Beijng
(there isn't really a first day as all I did Day 1 was eat a fried pancake with egg and lettuce, and fell asleep with jetlag at 7pm)
Day 2
10/30/2008
Guess what? My classmates in China will not have been able to read my blog due to internet censorship regulations, currently in place.
How unfortunate!
Therefore, I doubt they have seen my introduction video:
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10/31/2008
Day 3
Woke up early, and ate some Red Bean and Coconut yogurt for breakfast. Probably would have been better had the yogurt itself been firm, instead of watery. I'm a big proponent of Greek Yogurt. Worth the try though I suppose.
Did some Skyping, and finally left the house mid afternoon to enjoy the city on the first day of sunshine since my arrival.
After having an amusing time trying to describe to the girl at the counter what I wanted, mostly consisting of pointing at the plates of other patrons, I was able to get a meal.. When I got it, it was really oily, and was temporarily convinced that the meat was dog.. pretty sure it was actually beef.
Decided to go to Dongsi at the recommendation of some kids wearing Undefeated shirts and cool sunglasses. Sneakerheads (the closest description of my advisors) seem to be a rare fixture here.. just like any off mainstream culture.. Beijing isn't super attracted to being hip. Living in New York City, I struggle with the idea of dilution. Here, there is not much to dilute. Feels kind of like a small town in a way. This feeling leaves me to one conclusion: I'm clearly missing something.
Anyway, went to Dongsi- saw lots of Nike shops.. Lots of random generic fashion stores.. Went into this store with a strange logo of a figure with a diamond sticking out of its head. The kid running it was super excited and friendly, and asked me if I was a professional skateboarder. I said "No" but asked him if there were any skateshops nearby. He led me, almost by the hand, to the corner, and told me "'Flyshop'- 1,000 centimeters" and motioned to the left. I think it was a bit further, but eventually I found it and bought a complete skateboard for 390 CNY, about $60... My trip improved about 400% just in that one move!
From there I went all over- Chaoyang... some other places.. Went to Workers Stadium, saw all of the cheesy dance clubs appropriately named "Angel" and "Babyface(check out this link if you want a hilarious description)," and other winning titles.
Found the crazy counterfeit mall, went to Bookworm- it was full of tourists on their laptops.
Didn't even eat dinner- lunch kind of killed my appetite I guess.
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9/1/2008
Day 4
Went to the Olympic village, got to see the birdsnest from about a half mile away- everything was on major lockdown.
Honestly, it was kindof in the middle of no where- nothing that stood around it seemed to be open.. and everything was brand new. Creepy honestly.
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9/2/2008
Day 5
Today I did a day trip outside of the city to see the architecture at The Commune By The Great Wall. I was expecting kindof a lot.. so naturally I found myself a bit disappointed. The 2002 Venice Biennial selection for Architecture (the first ever recognized piece of Chinese Architecture as "art" apparently) looked a bit more like Miami Beach, rather than a great example of contemporary avante garde work, where apparently budget and legality never hampered the desires of architects nor the curator.
The work looked rather dated (beyond 6 years), and was definitely ill produced. Details, people! Don't get me started on the fucking bugs, either.. I saw the biggest spider I've ever seen outside of a cage in one of the kitchens. Yuck!
Check out the photos here, and if you are curious about the Commune, watch this video with goofy German narrators.
I did get to go up to the portion of the Great Wall on their property which, was unexcavated and totally beautiful.
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9/3/2008
Day 6
Late afternoon yesterday, my entire group showed up allowing me to have a bit more personable interaction with fellow beings, and yet a sad end to my privacy.
Today we went on a tour of the cities many gallery centers. At Caochangdi Arts we visited the The Suoluo Gallery, AMT Gallery, and we visited the studio of a South Korean painter. Following, we went to Pekin Fine Arts, however, most of the galleries hadn't opened yet as it was a little early in the morning.. I did get to see the amazing live work space of one of the artists in residence there- amazing.
Following, we went to 798, to have lunch and spend the afternoon. 798 was something that I'd initially planned on visiting on my own. It was pretty fantastic, upon arrival. Too many things to see really. In summery, I saw an Andy Warhol show, which featured paintings of athletes (for the Olympics), next door I saw another contemporary arts show- also featuring Warhol, but also Jeff Koons, Takahashi Murikami, Jean Michel Basquiat, Chuck Close, and a slew of famous Chinese contemporaries... amazing show. Additionally, Nike had done a giant instalation, where I was able to view everything from Prefontaine's diaries to videos of my old coach Alberto Salazar winning the New York and Boston Marathons.. as well as some more aesthetic multimedia instalations.
