Grand Jiangnan Garden Hotel Beijing

... days in advance, when I first passed through the historic square, as barriers were erected and red carpet laid down on the parade viewing tiers, while visitors from across the country were taking that all-important photo with the ex-chairman. Security checks are at every turn and the queues for bag xray machines slows down the simplest outing. From yesterday for a whole week, the national population is on the move ...

... creatures, and like to hang out with one another during the day, strolling their dogs or toddlers, smoking filterless cigarettes and haggling over the price of an apple. You can imagine that changing nappies and such like doesn't fit into this vigorous schedule very well at all, but the wily grandparents have developed a handy little solution: slit pants.

Again, seriously.

There are heaps of little kids walking aroung with a slit in the back of ...

... Beijing's lively contemporary art scene, became increasingly crowded with boutiques and tourists, some of China's leading gallery owners were bypassing the district altogether, and headed directly to Caochangdi Village. Or maybe they should call it Ai Weiwei Village (as he designed some of the buildings in the village. Pekin Fine Arts (www.pekinfinearts.com), is housed in a new complex designed by Mr. Ai - a cluster of low, minimalist buildings clad in weathered ...

... 6) Shaolin Master Killer, 1983 Directed by Lau Kar-Leung and starring Gordon Liu. "One of the most revered Kung Fu films of all time, this is the story of a young man who joins the Shaolin Temple when the Manchus kill his family." -- Movie Summary. 7) Supercop, 1992 Directed by Stanley Tong and starring Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh. "The film displays Chan's dual mastery of physical comedy and Kung Fu while also showcasing his notorious ...

... is "country or team" Ja-young (let's go). The Chinese folks around really enjoyed cheering for the Netherlands with George's leadership. When George switched to cheering for Japan people weren't so keen. Apparently you are only allowed to cheer for one team in China. After the game, which finished with Japan way on top, we taxied home, watched more Olympics and had some lively discussion. Shortly thereafter we went to bed, ready to sleep much past 7 a.m ...

... to target cumulonimbus clouds and induce rain before the clouds veer toward the Olympic venues. But the technology can only prevent light rainfall, he said. It is powerless against thick, widely spread, huge mass of clouds. And this story, also from China Daily: China may artificially change weather for Olympics Xinhua Updated: 2008-07-15 20:27 BEIJING -- If bad weather threatens the August 8 opening of Beijing's Olympic Games then ...

... are immediately apparent upon your arrival into China's Capital. The first is a constant thirst, which I use to excuse my tremendous alcohol bills, and the other is any skin moisture you may have brought with you on the plane is evaporated instantly, and each visitor is turned into a strange upright biped version of an albino alligator (or crocodile, if you prefer) within hours. It is that kind of flaking skin that demands vigilant ...

has got to be the one of the coolest club names ever! heck yes! my roommate draged me there last night. it was sat night so ladies get in free, yay. but as soon as we got in they took away my water bottle :( we got there at about 11, but we got there too early and no one was on the dance floor, everyone was crowed around it. oh this place is neatdos the main bar and tables are upstairs ...

... in China, it was more crowded and had a lot of different products for sale. Before we walked into the store, we saw what Amanda said was a "safety demonstration," but it looked like a bunch of children dressed in traditional Chinese clothing beating drums and instruments. The store was bustling and it was an all-too-familiar warehouse stocked full of Chinese foods and products and a few Western ones like treadmills and massage chairs. We enjoyed walking through the aisles and attempting ...

... key in on the pressure points, which was nice. We are planning to go back and get a foot massage. Sigh... heaven after a long day of walking. In the spirit of "When in Rome," we decided that Peking Duck was in order. So, we dressed up in our finest (not very fine I must say) and headed to town for Beijing's local treat. The restaurant was quite posh - and they served a lovely duck - but boy is it rich! You wrap the duck in a pancake (like ...