A beautiful day - autumn in Beijing

After the terrible Friday with heavy fog we had rain almost the whole Saturday and after that the air felt much better. When we got up Sunday morning it was sunny, a little cold but an extreme clear sky. I do not remember ever seen such a blue sky and you could see all the way to the mountains west of Beijing.
We decided to go with BaoBao and his mother to watch the "red trees" at Fragant Hills, a forest area north west of the city. When it is getting autumn the trees in this area get very red and this park is very popular to visit.
Taking bus 302 from Chaoyang for 1 hour we arrived to the outskirts of Beijing changing to bus 634 we soon found out that we were not the only ones going to the park. Many overcrowded busses passed before we finally managed to embark a bus and just get inside the doors before they closed. I guess that there was about 150 people on this bus so You could say it was crowded... No problem when the driver suddenly had to brake in the heavy traffic - it was impossible to fall.
After more than 1 hour we arrived to the park - together with a houndred thousand other people. It was funny to watch all this different people going for a walk in the forest. Some dressed for outdoor life, some looking like they were going to the office and some young women dressed in short skirt, nylon stockings and high heels...

-The pagoda and view over Beijing

- A walk in the forest..

We had a very nice day pushing around in the "forest", having picnic and studying people before we by the same overcrowded bus 634 returned to Beijing.

Taking bus 634

It's a foggy day.....

Today Beijing is showing a really bad face - the fog (due to the smog). When we woke up this morning it was impossible to see across the street or the house next door. During part of the day the express ways around Beijing have been closed and since early this morning Beijing Capital Airport have been almost closed.I have many friends and colleagues that were flying back to Copenhagen this afternoon but the plane from Scandinavia was forced to land in Tjanjin, 100 km east of Beijing. So now the passengers is in one place and the plane in another.....
Let us hope that the fog disappears during the afternoon so things get back to normal.

The life of a Panda

One of the biggest attraction in Beijing Zoo (an awful place) is the male panda Gu Gu.
He is known for having a little bad temper and yesterday a young boy, Li Xitao, got to experience that. This boy have jumped over the barrier into the pandas to give Gu Gu a hug but instead for returning the hug the panda bite him and gnawed both his legs to the bone. He spent the night at hospital for surgery..

This was not the first time Gu Gu tasted human flesh. Last summer Gu Gu took a bite of a drunk man who bit him first..

Pandas are known to have a wild streak and are capable of attacking humans, especially if they feel threatened.But authorities laid the blame for the latest mauling on the boy rather than the panda. The boy was an itinerant worker with a mental illness who not only illegally jumped into the panda's enclosure, but also climbed over the zoo wall to avoid buying an entry ticket.

Fuwa

You see them everywhere these qute little "Fuwas" - the official mascots for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Five Fuwas in the same colors as the Olympics rings. There names is Beibei, Jingjing, Haunhuan, Yingying and Nini .
Whe You put there names together - Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni - the say "Beijing Welcomes You", offering a warm invitation that reflects the mission of Fuwa as young ambassadors for the Olympic Games.

Let me introduce them to You:

Beibei - the fish
In China's traditional culture and art, the fish and water designs are symbols of prosperity and harvest. And so Beibei carries the blessing of prosperity. A fish is also a symbol of surplus in Chinese culture, another measure of a good year and a good life.
Among Fuwa, Beibei is known to be gentle and pure. Strong in water sports, she reflects the blue Olympic ring.

Jingjing - the panda - makes children smile -- and that's why he brings the blessing of happiness wherever he goes. You can see his joy in the charming naivety of his dancing pose and the lovely wave of his black and white fur. As a national treasure and a protected species, pandas are adored by people everywhere.
Jingjing was chosen to represent our desire to protect nature's gifts -- and to preserve the beauty of nature for all generations. Jingjing is charmingly naïve and optimistic.
He is an athlete noted for strength who represents the black Olympic ring.

Huanhuan - the flame- is the big brother. He is a child of fire, symbolizing the Olympic Flame and the passion of sport -- and passion is the blessing he bestows. Huanhuan stands in the center of Fuwa as the core embodiment of the Olympic spirit. And while he inspires all with the passion to run faster, jump higher and be stronger, he is also open and inviting.
Huanhuan is outgoing and enthusiastic. He excels at all the ball games and represents the red Olympic ring.

Like all antelopes, Yingying - the Tibetan antelope - is fast and agile and can swiftly cover great stretches of land as he races across the earth. A symbol of the vastness of China's landscape, the antelope carries the blessing of health, the strength of body that comes from harmony with nature.

Yingying's flying pose captures the essence of a species unique to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the first animals put under protection in China.

