work

Dalian

in ,

China

Day 3 - Dàlián

Chairman Mao at Dagong

Chairman Mao at Dagong

I was up at 5am in order to get an early flight from Beijing to Dalian. Dalian is a major city and seaport in the south of Liaoning province, in Northeast China. It is surrounded by the waters of the Yellow Sea to the east and the Bohai Sea to the west and south. This huge statue of Chairman Mao is outside of Dalian University of Technology, Dagong.

Encircled

Encircled

The campus was like any other. Lots of students having a good time, hustle-bustle, and some interesting architecture. Dalian is considerably less hazy than Beijing, but it's still hazy.

DUT Library

DUT Library

Many universities in China sport a statue of Chairman Mao, and many of the buildings share the same architectural mantra.

Abandoned Waterpark

Abandoned Waterpark

After work was finished, we headed to the beach. There aren't many beaches close to Chinese cities, and my co-worker said this is the third one he's been to. He said that he was surprised how clear the water was (it was clear) and that this is probably the most beautiful beach he's visited in his life. I recommended a trip to Thailand if he could make it one day.

Flying kites and airing linen

Flying kites and airing linen

There was plenty of action down by the seaside. Some dude with a whip, ladies dancing, bungee jumps & zip lines!

Lots of concrete

I've not shown many photographs of food, but that's mostly down to being absolutely ravenous by the time I sit down. The camera remains in my bag as I tuck in, and then I remember I've not taken any pictures of food! 

Amazing seafood

Amazing seafood

Well, here you go. Some amazing seafood from this coastal region. There was no menu in this restaurant; we went into a back room and chose what we'd like to eat from tanks and exquisitely set-out plates. It was nothing short of delicious.

Haidian District

in ,

China

Day 2 - Haidian District

 

It certainly looks like the Environmental Sciences building

It certainly looks like the Environmental Sciences building

I'm currently here in China for work-related activities, and thus needed to crack on with work early this morning. A 2km walk from my hotel, is the Environmental Sciences building of Tsinghua University, in the heart of the large Haidian district. I always appreciate greenery, especially when said greenery apparently envelopes the man-made structure within.

Up the river

Up the river

Visibility is as poor as yesterday, and here's why. There is a lot of water vapour in the air, which condenses onto the aerosol particles. The particles thus become a little larger, and scatter light even more. It's almost like being in a very fine cloud. If there were fewer particles, more water may condense onto a given particle and it would fall to the ground as a droplet. Even though we have actually had some rain, there are too many particles to remove in such processes. It's making every photo look as though I've completely messed up the in-camera settings. There is simply just too much scattering - all of these photos are even taken with a circular polariser fitted to the end of my lens! 

The largest lake on the campus

The largest lake on the campus

The poor visibility certainly gives the photos a certain "look" . I don't know if it's possible to get instagram in china (it's probably not), but it's not needed in Beijing. All my photos look retro here.

Some Chinese characters are the same in Japan

Some Chinese characters are the same in Japan

I can read quite a lot here in Beijing. What I can't read, I either guess or just ignore. The Chinese writing system has changed over the years, and the oldest scriptures are the easiest for me to read, as they are the same characters as used today in Japan. The Chinese have since moved onto simplified scripts, though not in Taiwan.

100 year old shrine

100 year old shrine

Unlike Japan, and Tokyo in particular, many buildings in Beijing are well over 50 years old. The reason is twofold. Firstly, there are far, far fewer earthquakes here in Beijing than in Japan. And secondly, Beijing wasn't mostly turned to rubble by firebombing from the Allied Forces in WWII.

The original Tsinghua University building

The original Tsinghua University building

Tsinghua University was founded in 1911. There's an interesting mix of Chinese and American (Jeffersonian) architecture throughout the campus. 

For dinner I ventured into the centre of the Haidian district, in search of noodles.

TUS Park is called "China's Silicon Valley"

TUS Park is called "China's Silicon Valley"

It rained again. 

Recharge your car here. Help reduce pollution!

Recharge your car here. Help reduce pollution!

I've not been here long, but I have noticed a few things about the Chinese people:

  1. Extremely friendly
  2. They don't drink cold water (it's served hot) 
  3. They don't stare at foreigners, and will speak to you in Chinese first
  4. Completely ignore traffic signals (observe below)
Notice the "red man" sign, and everyone ignoring it

Notice the "red man" sign, and everyone ignoring it

As I was devouring my noodles, a very pleasant chap came and sat down opposite me. He started talking about the weather, probably. I wouldn't know, as he was speaking in Chinese. I only know how to say "hello" and "thank you", so I didn't get very far. It turns out that he studied French in school (as did I), and so we conversed in the best French we could muster. No doubt if an actual french person were nearby they'd cringe in horror, but it got the job done. Surreal. He asked me if I had "QQ". I said no. I said we use Facebook outside of China. He said he didn't know what it was. I'd finally found someone who doesn't know Facebook.

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C'est la vie.