A Modern Egg: the Chinese National Center for the Performing Arts

Earlier this week I was out on an excursion with Mingbai and China Inside to learn about and admire the National Center for Performing Arts building.

The Center, sometimes called the "Egg" or the "Birds Egg" is a brand new opera house just next to Tiananmen Square. Designed by the Frenchman Paul Andreu, the Center opened in 2007 after a bit of a rocky construction period of six years. (It wasn't helpful, for example, when in 2004 at another one of Andreu's constructions, Terminal 2E at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, part of the ceiling collapsed and four people got killed.)

China, however, decided to press on with the construction, and eventually an inaugural concert was held in December 2007.

The "Birds Egg" is made of lots of titanium and glass and is situated in the middle of an artificial lake.

Inside the Olive Hall.  I loved the many natural textures and colors that were used throughout the Center. It felt very modern, but not cold.

"Sun Li as Marcello." In a Chinese Opera House you have a lot of Chinese opera stars playing Italian roles!

An underwater walkway. You are walking underneath the artificial lake.

Marble from just about every province in China has been used for the floors.

Part of the "olives" in the Olive Hall (on the right), and part of the exterior titanium-glass construction on the left.

Just up from the Olive Hall. On the left you see two of the three large theaters that are inside.

More marble floors and wooden panels.

We were not the only visitors...

The music hall.

Brazilian wood on the ceilings in awesome bold patterns.

It would not be complete without pictures of famous people on the wall.

One of the bar areas (or at least, that is what I think it is).

Lights are off, the show is on! (We'll, sort of)

In het nederlands: Vandaag wat foto's van een bezoekje aan het "concertgebouw" van Beijing. Een mooi gebouw vond ik, maar kijk zelf maar wat je er van vindt!

Fashionably White - Part II

Just after posting my last blog post--Fashionably White--about a lovely dress on top of the Great Wall, I realized the title could have also referred to another recent experience.

Last week I went to a Watsons pharmacy (my new CVS or Kruitvat) to buy some sunscreen, only to discover that all the products on the shelves included "whitening." It's just funny; I seem to remember that my entire life (though I am only 21) I've only seen products that have prided themselves on the fact that you could get such a nice tan with them. Heck, you could even buy products that give you a tan, even if you don't see the sun. And here--in China--everything seems to want to make me white.

I of course immediately did some extensive research (Google), and learned that some Asians indeed have a preference for fair skin. As soon as the sun comes out, many pop open their little sun umbrellas and put on some protective whitening cream. For historical reasons and over time, lighter skin has become associated with people of a higher class. The thinking is that if you are light and pale, it shows you have enough money to stay inside, letting other people do the hard work outside in the sun.

(You might be interested in this article about China's new faces or this BBC article about skin lightening products.)

It kind of feels to me like that book from Dr. Seuss about the star-belly and plain-belly sneetches, who both definitely want what the other one has (a star or no-star), no matter what that is.

Since I've never had a tan, even when I tried, this is going to be a very easy summer.

In het Nederlands: Een weekje terug was ik in een drogisterij (overigens is deze Watsons in het zelfde concern als Kruidvat--dus het blijft in de familie) en kwam erachter dat alle zonnebrandprodukten erop gericht waren me zo wit mogelijk te houden. "Whitening" zit erin. Die melkflessen van mij hebben geen whitening nodig, dus ik heb het spul maar op de schappen laten liggen, maar het is natuurlijk wel interessant dat we allemaal zo druk bezig zijn om net weer een ander huidskleurtje te krijgen dan wat we hebben.

Fashionably White

Last weekend I spotted this lovely young bride on the Great Wall. She is wearing white, which is considered fashionable and western-style. Red would have been traditional. Apparently lots of brides now marry in white, and also -- rumour goes -- most spend more on this kind of photo session than on the wedding it self.

More wedding.

I was fashionably dressed in white myself that day.

The Great Wall at Mutianyu.

Snapshot of the Wall from inside one of the watch towers.

In Chinese, the Great Wall is called "Chang Cheng," long wall. I think you can see why.

In het Nederlands: Fotootjes van de Chinese muur. De bruid is niet in een traditionele rode jurk, maar lekker in een "Westerse" witte trouwjurk.

Chairman Wang Woks my Broc!

About a week ago, all one could think about--at least if you are just a stone's throw or kungfu-arm's length away from Japan--was the devastating earthquake there, the Tsunami, and of course the then-growing emergency at the Fukushima reactor.

So I meant to write about earthquakes--China has it's own share of earthquakes, we happen to live on a (minor, we hope) fault line ourselves, and Paul of course stays in business because of the never-ending series of disasters around the world.

But, I couldn't do it. Somewhere on this computer is floating a draft blog post about earthquakes -- and one day I'll find it again and finish it off. But not today.

So today's blog post is about another kind of earth-shattering experience: A couple friends and I had a delicious dinner at a cooking school and restaurant downtown Beijing. The place is called Black Sesame Kitchen. When you come to Beijing, I'll take you there.

