Springtime in Beijing Ah, springtime! When you live on a university campus in Beijing, you know it's spring when each morning you are awakened at 6:30 AM to the strains of fiendishly energetic marching music blaring over the loudspeakers, and each night you search your closet for every extra blanket you can find to put on your bed. The music is due to the fact that the students -- bless their hearts -- are doing calisthenics once again on the playing field, after their winter pause. And the extra blankets because March 15th is the official day of turning off the heat in China, ready or not. As is often the case, the Mind of Man is not completely in sync with the Mind of Nature. Frankly, the Ides of March came about two weeks too early this year. There were a few days when Gail and I were so cold we even kept the thin synthetic bedspread on our bed, hoping for an extra eighth of an inch of insulation, and you would see us in the daytime shuffling about inside our apartment wearing several sweaters and thermal vests. But gradually the days have gotten warmer, and by the second week of April, spring has really sprung. Best of all, the trees are budding forth with a new coat of leaves, and many of the branches are full of pink and yellow flowers. It is no secret among foreigners who live in Beijing that this city is not exactly what you would call a Beauty Spot, yet there are some subtle visual pleasures -- more intense, perhaps, because they are so few. This time of year, in particular, you are apt to turn a corner and see something quite pleasing to the eye. Take the walled government compound of Zhongnanhai, just west of the Forbidden City, where the highest members of the government live. The wall itself is very old and beautiful, the most astonishing color of dark red -- a deep earth-tone that I have seen only in China. The other day when Gail and I strolled past, we noticed an entire city block of tulip magnolia trees coming into bloom along this wall, their exotic white flowers making for a startling contrast against the dark red. There were hundreds of amateur photographers up and down the sidewalk capturing the sight, some with elaborate tripods and expensive cameras. Beijingers truly appreciate the odd moment of natural beauty when it comes along.
(Left: Gail underneath the Catholic Church) Beijingers are very proud of their many parks, and this is a good time of year to set off for a stroll. All of the public parks charge a small admission -- a larger fee if there are temples or other items of historical interest inside. Behai Park has become one of my favorites. You can walk around the lake, or wander among the old pavilions, rock gardens, ponds, and winding paths where the imperial family used to play. If you have a wallet full of money, you can even try the expensive Fangshan Restaurant here, which serves what is known in Beijing as "Imperial Cuisine." It is said that the Empress Cixi, who loved her Imperial Cuisine, used to insist upon as many as 120 main dishes and 30 desserts; she must have been in particular need of an after-dinner walk along these quiet paths. Ritan Park, in the center of Jianguomenwai embassy district, is also a lovely green place to visit, though when Gail and I went there on the afternoon of Easter Sunday, the old woman at the ticket booth tried to cheat us. When we asked the price of admission, she held up two fingers, which we assumed to mean 2 yuan. We paid what she asked, but Gail was sharp enough to notice that the person behind us gave only 2 jiao, which is quite a bit less. We Westerners are a bit aggressive, I suppose; Gail simply reached into the kiosk, took our money back and gave the woman the correct amount before she could pocket the difference. Such things are annoying, but once inside the park, everything was so languid and pretty that we soon forgot our irritation. We sat on a bench in the sun and watched a few people nearby practicing the slow, graceful motions of Taijiquan, which is what we in the West call "tai chi." Some old men had hung their songbirds in cages from the branches of the trees, and the air was full of music. On a Sunday afternoon like this, in the new green shade, the world seems at peace. In the bareness of winter, Beijing has a bleak facade, but this time of year, everywhere you look -- in odd corners sometimes -- the city is returning to life. Next week: "Open Wide" From the Editor in Chief: If you have some travel or work experience in China to share with us, we will be very excited to hear from you! Send your feedback by e-mail or regular mail to ASM Overseas Corporation. Thank you! And if you liked this column, please check Expats In China (International Community in China) for more interesting and useful information on life in China as a foreigner, including calendar of events, entertainment, housing, employment, classifieds, personal, etc. |
On Easter Sunday, feeling in a traditional mood, we caught the end of the service at the old Catholic church, St. Joseph's, on Wangfujing. The church itself is dark and gloomy, a building that is imbued with a sense of history, but is not particularly lovely. Yet on Easter, there was a large tree that had sprung into bloom in the walled courtyard outside the church, the branches were heavy with yellow flowers and it was suddenly quite splendid. 