Wednesday, December 1, 2010

O data in viata, China - ep.6 Wangfujing / Once in a lifetime, China. 6th episode: Wangfujing, Beijing

Wangfujing is the heart of Beijing. It is a pedestrian (almost) road, full of modern shops, where you can find all the renowned brands. You may also find here one of the biggest bookshop in the capital. Near by is a famous  food street, opened all night, were you can try scorpions, insects or sea horses. But there are also a lot of candied fruits, called Tang hu lu, which are very good.

Those interested in China, may see also my other 5 posts from:

July,2 - ep. 2 - Guijie Street
July 14 - ep.3 The Botanical Garden in Beijing
July 20 - ep.4 - Fragrance Hill 
July 22 - ep.5 - Jade, Pearls and Cloissone
August, 17 - ep.1 - First Chinese Lesson in Beijing

Wangfujing este, cel putin din punct de vedere comercial, inima Beijingului, prin cele 765 magazine ale sale. Ajungi aici usor, cu linia 1 de metrou, statia Wangfujing. Inca din timpul dinastiei Ming aceasta zona era dedicata activitatilor comerciale. Intreaga zona, masurand cca. 800 m, a fost transformata intr-una pietonala in anii 1999-2000.

Am ajuns aici dupa ce, timp de 3 zile am vizitat monumentele vechi ale orasului precum si Marele Zid. Iesita la suprafata din statia de metrou, larga artera pietonala m-a impresionat, nu prin aglomeratia cu care ma obisnuisem deja, ci prin modernismul ei si prezenta aici a celor mai cunoscute branduri, pe care le poti intalni in orice capitala europeana. Stiam ca tara s-a modernizat mult dar nu ma gandisem la asta.
Primul magazin in care am intrat aici a fost o librarie uriasa - Xinhua, cu 7 etaje, una dintre cele mai mari din Beijing, in care se gasesc si carti in limbi straine.
 Perpendicular pe artera principala se afla straduta culinara, deschisa toata noaptea, unde poti gasi tot felul de ciudatenii: scorpioni, gandaci, caluti de mare dar si porumb fript (5 RMB sau 0.57 euro) sau fructe zaharisite, pe bat, numite Tang hu lu (6 RMB sau 0.68 euro).
La un magazin, mare inghesuiala: promotie la tot felul de nimicuri care pot servi drept mici cadouri pentru colegi si prieteni: mici cutiute din portelan, bratari cu litere chinezesti, tricouri cu dragoni, etc.

Mancam in zona la un Mc.Donald's. Un meniu cu 4 bucati de pui pane, cartofi prajiti si un pahar de Cola costa 24 RMB sau 2.70 euro. E plin de clienti, majoritatea tineri.

Mergand pe aceeasi strada, in directia Pietei Tiananmen treci pe langa Catedrala catolica Sf. Iosif. Conform wikipedia, initial, aici a fost construita de catre iezuiti o mica biserica, in 1653. Aceasta a fost la un moment dat distrusa, ca urmare a unor cutremure succesive, iar in 1904 a fost inaltata constructia actuala, in stil romanic.
Ceva mai incolo, cateva tarabe cu fructe, unele exotice. Cumpar capsuni mari, frumoase si niste piersici mici, turtite, din care vad pentru prima oara. In total, costa 5.70 euro, ceea ce mi se pare cam scump. Poate fiindca vanzatorul o rupea putin in engleza...
Nu mai mergem mult si ajungem in Piata Tiananmen dar despre ea, in alta postare.


Cei care nu au vazut inca si doresc,  pot vedea si alte postari ale mele din Beijing:

Ep.1 - Prima lectie de chineza la Beijing - postat la 17 august;
Ep.2 - Guijie Street - postat la 2 iulie;
Ep.3 - Gradina Botanica din Beijing - postat la 14 iulie;
Ep.4 - Fragrance Hill sau Dealul Inmiresmat - postat la 20 iulie;
Ep.5 - Jad, perle si cloissone - postat la 22 iulie

20 comments:

Joop Zand said...

Nice pictures of these trip to China......i like them.

Greetings, Joop

Traveling Hawk said...

Thank you, Joop Zand! I'll continue to write about Beijing these days.

黄清华 Wong Ching Wah said...

Great Post on Wang Fu Jiang ! Those Smelly TOFU sure taste good !!! Enjoy your trip to India, but be safe and bring back lots of memories and maybe share some on your blog ! Good luck, my friend !

