Brawl on the Wall

I typically go to the Marine Ball in the fall but I didn't attend it this year so I felt a void this season.
It was a last minute decision (two days before the event) but I decided to go to Brawl on the Wall. It wasn't literally on the Great Wall. It's a black-tie charity event to watch white collar professionals compete in boxing. It was just an excuse to put on a ball gown.

My friend Lynda is always up for an adventure so it wasn't too difficult to convince her to go to a gala event.We got seated with a bunch of random people to complete a table of eight. Lynda is very sociable so we easily made friends with people at our table.

There were 11 fights. Each fight was 3 rounds lasting two minutes. There were two fights for the ladies who started the evening. The competitors paid 2000rmb to enter. They were committed to 3 months of intense training. Most competitors changed their diet, gave up drinking and lost weight.

About the 5th or 6th fight, I got sorta bored of it. I know nothing about fighting but I still enjoyed seeing the sweat come off people's head when they got hit.

I know the event goes to charity but sadly, I can't recall which charity it supports.

I'm the short one. Between Lynda and Liz.

The ladies start off the night with the first fight

Dongjiao Market Closing

I was very sad to hear the news that Dongjiao Market was closing. It's a massive market that sells absolutely anything and everything you can possibly want. The market had several different warehouse-sized buildings for houseware, produce and meat and household sundries, from fancy espresso machines to mahjong tables to waiter uniforms to fish tanks. Restauranteurs could equip their restaurant and would shop here for industrial pots as well as dishware and silverware. The prime location is not far from the Central Business District and easily accessible to the poor and the rich, Chinese and foreigners. It's truly heartbreaking that it's closing. Beijing is now losing another piece of its soul. I'm sure they'll replace it with another soul-less high-end condo/shopping center compound.

This kitchenware stall sold dishware, pots/pans, glassware. Some vendors have already vacated their stalls. Many are selling at deepcut bargains. I bought 2 pairs of sunglasses for 25rmb each ($4). I bought avocados for 11rmb when they sell them for 18rmb at the expat grocery stores.

Stores are marked with the "chai" symbol meaning that it's destined to be demolished. It's an all-too-familiar symbol as Beijing is destroying its old buildings and replacing them with modern buildings as they're trying to become a cosmopolitan city.

 It was a gorgeous Saturday afternoon and I enjoyed my last shopping trip. I bought things I didn't need. I just wanted to support these vendors. I worried that they were going to be jobless. The vendors seemed to just accept it. They know there's nothing they can do about it. I was relieved to learn that the majority of vendors are moving to another market equally as big but quite a bit further away from the city center. It won't be so easy for me to get to.

 The fish market. I bought a whole fish, rock cod, and steamed it for dinner that night.

Cricket fighting

On Sunday I went to an interesting presentation on cricket fighting. It's a pastime that dates back 1,000 years. It's popular among the older population but is losing its popularity to the younger generation who are interested in video games.

Cricket fighting is very popular in Shanghai and Beijing. There are provincial and national competition. Crickets can be sold for a few yuan up to a few thousand yuan. Competition is taken very seriously. There is even doping control. Crickets are locked in a storage room the day before a competition so competitors aren't tampered with.

There is a lot of equipment involved.  Mr. Zhang brought traditional scale as well as a modern digital scale. Crickets fight in weight class as there is in boxing. Lightweight and heavy weight!!!

Certain type of crickets live in cages so they can have natural light while others live in clay containers.  Sometimes, taxi drivers will carry their cricket in the car. In fact, the cricket would be placed under his shirt. I've never hear a cricket in the taxi but next time, I'll know what it is.

  

The clay container is a cricket's home. The tiniest white dish is the cricket's food bowl and larger half circular dish is the water bowl. The tongs are used to pick up the bowls. The little spatula is used to scoop up the cricket food which is in the ziplock bag on the side.

 

  

Mr. Zhang uses a tickler to agitate the cricket. The tickler can be expensive because it could be made from fine wood like mahogany. The clear divider is lifted. Crickets can't see so they use their antennas. The fight lasts for a few seconds.

Close-up on the action 

This special cricket food that makes the cricket strong and ready for fighting. The trainer usually trains a cricket for 2 weeks before competition. Gets them to work and build up their muscles.

It was an interesting presentation. It has always been a little mysterious to me and there wouldn't be a way to learn about it. If I'm really adventurous, I could try to go to southern Beijing and find the market where they sell crickets.

Floral Fashion Show

(Mid July) My friend Gustav and Wiwin invited me to join them at a Floral Fashion Show. Sure, why not?!?! I'm always game for an adventure. It was at 798, a factory district that's gentrified to trendy arts district with shops and galleries. I had no idea what was a Floral Fashion Show would be like. I was expecting to see centerpieces and elaborate displays of floral design. Or, expecting models to wear clothes made from flowers and leaves.

As soon as we arrived, we were escorted to a VIP area.The room was a showroom with furnishings that looked like it came from The Bombay Company. Gustav met with a guy who turns out to be an owner of a floral design school. The event is a graduation ceremony for its design students but also to recruit new students. The table was beautifully decorated like a wedding. Flowers and candles covered the table. Very romantic.

Wiwin and I entertaining ourselves while Gustav had to pretend to be interested

The food was highly disappointing. There were slices of bread, grapes, watermelon, bananas and small pastries. They've must thought their guests would eat like their models. The floral arrangement was impressive. I liked how they used flowers to create the balls.

Gustav was representing The Embassy so it was an official visit. As such, he and his guests were recognized and introduced at the start of the fashion show. How embarrassing! I gave a wimpy wave and half smile when they introduced me.

