A sunny weekend in Beijing

SATURDAY

This weekend the weather was fine, and so it was time to go out! On Saturday we discovered that Tiantan ('the temple of heaven') is actually just around the corner from our house. It is surrounded by tourist markets where mostly fake designer clothes and jewelry is sold. A line of tour buses stood outside the park, waiting.

Outside one of the markets (called Pearl Market)

Around the temple and park are hutongs, which are always a lot of fun. This one still was traditional and full of activity: old men playing cards and Mahjong, markets and little shops.

These goldfish cost 1 Yuan each (0,10 Euros) so we bought a bunch.
We also bought a big fish to eat (2.3 Euros per kilo) It was more than fresh; the vendor hit it on the head a couple of times with a blunt stick and then cleaned it in front of us.

In the Hutong.


Also in the hutong


For some reason hutongs are always full of cats.


Some more dead than alive ;)




Hutongs are like a real-life museum

SUNDAY

Another Sunday afternoon. Another trip to '798 Art District' to make more photos. *sigh* The weather was good; warm and sunny, and so we decided to take a bus there from our house. By subway it would take approximately 1 hour, but by bus nearly 2 hours! It was nice to see some of the city from above the ground though, for a change.

Some 'interesting' signs along the way
(it's more funny in Dutch)


Inside the 798 area, there are lots of old things laying around. The place used to be an industrial area, and at some places there are still pipes that spit out clouds of steam, piles of coal and old machines and materials are everywhere.



...such as this abandoned room with 1 chair in it.


These buildings are famous and only just finished. They stand on 'xizhimen', a busy business intersection. This picture was taken from the bus window. We boarded a doubledecker bus and stayed there for two hours, as we circled the entire city of Beijing (cost 0,04 Euro).


The Beijing Sunday traffic & a lovely old lady playing the violin on the street


Roadside ping-pong place;
anything to keep you busy on a Sunday afternoon...


A sneak peek through the window of one of the empty factory halls in 798, the works of art are either stored here, or an exhibition is being prepared. There was no one around.


Strange modern art using strange modern photography techniques


When we got tired of walking, we took a rest in an Italian restaurant called Saizeriya. It's a Japanese-owned place that sells cheap and decent Italian food and even real Italian wine! Dinner for 2, including pizza, a bottle of wine, starters and ice cream for desert, cost a mere 8 Euros.