Dan in Beijing

798 Art District

2008-09-05T10:33:00.006+08:00

Last Saturday, a handful of IES students bused over to the 798 art district in the northeast corner of the city. Formerly known as the 798 factory zone, the 798 art district is a mao-era manufacturing complex that was transformed into an enclave of galleries, outdoor sculptures, graffiti, and cafes. Lots of great stuff. Most of these photos are of the graffiti and converted factory buildings.

Along with the Chinese economy, the music taste is still..."developing", but it's good to see they're branching out from local stuff. So far, China pop is really hard to stand, but the indie/rock and electro scenes are doing well in the cities.

Camera Happy

2008-09-04T18:56:00.007+08:00

The first week in Beijing, I went a little camera happy, taking many pictures, some of which fit the classic tourist shots. But it had to be done, just to know that I had gotten them. This set of Beijing photos was taken on a particularly smoggy day. The past week however, has been quite clear.
the forbidden city from atop the hill at jingshan park (where the last ming emperor hanged himself). Smog/Fog/Humidity)

north gate of jingshan park, drum tower in distance.
forbidden city moat

fishing in the moat.

--new day--

old beijinger taking his pet magpie for a walk in my neighborhood.
bird flu.

milk tea! And i'm having a good time.
3rd ring road. Taken from overpass.
random preserved and renovated old neighborhood adjacent to third ring road. taken from same overpass
purple bamboo park

a picture of a guy taking a picture of lillies? he took a lot of picture of me when he thought i wasnt aware, so he got the same.

Arrival

2008-09-04T18:24:00.004+08:00

My Building, where I live and take Chinese class. That is a badminton court in the foreground. To the left is a kind of caged-in area of ping pong tables.

My Room. You can kind of tell it was built a while ago, during thr throes of communism. It still has that 'soviet' feel. Despite how dull it may seem, the dorm community makes it a nice place to live.

My view.

Beijing Foreign Studies University/Beijing Waiguoyu Daxue, or Beiwai. East Campus. (I'm on the West side)

East Campus

Stray Cats around campus.

main building on east campus

Staples of the Westerner, namely american. Pizza, Coffee.

Blue Ribbon...Water.

First Post

2008-09-04T17:57:00.002+08:00

你们好！*

I've created this blog to post photos of my happenings and travels around China. Most of the posts will be photos with descriptions, and I also may give some brief background information. I debated with myself the idea of keeping an online journal, and have decided to use a written journal because of its convenience, permanence, and physical sentimentality. If you would like to know what's going on with me during my semester in Beijing, please do not hesitate to email me at dizzycarnizzy@gmail.com , or post on here with any questions you have.

In just a few minutes, I'll post some photos i've already taken around here.

Ciao, mes amis. ^0^

-Daniel-san

*That says "ni men hao" (hello). For those whose computers don't support chinese language, I suggest you download a foreign font support program-thing. Its cheap, easy, and extremely small (file size). "I can't read it anyway. Why would I download it?", you say? Well, it's better/cooler than looking at a ton of boxes or random symbols. Plus, you may pick up a couple words or phrases from contact....just a thought.