Evening Dancing and More Wanderings in Beijing

Statue of Traditional Dancers 
Tomorrow afternoon I leave and, I am both sad and looking forward to be returning home.  This trip, I noticed how finding a rhythm to my day and knowing my way around helps me feel grounded. (Don’t get me wrong, I also like exploring and discovering new parts of the city, but I also need to balance the excitement of what is new with what is familiar). This is a lovely time of year to be here, it is hot (80’s-90’s F.) but dry, with occasional wind. Flowers are still blooming and everything is green and fresh. 

Last night, after being slightly frustrated trying to find a place to eat (Traditionally meals are group events in China, so as a single person with a small appetite, it is challenging to find something to eat at a restaurant (or at least something that is not rice porridge/congee or bao/wheat bun with filling).  I ended up getting a huge dish of fried rice- my translation app said it was chicken fried rice but when it arrived it was rice and egg and no chicken that I could taste or see (leaving me to ponder if perhaps I had found the answer to the proverbial question of which came first- last night it was the egg!) Anyway, after eating I went to the large Xiwai Cultural Leisure Square (I have mentioned this square before, but this is its official name on the map).  

Partner Dancing in the Square
The sun was setting, but things were starting heating up. The square itself is probably small to middle size, by Chinese standards (certainly not as huge as Tiananmen Square) but even in the early evening, it was a cacophony of sound and activities. The evening deepened and eventually there were at least 5 different groups of people dancing to different music and rhythms blasting out of big battered speakers. There was a large group of people in one corner dancing (or exercizing or both) by shaking their arms, then their legs and then hips, turning around and starting over again. In about 3 other locations, there were couples dancing waltzes and the two-step quite elegantly. Some of these folks were also blinged up a bit with silver shoes or lowere cut dresses.
Dancing as the sun set
Across the square, a small group of young people, several women wearing pink formal dresses surrounded a woman in a white dress and a man in a suit or tux. They seemed to be posing for what I assumed were wedding photos. At the same time, in several locations around the edge of the square, were groups doing karaoke.  Each belting out a different song into a microphone and surrounded by others who energetically joined in. In another area, a group of men with several small Taiko drums and cymbals were beating out a more traditional sounding rhythm. And through it all kids were roller skating darting between the adult activities.

Evening Crowds in the Square 
As always happens, as I stood there, a lovely lady started teaching me the steps of a dance. (I have to assume that this would have happened to any foreign looking white lady who was standing and watching. I mean, it’s not like I have a flashing neon sign on my forehead saying ‘pick me-I love dance’.) It took me a while to figure out she was doing the ChaCha but as soon as I had figured it out, a tall Chinese man, dressed all in white started organizing people into well-spaced lines to do the ChaCha steps she had been teaching me. It was all done individually in lines of men facing women, but later he demonstrate that the steps could be done with a partner (perhaps later, when they had the steps memorized.. I am not sure). It was interesting that even though the foot and leg patterns were familiar ChaCha steps, the arm gestures resembled stylized Chinese movements. Arms circled, but then ended in a specific position with palms facing down or up. The upper body erect and arched back slightly (in traditional Ballroom style). The teacher’s style was elegant, and hard for the men to imitate, although several women were better at getting the correct posture. He kept on giving directions (using a microphone on a headset) but I have no idea what he was saying. It was fun. And, as usual, every time I stopped, people watching gave me big smiles and many thumbs up. (They also said something in Chinese, which I could not understand since my translation app doesn’t always work very well..and with all the background noise, misheard a lot of my English).  It got dark so I eventually walked back to my hotel, but it was fun joining in as well as discover the source of the sounds I had been hearing from my open window each evening. 

Curiously ambiguous  subway advertisement???? 
Today, after a luxurious late morning of catching up on emails, doing laundry and sleeping in a bit, I decided to explore the area where I would be meeting a Music Therapy friend this evening. So, I took the subway to Fuxingmen Street and wandered a bit. First, even though this is my first time riding the metro this trip… I continue to be impressed with its ease and accessibility (well language accessibility, for anyone who is differently abled..this is definitely a challenging city to navigate). Our old subway cards were still good. I added about 10 Yuan to the card and off I went. The only glitch was that I was watching people in the car and got off at Fuchengmen Station rather than the next stop which was Fuxingmen Station. (A great example of my lousy language skills here. They sound almost the same to me, unless I listen very carefully.)  So, for a few more Yuan (which at 15 cents a Yuan, is pretty cheap) I returned to continue traveling to the next stop and then headed toward the Capital Museum, which was a short metro ride away, on a different line. I have been a few times to this museum, but since as an elder (e.g. old person) I just needed to flash my passport and I get in for free, so I thought - why not?  