Following we went to meet with one of my professor's former pupils Xiao Yong- this years Olympic medal designer! Pretty impressive guy- he told me he had lots of friends in New York, and if I knew any of them... Stephen Sagmeister, Milton Glasier, and a few others whose names I obviously knew or recognized. He's a professor at the Central Arts Academy- and a very notable Beijing resident all around.
Later- we went back to 798, like I said- big place.. for as much great stuff that I saw, it was a bit too trendy.
After, we went to the impressive professor's studio in a more up and coming arts district (I can't remember the name offhand)- which was awesome.. he was meeting with clients the whole night, but was supposed to meet for dinner at this nice place.. in the end he never showed, but had prearranged the meal and payment! What a guy!
Check the entire photo set here (unfortunately I lost a lot of them due to a data transfer error)
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9/4/2008
Day 7
Today I spent the early portion of the day at “The Forbidden City,” a site that was closed to the general public for something like 700 years. It wasn’t opened until the Communist Party came into power, hidden as a cultural relic as it is the former residence to several Dynasties. Anyway, interesting place- but absolutely jammed packed with tourists. I must have taken a million photos, but in a very sad twist of fate, my camera erased all of these among the last couple of days…
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9/5/2008
Day 8
We spent much of the day at the Temple of Heaven, a beautiful park where the emperor would voyage outside of the Forbidden City only twice a year to perform rituals to the gods. I loved the blue tiles, versus the golden ones of the Forbidden City… for some reason, it made the structures look that much more majestic.
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9/6/2008
Day 9
Today I hiked the Great Wall. It was an incredible hike through a popular region of the wall, filled with steep climbs and descents, through well preserved and almost entirely destroyed portions. We climbed through an estimated 30 towers- believe me, that would be enough for most. We concluded at Simatai, considered the most beautiful part- I even took a zipline over a ravine to get down. Awesome!
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Jinan & The Shandong Region
9/7/2008
Day 10
Took the train to Jinan today (Check out the images of their great courtesy magazine provided in my seat pocket here). I felt very relieved to leave Beijing. I can’t say that I liked it all that much- people felt strange there… constricted… Too much police presence, too much policing, ha. Anyway, it felt like everyone had to fit into the mold, or they just simply had no voice, no opinion or reaction. I was happy to leave that, as I always say- for me, travel is about the people, less about the place.
When we arrived, we settled into our very hotel style dorms. Following we were received with the biggest dinner I’ve ever seen (and a thousand toasts). Not that I myself consumed very much considering the vast number of dishes we were presented with- I’ve long since grown tired of Chinese food.
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9/8/2008
Day 11
We met our program partners today; I was matched with a kid called Kong Sai- looks like we’re a perfect fit.
He might be kind of a local celebrity as kids seem to really regard him… It might have something to do with the fact that he’s the 75th generation of Confucius, apparently in China that’s like being related to somebody like Jesus (to put it into perspective).
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9/9/2008
Day 12
Today we actually visited the home of Confucius (also the hometown of my partner Kong Sai if you read my previous post), his temple… and well, the others went to the graveyard of Confucius and his family… and Mount Tai. I on the other hand couldn’t do anything after viewing the temple due to severe stomach flu, and a fever. The students were sure to inform me that Mount Tai was the best thing they'd seen on the trip thus far.
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9/10/2008
Day 13
We met with our partners, and spent the whole day working and goofing around. Our group is really fun, so the dynamic has been really positive. Kong Sai (who I named “Mario” on the first day, as many of the students have “American” names) and I are working on this audio/visual piece. I’m making, rather reinterpretating, a song, and then we are going to make kind of animation/movie. I’m not sure I’m in love with the concept (my fault, as I came up with it), but we only have about 2 full working days, plus installation, so there isn’t a whole lot of time to deliberate. Oh, did I mention Kong Sai doesn’t really speak any English? Barely any of the group does…
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9/11/2008
Day 14
Today was spent mostly on a tour bus.
Other than that, a visit to one of the more well known Kite makers in China, then we shadowed a local woodcut printer and played with his super cute dogs.
See the set, here
When I got home, I didn't have the stomach for chinese... so I struck out on my own, and went to the local western cafe..
While waiting for my food I made a list of everything I hated about the restaurants design, goes as follows:
-Frosted Glass
-Unnecessary Branding (on the frosted glass also)
-Denny's Style Printed Napkins (I actually meant those paper placemats, not napkins... you know the ones)
-Shitty Wall Art
-Cheap table accessories, wood, and upholstery
-Ugly black marble table
-Ugly Salt & Pepper Shakers
-Ugly Floor Tile
Also, my food was hardly "western," and certainly miss-advertised:
Ordered: Fried leg of chicken with Soup, with Black Pepper Sauce (weird ordering, but they had a few choices following "Soup")
Received: Flattened breaded piece of chicken with plenty of gristle, covered in said sauce. No soup. But, on the side was about 3 tbsp of Pasta with a sauce that was somewhere between Ketchup and BBQ, 1 tbsp broccoli, 1 egg over easy.
