Now that the weather is picking up in Beijing and the season for shorts and t-shirts is rapidly drawing near, me and Siqi decided we would head slightly out of Beijing to 香山 (The Fragrant Mountain), a popular walking spot for Beijinger’s who want to get a breath of fresh(er) air. Conveniently located on the western fringe of Beijing, 香山 is only a 20-30 minute bus ride away from our apartment.
Whilst renowned for being absolutely packed out with people on Weekends and during the summer tourist season, if you make a sneak visit late on a Friday afternoon (as we did) you can have the place to yourselves - well… almost!
The path is the walkers equivalent of a motorway and there is also a chairlift to the top for lazy chinese businessmen - although this hasn’t started up yet this year. Its probably about a 1:30 h walk to the top for the fit and healthy and is pretty steep at some sections… I couldn’t help but think about some parts of the great wall during the climb up!
Once at the top there is a ‘great’ view of Beijing (smog, greyness and what I can assume is an increasingly patch of greenness separating the city from the mountains). On the other side of the hill you can also see some Coal fired power stations that have been hidden away from the public eye - this may well have something to do with the olympics! It must be said that there was a pleasant and reasonably fresh breeze on the summit of the mountain and it was nice to do some exercise again and get out of the city for a bit. After a bite to eat on top, we headed down the mountain as it was getting dark quite rapidly. We did the last section in complete darkness which was rather interesting!
Last stop, a lovely restaurant where we enjoyed 京酱肉丝 (Beijing sweet pork strips wrapped in tofu skin) and 清炒油菜心 (Stir fried bok-choi hearts) along with a couple of bowls of rice. Feeling somewhat full, we got the bus back to our house and watched some DVD’s!
I really enjoyed this walk and it was lovely to get out of the city and into the countryside again. I think more than anything I was surprised that the countryside was so accessible and at such a short distance from Beijing. Me and Siqi are hoping to make a habit of this and try and get out every Friday afternoon (neither of us have classes) for a stroll up the mountain - especially as the weather gets warmer.
Here are some photos:
I was delighted to pick up a hefty and well wrapped up parcel from the University post room yesterday and after a lengthy battle involving a pair of scissors, parcel tape and some concrete-reinforced cardboard I finally managed to prise the box open. Inside there was a whole pile of goodies plus a nice letter and some newspaper clippings - kindly sent over by my Gran.
It sort of makes me realise all the things that you can’t buy over here in China that really are delicious! Anyway, that will keep me going for a week or two 
Thanks Nain, really appreciated!!!
After years of searching, a couple of wars, ridiculous money wasting and lots and lots of government propaganda Osama Bin Laden has finally been found… by me! Yes indeed, when I was wandering around the Temple Festival in Beijing yesterday I chanced upon a curiously familiar Kebab seller who was flogging two juicy lamb kebabs for 10 kuai, bargain! When I looked closer, it was no other than the long sought-after Bin Laden himself - not hiding in underground caves in Afghanistan as we had previously been made to believe, but instead making a small fortune with his kebab selling business in Beijing, China and hanging out with his Xinjiang comrades. If you don’t believe me then here is my snapshot to prove it:
Okay, went to another Temple Festival yesterday with Siqi and her cousin, only this time it was much bigger, with a lot more people and a lot more things going on. We got up nice and early and made it in time to watch a reenactment of the QingLong Emperor (Qing dynasty) during a prayer service - which was interesting. Afterwards, we went to another stage to see some traditional Beijing entertainment - Cross-talk (a form of standup comedy with two comedians, lots of playing with words, incredibly funny if you understand!), Beijing Wrestling, Chinese Magician, 快�?� (A singer with two wooden clackers - a bit like castanets - who creates a rhythm and sings along - again, usually very very funny lyrics!), Acrobatics and a few other things.
After all that, it was time for a food break. Temple festivals are very popular for their lamb kebabs (originating from Xinjiang province- where there are lots of Muslims) and today’s were not at all a letdown. Even better (and quite randomly) there was Spanish Churros for sale (deep fried donut-like twists covered with sugar and chocolate) and 臭豆�? - stinky tofu - tofu that has been left to ferment and smells like my Dad’s socks; which is then deep fried and coated in a spicy sauce and eaten with cocktail sticks… YUM!
To finish off the day, me and Siqi took a bus to the French Cultural Centre in Chaoyang District (lots of foreigners live and work here) and watched a French film (also has Chinese subtitles) called “Filles Uniques”. Its a great little cinema that I go to quite regularly (got to keep my French up!) and its less than a pound per showing for students.
All in all a great day out, gonna take it easy today and laze around in the house again
Below are some photos for you to peek at:
Jono
