Huludao 葫芦岛

Last weekend I, my girlfriend and twenty of her work colleagues went on a weekend trip to the beach. Our original plan was to go to Beidaihe in Heibei province, but this plan fell short when we were unable to get train tickets (a common problem in China). Therefore we decided to go to Huludao (葫芦岛) in Liaoning province. We hired a bus for 200 RMB per person and off we went early on Saturday morning. The trip was 400km in total, so about 5-6 hours from Beijing which was quite for for a weekend trip away, and I did have my reservations about this. We arrived to heavy rain but this did not deter our spirits as once we had filled our stomachs on some local seafood we headed straight for the beach. By this stage the rain had eased a little and we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon at the beach. That evening we enjoyed a feast of yet more seafood, and the following day we went to a different beach to be met by glorious sunshine. It was great to be away from the big city for a weekend and in particular enjoying some clean, fresh air which is quite a welcome relief from a Beijing summer, I can assure you. After my initial reluctance to travel so far for such a short period of time I was more than glad that I decided to go. The lesson learnt from this is to bear a small headache for a much greater prize.

Crab Island aka xiedao 蟹岛

Last weekend I decided that I couldn't take the wait for a beach any longer. Beijing of course doesn't have a beach and the closest beach is a day trip away to Beidaihe or even Tang gu near Tianjin which isn't that feesable when you only have a weekend to spare. Therefore I looked into outdoor swimming pools/water parks in Beijing and I found the Crab Island which has it's own man made beach along with a few slides, food/drink kiosks, umbrellas, chairs and even a wave machine. My girlfriend managed to buy 4 tickets from taobao (2 of them for friends) for 45 RMB each, the price on the gate is 60 RMB. So off we went with two of our friends and we had a thoroughly enjoyable time except for the sun burn on my back which is just starting to peel today. Not pleasant. The lesson learnt from this trip is to use water-proof suncream!

Children's Day in China 1st June 2009

Every year in China on the 1st June it is Children's Day. This year was no exception with lots of singing and dancing to create a wonderfully fun day. The video shown is a belly dance performed by the Chinese teacher's of the school I work at. I hope you enjoy it, I certainly did!

'Beggers' in China

There are many things that fascinate me about China, that get me thinking far more than I would have perhaps anticipated. I have been in China for almost a year, so perhaps you can say I am still at the sharp learning stage, but this is an occasion that has really got me thinking. I refer to them as 'beggers' but is this really the correct term? Are they beggers? I mean they are begging for something whether that be money? food? shelter? I'm not always sure. What strikes me the most is the nature of the 'beggers'; families, students (see photo), men, women, boys, girls, people of all kinds. Are what they write on the pavements to be believed? I am skeptical but rightly so? I am sure that not everyone is in need of what they are asking for. During the Spring Festival over the last week I have seen more 'beggers' on the streets pleading their case to passers-by. But why? Because they can? Because people want to help them and do? I understand why some may do it, but what strikes me the most is when I see families doing it (mothers, fathers and child(ren)), often pleading that they have ran into trouble whilst on their travels and therefore have no money, home, or food. Is this to be believed or I am just being very pessimistic? I'm sure they use the children to tap into our emotions to get us to part with our hard-earned cash. I am not here to say whether this is right or wrong, it is just merely my observations and feelings on a subject that has got my thinking during my time in China. Thank you to @sdweathers for the photo.