living in Beijing means dealing with Beijing’s pollution. Unfortunately, Beijing has a terrible pollution problem. The air is extremely polluted. The water is too but, one can avoid drinking tap water. There is no way to avoid the air.

Before I came to Beijing, I thought the pollution just looked ugly and took a long time to affect a person. Unfortunately, this is not true. Recently, my students participated in a field day type event that lasted close to three hours. The event was on a day with an elevated level of pollution. I had forgotten to bring a mask with me so, I had to stand outside, for the entire event, without a mask.  I started the day feeling fine; no problems or symptoms of any kind. After two hours outside, I felt like I had a cold. My nose was stuffy and runny. Plus, I had a sore throat. At the end of the three hours, my eyes hurt too. I went from fine to the peak of a cold after only three hours of exposure.

My symptoms from short term exposure were annoying but, curable. After a few hours of breathing inside with an air purifier running, I was back to normal. People, especially children, who have long term exposure to the pollution, run the risk of very severe health problems. These problems include heart and lung problems, chronic bronchitis, and death. Of course, the pollution can aggravate preexisting conditions, such as asthma and heart disease.

Thankfully, there a few things that can be done to lessen the affect the pollution has on you.

When coming to Beijing, it is important to remember to bring a face mask with you. From what I have read, the N95 filtration masks from 3M are the best masks around. It’s the kind I use (based on my research) and they seem to work fine. I don’t like wearing a mask but, it’s a necessary evil. They are hot and cause my breath to fog up my glasses but, they keep me from feeling sick.

If you are a contact lens wearer, you should check the air levels in the morning to see if you can wear your lenses. It’s best to wear glasses when the levels of PM 2.5 (the main particulate in the air) are high. Your eyes feel dry and gritty if you wear contacts on these days. I’ve heard that wearing contacts on high pollution days contributes to ulcers and sores on the eyes but, I don’t know if this is true or not. At the very least, it causes a lot of discomfort.

Keep your windows closed. You can use an air conditioner or a fan to keep cool. If you open your windows for even a short amount of time, you will see how dirty the window sill gets. Now, imagine breathing that in. It’s just best to keep your windows closed.

Shower in the evening. You don’t want to lay in the pollution all night long and let it seep into your skin. So, shower before bed to wash it all off.

No matter how diligent you are, Beijing is not the healthiest place around. But, with a few precautions, you can help to minimize the effects of the pollution. 

N95 Mask by 3M

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Beijing's Pollution on an Elevated Day

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Another Day of Elevated Levels

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A Rare Clear Day

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Front Yard Funeral

On Friday morning, I came out of my apartment building and found a giant, three room tent out in front. The tent wasn’t in a parking area but, still, it was a strange sight. When I came home from work, it was still there. On Saturday morning, the tent and the accompanying event were still going strong. While walking past it, I noticed a large sign. So, I took a picture of the sign to have a co-worker translate. It turns out that the sign said something like “We are sorry for the inconvenience but, there has been a death. We apologize for any noise we cause.” Yes folks, there was a funeral/ wake happening in front of my building.

After I realized that I had a three day funeral happening in my front yard, I turned to my good friend Google for some answers. It turns out that what my neighbors were doing is actually standard for Chinese funeral customs. From what I learned, if a person dies inside of their home, the funeral and wake happen inside of the home. But, if the person dies away from home (for example, in a hospital), the funeral and wake happen outside of the home. Typically, the outdoor funeral and wake are held in the person’s yard or courtyard. Since our complex lacks a yard or courtyard area, my neighbors put up a giant tent on the strip of asphalt in front of our building.

On Saturday evening, the second day of the funeral/ wake, I saw a procession coming back to the tent. They were several people in the procession. They had drums, a small gong, and tambourines. I’m not sure where they were coming from but, they were noisy. I guess that’s why they put the sign up.

I couldn’t get any good pictures of the tent. Every time I tried, I would happen upon someone sobbing and feel like a jerk. So, my pictures aren’t close or clear. I did, however, stick my head in the tent. It was divided into three rooms that were all in a row. One room was a kitchen. The middle room was a dining room. The last room was a makeshift funeral parlor. I didn’t see a coffin in it but, I also didn’t check on the first day. When I looked in on Saturday (Day 2 of 3), there were a several large, standing floral arrangements, chairs, and a table with incense and a large photograph on it.

So, if you ever walk out of your apartment building in China, and you see a giant tent, be prepared for it to be around for a while. 

A pic of the tent from a stairwell window.

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A close up of the kitchen area and the food prep that happened outside of the tent.

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The Sign 

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The Entrance to the Funeral Parlor Section of the Tent

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