Price: About 5 times more than I've been spending on most meals.
But, I did feel I received an adequate alternative to my usual fair.
Ps. If I hadn't posted photos in a previous blog, then they are up now.. I know nobody actually enjoys the reading part.
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9/12/2008
Day 15
I spent the entire day working on my own projects, and collaborating with Kong Sai. I don't have too much to report other than that, and I don't have any photos.
I will say that in spite of getting a lot of work done, I'm really looking forward to Shanghai.. I want to feel better about China in general knowing that there is a place for me somewhere here. Kind of like the United States..
Actually, I do have a photo- this is all I look forward to coming back to my dormitory.
Stop reading now if you don't want to hear about toilet stuff
Squat toilets are really hard to deal with- I've only made one run, and I don't want a repeat trip. Interestingly though, the Chinese are as grossed as we are (towards our toilet).. I guess its based on the idea that everyone has to share a seat, which is a valid concern.
My main issue with Chinese bathrooms is their unpleasant smell (due to Squat Toilets), and the lack of toilet paper, or handsoap.
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9/13/2008
Day 16
I had to really remind myself to be cool today. Something that's been really good about this whole experience is the forced expansion and simplification that communicating with a central collaborator requires- even to get the simplest message across.
Today was another pure work day- and it took a lot out of me. A few good breaks from work were certainly in order, one was to explore this abandoned building- really a construction site- across the street from the lab I've been working in. Very cool..
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9/14/2008
Day 17
Tons of work.. update tomorrow.. maybe the next..
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9/15/2008
Day 18
Still mad busy..
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9/16/2008
Day 19
Heading to Shanghai in a few hours- working with students in Jinan has been such a blessing. We finished off all of our projects, and held a rather large opening. Photos on the way..
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Shanghai
9/17/2008
Day 20
Happy to be in Shanghai.
Got in this morning at 5am.. checked into our splendid hotel-- quite stylish digs, honestly.
The city is really cool; tall buildings, high population density, good food, etc.
Walked around the old city, went to the observation deck of the Jin Mao Tower, took across the water.
Awesome.
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9/18/2008
Day 21
Beautiful day today- spent most of the morning at the Shanghai Museum, then to the Shanghai Biennale- which was actually kind of a let down.
Went to the Taikang Lu district- it was full of white people.. got a big pizza.. it was tasty. Unfortunately, the apparent arts district didn't offer much more than that and women's clothes..
Worked out and took a dip in the hot tub- later hit the streets for dinner. Bypassed the crazy restaurants for some street food 5 yuan for delicious noodles. Mmmm.
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9/19/2008
Day 22
Spent the day at Suzhou, a beautiful suburb of Shanghai- known for its beautiful Chinese gardens and canals channeling throughout the city.
We started at the incredible Humble Administrator's Garden, then walked all over, at one point separating into smaller groups.. observing the hutongs (neighborhood), the depressing pet shops, and public announcement signs that spoke of raising the quality of life by abstaining from doing things like public spitting..
We also went to the zoo.. The animals were beautiful, but it was so bittersweet as the care provided seem pretty inferior to anything I've ever observed elsewhere.. also depressing.
The last stop before home was The Lingering Garden, which set my mind at ease.. I wish New York had the luxury of something like this.. Chinatown is too urban.
Back in the city a great meal discovery was made- I guess I'll just call them street noodles. Simply incredible, the easiest and most delicious food (maybe not the most delicious in general, but the best combination of easy and delicious)
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9/20/2008
Day 23
Spent the day at malls and shopping areas. The weather was shitty, and as you can imagine most malls and shopping areas, so were my surroundings.
Later on I met up with a friend of a friend, Stephen. I was really excited to catch the advice of a semi-local (he'd been in the city for a year). We went to some small dingy restaurant, and checked out this club called The Shelter. It was packed full of really uninspiring expats.. all of a sudden it dawned on me that Shanghai, like most expat centers (Berlin likely the best exception to this), is generally pretty boring- it revolves around an arbitrary expat job (English tutoring, tourism, bar work, and of course- business) coupled by a substandard nightlife that always includes heavy drinking and conversation severely hampered by language obstacles.
The music was decent- but it couldn't make up for all the white ass expats. Highlight of the night was walking with Stephen and his girlfriend, and the bootleg video store that we stopped into.
