Blog entry # 3
February 4th, 2012
Fourth day in Beijing! We did a scavenger hunt today around the city, which included taking the public transportation. The subway system is extremely easy to use, and it is very cheap. The subway gets you anywhere and it is fast. There is glass around the subway, maybe to stop people from jumping onto the tracks? It’s pretty smart nonetheless; we should have it in America.
We went to Tiananmen Square today and it was really amazing. But it was probably one of the coldest days today. Even though I am from California I have clothes that prepare me from the 20-degree weather during the day and 10 degree weather during the night. Although walking around at night really makes my legs freeze and feel like they will fall off. A lot of people in China wear facemasks, probably because of the air pollution and because it makes your nose and mouth warm. I would actually really like to buy one because my face gets extremely cold.
I had my first experience bargaining today. I did pretty well. The best technique is to just walk away. Most people if they are desperate will lower the price substantially. I can’t wait to meet my roommate and go out with her because she is Chinese and she can tell me if I am getting ripped off or not.
I made a friend today randomly by asking for directions to somewhere. She walked us to the Center for the Performing Arts. Her name was Kathy and she said that she was a tourist, touring by herself in Beijing, originally from Southern China where she taught primary school. She also accompanied us to the place where we found a restaurant to eat lunch called Qianmen. It was the first traditional shopping center we had gone to in China where we could actually practice our bargaining. Kathy was extremely nice and really friendly. I would talk to her in Chinese and she would talk to me in English. She asked to take a picture with us before she left. In fact, people kept asking us to take pictures with them. I guess we stood out like a sore thumb because we are American.
The taxi driver was really aggressive. When we took too long to pay him he yelled at us OKAY! It was very alarming. Another thing that we figured out is that you don’t tip anyone in China. It’s actually extremely nice that we don’t have to tip anyone!
In Qianmen we went to a music shop where there was a really nice guy at the counter. He was playing a bunch of America songs, mostly Christmas songs on the Mandolin. He also played the bamboo flute. I bought a Harmonica that was about 5 times bigger than the ones in America.
 |
| Shop in Qianmen with bracelets |
 |
| Another shop in Qianmen selling really pretty boxes |
 |
| The beginning of Qianmen |
 |
| Another pic of the beginning of Qianmen |
 |
| Inside the Center of the Preforming Arts, it is underground |
 |
| Map of the subway lines |
 |
| Tienanmen Square with a picture of Mao Ze Dong |
 |
| Really pretty structure in Qianmen with Chinese lanterns |
 |
| A monument in Tienanmen Square |
 |
| One of the many food stands on the street |
 |
| National museum in China |
 |
| Just a pretty building across the street from Qianmen |
 |
| Mao Ze Dong memorial hall in Tienanmen square |
 |
| Another pic of Qianmen |
 |
| This is the building for the Center of the preforming arts, it has a lake surrounding it which was frozen over for the most part |
 |
| Shopping in Qianmen |
No comments:
Post a Comment