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Monday, January 28
Hutongs
by
Matt
on Mon 28 Jan 2008 16:51 CST
Hutongs (a Mongolian word meaning "water well" - many homes like this were built around wells thus providing a constant source of water) are the traditional living arrangement in Beijing. They are courtyard style houses clumped together that make a maze of alleyways leading from one Hutong to another. To the untrained (i.e. western) eye it does look like a mess of houses surrounded by walls, with access to a particular courtyard only possible by first having to negotiate the labyrinth successfully ... more »
A commercial Hutong
by
Matt
on Mon 28 Jan 2008 16:38 CST
 Contrast this with Hutongs as they actually are and it's easy to see the gloss the Government has applied for the benefit of visitors. All the buildings are well maintained, trade is happening from the front of every building and trinkets and souvenirs are sold by the bucket load ... more »
A Hutong in Modern Context
by
Matt
on Mon 28 Jan 2008 16:30 CST
 This shows the two different sides of Beijing; the traditional Hutongs, in the process of being destroyed, watched over by the brand new buildings that are taking their place ... more »
A Scavenging Hutong Resident
by
Matt
on Mon 28 Jan 2008 16:22 CST
 This Chinese woman is searching through the remains of a Hutong, looking for anything valuable. Most of the valuable items that will be found in this destruction will be recyclable materials that locals can give to the local Government in return for money ... more »
A Hutong Resident
by
Matt
on Mon 28 Jan 2008 16:12 CST
 As I was lining up for a photo, this man wandered around the corner with his bike. His expression changed upon seeing me, I doubt whether this is how he normally looks ... more »
Part destruction of a Hutong
by
Matt
on Mon 28 Jan 2008 16:05 CST
 This Hutong has been almost completely levelled now and when I took the photo, people were coming back to pick possessions up that they'd left behind as well as searching through the rubble ... more »
Hutong house partly destroyed
by
Matt
on Mon 28 Jan 2008 15:56 CST
 Clothes still hang from the lines, one in the room one outside, although it makes little difference now ... more »
A Hutong bathroom
by
Matt
on Mon 28 Jan 2008 15:47 CST
 It doesn't look particularly hygienic but this is a very typical example of the kind of washroom to be found in Hutongs ... more »
A room in a Hutong
by
Matt
on Mon 28 Jan 2008 15:40 CST
 This Hutong is in the process of being demolished and it seems apparent that the people who reside there have yet to find a new place to live, not got round to moving a lot of their possessions or have decided to leave this for the Government to dispose of ... more »
Alleyway of a Hutong
by
Matt
on Mon 28 Jan 2008 15:31 CST
 This is a sort of behind the scenes look at a Hutong. This alley leads to the back doors of all the homes/shops/markets in one of the courtyards. Locals congregate here to play card games or Chinese checkers or just escape for a few minutes from their work ... more »
A Hutong Market
by
Matt
on Mon 28 Jan 2008 15:15 CST
 The broken and falling down building serves the dual purpose of home and work premises for the market operators. The upper rooms of this structure serve as the living quarters ... more »
A Hutong Shop
by
Matt
on Mon 28 Jan 2008 15:00 CST
 A typical example of a small convenience store located in a Hutong. Along with the crumbling, part demolished building next door, the proprietors will actually live as well as work in the shop ... more »
Thursday, January 24
Traditional Sweets at the Ice Festival
by
Matt
on Thu 24 Jan 2008 13:24 CST
 Stalls like these were dotted about all over the festival and were pretty much the only buildings not made out of ice ... more »
Ice Slide at the Ice Festival
by
Matt
on Thu 24 Jan 2008 13:19 CST
 People could actually take a mat from anywhere around these slides and slide down them ... more »
An Ice Castle at the Ice Festival
by
Matt
on Thu 24 Jan 2008 13:16 CST
 As before, every structure visible is made of ice. This castle was the largest thing built at the festival ... more »
The Harbin Ice Festival
by
Matt
on Thu 24 Jan 2008 13:12 CST
 This photo was taken standing on the battlements of a huge ice castle and gave an impressive view of the rest of the ice festival ... more »
The Menu for the Tigers
by
Matt
on Thu 24 Jan 2008 13:05 CST
 It's not that great a photo but these are the live animals visitors to the Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin can buy to give to the tigers. Annoyingly we were only treated to a live chicken, who lasted approximately two seconds once released into the park ... more »
A Liger in the Siberian Tiger Park
by
Matt
on Thu 24 Jan 2008 12:59 CST
 Yes, that's right, a liger. It's a cross between a tiger and a lion. No, I didn't know it was possible either ... more »
A Tiger in the Siberian Tiger Park
by
Matt
on Thu 24 Jan 2008 12:46 CST
 Annoyingly, the Tiger never said cheese or smiled ... more »
Swimming in the Frozen Blue
by
Matt
on Thu 24 Jan 2008 12:41 CST
 This sprightly chap shows that he's actually enjoying swimming in water that most people would find unendurably cold, taking the time to relax while making his way slowly to the other end of the makeshift pool ... more »
Diving into the Frozen Blue
by
Matt
