Highlights from Beijing

Click below for a slideshow of highlights from my time in Beijing! Or view it here on G+!


And enjoy these video clips (also available on youtube)!

ART!!! (6/3)

Art and nature reclaiming the 798 factory

M I K E ,   O U R   S T A T E - A P P O I N T E D   tour guide, ended up saving the best for last. Our week in Beijing had come to a close, leaving only half a day before our flight back to Korea, to begin the next leg of the studying part of our time abroad. We spent that half a day in the incredible 798 Art District, a converted 50s factory turned art space, and boy did I love it! I'd never seen such a place in my life-- so much art of so many kinds over such a large area-- it was like a dream come true!

Mike explained briefly that the 798 factory district was built in the 50s in cooperation with German engineers. At one point, he claimed, most electrical appliances in the country were produced there. The factories were secretly converted to weapons production later in their history before being put out of business in the 90s like much of the rest of Beijing's heavy industry. The government had wanted to convert the space into housing, but a community of artists slowly began to take root and blossom, setting the foundation for what the district is today-- a haven for modern Chinese art, filled with galleries, studios, and venues of all sorts.

798 is better described through pictures than words. I have enough images I want to share that my typical layout simply won't do, so I've embedded a gallery of my favorites below. You can also click through them at your own pace on  Google+ here.



A F T E R   7 9 8 ,   W E   were off to the airport, onto a plane, and out of Beijing! Most of us made it through customs just fine, for which I was very thankful-- I'd picked up a few strange souvenirs at 798 that I was thankful not to have to try to explain to anyone in airport security. Our plane was delayed by the famous Beijing smog that had been absent at our arrival, but otherwise it was nothing but smooth skies back to Korea! Our destination was Daegu, where we'd be staying and studying at Yeungnam University for the next two weeks.

Chinese Buddhism and Consumption (6/2)

Entrance gate to the Lama Temple

B U D D H I S M   I N   K O R E A   was one of my favorite parts of this study abroad experience. Buddhism in China, by comparison, seemed completely different. Today was our introduction to Chinese Buddhism's workings via the Lama Temple in northern Beijing.

The first thing I noticed as we approached the temple were the surrounding small shops and vendors that appeared to cater towards it. Many sold bundles of incense in various shapes and sizes, as well as foods and other items meant to be given as offerings. Shops and vendors were a very common site throughout Beijing-- free enterprise certainly flourished to the point that it was sometimes hard to get somewhere without being heckled with offers-- but to see people cashing in outside a spiritual site seemed strange to me.

Incense burners inside the Lama Temple

The main attraction inside the temple itself seemed to be the massive incense burners, pictured above. People would bring in their newly-purchased offerings, burn them, and in many cases leave thereafter. This gave the temple a more fleeting (and more fiery) character-- people were coming and going much more frequently than they had seemed to in Korea. People didn't seem to spend as much time in the main dharma hall, either, except to drop off more offerings of incense and other goods. I was startled to see how large a role consumption played in the brief glimpse I got of life in the temple.

Into the Heart of China (6/1)

Me outside the gate to Tiananmen Square!

T H E R E ' S   J U S T   A S   much history in the heart of Beijing as there is along its outskirts, and today we traveled inwards, rather than outwards. Tiananmen Square was to be our first stop of the day--a stop I'd been looking forward to for days!-- but upon arrival at the legendary locale, we found it gated off and surrounded by security. The occasion was National Youth Day or something of the sort; the general populous was barred from the Square and some groups of kids could be seen ambling about inside. We wandered about the exterior, snapping picks and discussing the historical significance.

An example of the surveillance at the Square-- yikes!

Admittedly, I'd looked forward to confronting Mike about the controversial place, but unfortunately the opportunity didn't present itself.

Bike Culture in Beijing

Soaking It In (5/31)

The view from my window

T H E   M O R N I N G   I   woke to was far smoggier than the day before had been, but thankfully my head was clearer. I was able to catch up on some journaling and reflection as the yellowed, opaque sky slowly brightened, and broke my fast with a plate scattered with fixings from our hotel's expansive breakfast selection before hitting the road for the day. Our first stop of the day: the Great Wall!

Mike reluctantly cedes control to Dr. Yi

Our tourguide, Mike, told us a bit about the Great Wall as we began to move out of the city. According to him, it took 1 million people 10 years to build the Wall in the first unified Ming dynasty, 50% of whom died. We'd be seeing the Badaling section of the Great Wall, the closest to the city and also the most popular.

Destination: Beijing! (5/30)

Bright and early at Daegu's airport!

T H E   M O R N I N G   T H A T   welcomed us as we stepped out of our beloved Hongbeopsa Temple was eerily silent and still. If the previous day had been one last hug from the little world that had cared for us for the last week and a half, then this was surely the release at the end of the embrace. With goodbyes and best wishes, we began our journey to Beijing.

One last taste of Korean culture before our departure

Although our bus left the temple a tad late (because for some reason we held off cleaning up after ourselves until the morning of our departure!), we were ready and waiting at Daegu's airport before it opened. I didn't realize that airports close, but I suppose that tells you something about the size of the airport! It was just a short jaunt from Daegu to good 'ole Incheon, where a layover made time for us to steal some sight-seeing and nap-taking before leaving the country.