我们坐公共汽车坐了很多的小时。

Indeed, the second half of Chunjie break can be characterized by many, many hours of bus rides.

I was invited to go with two other guys to a city called Da Tong (大同) two visit two sites: Yungang Grottoes and Hanging Temple (Xuankong Si), two sides west of Beijing that we missed on the group tour. It was really refreshing to break out of the group, and both places were absolutely amazing. Here are a few pictures.

Yungang Grottoes is home to the third largest Buddha carvings in the world. Remember when the Taliban blew up Buddhas that were carved into a mountain in Afghanistan? Same time of thing. There are many, many caves here holding thousands of Buddhas of various sizes. The ones pictured above and below are two of the largest, the one below now being exposed, as the cavern that contained it has eroded/collapsed. It's difficult to convey the feeling I got approaching these things, at least 60 feet tall, carved over 1500 years ago.

After a less-than-memorable (well, memorable, yes, but not particularly enjoyable) evening in Da Tong, we took public transport (not all that different from the microbusses in South Africa) to another city and found our way to the Hanging Monastery, literally built on the side of a mountain. Curiously, the temple contains Buddhist, Confusion, and Taoist elements (see the picture below).

Overall, the trip was a profound experience...and worth a good 12 hours total in transport, I suppose.

The Chunjie break is nearing its end, and Beijing is showing signs of regaining its normal hum: students are returning to campus, stores are reopening, and homework is due. I'm feeling rested, though, and ready to re-enter the routine. It's time, I suppose. So my days of gallivanting in neighboring provinces have come to an end for the time being, and my days of coffeehouses have returned. I guess I don't mind...just talk to me in a week or so.

I hope this finds you well, and that the Year of the Pig has already brought you luck.

春节在山西 (Spring Festival in Shanxi Province)

Yesterday, I returned from the trip to Shanxi province, west of Beijing. It was refreshing to get out of Beijing for a few days and experience another part of China. Some people called it "real China." I don't know whether I'd say that Beijing is fake China, but the trip certainly displayed some aspects of Chinese life and culture that I don't usually observe from my comfy life at Beida.Our first evening, we stopped in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi province. It was New Year's Eve, and we got to have dinner with host families. It was great to spend some time with a family; it humanized China in a way that I've rarely experienced, especially with most of campus on break for most of our time in Beijing thus far. They were entirely too welcoming and generous. The son, 白宇, is studying at University of Adelaide in Australia. We're hoping to meet his friend (last on the right) when we're in Chengdu, as she's studying electrical engineering there.

We got back to our hotel an hour before midnight. Little did we understand, but at midnight we got the show of our lives from our sixth-floor room. EVERYONE was setting off fireworks. The city was lit up by the constant flashes of light, and all of the noise sounded as though some military invasion had begun. It was insane, and only became more insane when the hotel decided to light their fireworks and firecrackers...the fireworks exploded at eye level, 30 feet or so from our window. There is no way to explain what a huge deal Chunjie is...maybe like Christmas and New Years in the states, rolled into one.

We spent the next few days in a picturesque city called Pingyao. Pingyao is an ancient walled city, whose wall and architecture remains largely intact. It's a huge tourist destination now, complete with salespeople at every turn. It was a great opportunity to speak to the locals...whether they were friendly because of the lack of contact with foreigners, or because of the opportunity to make money by selling things, people in Pingyao were normally quite friendly. Above are two kids that I spoke with...adorable. Four and three years old. Notice the blonde hair attached to the back of the little girl's head...
A 'guard' on top of the wall.
The center gate and street at night. It was all historical and glamorous, but certainly had downsides to it, too. I would imagine that real life is hidden far behind the shops and main streets of Pingyao.

Now, back to life in Beijing. Oddly enough, I already have to prepare for my return to the states...internships, housing, etc. etc. It's kind of overwhelming. I have the rest of the week off for New Years' break to relax and breathe. It's certainly a welcome rest.