Capital Museum
On the way I passed a shopping mall where Bruce and I had eaten the last time we were here.  it is now closed for repair or more likely for up-dating- this city is continually changing and modernizing and an incredibly rapid rate. The speed of change and growth in the two cities I have visited made me wonder if China is like a shark that must keep moving to live.  Yesterday I had lunch with another friend from the program (I love having time to catch up on their lives and share thoughts and details from mine.) and She shared that as a result of the political structure here -  in general individuals have very little… or no- influence in politics, only the upper level cabinet members- people don’t get too involved in it.  Instead as long as the economy is doing well and they have food and a place to live (even if it is incredibly expensive in the big cities) they are happy, and don’t complain.  This is actually a view I have heard from several friends, although younger students who have spent time in the west usually have a less accepting view of larger issues.

Evening sunset on the way to the Subway
And then, like greeting an old friend, the museum was across the street. How lovely to not have to figure out where the entrance was or where I should get tickets.  I took some time visiting a new exhibit of Buddha figures from many parts of China. While there was very little English signage, it was still lovely to see. Interesting to, to see so many of the figures looking almost Thai, with elongated fingers (even longer than typical Thai Buddha’s) and long ears and fairly substantive ‘enlightenment’ bumps on the top of the head. There was also many ‘Tibetan Chinese figures, reflecting a general attitude toward Tibet as being a legitimate part of China. (Not a view shared by most of the people I know in the US).  I also looked at a few other exhibits and then decided to walk toward my meeting spot.  Along the way, familiar landmarks including a street with inspirational slogans (Which for some reason were written in English) and a familiar metro stop. It was delightful to be someplace familiar. I was intentionally, many hours early and so I stopped at a coffee shop for some tea and to work on a workshop I will be giving when I get home. Later dinner and then back to the hotel. Tomorrow I leave midday, so this is probably my last entry for now. Thanks for reading and I hope to write more in a month from South Korea and Hong Kong. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Some visits to historic mosques and temples

Image
In the past few days Barbara's been very busy teaching (leaving each day around 8:30 in the morning, and not returning until 7:00), and I (Bruce) have been exploring parts of Beijing on my own.  I'm slowly figuring out where things are--not always easy in a city of 25 million people! We did have some days to explore together before her teaching began, as you could tell from her first entry.  We spent much of a day at a large park full of families, and you'll note in the photo here that she did just fine working around the language barrier when getting a snack (and of course, as we often have, depending on the kindness of strangers). We also had time to visit not only one of the oldest temples in Beijing, but also the oldest mosque, the Niujie Mosque established in the 900's as Islam spread to the east.  As an historic mosque complex, they are used to visitors, and we enjoyed wandering around the complex (in anticipation of our visit, Barbara had covered her hair...
Read more

Miscellaneous thoughts: Shanghai Parks and students

Image
It is a rainy evening here in Shanghai. We are in our hotel room, watching world news on CGTN (the English language world news station) after a dinner of tea, cherries and mangosteens.  Its a good time to share more thoughts and photos. Mixed neighborhoods near People's Park Traditional Shikomen alleys Water brush Calligraphy class I love walking and exploring different neighborhoods in this city.  Things change quickly, a fancy, modern shopping mall is across the street from older, smaller and narrower alley-ways surrounded by two story red brick homes with laundry hanging from widows drying racks. Fequently we are detoured around areas of street repairs or deep pits that will soon be tall buildings. But despite the density of buildings, moving vehicles and people, pocket parks are everywhere. These parks are always clean, filled with growth that blocks noise and creates a peaceful haven, away from the hustle and bustle of the near-by street. ...
Read more

So, how are the children?

Image
We are often drawn to China's youth.  Barbara has been doing some of her work here with young people, and so there's a real if brief connection, particularly because coming of age people have been important in both our lives in our teaching and friendships for so long.  But of course we are drawn to the kids we see--on the subway with a grandparent, in the parks--and in the museums, such as the (wonderful) Shanghai Natural History Museum at left (kids are the smaller creatures in the photo at left, looking up in some awe at the larger creatures done in real-life size (some even move and make plausible sounds!). As a former science geek (I went to college to become an astronomer), I found the museum so well done and informative--accounts of the creation of the universe, the plausible origins of human beings (which the little girl in the photo at right is drawn to), the variety of very small and large creatures in the past and present, all were very up to date.  The ...
Read more