Michael, aka “Jiulong”, has just posted a great set of pictures of Beijing on his blog “The Beijing Observer“. This set cover a lot of my own favourite parts of the city, and I have a lot of near-identical shots – though not of the same quality…
I’m a bit alarmed by the shot along the street in Qianmen, with the huge sets of hoardings that must be concealing building work. I know that area is being redeveloped before the Olympics, and it’s a real shame in many ways. I hope something of the old community there survives afterwards. I always found it one of the most lively and charming parts of Beijing, very old-fashioned and raucous, but with a strong neighbourhood feeling. Architecturally, it has a fantastic mix of ancient hutong with genteely decaying 20s and 30s art deco buildings – with more modern monstrosities dropped in-between as well!I had one of the best nights ever there, drinking beer and people-watching with Stefan, my fellow-student of Chinese and Baguazhang – and another with my Chinese friend Fei, exploring the courtyards, talking to migrant workers, and eating dumplings in a no-name cafe….
I wonder what I’ll find when I go back there?
This remember me of Mao’s reform.
The late Master I-Chan Ming, who teached Master Giordano Magliacano (recently passed away), had to get out of China to escape the opression and to preserve his way of life.
Mt. Giordano met him in Korea, while going for, I think it was his 3rd or 4th Dan in Tae Kwon Do. Later, he came to Argentina founding our school. Heheh
Hope everything’s get at least preserved.
It’s interesting to hear something about the school you’re studying with! Do they have a website?
http://www.pakua.com/
Here it is.
[...] la plage « Wuji 101 A little bit of heartbreak May 31st, 2007 I wrote not so long ago about “Jiulong”’s pictures of Beijing, and in particular about the picture of [...]