38 hours in Beijing

(dated February 28)

So there’s actually a lot more you could do other than work. Booked my flight to Beijing the last minute to get a document done at the embassy. Thought that it should only take a few hours but the ecuatoriano consol gave me the typical excuse as any Chinese would give me ‘we have a lot of work today so come back tomorrow and it will be done.’ So being stranded in Beijing on a beautiful sunny day, I decided to start my own walking tour:

Stop 1: Beijing Underground
It was impossible to find the place, hidden in the middle of the hutong. When I walked in, 4 ladies in camouflage stopped me and asked me what I was doing there. Apparently, it is still run by the Ministry of Defense. The underground city (between 8m deep to 18m deep underground) was built back in the 60’s during the tension between Russia and China. Apparently, every household in Beijing had access to the underground city from their home. It could fit 300,000 people with hospital, movie theater, temples and all kinds facilities. It also connects to Tianjin and to the great wall. Truly impressive. Apparently, there were shelters like this all over China and only the one in Beijing is open to the public. (the one in Shanghai was turned into a club called ‘The Shelter’)
Note: no photo is allowed underground so Sharou only took photo on hutong

Stop 2: Beijing Di Wang Miao
This stop was totally a fluke as my original plan was to go and get a massage. Then the kind-hearted (later on, i found out that it was a total scam) taxi driver found out about my messed-up plan and suggested me visit this place since there was a big celebration of the birthday of PiXiu (another ugly mystical creature of China, apparently he’s the 9th son of dragon). Why is PiXiu so famous? Well, cuz it doesn’t have an ASS, therefore, things only go in, never come out, so it represents fortune. So a lot of tycoons and businessmen (especially in real estate) worship it and come all the way from Hong Kong and Macau to ‘invite’ it home. (There are lots of PiXiu statue all over China, and the biggest one is here in Di Wan Miao) To ‘invite’ it home, you need to ‘purchase’ it from the temple (thought it is such a taboo to say that you ‘buy’ it, you must say that you ‘invite’ it to your place). And guess how much they cost? SERIOUSLY, a tiny little one (size of a rock/using as a necklace) costs 200 yuan, and a bigger one for display I about 3000 yuan, and there are ones that cost more than 10,000 yuan. It’s insane!! well, I can only afford the ‘free blessing’ --touching his four legs so I should do okay this year. ☺ lol.

Stop 3: Beijing Opera (Liyuan Theater)
Coincidentally, I booked myself in this ‘Beijing Opera theme’ hotel, which has a theater with performance every night. So I might as well. Surprisingly, they have subtitle on screen in both English and Mandarin on both sides of the theater so people can understand the story. It was such an intricate form of arts, emphasizing on the move, singing, martial arts, and of course costume and make-up. The set is always quite simple so the moves of the actors must compensate the missing production set. It was quite an experience for me, really appreciate the arts and the details. Who would have thought that I would actually enjoy Beijing opera?