Here and There

A few pics I haven't really had enough for a post about. For years I have not quite managed to get the "money shot" at an FC Seoul game, the dramatic fireworks from the home end at kick-off.


Koreans have a bicameral mind about developing their sports programs: academics seem to be the only goal of education, but then you encounter these "under-18" soccer programs. The entire floor below me when I lived at Sinjeong station was occupied by the Yangcheon-gu Under-18s who lived there with their coaches and also had their own bus.

Not sure if this their ultimate goal, or just a dig at a certain Cheeto-in-chief:


Found in Asian public toilets, top in Seoul, the bottom in Beijing:


That says "dung bread", a poo-shaped chocolate confectionery in Insa-dong:


Yep, it says Khaosan Road (after the one in Bangkok), which I once described as bushy-tailed backpacker Nirvana, world-weary expat hell, but is just a pocha/hof in Sadang area.


One of my favorite things, an automated book-lending kiosk in Beijing!


Two final shots: lastly, some awesome Korean BBQ in my old neighborhood at Hyochang Park with my old Yong-in and everywhere buddy Max and his friend Andrew. And a great burger with shredded pork and a choco shake from a restaurant at Terminal 2 called Shake Shack:

Beijing, 2019-18: Great Wall at Mutianyu

Mutianyu is located in the Huairou District of Beijing. According to historical literatures, this section of the Great Wall was built under the supervision of General Xu Da of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty. In 1987, it was selected as one of the top 16 Beijing scenes. In 1992, it was one of the top tourist spots in Beijing. ...
This section of the great Wall was built in a unique way. Here the many watchtowers and passes were built on the steep mountain. Forts were built on the two sides of the Great Wall. There were three watchtowers and a tower called "Zhengguantai", which could rarely be seen on the Great Wall. The northwest part of the Great Wall was constructed on the 1,000-m-high mountain ridge. The "arrow rock" and "lying eagle" sections were laid on the precipitous cliffs. This section of the Great Wall goes along the mountain ridge like a flying dragon.
The Great Wall-Mutianyu is also a resort featuring beautiful scenes all year round with a forest coverage rate of 96% - flowers in brooks in spring, brooks in summer, red leaves in autumn and snow in winter. Mutianyu has been well-known home and abroad as one of the best places to see the great Wall.

--inscription at Mutianyu


This is my second visit to the GWOC, my first was to Yuyongguan in 2009, blogged here. Since that post was a bit short on photos, I've been a bit more expansive this time (plus I have a better camera).

TB, his mom and I took a private car to the ticket office, followed by a bus ride to the nearest place to the Wall. Then, you take a cable car to the wall per se.


I think I got a really good shot of one of the watchtowers as we approached. You can see the area is well-forested:


The siting of the place makes for some stunning views, and I got a couple of good shots! (plus one of me)


It wasn't particularly crowded, though I saw a few foreigners willing to brave the high heat and humidity. Not sure why this rock is photo op:


Once you come down from the wall, you work your way through a kilometer-long commercial street where you can buy loads of Chinese crap souvenirs, over-priced coffee and an amazing photo op:


That's what I call a photo-op!

Beijing, 2019-18: Museum of Paleontology

The Beijing Zoo was so so so packed on the day of my planned visit that you couldn't see the ticket office that I eschewed my desire to view pandas and Pere David's deer that I went with my Plan B, which was the Paleontological Museum across the street. That's the museum in the foreground and the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences behind it.


The museum is quite well-done, though it lacks much in the way of English, starting with a neat sculpture garden:


I love those water spouts.

One of things that impressed me most was the purely scientific approach to human origins: it is evolution straightforwardly, with no wheedling nods to Creationism or Intelligent Design. There is some debate on this, but supposedly that's Beijing Man at the bottom:


The museum covers the entirety of earth history, and attracts the entirety of the populace, young and old alike. I was enthralled to see even a very young docent leading a group tour, and doing so with confidence!


A few more displays:


And, finally, the piece de resistance of any paleontology museum, the dinosaur hall:


Rrroar!

Beijing, 2019-18: Olympic Park, Bird's Nest

In the foreground is the Olympic Tower, built to resemble blades of grass and to mirror the five Olympic Rings, and the stretch of the Olympic Park to the Bird's Nest, the 2008 main stadium, as seen at the Planning Exhibition Hall.

Here are two views of the actual tower:


It's quite a long walk from the subway to the Tower, and a much longer walk from there to the Bird's Nest, especially on a very warm Saturday in June. We happened upon a large group of people, in the shade, singing a concert of patriotic songs:


Here are a few views from the observation platform, 222 m to 228 m high, including one of me standing on glass jutting out into space:


Finally, a view of the Bird's Nest:


And here's one more shot of the Bird's Nest, from the Bird's Nest:


But seriously, here's what the stadium looks like inside:


Here we see the Chairman's waiting area, and a more plebian one (love the motif):


A view from the stadium to the National Aquatics Center across the park's thoroughfare, usually called the Water Cube, and finally from a 10 RMB per person shuttle as we made our way to our waiting car:


Big thanks to TB, my Boy in Beijing, for all the tickets and stuff!