Wet Market

One of the English words I learned shortly after moving to Beijing was "wet market." Perhaps that in some foggy memory cell this word had been stored, but when people mentioned the "wet market" to me I wondered if I had to bring scuba gear. I guess that happens when you grow up in a land with supermarkets.

Turns out "wet" just refers to the fact that lots of animals and other products are still very fresh at these markets. "Fresh," as in "still alive," and thus wet (if you are a fish or a crab).

On my recent birthday, the one where I turned 21 again, my friend Meike and I went to a cooking class, which was tied to a visit to a local wet market. I loved this market. It's just amazing to watch all this beautiful food. Some of it is pretty strange for our appetites - pig feet anyone? Cow stomach? - but the more I see these things, the more I start appreciating them. (From a distance though, mind you. Not yet on my plate.)

(OK friends, a small admission: I have long ceased to be a vegetarian, and while I still don't eat much meat and do not like how the consumption of animals hurts ecosystems and endangers species, I do quite enjoy seeing those markets and seeing food presented and purchased in such an honest way.)

After this moral interlude, here are some pictures. See for yourself if you can "stomach" one of these markets...

Meat extravaganza. It's almost a puzzle game to try to match each shape with an animal...

Any kind of vinegar, oil, or spice you would like. (Well, Chinese only.)

More noodles than the eye can see.

Beautiful garlic. (I think!)

Colorful display of fruit and veggies. Most if not all of Beijing's wet markets are inside now. It's better for hygiene and also more comfortable shopping during the cold winters. Inside a huge space lots of small businessmen rent a stall to display their goods.

Animal feet.

Ground beef or pig feet - your choice.

More meat on display. Admittedly I got a bit carried away with the pictures here. I guess the omnivore in me was catching up.

I thought these were a bunch of old rags sitting in dirty water. Turns out they are stomach. I am not sure how to prepare stomach.

Kidneys or liver? Check your biology book.

Chunyi Zhou, with whom Meike and I did the cooking class. Here she shares some background information on soy sauces and vinegars for Chinese cooking. For more information about Chunyi's great cooking classes, see www.hutongcuisine.com.

The pretty courty yard in the Li Shi hutong where Chunyi holds her cooking classes.

The kitchen. About a million times cleaner than the average restaurant kitchen in Beijing, if you ask me.

Shanxi vinegar. One of the best to buy.

Everything is cooked with the wok.

In het nederlands: Voor mijn verjaardag - al begin september - gingen een vriendin en ik op Chinese kookles en naar een lokale "wet market", een markt voor verse groentes, fruit, vlees en vis. Sommige produkten ken ik niet en soms als ik ze herken (varkenspoten, koeienmaag) heb ik weinig interesse om ze te eten, maar het bezoek aan zo'n markt is wel echt een belevenis. Na de markt gingen we naar de kookschool van Chunyi Zhou om Chinees te leren koken.

Beijing Meteorologists

Recently I already reported on the weather forecasting magic that happens in Beijing (see this blog post). A few quotes from the boys this week just cracked me up (in a sad way) about the pollution in this place.

Simon: "Ah, I can see it is a field day, we can play outside today!"

(After seeing blue sky in the morning).

Thomas: "Let's go see if it rained. If it rained, it is going to be a nice day."
(When opening the curtains in the morning. If it rains, the pollution is washed away.)

We see how clear it is on the way to the bus stop. (If you look carefully, you can see Simon park his bike, just behind the tree.)

Amazing sky above the bus stop. If you see clouds (instead of a haze) you know it is going to be a great, great day.

School bus and blue sky.

Beijing meteorologists on the bus.

In het nederlands: Er is toch veel vervuiling in Beijing. Het is niet altijd even erg en er zijn veel mooie dagen, maar het feit dat je kinderen erover nadenken of ze wel of niet buiten mogen spelen op school - iets wat niks met regen maar alles met vervuiling te maken heeft - geeft toch te denken.

An Na & Li Na

Last Sunday, I watched as China's tennis star Li Na loses her match against Monica Niculescu and is forced to leave the China Open.