on Thu 24 Jan 2008 12:30 CST
 In temperatures that reach anything down to about -25 Centigrade, Harbin locals bravely (or stupidly, you decide) put on a show for visiting foreigners by diving and swimming in the frozen river. They come out of their cabin to a rousing round of applause (as well as gasps of incredulity from anyone dressed in duck down clothes and still frozen to the core) ... more »
Headless Olympic Mascots
by
Matt
on Thu 24 Jan 2008 12:16 CST
 Known collectively as Fuwa, there are five mascots (called Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini) for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, each one representing a colour of one of the Olympic Rings as well as four of China's most popular animals (Fish, Panda, Tibetan Antelope and the Swallow) and the Olympic flame ... more »
A Completed Ice Sculpture
by
Matt
on Thu 24 Jan 2008 11:56 CST
 This was one of the sculptures that greeted visitors at the entrance of a local park ... more »
Ice Sculpture Under Construction
by
Matt
on Thu 24 Jan 2008 11:52 CST
 This shows just how big some of the ice sculptures actually were ... more »
Tuesday, January 22
Second view of our living room
by
Matt
on Tue 22 Jan 2008 13:10 CST
 Taken from the doorway of the study, this photo gives a better representation of the length of the living room. The window looks out onto fairly old Chinese apartment blocks and does not provide a classic view of Beijing (not a bad one, though) ... more »
First view of our living room
by
Matt
on Tue 22 Jan 2008 13:05 CST
 The living room acts as the hub of the entire apartment. All other rooms (with the exception of the en-suite and walk in wardrobe of the main bedroom) open into this room. The door open at the end of the room leads into the study ... more »
Our Kitchen
by
Matt
on Tue 22 Jan 2008 12:57 CST
 The kitchen always appears very dark because the only window looks directly onto the side of the building, hardly allowing any light in at all. Not that we're too bothered by this. We have a gas hob and an electric oven, something which does not normally appear in the homes of Beijingers ... more »
The Shower Cubicle
by
Matt
on Tue 22 Jan 2008 12:50 CST
 Located in the main bathroom is a very nice shower indeed. It's a power shower (rare in China unless you're an expat) and the lucky shower-goer can choose to be sprayed by lovely warm water from either a ceiling mount or from the usual shower head ... more »
The Main Bathroom
by
Matt
on Tue 22 Jan 2008 12:44 CST
 Despite the name I've given it, it doesn't actually contain a bath at all ... more »
The en-suite
by
Matt
on Tue 22 Jan 2008 12:40 CST
 This is the bathroom leading off the main bedroom ... more »
The Study
by
Matt
on Tue 22 Jan 2008 12:37 CST
 It could have been a third bedroom but there would only have been space for a single bed, rather than a double as in the two main bedrooms in the apartment. The border viewable in the very foreground of the picture is the doorway from the living room ... more »
The Spare Bedroom
by
Matt
on Tue 22 Jan 2008 12:33 CST
 This photo is taken from the doorway of the bedroom. Unlike the main bedroom it does not have a full window ... more »
Second view of our bedroom
by
Matt
on Tue 22 Jan 2008 12:29 CST
 From this perspective the window is visible. The view to the right would normally show the Central Business District ... more »
First view of our bedroom
by
Matt
on Tue 22 Jan 2008 12:26 CST
 This is the main bedroom of our apartment in Beijing. The photo has been taken from a position just in front of the bedroom windows, with the door to the living room immediately to the right ... more »
Beijing and Beijingers
by
Matt
on Tue 22 Jan 2008 10:59 CST
Beijing (literally meaning "North Capital") is a bizarre location for a city, let alone the capital of the biggest emerging economy and future superpower. It was not built on a river or by the sea (like a lot of towns and cities) and receives an incredibly small amount of rainfall in the winter and autumn, suffers from severe dust storms in the spring and is extremely hot in the summer. How is it that this place has risen to greatness, given that everything points towards it being not altogether ideal? The answer lies in Feng Shui, something that the Chinese take incredibly seriously ... more »
Monday, January 7
Trip to Harbin
by
Matt
on Mon 07 Jan 2008 13:23 CST
About 500km from the Russian border lies a small (by Chinese standards - it has a population of 4 million) ..About 500km from the Russian border lies a small (by Chinese standards - it has a population of 4 million) city called Harbin. Apparently it's quite famous but I'd never heard of it before (not that you should use my lack of knowledge as a benchmark), especially the ice festival that they put on every year. Hannah and I thought it would be a great way to open the new year by travelling to Harbin, where in winter the temperature averages around -20 Centigrade, to enjoy the festival. We used a local company that specialises in tours around China for non-Chinese speaking people and were given an itinerary which involved travelling up to Harbin on a sleeper train, going to the ice festival, spending a night in a hotel, doing various other activities the next day and then flying back to Beijing in the evening ... more »
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