’nuff said.
I didn’t know that you need a Chinatown in China…
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Category Archives: through the looking glass
So proud of my boys; they sat through 2-hour Chinese opera last night after a day at the Great Wall & Ming Tombs
without understanding a single word in the play.
Not that many Chinese adults can say that, I can attest to that.
If you think turtles are cute, how about turtles with head of dragon? They are everywhere…
At one of the Ming Tombs (resting place of one of the thirteen Emperors during the Ming Dynasty)…
and inside the Forbidden City.
My first picture taken inside the Forbidden City is a sign that warns against vandalism
Mind you, the grammar is correct. But nobody speaks this way. And this sign is everywhere inside the Forbidden City.
It always amazes me that folks cannot seem to find other folks that can properly translate a language into another language. I believe even if you go on Yahoo! Answers and ask your language translation questions, lots of native speakers (or people who have mastered the said foreign language) will help you out, for free!
Would you want to have your wedding picture taken with Chairman Mao? Apparently lots of newly weds do.
Speaking of tourist trap, how about let’s just forgo all pretenses, and admit that this is all for commercialism
and souvenir shopping is the main reason why you are all here?
The exhibit of the Emperor Sedan is now directly inside this souvenir shop. Pay and you get to have a picture taken with it, up close and personal. Pay more you get to move to the left side, where you can dress up and the Emperor and the Empress and have your picture taken on a replica throne.
Bird Nest in Beijing: A sad sight in contrast to its glory during 2008 Olympics
The official name for the Olympic Stadium in Beijing IS Bird Nest. It is NOT just a nick name. Chinese people justifiably feel pride in this world’s largest steel structure. Groups after groups of domestic visitors lovingly crowd around the dirty, not-well-maintained mascots to have their pictures taken. I am hoping that China will soon find a great use for this symbol of national pride and save it from neglect and disrepair.
We got a picture of Chairman Mao @ Tian An Men
Because my kid said, “I know him, he is famous! Andy Warhol painted that picture!”
Looking at Tian An Men square (across the busy street opposite the Chairman Mao picture). Because it is on a Saturday morning, the crowd is larger than usual. The entire square is covered with people. Being there with two kids by myself, I didn’t even attempt going into the Forbidden City that day, which is right behind the picture of Chairman Mao.
Nice view we got by my getting “lost” right outside the Tian An Men area, by walking in the opposite direction. I guess it is nearly impossible to miss the long walls and the crowd, and that’s why the guard from whom I asked for direction looked so confused…
“Tian An Men? You mean the Tian An Men ahead where everybody is walking towards to?”
Oh, yes, that one.
Air China: Our new favorite airlines
Air China, not to be confused with China Airlines which is the one based in Taiwan, is now my favorite airlines for flying with kids. The individual entertainment center on the seat back includes movies, TV shows, inflight information, games, and even a camera showing the view from the bottom of the aircraft. (And yes, wise guy, most of the time, you only see white clouds…) And the movies include kids’ movies, and more than one. So many choices I didn’t know what to do with them so I decided to listen to the music. That’s how overwhelming it was…
This was for a mere 3-hour flight. So now I am dreading our flight back to the US on United, which has absolutely nothing. Nothing to entertain the kids. Nothing. They also now charge $6 for alcoholic beverages, so I cannot even booze up now…
The Legend of Kung Fu: cheesy, cliché yet awesome. Like all best scenes from all kung fu movies condensed into 1.5 hours awesomeness
It is 1.5 hour of sheer awesomeness if you love this kind of stuff. To say the least, these folks have a lot of years of training and practice under their belt.
AND, the narration (there is a storyline) is done in ENGLISH. Yes, English, with Chinese captions. At first, the abrupt switch to English gave me pause about the tourist-trap nature of the show, but the excellent combination of acrobatics, ballet, and various styles of Chinese kung fu (really) and martial arts won me over. Although they could have done without the red lanterns in the theatre, I am definitely a fan.
If you are in Beijing, and you don’t mind some Las Vegas show biz, esp. if you are traveling with boys (and men who are boys at heart), then you have to check this show out. The Red Theatre where this show is on every day of the week is in the same area of the Temple of Heaven, so plan your day accordingly.
This picture was taken during curtain call.
since we were rule-abiding people and did not take pictures when the show was on.