Olympics Olympics Olympics
Trip Start
Jun 18, 2008
1
27
46
Trip End
Sep 04, 2008
Beijing,
China
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Yesterday, Adam and I met up in Sanlitun, where they have constructed and opened a beautiful outdoor mall in the last month to distract foreingers from the real ex-pat dens of Sanlitun. I'm exaggerating a bit, but the mall is brand new, and the Adidas store (which is the largest in the world) had an opening party with Gilbert Arenas a few weeks ago. We checked out the store where you can -wow!- design your own shoes or buy a $200 sports bra in the Stella McCartney line. Separate from the store, Adidas has an event space where they had ESPN Zone-like games set up. You could put your foot on the blocks and test how quickly you start a race or you could kick a soccer ball into the goal, etc. etc. Inside, they had a giant screen set up on a stage showing the women's China v. Canada soccer game.
We just wandered in and sat in one of the folding chairs that looked leftover from some type of private event that we'd crashed. All the time these things just sort of happen in China. We don't really belong somewhere but we're white, so people either don't mind or figure they won't know how to communicate to us that we should leave. Still, we were glad to have a place to sit and watch the rest of the game.
The score was tied 1-1, and it was plainly obvious that Canada was dominating. In the second half of the game, three of China's players were injured, and Canada had control of the ball almost the entire time. What I thought was most intersting was how the Chinese in the room as well as the fans at the stadium only cheered Jai yo! when China had possession of the ball in scoring position. Otherwise they were dead silent. Where's the Defense! cheer? Adam and I had schemed to pretend we were Canadian if they scored another goal, but, alas, we didn't have the opportunity to cheer for our northern friends.
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Earlier in the day, I quit trying to persuade Adam to visit a museum with me and went by myself to the National Art Museum. Unlike the National Gallery in London or DC, Beijing has no permanent collection, which means a trip can be fairly hit or miss. I think I lucked out. The exhibit was, you guessed it, Olympics themed. But what made this cool, similar to the 1996 Rings exhibit in Atlanta, was they included many international artists. I thought the contemporary art was overwhelmingly joyous, colorful and hopeful. Some of the Chinese work bordered on propoganda, but I thought that the modernization of ancient Chinese motifs was very interestingly done with vibrant colors and different media. Overall, I was very impressed and would recommend it to someone interested in going.
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We got more Olympics tickets! Through a website called cosports that sells exclusively to Americans, Brits, and Canadians, we were able to score tickets at $7/each. They're for obscure events like weightlifting and a pentathlon, but we'll also be going to a boxing match. I'm so excited. We'll be seeing so many events it will practically become a hobby for us for our two ( yes, only two) weeks left in Beijing.
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P.S. We were rattled when we heard the news of the Americans and their Chinese tour guide who were stabbed at the Drum Tower. Undoubtedly you have already heard about this, but for a full report, go here.
The Drum Tower is a place we frequently go because of its vibrant nightlife, so I was very disturbed. However, I reminded myself that Beijing is still a safe place to be and that this was an unfortunate random and isolated incident. Nevertheless, the news saddened me. I thought it was worth a mention on my blog so you will not worry and understand that my feeling of security has not changed.
