Dafen artists village

One purpose for going to Shenzhen was to visit Dafen, the artists' village on the outskirts of the city, where there are six hundred odd studios producing originals and copies.  It was a wet day with a typhoon blowing through a neighbouring province. We commissioned a copy of a popular painting for a very reasonable fee, but politely asked them not to copy the signature.

A large easel at one of the entry points to the artists' village.

One of many studios.

Dafen's artists' village.

Dafen artists' village.

An artist at work.

A Muslim run Lanzhou eating place where we had lunch.

Dafen subway station.

Fast train across China

The longest high speed train route in the world, 2400 km from Beijing to Shenzhen, was completed not long ago. After an accident, it now runs at around 300 km/h even though it was designed for 380 km/h. The train stopped briefly at Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Changsa and Guangzhou before arriving at Shenzhen North station.

We all know about Beijing's infamous polluted air, imagine our surprise to see on the morning of our departure a clear blue sky.

Our train (photo taken at the destination)

Large farms outside Beijing on a foggy morning.

Further south, Central China is more mountainous but still green and densely cultivated.

Drinks placed on the window ledge shows confidence with the steadiness of the train. The train was moving at above 300 km/h

Comfortable interior.

The peak speed.

Beijing essentials

Of course no visit to Beijing is completed without

A Peking Duck meal!

Not just any one but at Li Qun, which might not last the year as demolition had already reached the very next door. The restaurant is popular with foreigners; a Beijinger in the next table had never heard of it until told by his taxi driver, who probably heard about it from foreign passengers.

A walk around Tiananmen Square

Tight security now makes it quite a challenge to find one's way to the middle of the square.

A look around Wangfujing shopping mall

It was busy as ever; we enjoyed looking (just looking) at the food available in Eat Street.

Apparently they taste quite good when barbecued.

Tiantan (Temple of the Heaven) Revisited - with unexpected bonuses

We had time to revisit Tiantan.   

  

To our surprise we found . . . .

Uyghurs dancing happily, (showing they were quite happy to be part of China?).

Wedding photo shoots!

This bride looked quite comfortable.

. . . .  in stunning long dress . . .

. . . . probably because she was wearing comfortable shoes . . .

This one went for the dramatic effects.

Then we found a crowded spot where parents seek to find partners for their unmarried sons and daughters . . .

Parents wrote their children's details on a piece giving their CVs and their requirements were clearly spelt out.

Some had long discussions with prospective in-laws.

Beijing Hutong

Not satisfied with the sanitised version we searched for an old hutong that was yet relatively untouched. Thankfully we found one right next street to our hotel.  The government is keen to bulldoze most of them to build high rises with better amenities.

A hutong eating house - we were not hungry then to give it a go.

A entrance from the street to the residential quarters.

Another entrance, some obviously have air-conditioning.

National Centre for Performing Arts, Beijing

We heard about the stunning architecture of the French designed NCPA building that was completed for the 2008 Olympics, so made a special effort to visit it.

NCPA lit up at night

 

The complex houses an opera theatre, a concert hall and a drama theatre, and of course also various objects of art.

Opera Theatre

Concert Hall

Kay having a close inspection.

Coffee of international standard, and prices

Beijing trip

 

We discovered a large fruit and vegetable market just round the corner from our hotel at Chongwenmen on our first night in Beijing during our short visit to China. We only had a few specific interests in Beijing, then we would travel on the longest fast train in the world right across the heartland of China down to Shenzhen not far from Hong Kong.