The selection of the Tibetan Antelope reflects Beijing commitment to a Green Olympics.
Strong in track and field events, Yingying is a quick-witted and agile boy who represents the yellow Olympic ring.

Nini - the swallow - is drawn from this grand tradition of flying kites. Her golden wings symbolize the infinite sky and spread good-luck as a blessing wherever she flies. Swallow is also pronounced "yan" in Chinese, and Yanjing is what Beijing was called as an ancient capital city.
Among Fuwa, Nini is as innocent and joyful as a swallow. She is strong in gymnastics and represents the green Olympic ring.

Got tickets!!!!!

I have got som tickets for the Beijing Olympics 2008!.
Was one of the lucky in the "first lottery" for the tickets. Applied in June and during the summer the Beijing Olympics sent out mail to all that was lucky. I did not get any mail.... (mailbox crashed)

But, when checking my VISA account I found that money was drawn from my account for tickets to the Olympics and after some mail conversation I now know that I got tickets for:

08-17 Athletics 19-22:10
Womens 100m hurdles rd 1, mens hammer throw final, womens 100m semi, womens 400m hurdles rd 1, mens high jump qualifying, womens 400m semi, women triple jump final, womens 3000m steeple chase final, mens 1500m semi, womens 100m final, mens 10000m final

08-18 Athletics 19-22:10
Womens discus final, mens long jump final, womens paule vault final, womens 100 hurdles semi, mens 200m rd 2, women 400 m hurdles, mens 3000m steeplechase final, women 800m final and mens 400m hurdles final

08-19 Athletics 19-22:10
Womens 200m rd 2, Mens high jump final, womens 5000m rd 1, mens 200m semi, mens 110m hurdles rd 2, mens discus throw final, mens 400m semi, womens 400m final, womens 100m hurdles final, men 1500m final.

08-19 Handball
Mens Bronze Medal match
Mens Gold Medal match


So, I was quite lucky in the first draw. No it is time to apply for the second draw and see if it is possible to get some more tickets for Athletics finals or for the football...

China National Day

Bao Bao celebrating the National Day in Chaoyang Park

Yesterday China was celebrating the National Day. I and P.R.C was born in the same year -1949.
There was a lot of events all over Beijing. Bao Bao and ShiZhiting was in Chaoyang Park (acroos the street from our apartment) most of the day together with many thousand other Beijingers. This week most of chinese people have holiday and is visiting their families and home towns.

The People's Republic of China is a unified, multi-national country, comprising 56 nationalities. The Han people make up 91.02 percent of the total population, leaving 8.98 percent for the other 55 ethnic minorities. They are Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, Uygur, Miao, Yi, Zhuang, Bouyei, Korean, Manchu, Dong, Yao, Bai, Tujia, Hani, Kazak, Dai, Li, Lisu, Va, She, Gaoshan, Lahu, Shui, Dongxiang, Naxi, Jingpo, Kirgiz, Tu, Daur, Mulam, Qiang, Blang, Salar, Maonan, Gelo, Xibe, Achang, Pumi, Tajik, Nu, Ozbek, Russian, Ewenki, Benglong, Bonan, Yugur, Jing, Tatar, Drung, Oroqen, Hezhen, Moinba, Lhoba and Gelo. All nationalities in China are equal according to the law. The State protects their lawful rights and interests and promotes equality, unity and mutual help among them.

Beijing is now a "quite" city and is really enjoyable since it is much easier to travek around with car and taxi. The airport express way and the ringroads now just have half the traffic and it is almost as going by car in the mornings between Malmö and Lund...
But during the holidays it is estimated that 1,7 million (chinese) tourists will visit Beijing.

There is perhaps no better time to savor the charm of Tian'anmen Square than during the week-long National Day holiday. Stretching in front of the Forbidden City, it is ablaze with the color of 400,000 pots of flowers in full bloom.

This year's major events can be seen at the city's center. Looking east are scale models of the Acropolis in Athens, the Great Wall, and a 9.8-meter Olympic torch, which represents the torch relay from Greece to China. To the south can be seen models of the Temple of Heaven and major scenes marking key events in the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to welcome the 17th National Congress of the CPC which starts on October 15.
A big fountain sprouts water as high as 60 meters in the middle of the square surrounded by a bed of flowers.

Work on the decorations and flower displays started about 25 days ago, and was carried out at night to avoid disrupting tourists and traffic. This year's decorations include 130 kinds of flowers, of which more than 20 will also be on display during the next year's Olympic Games. If weather permits, the flowers will be shown until the end of the month.

The national flag raising ceremony will also be a major attraction. At dawn Monday, an estimated 200,000 people will gather at Tian'anmen Square to watch the event.