In Brief...

So, the last week or so has been a blur of studying, but with a fair bit of fun mixed in. There is plenty to write about, but I'll leave that for a few days, because the New Year falls on 18th February this year; we have about a week off of classes, a welcome break.

So today the group is leaving to visit a few cities outside of Beijing, one of them being Pingyao, a well-preserved ancient city (or so I hear). We'll be back in a few days though, and I'd imagine I'll have plenty of time to update, because most things in Beijing will likely be closed for the holiday on our return.

So, I wish you the happiest of new years: 春节快乐！

北京的天气是很好的。

(This is Wudaokou 五道口, the local center for restaurants and nightlife, albeit Western nightlife. Believe it or not, the twin towers in the center of the picture house offices for Microsoft and Google, among other tech companies. There's also a subway line here.)

Indeed, the weather has been quite pleasant the past few days, almost breaking 10C (50F). It's been nice to wander around Beijing sans Siberian winds. It makes me realize how beautiful Beijing must be in warmer months (particularly on our campus and in areas with lakes and parks (houhai, the summer palace, etc).

In other news, I think that my immersion courses are going to change slightly. I spoke with the director of the program, and it seems like the in-class focus will be more on conversation and less on word memorization. Although this might be more difficult (more work outside of the classroom memorizing vocabulary and sentence structure), hopefully it will improve my conversation skills and retention. I'm excited for the change.

A few days ago, I saw the following advertisement for a special Valentine's Day dinner. It read as follows (the sign had Chinese and English on it):

Your are my love baby
Because you are the perfect
Coffee could also make drunk feeling
Sweet dreaming
Write our LOVE STORY together.

Now if that doesn't convince me to come for dinner, I don't know what would. Some of the English signs around Beijing are downright hysterical. I enjoy them immensely...but then I remember that I often can't speak the difference between the "ch" sound and the "q" sound in my oral Chinese. And then I also remember that I can't speak Chinese that well at all. Laughing at poor "Chinglish" is fun only when one manages to forget how humorous one's own "Chinglish" must be.

Anyway, the weekend promises to be one of relaxation, conversation practice, and homemade dumplings (we're going over to Dr. Sun's apartment to make jiaozi tomorrow night). I hope yours is relaxing as well...go make dumplings or something.

好久不见。。。(long time no see...or blog)

To begin, a few photos...My life over the past three weeks...new words and Chinese textbooks. Lots of them. If you every hear me grumble about 生词 (shengci), this is what I'm talking about. Last week, like the two weeks before it, have been spent in coffeehouses desperately trying to memorize hundreds of new words. They say it gets easier, though...we'll see about that.

Last weekend, out group arranged a trip to a factory complex (798) that has recently become a hotspot for contemporary art in Beijing. The art was good (although some of it fairly commercialized, as is some art everywhere, I suppose), but it was certainly enhanced by the venue.
On one of the factory ceilings, part of a phrase that, paraphrased, means "Long live Mao."
Graffiti.

So anyway, my apologies for not updating more frequently. To be honest, I've found that my Chinese classes not only take up exorbitant amounts of time, but they're largely unfulfilling. I need to learn how to balance my time more successfully, as I want to see and enjoy Beijing while I'm here. I've got a lot on my list to see that just hasn't been completed as yet: Houhai lake (which is supposed to be lined with chic cafes and bars), an acrobatic show or Peking opera (we'll see how that one goes), the Lama temple (a large Buddhist temple not too far from campus, even just some of the government museums.

In any case, I'm feeling the need to do new things and experience new areas of Beijing.

Perhaps that's where our Spring Festival break comes in. The Year of the Pig begins 18 February. As the largest Chinese holiday (and one of the few during which most people have time off of work), the Spring Festival is already a big deal, akin to Christmas in the states. We have over a week off for the festivities. I'm pretty excited to see all of it, take good pictures, and hopefully get to participate a little bit.

I'll be sure to keep you posted.

－君宁