Beijing Cool !?!

Why the question mark next to the exclamations in the title to this blog? The answer is quite simple; I was surprised at how much I enjoyed my trip to Beijing this last weekend. After my last two trips to Shanghai, I was convinced that city was my favorite city in mainland China. I'll spare the details (in this entry) of why I think Shanghai rocks, but I thought there couldn't possibly be any comparison between modern Shanghai with the old, stodgy, communist capital of China. I'm glad to say, I was pleasantly surprised.

First of all, I must admit it helps to have a young, lovely local serve as your guide. I was lucky enough to have such a guide. Umi is the director's assistant at the film production company I was there to visit. The first place she brought me to was Factory 798 which is an art district composed of old decommissioned military factories. This picture was taken at one of the smaller buildings. It was also Umi's favorite pic I took on my camera phone that day.

I thought it was appropriate that these old communist, military factories were housing and sheltering the works of today's Chinese artists. It's sort of a small, beginning of a redemption for the art and culture the communist party so tragically destroyed forever in the Cultural Revolution. This next pic illustrates the vast size of these factories. I love the contrast between the stark, cold concrete walls with old communist phrases and the modern, Chinese art that mixes traditional with more modern techniques.

I can write more on the booming modern Chinese art movement that is sweeping the mainstream art speculation scene in New York, London and Hong Kong. But I'd rather write about other things I enjoyed in Beijing. When I travel, I love to immerse myself in the local culture and that includes shopping, music and of course food. My guide happened to be a vegetarian so for most of the weekend I ate like rabbit (which happens to be her Chinese zodiac sign). Despite eating like a rabbit, I ate much and ate well. This pic is from my last meal before I took off to the airport. We each had our own personal hot pot and despite having some meat on the table, I actually preferred the veggies. It just seemed to fit the mood and environment of the restaurant.

The previous night I believe we had fresh Beijing noodles which reminded me a lot of the fresh Italian pasta I had growing up with Italian Americans. Music-wise that night I ended up at my favorite scene for music; a late night jazz club. But during the day she also brought me to an artsy music store where she introduced me to a treasure trove of modern progressive Chinese music, much of which is hard to find in commercially driven Hong Kong. When we listened to one band I found interesting, she recalled they were playing a gig that night. She called them on her mobile and confirmed that they were indeed performing that night, but in Shanghai. So I ended up purchasing 3 CDs (legitimate of course) from various artists whom had shades of Tom Waits, Radiohead, Sonic Youth and jazz all mixed up.

My first trip to Beijing confirmed why Beijing is considered the artistic and cultural center of China. I could happily get lost in the city's art scene. About the only thing I didn't like about the aesthetics of Beijing is that the architecture was quite boring and uninspired. As this picture indicates, the buildings are mostly uninspired bricks. I didn't see any of the usual tourist stops like Tiannanman Square or Mao's grave, but I'm fine with that. To really see and experience a city, I think you need to look beyond the veneer of its cliche, tourist trappings. Thanks to my own personal guide, I had just the experience I desired.

Oh yeah, lest I forget; I also made a stop at the film production studio I was in town to visit. The studio itself was dreary, damp and a bit depressing, but the projects they were working on were quite exciting. It was a good first meeting. I look forward to working with them in Beijing!