Here are some mouth-watering pictures:

This was the menu for the evening, I kid you not. Pan fried dumplings, fried shitake and coriander (yum, yum, yum!), flash fried lamb and leeks, red braised eggplant, wok-fried string beans, red braised pork belly, garlic broccoli, cashew kungpao chicken, pine nut and beef stirfry, and candied sweet potatoes with ice cream.

These are the chefs, Chairman Wang and Chef Zhang. They are cooking in the kitchen, just steps away from your table.

Pan-fried pumpkin dumplings. The sauce is just a bit of vinegar with chilies. Delicious!

Did you ever have a Chairman steam your broccoli?

Wok-fried string beans.

More steaming broccoli.

Restaurant owner and author Jen Lin-Liu. Originally from California, Jen joined a Beijing cooking school in 2005. After dinner, I immediately bought her book, Serve the People, A Stir-Fried Journey Through China. If only for the sub-title.

Chairman Wang.

The three musketeers.

Oh, the entrance. I just wanted to show you this place is a bit off-the beaten track. Well, not really, as Jen is locally quite famous. But really - maybe they should have turned on at least one light at the gate - it was a bit hard to find.

My method of finding things in Beijing: I took a picture of the pub on the corner, so I can remember where to search for the restaurant's entrance...

Sauerkraut with Chopsticks

After a day of politics, let's go back to some more domestic issues.

Our lovely ayi, ms. Li, who runs the household and makes sure we have clean clothes to wear, does everything (well... not mopping the floor) with chopsticks. She cooks and stirs with chopsticks, and eats rice, noodles, but also things like pizza and cake with chopsticks.

Recently I made a Dutch dish with sauerkraut (zuurkoolstampot uit de oven), which she thought was delicious and of course... ate with chopsticks. (Sauerkraut by the way, turns out to be easily available here, as the Chinese eat it themselves. Suan cai (酸菜, translated as sour cabbage, or zure kool) is what it is called. Easy peasy!

In het Nederlands: De foto spreekt misschien al voor zich: Onze hulp in huis, de ayi zoals dat hier heet, kookt, roert en eet altijd met stokjes. Zelfs de zuurkoolstampot die ik gemaakt had werd met stokjes naar binnen "gelepeld". Chinezen eten ook zuurkool (suan cai) dus het is altijd makkelijk te vinden.

China's State of the Union

Today I've got some interesting news for you. Saturday morning, Paul went to Tiananmen Square (het Plein van de Hemelse Vrede) to hear in person from the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao what the government is planning to work on the next five years.

Wen Jiabao presented the famous "12th five-year plan" during the opening ceremony of the National People's Congress, which was held at the Great Hall of the People, just steps away from the Forbidden City. This is kind of like the State of the Union in the U.S. or Prinsjesdag in The Netherlands: an occassion for the government to present how things are going (great, lots of progress) and what they are going to be focussing on over the next couple of years (continuing the great work and tackling new complex and urgent problems).

According to the China Daily, "[n]early 3,000 National People's Congress (NPC) deputies from across the country, and more than 2,000 members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top political advisory body, are present in the Great Hall of the People at the opening meeting of the Fourth Session of the 11th NPC."

Well, them, and a Paul from The Netherlands. (Paul of course got invited through his work.)

The event was also in the news everywhere. On the NOS Website: China vreest onrust door inflatie; and in the Washington Post: Chinese parliament opens with grand pledges. You can also read the full report at the Wall Street Journal's blog on China.

Here are some pictures:


Traffic has never been this quiet on the 2nd ring road (normally a parking lot). The police was managing traffic to make sure the important visitors could easily make it to Tiananmen Square.


Arriving at Tiananmen Square with the other VIPs.


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Inside the Great Hall of the People. (The Grote Hal van het Volk.)


The Chinese emblem. The five stars - shining above Tiananmen, the Gate of Heavenly Peace - symbolize the unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party. If you look carefully, you can spot the grain (representing the peasants) and the cogwheel (representing the working class).





Wen Jiabao, in case you missed him in the crowd.


Great view.


The attentive audience.


Important information.


The five-year plan is presented.


Streaming out of the Great Hall of the People.


Firetrucks at the ready.



Outside the Great Hall of the People, back on Tiananmen Square.

In het Nederlands: Paul mocht afgelopen zaterdag aanwezig zijn bij de opening van het Nationaal Volkscongres in de Grote Hal van het Volk in het hartje van Beijing. Premier Wen Jiabao presenteerde het werkverslag van de regering en kondigde aan waar men de komende vijf jaar aan gaat werken. Dat meerjarenplan is het "Twaalfde vijf-jaren plan" voor China, en er is met smart op gewacht want het maakt nogal uit voor de rest van de wereld wat voor belissingen China maakt op het gebied van financien, werkgelegenheid en energiegebruik. Dit artikeltje op de NOS Website, Volkscongres: hoe en wat, geeft een (klein) beetje meer informatie over het Volkscongres.