I broke the work shy habit this week and on Monday morning delved deep into my energy resources and finally began the job of painting the apartment. Well, one room in particular. I began with the gym and I don’t know if it was having a focus or a natural surge in energy, but once I had started a desire for the vigorous assailed me and the week turned into one of restless activity.
After preparing the gym and walls for painting on Monday I set off to the nearby Lanman Hutong at Caishikou. This area was originally outside of the City Wall and there have been homes here since the Tang Dynasty. It faced the Qingjin Gate of the western wall and was renowned as the site of public executions. It is a fact I have been aware of since I first began living in the area in 2020. My visit on Monday had nothing to do with this piece of Beijing history and I was not aware of the resonance it would have at the end of the week.
I went to the Hutong specifically to see Fa Yuan temple, originally constructed in 645. Fayuan Si is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Beijing and is still function today. Home of the Buddhist academy of China and some of the rarest Buddhist sutras are preserved here. It is nestled in the heart of the Hutong and as I had visited the previous year I was confident I didn’t need a map. However, once I was in the warren of alleyways my sense of direction deserted me and I found myself reaching several dead ends where residents sadly shook their heads and waved their hands at me.
The temple, in structure is no different to the many I have visited all over China, but like all it had its unique features and I happily wandered through its courtyards and prayer halls alongside many worshipers. I was particularly touched by a monk who was lighting some incense sticks for his private worship and beckoned me over to join him and dedicated his prayer to me.
Outside the temple walls autumn was finally fully displaying its gorgeous colours and against these yellows the local residents were engaged in exercise, games and chat. I was now headed for a local cafe inside the hutong and on my way I spotted a small playground where some local pensioners were playing table tennis. I stopped for a moment to watch and was lured in by the residents and given a seat to sit and watch as they questioned me about my origins. I escaped and found the cafe where I enjoyed a rather strange tea before heading home.
The day of work in the morning and venturing out into the city for sightseeing and tea set the pattern for the rest of the week and on Tuesday having begun painting the first wall, I treated myself with an afternoon trip to the Cinema. I continued my trend of visiting a new cinema each trip and I cycled to Chongwenmen and SoShow to see ‘The Unseen Sister’ an unremarkable thriller set in Beijing. The visit was made memorable though by an usher who I asked where I could find the screen 3 the movie was showing in. I showed her my ticket and she proceeded to tell me that I had the wrong ticket and that this was a Chinese film and I wanted the American one. I sternly told her I wanted to see the Chinese film. It is not the first time it has happened and I am astounded that locals think so little of Laowai that they wouldn’t want to see a Chinese film.
Peng had to go into the office on Wednesday but for me it bought decorating another wall of the gym and as relief from the work I walked to Xidan to look at shirts for the winter in Uniqlo. I timed a coffee in Manner with Peng’s return and we met up and cycled home.
The week had been notable for the poor air quality and going out meant wearing masks on Thursday when we went for a walk, for me, a run for Peng, along the South Moat and it’s gorgeous green willows. On out way to tea and coffee in the Tianning Technology Innovation Culture Park, a former power station we took a look at the apartment block Peng had lived in during his teenage years. The route took us past the impressive Tang Dynasty Tianningsi as I had explored this temple and its stone Pagodas thoroughly in 2021 I did not have need to revisit its charms.
Work on the Gym continued apace on Friday and it was now starting to look refreshed. It was weigh day and I was pleased to discover I had lost a just over a kilo through the week. Despite this success I kept to a meagre lunch and had a delicious hot and sour soup. To escape the smell of paint we headed to Zhushikou to work and have tea. We cycled through the hutongs to get there and I made a point of filming on time lapse. Sadly the speed was too fast and the beauty of the Hutongs were lost. Most cycle rides take about 20 to 30 minutes and I pondered filming at normal speed to show the actual experience of riding and what I see but felt sure no one want to sit through 20 minutes of a bike ride in the city.
We consulted the Beijing Bites anthology and the restaurant we chose, Yuteng Hotel, offered Yunnan cuisine. It was located in the Donghuashi Beili area which meant that after we had eaten we could walk along the remains of the ancient Ming Dynasty wall. For the food that was available it was a relatively expensive place to eat but they served Zheergen, Chinese lizard tail, a vegetable supposedly tasting so disgusting its known as ‘fish smelling grass’ or the kinder ‘fish mint’. Peng was determined I should taste it and so this, along with tofu and a signature rice noodle dish was ordered. The vegetable is the root of the plant and was tough to eat and it did have a sour, peppery aftertaste, but I did not feel it was the worst thing I had ever eaten, though It would not be something I ordered when I sat down to eat.
After the meal we headed to the wall and to my delight discovered that the south east Watchtower of the wall was actually now open to visitors. It was an exciting experience to actually get inside one of the Ancient buildings and see its interior. The inclusion of a history of the city wall was especially spellbinding and in a serendipitous link to my visit to Fa Yuan Si at the start of the week, a photo of the Caishikou execution grounds and a relic sword were on display. It was fascinating to walk on the wall and get a sense of its size and splendour. We finished the day walking along the wall in all its autumnal glory to Chongwongmen for coffee.
It had been a week full of action, from the beauty of the Fa Yuan si to the austere majesty of the Wall and the Watchtower, and needing some rest from my actions Sunday, after a brief bout of painting, subsided into movie watching and making some plans for the week ahead.