Traveling Hawk said...

Thank you, Wong! Sure I will share with you all my impressions and photos from India. It will be Delhi, Rajahstan and Agra. I can't wait! Till then, I continue with China:)

RIZALENIO said...

Wow, Beijing!!! You've been to a lot of countries. If you'll visit my country, I'll be your guide.

Another biggest bookshop, I wonder what's in that bookshop. That'll be heaven on earth.

I just updated my bucket list, I'll try to eat scorpions, insects and sea horses. They look crispy.

All photos are awesome. Thanks for sharing.

Traveling Hawk said...

You are too kind, Rizalenio!

Well, I don't know for sure what kind of books are there, as I cannot read Chinese but they have a section for English books too.

As crispy as they may seem, I didn't eat them, I only photographed them :)

joo said...

Terrific photos! I'm amazed how many places you've seen:)
China is a destination i'd loved to get one day and your photos make me want it even more!

Traveling Hawk said...

If I tell you what I already wrote in the 3rd episode, that we celebrated 40 years of marriage in Beijing, you can guess why :) Most of the travels have been during the last 20 years; before, it was not possible. China is a terrific destination and I am sorry I haven't seen more of it. But I hope to see Shanghai too.

VP said...

I have to check your earlier posts, this is a really breathtaking series!

Traveling Hawk said...

Thank you, VP, for your interest. These days I will continue to post about Beijing.

LifeRamblings said...

wow, seems like you're a global traveler. wonderful series of Wang Fu Jing. i visited this place a few years ago but didn't managed to take many pictures. so thank you for taking these pictures for us to look at.

Traveling Hawk said...

Thank you, Life Ramblings. I'll continue these days the Beijing series.

VertAnge said...

Librarie cu 7 etaje? De ce nu avem si noi asa ceva?:(
Ai gustat si ceva mancaruri mai neobisnuite?
Piersicile turtite am vazut ca au aparut si prin Europa in ultimul timp. Mie imi place gustul, dar ma enerveaza ca au foarte putina pulpa.
Chestia galbena sectionata e rambutan cumva?
As fi tare curioasa sa gust. :)

Traveling Hawk said...

Poate fiindca nu exista cerere, VertAnge?
Nu, eu sunt prudenta de felul meu cu chestiile astea si nu stiu ce m-ar putea determina sa bag in gura un gandac din aia :)
Da, am vazut si eu ulterior piersici din alea dar acolo a fost prima data.
Cred ca da dar nu am gustat, nu stiu cum e.

VertAnge said...

:(
Mie mi se pare ca exista cerere. Din pacate foarte putine librarii au o oferta suficient de variata incat sa acopere toate nevoile cititorilor. Cunosc o multime de persoane care sunt nevoite sa comande cartile pe amazon sau pe alte site-uri.
Gandaci nu am gustat nici eu pana acum, desi daca as avea ocazia nu stiu daca as ezita prea mult :)

Traveling Hawk said...

Cred ca cei care se ocupa de dezvoltarea librariilor fac studii de piata si decid pe baza lor. Noi, generalizam pe baza a ceea ce stim noi, adica cercul nostru de prieteni, cunostinte, etc. Ori nu acestia reprezinta piata, din pacate. De ce nu a mers Diverta? Avem si in Timisoara 5-6 librarii foarte bune, cu o oferta bogata dar cu putin public inauntru...Cum sa reziste?

J_on_tour said...

This is a side of China that we do not see although we know it exists. Thanks for taking the time to bring it to us.

Traveling Hawk said...

Thank you, J-_on_tour! I know that most tourists stay in Beijing just enough days to see the historical "must see". We stayed a little longer and, after doing the usual tours, we wandered 2 days on our own in Beijing, to see more. And, of course, I still have regrets that we didn't saw enough :)

TG said...

You take great photos. It was really rainy that day, huh? How come you are able to travel so much? Do you have a job connected to traveling?

Traveling Hawk said...

MKL: When we were in Wangfujing it didn't rained yet but it does, before we visited Tiananmen Square, and it shows on the pictures.

I work in higher education and I have vacations: summer, Easter, Christmas. I also have been implied in different international projects and, while there, in a country, I used weekends and spare time in the afternoons/evenings to visit :) I did most of my travels during the last 20 years, before it was not possible, you know (I explained this in different postings).