This is my favorite food in Beijing

This is called "Liang Pi" or "涼皮". Sliced rice noodles served cold with cucumbers and sesame sauce. Great stuff and a super deal too, at about S$0.60 a bowl.

Nanking: City of Life and Death

I didn't have any classes to teach yesterday so I went to catch 南京南京 (English title: City of Life and Death) with a friend. I wasn't very familiar with the details of the events of 1938 Nanking, but I was prepared for images of awful brutality. Thankfully, the movie spared audiences from that. Although I thought the acting was good and the cinematography, brilliant (Riveting scenes of mass executions, and one great funeral procession scene), I thought the movie was pretty listless as a whole. There seemed to be no central narrative trust to guide the audience through the terror, cruelty and banality of war. At certain portions of the film, I felt like I was watching various short films stitched together rather than a single unified film. This left me feeling confused at the end. Wowed by the filming prowess, horrified by the tragedies, but yet not, fully drawn to any of the characters and their motives, and ultimately, not pertinently clear about what the film's director, Lu Chuan, was trying to tell me. Overall, although I felt somewhat satisfied, I left with a nagging sense that against such a emotional and historical backdrop, 南京南京 missed the potential of being a truly great film. (B-)

It does appear different on the inside

The news is always different from where you hear it. From the outside, one could get the impression that rampant piracy was a systemic problem in China. I'll grant you that you do find the fake Guccis, and Pradas, but to suggest that the entire system is in on the scam is ridiculous. It doesn't appear to be like that, at least from where I am inside.

Over the past few days, I've seen several television programs that have discussed the issue of intellectual property (IP). One was BBC Hardtalk-style interview with an IP lawyer and a college professor. The other was an Oprah Winfrey-style talkshow, which featured a stories of dedicated IP officers determined to stamp this problem out. There was an interesting segment where the host actually asked several kids to identify authentic goods ( ) and fake goods ( ). There were even several music celebrities on hand to push the cause.

Furthermore, and this was news to me, China's patent office is one of the most active in the world, and is fast becoming the world's largest. China appears seems well aware that safeguarding the rights of creative people, whether it be in the arts or the sciences, is key to its cultural and economic future.

Ok lecture over! Woot!!

I present to you the world's longest buffet! From a somewhat cheezy Brazilian-German place near the university. Yes, Brazilian-German you heard it right, but with Chinese, Japanese and Korean as well! You cannot go hungry in this country!!

Brazilian style buffet. The meats are much oiler and sweeter than usual. Chinese style I guess.

Beer is brewed here. Very very very light beer.

Waitresses dressed in German-styled clothes.

A video to give you a sense of how long the buffet line was. There is wisdom in the adage "More is less".

All Dogs go to Heaven

The longer I've been here, the more I'm beginning to understand this place.

Actually scratch that - I think I am beginning to start my understanding of this place.

The chaos, the urgency, the many small tragedies and miracles that tug at its core. It's a million stories of chance, of getting by, of surviving, of living, and of dying. It's a place that requires more than a travel guide's worth of handy tips to appreciate, much less understand.

Between mausoleums of long dead emperors which we visited today, we passed a dead dog on a large field that we were crossing over. I could tell it had only just died, and I felt sorry for it. Nature and elements had just begun to reclaim its body for the earth, and I felt distinctly then, like I did in the mausoleums, the weight of history that has shaped this place for so many years.

The Ming Tombs. Only 2 of the 13 are accessible to the public for now. Each of the tombs occupy a vast area, with each tomb set a few kilometers apart from each other.

Before the entrance to the tombs, we passed through the "Sacred Way". Statues of both of real and mythogical animals line the promenade.

Photo - Liok-style!

I met this kid who wanted me to photograph him on the tortoise.

This is about where I passed the poor dog.

This is one of gates to the tombs we visited.

And this is the underground tombs of one of the emperors. Inside, it isn't all that interesting.

Presenting Trart

whoever did this is my hero:
http://www.citibank.com.sg/global_docs/promo/cb/citialerts/citialerts_siff.htm

I mean really, this is art, and trash, mixed together. I don't think there's a word that's invented to describe this yet. So I'm going to invited a new word - "trart"

This is truly trart.

Saturday

First up, word up to buddies AK and Lambie - Thanks guys!

Busy Saturday. Spent the early part of the day visiting Nan Luo Gu Xiang, a old street alley that good for shopping, eating and wandering around. It's kinda like Haji lane in Singapore, except much larger, with a greater of variety of stores. Definitely plan to come back more often.

Next, I met Momo at WuDaoKou, which is where many of star universities are located. It's a nice area as well, with tons of foreign students learning Mandarin in the many cafes that dot the neighbourhood.

Then it was back to my area of town for karaoke with some students. Austin, another foreign teacher from US, and I, run a International Business Club, where we teach kids international business issues. Austin threw up the idea to go for drinks and singing Saturday so that's how the team ended up groovin tonight. My buddy Christina also showed up and it was great to see her again.

Karaoke with Russians, Austrians, Koreans, Americans, Canadians and Singaporeans!

Probably the SWANKIEST Karaoke place I ever been too.

Dinner with the Kara Crew

Below: My university has these signs which spew out messages of encouragement 24 hours a day. It's pretty freaky sometimes. Beijing is big on these kinds public messages. Below are a couple for your encouragement.

Happier, Stronger, A more pleasant disposition.

Below: These are shots from WuDaoKou

I wrote a couple of handy words for Momo to learn

Foreign students, mostly studying Chinese, I suspect

I've always loved the star symbol. Here's from a store in WuDaoKou university district.

Below are shots of from Nan Luo Gu Xiang.

Below: This was lunch, For about S$1.20. Tastes much better than it looks. Soy bean pasta with chicken and veggies.

I hate laundry

我最討厭的工作是洗衣!!!

I hate doing laundry more than anything else in the world. Even more than public speaking, doing dishes, or playing d at ball.

MSN Spaces eat eggs!

MSN's blog system sucks eggs. That's all I have to say about that.

Thankfully, Blogger is working super well!! So there!

On Wednesday, I visited the YongHe Lama Buddhist Temple. It was my first introduction to Manchu, Tibetan cultures and their long, and sometimes tenuous, relationship with the Han majority.

Definitely worth a visit, after you've done all the big stuff (Great Wall, Forbidden City etc). This place also houses one of the largest Buddha statues in the world, which I sadly, could not photograph.

A sign reads the name to one of the prayer halls in 4 different languages. Manchu, Tibetan, Mandarin and one other whose name escapes me.

Mandarin from the Hans

Tibetan

Manchu

I loved the Manchu script. It reminded me a bit of the Elvish language from LOTR. Sadly, it's a dying language that is only spoken, read, or written by Manchu scholars.

Praying for small mercies

I have no idea what I'm doing so don't ask.