Michael

After a quick trip to the Beijing Zoo this morning, we were soon face to face with the Giant Panda. The Chinese call the Panda, Xiong Mao (approximate pronunciation is soong mow) or “bear cat.” They believe the panda is like a bear but not a bear and like a cat but not a cat. The Giant Pandas are considered a national treasure to the Chinese. There are not that many left in the wild (1200 – 1500).

As we had arrived early in the morning, the pandas were having a hearty breakfast of bamboo. Three pandas were actively eating outside where they could easily be seen. All were eating sitting on their haunches with a slouched posture, but each was eating the bamboo in their own individual way. One was eating both stalk and leaves whole heartedly. The second was eating mainly the bamboo stalk, while the third was stripping the leaves and quickly devouring them. I was quite mesmerized as was most of our group.

A short bus ride took us to the Beijing Capital City Museum. The first thing you notice is the absolutely stunning architecture of the building. The design is well balanced with a round section (symbol of heaven) and a square section (symbol of earth). The interior space was grand on a massive scale.

The museum has been open for about one year and houses a large collection of Chinese folk history, ancient calligraphy, ancient jade art, ancient bronze art, paintings and etc. We only had 1 1/2 hours to peruse the many exhibit floors.

In the ancient jade exhibit, I was looking at some wonderful pieces from a few hundred years ago when a Chinese gentleman carrying a Nikon digital SLR camera approached me. Of course, I had my camera out also. He began to talk about some of the pieces, reading the Chinese for me as the English description was very short. I could tell he knew the collection as he maneuvered around the exhibit in a well traveled manner. He told me to follow him as he wanted to show me the finest piece on the floor. I was brought to an exquisite dark, translucent green jade thumb ring from several hundred years ago.

The Chinese gentleman told me that the ring was very difficult to photograph. The lighting was low and designed to bring out the translucence of the jade without throwing too much light around. Also, a tripod was needed because of the low light, but tripods were not allowed in the museum. So, I pointed my Canon camera and took the shot. He immediately wanted to look at what I had taken. I showed him and he stepped back and smiled with approval. As we parted, I thanked him for showing me around. I walked away watching him taking photos from the angle that I had been shooting from.

I leave China with a tinge of sadness as I’m quite taken with the country and its wonderful people. I’m already planning my next trip and hope to experience more of Zhong Guo, The Middle Kingdom.

Have a great day.

Michael

Today started with a slight change of plans. The Beijing Capitol Museum was closed so we went right to the National Art Museum of China. It was a fabulous place with some fantastic exhibits. The website is mostly in Chinese, but you can navigate okay enough to see some of the exhibits that are showing now.

The piece to the left called “Enjoy a Life of Ease and Comfort” is by Pan Lusheng. He is a contemporary Chinese artist with some extraordinary work currently showing on the first floor.

This is not a painting but more like a weaving. There are literally thousands of colored strings used in making this image. It was quite large, over five feet in height, maybe more. Pan Lusheng’s art was so intricate that it was difficult for me to imagine how long one piece took to create and there were dozens in the exhibit hall.

Numerous other contemporary artists were on display including photographers. I typically don’t enjoy abstract art, but I was uncharacteristically drawn to numerous works in this genre.

I found the most of the artwork to be quite different than anything I had seen before. It was a fantastic experience. Overall, I highly recommend this art museum to anyone visiting Beijing.

After a western buffet lunch (Chinese style), our group split up. Five of us went to visit Yong He Gong, The Lama Temple. I was so happy to visit this working lamasery. It was heavily commercialized in several sections, but numerous historical relics, art and history could be found in every building.

Built in 1694, Yong He Gong was converted to a temple in 1744 when Yongzheng became the emperor. This temple follows the yellow hat sect of Buddhism which is the dominant school now. We started our journey through the temple complex and grounds by lighting three sticks of incense at the entrance. As we slowly meandered around, exploring each building, I found myself becoming increasingly relaxed. The smell of incense was strong in the air and viewing all of the different Buddha statues was amazing.

Our journey took us to the last of the five central buildings called Wanfu Ge (Tower of Ten Thousand Happinesses). Housed here is the statue of Maitreya (the future Buddha). The Maitreya statue stands 18 meters (59 feet) above ground with another 8 meters (26.5 feet) underground. It was carved from a single piece of white sandalwood and is the largest (confirmed by Guinness) of its kind in the world. It was stunning to see up close and personal.

After another wonderful dinner, we went to see the production, The Legend of Kungfu. It was an outstanding show that combined dance, martial arts, recitation, song and acting in a whirlwind of action, drama and art. We were mesmerized for the entire 80 minute production. The basic storyline was about a little boy who starts out as a monk and through many trials and tribulations becomes the Abbot of the monastery. Some of the acts were in the audience which really helped to bring us into the story. I loved it.

Tomorrow is the fantastic 800 year old Summer Palace and a Hutong tour in Beijing.

Michael

West of the Leipzig, Germany Marriott are three 10-story buildings that are abandoned and must have been for years. As you can see from the photos, they have been turned into a fine example of urban art.

The artwork is on a type of canvas that is draped over all four sides of these buildings. Each building’s art cover is slightly different. There are literally hundreds of images on each and it would take quite some time to see them all. The photo on the left was the view from my hotel window. In the morning, the sunrise hits the building and all the colors come to life.

I don’t know what prompted the original decision to do this, but effectively it turned a potential urban eye-sore into a three block work of art. It’s a fantastic example of creative innovation and what a community committed to solving a problem can do.

The model that Leipzig has employed could be an inspiration for other cities trying to resolve similar challenges. The other amazing thing is that I couldn’t see any graffiti anywhere on these buildings. That’s a testament to the townspeople and their respect for this project.

Michael