Binging in Beijing

This is my fourth visit to Beijing. And through my visits I have changed and so has Beijing. And this being the fourth visit, has also allowed me to be less of a 'tourist'. I started off by staying at the Houtong Inn, which is in the heart of historical Beijing. Finding my way to the hotel, I saw locals exercising, cluttered doorways with bicycles and charms pasted on the doors leading into narrow corridors. The hotel itself is basic, but I had a bed, a bathroom and internet access. I was happy.

I was also fortunate to have friends in Beijing. I met Stefen Chow before he left for some jobs in Singapore. Qin Pei, who once assisted me, is now a film maker in Beijing. She had some spare time to take me to the 798 art space and for really yummy Beijing duck. So it was nice to have some company for a change.

There are parts of Beijing, that like Shanghai, have become modern and consumerists. Big shiny buildings and spiritually hollow. It is like once we all have made some money, we instantly want to buy Louis Vuitton or Giorgio Armani. Or eat MacDonalds. All right, there are times that I do need a quick meal and eat at Macs. And if I really had to get a swish suit I may consider Armani, but as a traveler, I do not visit Asian countries for International brands. Near my hotel is Nanluoguxiang. An interesting street for tourist shopping, with a Chinese flavor that is authentic. It is more like how some European countries sell souvenirs, with more than a superficial gloss. In Thailand, some of the tourist souvenirs are simply rip offs of western humor. In Beijing, they make jibes with their old communist propaganda posters. And their humor is sharp.

I guess in this sense, on this particular journey, I enjoyed Beijing much more than I enjoyed Shanghai. This is because I felt that Beijing was comfortable being complex, in encompassing the ordinary citizens, the intellectuals, the internationally rich, all together. I felt Shanghai trying to deny its soul by putting up a shiny new front. It could have been because of the expo Shanghai is like this now. But all in all, the overall experience of Beijing is more gratifying.

The highlight of this visit to Beijing was going to 798 arts space. Just the space is interesting. Galleries and exhibition spaces in an old factory. And around the exhibition spaces are functional factories. Then there are so many exhibitions like that of Chinese photographer Xu Yong called 'See Again'. And in the see+ gallery, they had an exhibition of two neglected American photographers, Wynn bullock and Harold Feinstein. Sculptures everywhere you turn. Lots of different artwork, some 'commercial', some really avant-garde. It is nice to see so much concentrated creativity at the same time. There were nice cafes to rest and refresh between over indulging in art… Ok. I am hyperventilating. If you are interested in visual arts, you just need to visit this place.

Qin Pei and I also went to the Beijing Art Museum. The current exhibitions were ok. We wanted to see the Chinese paintings but they were doing a new hanging and we could not get in.

The most touristy thing I did was have a night tour of Beijing because it included the Bird's Nest Olympics stadium. I could not get in because of the timing, but I loved seeing the actual structure lit up. It is huge. The tour also took me to the new theatre, which locals call the egg. I did not think of watching any performances in Beijing, I think that I will have to the next time I visit Beijing. I want to see what the inside of the egg looks like. Qianmen was nice when lit up. But the shopping street with Starbucks and other international brands in new mock Chinese buildings made me want to puke. What can I say?

There is so much old and new stuff that I saw in Beijing I do not think that it has fully sunk in. But a part of me knows that I now want to return to Beijing after this trip than I ever did after my previous trips.