Sightseeing in Chinese

So, when you’re in China, you have to do some sightseeing - right? I set out to do so on my second day in the city. Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden city were on the agenda. First challenge: find the subway exit that actually leads to the square. There are three subway stations in the area, each with multiple exits of which many leave you stranded on street corners that are fenced in with hundreds of meters of barriers guarded by policemen. As my host, Bamor, had told me, police had increased their presence since preparations were under way for a huge World War II commemorative event of great political importance. That probably also explained why the whole area had been turned in a maze in which hordes of tourists were trapped.  In the midday heat, I slowly worked my way towards the square and finally found the entrance - also, like every subway entrance guarded by a security checkpoint that seemed to have more of a theatrical function.

The square itself is vast, flanked by impressive architecture on all four sides, with a portrait of Chairman Mao gazing down on sweaty visitors from its position on the northern gate. Thanks to all the barriers blocking the way, people are taking pictures with Mao from a comically large distance away. Hustled by drinks sellers and tourists wanting to take a photo with me I left the square pretty quickly, in order to have a look around the forbidden city.

Have your picture taken with Chairman Mao.

This proved more difficult than expected. It took me about one hour to find the entrance to some kind of park. “Forbidden City?” “Yes, left, go, go! Forbidden City!” There were certainly some old buildings there, but nothing like the awe-inspiring architecture I had heard of. Another 30 minutes later, and I stumbled into a vast courtyard with ticket booths for the “Palace Museum”. I stopped in the shade to study the various terrible Lonely Planet maps I had carried with me. Then, everyone was asked to leave. It was then that I realized that what we call “Forbidden City” is called “Palace Museum” in Beijing. What they call “Forbidden City” is essentially the enclosed park south of the palace moat. Take note, potential Beijing Tourists.

Anyway, I had managed to arrive at that conclusion at exactly the time the “Palace Museum” closed it’s doors, at 4pm. I returned 2 days later, when it was cooler and my frustration with my botched sightseeing attempt had subsided. The palace with it’s hundreds of small halls, all with wonderful tiling and intricate decoration was indeed impressive. Even more impressive were the Chinese tourists though. It seemed that the act of documenting every single moment of their stay was more important than actually visiting the complex. I saw one guy taking a picture of every single vase in the ceramics exhibition, not even bothering to move his eyes away from the screen of his cell phone.

It seems that Chinese tourists are even more obsessed with cell phones than other nationalities. At the Great Wall, which I visited with a Spanish couple, people seemed to climb endless stairs just for the benefit of getting a better selfie. One lady in a flaming red dress, armed with a selfie stick, was visibly struggling with the physical exercise but only rested when she had assembled her family for yet another photograph. It’s great fun to watch these scenes unfold. I also spent far too much time noting down the comical Chinglish phrases other tourists wore on their t-shirts - I found some great ones, such as “Devil Nut” and “My Faxed Joke” and deeper truths such as “Hello Mr. Lonely” and “All Money, no Bank”.

The selfie is the prize.

In the end, while I enjoyed visiting those ancient sites and cultural treasures, I found the experience also very exhausting and - in parts - somewhat disappointing. For the majority of visitors, the quality of the experience seems to be measured in likes gathered for WeChat posts. And, the hundreds of locals living of selling merchandising, over-priced food and drinks and manipulating tourists into rip-off day tours, I’m always left with the distinct feeling that I’m just a wallet on legs.

That said, I'm glad I can now add my very own Great Wall pic to my Facebook collection of must-have "round the world trip" photos!

Beijing Art

Finally arrived in Beijing after another day and night on the train, this time in a spotlessly clean, comfortable train which had been cooled to sub-zero temperatures. Exiting the carriage with my huge backpack (still need to lose some weight in that regard), the heat hit me like a wall.

I stayed with Bamor, a 31-year old marketing manager who kindly agreed to host me via Couchsurfing. Such a luxury, to suddenly have my own couch in a lofty apartment with clean bathroom and kitchen! Bamor couldn’t have been a better host. She has a wide smile, has travelled widely, has an interesting perspective on Chinese culture and society and not only opened the doors to her home but also to her circle of artistic friends to me. On my first night in town we had dinner with her friend Fong, as sculptor and tattoo artist, then went to the gallery opening party of two Austrian girls. There, I proceeded to be eaten alive by mosquitos while explaining every two minutes that I wasn’t an artist living in Beijing, but rather had just stepped of a train and didn’t really know anyone. I had a great time!

A couch, just for me.

The next morning, Fong and I went to visit the studio of Gao Zhen, whom I had randomly met in a café the day before while waiting for Bamor. Zhen and his brother use art as a political medium and are of the same generation of Chinese artists as Ai Weiwei. You might have heard of their hug performances. The studio space was impressive, with large sculptures, huge photographic works and some interesting paintings that I personally liked best. However, communication was difficult since Zhen only speaks little English. After we left to visit Fong’s tattoo studio, Fong remarked “He seems vain. Other artists talk about art, he only talks about himself.”.

Note: I'd like to include some of Zhang's art here, but I don't think it's published under a CC license. Have a peek at Fong's tattoo studio instead.

Lots of creative stuff going on here.

The tattoo studio was more authentic. Fong and three friends started it 6 months ago, and are working on designs with a modern twist to traditional Chinese themes. In China, tattoos are still frowned upon, especially on girls, but are quickly becoming a thing among the young bohème - the night before, 3 girls at the party had signed up for a session with Fong. Her workplace is located in a slightly grimy housing complex, on the 7th floor in an unmarked apartment. The guys seem to have made this their second home, with customers casually dropping in (or rather, being collected at the door since the buzzer is broken) and people ordering McDonald’s in preparation for a 2-hour tattooing session. With regard to tattoos, however, Fong was very meticulous, keeping a super-clean work area and sketching out her designs with a lot of love to detail. Since I had some serious sightseeing to do, however, I bid my good-bye before the burgers arrived and headed out into the Beijing smog.