First blog 博客 post in Mandarin

在北京的一年光景一瞬间就这样过去了. 在这过去一年里, 我在剩余时间尽力学习汉语拼音及用电脑写文章, 虽然很吃力可是还是坚持尝试一下.

我的师傅嶒经説过, 如果您在单位工作找不到快乐和满足, 那就是监狱, 和囚犯没什么俩样. 可是如果囚犯在监狱里找到的是无比快乐和满足,那就是自由, 他不需要到任何单位工作挣钱也一样能快乐. 我想这应该是心态问题.如果您能满于现状, 无论在那一个地方,也一样能快乐.

798 七九八

The 798 Art Space is located in Dashanzi, an area to the northeast of central Beijing. It was formerly a large state-owned enterprise built by the Russians in early 1959 as part of a war-reparations deal with Germany.
In 2002, artists and cultural organizations began using the space for design, photography, publishing, exhibitions, performance and art. They rented space in the factory and converted individual workshops into independent studios for art, architecture, music and fashion.
The 798 art space and culture project has generated great interest and should not be left out of any Beijing art tour.

Yuan Meng Yuan 园明园

This is one of the tourist spots that I missed out in BJ. So I took this opportunity to visit on the 5th April (Thursday) by myself. I took a public bus (number 834) from my apartment directly to YMY. This is a huge garden built during the Ming and continued in Qing dynasty. The architecture was marvelous and grand. The pillar and arch was carved with european design. There are many water features and fountains at the garden area surrounding the main palace. Xiyanglou is the first replica of European style garden consisting of 10 western style palaces and yards. One can imagine the nobel status and luxury that indulged by the owner and the guests that were invited for any parties hosted before. However YMY was looted and burnt down to the ground in 1860 by the Anglo-French forces consist of 8 countries including UK, Germany, France, Italy..... Today we only see the remnants of stone buildings as a reminder of the national tragedy. Next to YMY is the famous Tchinghwa University. I took a stroll down this university just to feel the undergraduate days again. How nice if I can turn back the clock and go through my school again. I am sure I can do better than before.

Last working day in China

As tomorrow will be my last working day in BJ, I have to return this PC, mobile phone and office badge. That will mark the end of my one year & one month stint in China. It is hard to believe that time flies at the speed where I thought as if I just came on-board few weeks ago. Even though it is just a one year stay, the sequence of change and happenings in this company is really exciting, especially so in the last 3 months. It was like going through war with lots of casualties all over, some staff were laid-off officially, some disappeared (killed) in silence, some have a sudden change of roles or department. For those remains at their current position were working in fear, the fear for the unknown, as everyone does not know what is next, who will be next and how the company is going to proceed. For me, when I was told that my contract will not be renewed and I have to leave as soon as possible. It was a shocking moment for me but I thought there is no turning back. I reacted promptly by moving my belongings hurriedly and plan to fly back within few days. When I informed my boss who was away for business trip at that time, about my return plan. He stopped me and requested to extend my stay for one more week. He fought hard to keep me by asking other department to absorb me. He was confident and sounded positive. However the waiting time is killing me softly. I have decided to go. I really appreciate what he has done for me, but I thought it was a little too late as I have moved and shipped all my belongings. I am left with 2 working shirts, 2 T-shirts, 2 pants, 1 shorts and that’s it. It was hilarious. Finally a farewell dinner has been arranged for me this Friday and so that confirms the end of my career in BJ. It was indeed a different kind of experience for me in the process. It was another lesson learnt.

The Lower Huayan Monastery (华严峙)

This monastery was built in 1038 during the Liao Dynasty, it is one of the best and complete monastic architecture of Khitan 契丹 ethnic group remaining up to date. This Lower Huayan Monastery is a historical monument and it is a museum of Art of the Liao dynasty. There is another Upper Huayan Monastery 50m away from here where it is meant for praying and hosting various religious events. The taxi chatted interesting statement to describe Datong City as “官僚腐败， 警察无赖，人民乞丐”. Not sure whether he is only joking?

45 Grottos (云冈石窟)

There are total 45 grottos/ caves with 53,000 buddha statue carved out of the mountain rock. It took about 100 years to complete these caves. It is unbelievable on seeing how these sculptures are carved, how many tools used and how many people are involved. The statue sizes range from small, medium and big, various postures from standing, sitting, lying and on the floor to the wall up to the ceilings. Different kinds of statue and celestial carving can be seen, inside and outside the caves.

A weekend visit to Shanxi, 山西 (悬空峙)

We took a night train at 2330 hour from Beijing to Dadong, a city of Shanxi on the 30th Mar 07, to visit the Hanging Temple (悬空峙) and the famous grotto (云冈石窟). Dadong has around 3 million population with a area 20 times bigger than Singapore. It has gone through the Liao (辽), Jin(晋) and Yuan(元) periods and left with very rich cultural and religious heritages. The Hanging Temple was built 1,500 years ago on the middle of the mountain (恒山) cliff. It is hanging half way the cliff and only supported by wooden pillars and stilts, long and short. It’s spectacular how the construction and architecture is done to support the weight and withstand the “wear-and-tear” and more amazingly, it lasts for thousand years !! We actually climbed up and tried our weight on in, but "Bo-Laksa" (no problem).