The fashion show was disappointing. The fashion looked like the designer cut up bed linen and draped them over the models. The dresses were not flattering or appealing. To link floral and fashion, the models had leaves affixed to their hair or dress. Also, they used flowers in the backdrop on stage.

It wasn't a bad way to spend the evening. It was definitely something different.

Muslim Quarters in Xi'an

On the last weekend of July, I went on weektrip to Xi'an. It was my third trip to this ancient city. The Terracotta Warriors are the most famous site but I really enjoy walking through the Muslim Quarters. The narrow crowded bustling streets remind me of the vibrancy of streets typically in Southeast Asia like Vietnam or Cambodia. Touk touks (pedicabs) and mopeds weaving in and out of traffic through passengers.

In the picture above...I don't remember what they were cooking but couldn't notice that you would never see something like this in the US. It's a total hazard with a big steaming cauldron and fire shooting out from its side.

It was Ramadan and the Muslims were fasting during this period. They can't eat during the day. Some restaurants were closed. Muslims are a minority group in China. It's a little different to see Chinese women wear the hijab.

 

 

 

The popular meat sandwich. It is Halal mutton. The sandwich is rou jia mo. The unleavened flatbread is dense. The hefty sandwich costs 14rmb. I was wise to share it with my friend because I couldn't have finished it.

 



The neighborhood of narrow crowded shops sold virtually the same thing. How do these stores distinguish themselves from their neighbors? Some shops only sold dates. I didn't know there were so many varieties of dates.

 

It was nice to see something different. The Muslim culture isn't something that I have experienced often in China.

 

I'm assuming this is a butcher slaughtering the animal in the Halal way. I love the guy in the background with his big belly.

 

 

 

High Tea

 

 Recently, I have renewed energy and enthusiasm towards tackling some more items on my Beijing Bucket List. I had always wanted to check out Afternoon Tea. Several 5-star hotels and some high-end restaurants offer Afternoon Tea. 

High Tea is an English tradition. It's classy and posh. Small pastries and sandwiches with the crust trimmed off served on delicate china. Holding tea with the pinky finger held straight up. 

China World Hotel, one of the first 5-star hotels in Beijing, offers Afternoon Tea in their lobby lounge. There is even a 12-piece orchestra. It's 300RMB for a set which includes sandwiches, desserts, scones and two pots of te which can be shared for two people.

I rounded up some friends including two Englishmen to add an English flair to the get-together. In keeping it classy, I wore a new dress with my pearls. It's fun to dress up!

It was a great way to spend the afternoon. We stayed for almost four hours chatting and enjoying people watching. We had a nice view of the lobby and registration area. Yolanda recognized a celebrity. Surprisingly, we were the only expat group. I would've expected other expats to be enjoying Afternoon Tea.

(L to R) Jason, Paul, Yolanda and Mark. Ted is photographer.

12  piece orchestra

Desserts that are not Paleo Diet-friendly

Me and Jason who will be departing for Toronto

Picking strawberries

 In early April, the administrative staff at school went out on an all-staff outing to pick strawberries. We drove for about an hour outside the city to Huairou District. It was a series of greenhouses. Supposedly these farmers don't use pesticides. Each of us were given two containers to fill with strawberries up to 50rmb ($8) worth.

We walked in between neat rows of strawberries. It took me about 15 minutes to fill my two containers. The local farmer advised me to select the strawberries that were bright red. The strawberries were beautiful. They were not too big so I know they weren't pumped with steroids.

My colleague Holly

 

I filled my first container

Near the greenhouses, farmers also raised chickens. We walked around a few cages. One colleague bought a fresh chicken. Others bought fresh eggs. This was just about the time H7N9 was coming around. I didn't think anything of it until a few hours later, I got a little nervous thinking about my exposure to live chickens. It was too late. What could I have done?

We had lunch at a big restaurant that sits on a compound. There is a fish pond, chicken farm, ostrich farm, zoo and play area. To my surprise I had been to this restaurant twice before. That's when you know you've been in Beijing for a long time....when you've been to the same restaurant in the countryside two other times.  My colleagues had never been there.

After lunch, we enjoyed ourselves on the playground. I haven't been on a carousel, teeter tot or swing for a long, long time. When playing on the teeter tot, I couldn't help but think of the Brady Bunch and how Cindy and Bobby tried for the world record in teeter tot.

It was a great day to play like a kid again.

Hutong Bar Hopping

 May 1 was Labor Day and a national holiday. I organized an outing for friends to meet in the old part of Beijing where there are hutongs (narrow alleys) where there continues to be traditional homes. It was a nice sunny day. We started lunch at a Korean restaurant called Saveur de Coree and then we wandered to a microbrewery in an old courtyard house. Then we went to Drum and Bell. This bar is located in between the historic Bell Tower and Drum Tower. They were the time markers in ancient times. The bar has a lovely rooftop in a leafy area.

View of Bell Tower

 The Drum and Bell Towers are lit only on national holidays. It's a shame as I think it should be lit on the weekends. They're beautifully lit at night and add so much to the surrounding area. Sometimes, Beijing doesn't do the right things and play up some of its advantages and beautiful spots.

In the plaza area between the Drum and Bell Towers, people are always dancing or kicking around the shuttlecock. It's a very charming part of Beijing and I love it. In the area are also bicycle pedicabs. Unfortunately the Beijing government hope to redevelop the area. They want to Disney-fy it. Tear down some buildings and then re-build them to make them look old?!?! WTF?? It's very frustrating to hear about this development. They're destroying the historical site.

Before they redevelop this area, I hope to enjoy this area more often this summer.