It was a sad moment for tennis in China. Li Na had only recently won the French Open and was placed 5th in the world rankings. She had been much celebrated as the first Chinese and the first Asian to "reach the summit of the Grand Slam" and all spectators (including myself) had very high hopes for her performance in her very own China.

It was a quick game, and after a 6-4 and 6-0 loss in sets, Li Na was ousted from the China Open. I was a bit sad, but the boys were happy to get up and walk around the stadium again. No real hardship for them.

On the photo above you can see Li Na and me in better days, at the beginning of the match. (Use your magnifying glass to spot Li Na on the far side of the field in pink skirt and white top.)

Tennis practice outside at the China Open in Beijing. I am sure these guys are famous, but I have no idea who they are.

Future star in the China Open? At least he got a free tennis ball out of the event.

Two Li Na fans discussing tactics.

Thomas and a friend enjoy the many other activities on the grounds of the China Open.

In het nederlands: Afgelopen zondag was ik erbij toen China's nationale tennistrots dramatisch ten onder ging voor eigen publiek bij de China Open in Beijing. Het was treurig om te zien en wat een leuke wedstrijd had kunnen zijn veranderde in een afslachting van Li Na door Monica Niculescu. Ik las in dit NOS artikel dat ze haar excuses aan me heeft aangeboden...

Saturday Temple Hike

The weather in Beijing has been gorgious all week: blue skies and little pollution.

(Pollution counts for PM2.5 particles were around 60, which is low for here, but not so low if you compare it to these current levels in the U.S.)

To enjoy the weather, last Saturday we went on a hike in the Pinggu area, which is about 30 minutes east of us.

There are lots of beautiful nature areas around Beijing, but finding a good hike can sometimes be a challenge. There are not that many trails that are marked or mapped, and if a trail is actually in my hiking book it is quite possible you can not actually find the right spot (directions and road signage rarely agree), or the trail or park is inexplicably closed.

(This really happened to us: One time we drove for over an hour to find a certain hike around a reservoir, only to discover that the whole area around the lake was closed for construction. I had actually searched a bit online and--while my Chinese reading skills admittedly are extremely poor--I had not found any information on this multi-year construction project.)

In the case of Pinggu, we actually had found the spot before but had run out of time, so we now came back to compete our mission: hike up to the temple at the top.

The temple at the top.

Paul and Carter--neighbor, colleague and friend--actually made there all the way.



The boys and I taking a rest. The hike started with A LOT of stairs going up.

Simon dressed like Anna.

After the stairs, the path levels out and you just have an easy stroll around the mountains. We--women and children--could not go to the temple because the path to the left was too dangerous (or just absent really) to take, so we turned right and curved around the valley. After an hour or so of easy walking the trail went down into the valley, back to the hotel. The guys, meanwhile, ploughed their way through the bushes and made it to the temple.

Thomas dressed like Katrina.

Anna dressed like Anna; Katrina dressed like Katrina.

 Another view of the temple. (From the people who did not actually get there.)

Sometimes the trail (and people) were a bit hard to see.

The parking lot of the hotel where we started the hike. We had a bit of a weird experience in that someone from the hotel (in suit and nice shoes, mind you) followed us all the way on our hike. At first we thought he didn't want us to go through the hotel backyard to get to the trail, but later it seemed more like he was worried about our safety. Or perhaps some weird combination of the two.

Halloween is coming!

Pinggu city in the distance.

Local wildlife.

Thomas' photo smile.

Simon chased a bunch of lizzards to take pictures.

Yet another shot of the temple.

At the end of the hike. The trail puts you right back at the hotel. A few hotel staff are playing badminton during their break.

How to Draw a Panda in 10 Easy Steps-by Simon

1. Take a piece of paper.

2. Make an "open nine."

3. Turn your paper.

4. Draw the eyes.

5. Draw the nose.

6. Make two dots for the ears.

7. Draw one leg.

8. Draw the other leg. This one goes across the body.

9. Draw the hind leg.

10. Draw four claws on each paw. Your panda is finished!

If you want to make your panda happy, draw a line of rectangles for the bamboo.

Add lines on top of the bamboo sections.

Add branches with leaves. Each branch has three leaves.

Draw more branches and leaves.

Give your panda an extra bamboo plant. Then sit back and admire your work. 

 

 

Here's the artist himself.