Fabrice Grover's Blog

Lama Temple

This morning I went to the Lama Temple with Caroline where we saw the 25 meter (85-foot) Maitreya Buddha carved from a single white sandalwood tree.

Outside, people lit incense.

Chuandixia

Our driver braved icy roads and treacherous mountain passages to take us to a countryside village called Chuandixia today.

Panjiayuan and The Forbidden City

I took the metro to Panjiayuan market yesterday morning with Caroline.

Great Wall daytrip

We hired a taxi driver to take us to Jinshanling, a part of the Great Wall about 3 hours from Beijing.  We left at 8am this morning.  It was snowing and our driver had never made the trek -- we stopped for directions more than once!  Our driver told us he came from a village not far from there so, on our way back, we asked him if he'd like to stop by his town.  He showed us the house he used to live in before he moved to Beijing.

Near Tiananmen Square

I walked over to the old district near Tiananmen Square this morning.   The streets are packed in Beijing!  It's loud and crowded and the city is teeming with life in every direction.

First Day in China

Caroline met me at the airport last night.  We had Chuan (meat on a stick) with Chiba (her Japanese friend) at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in a tiny alleyway.  This morning, after buying a scarf, a hat, gloves and long underwear (I am an XXL in China), I went for a walk in the Back Lakes district, not far from my room at Beijing Normal University.

In the heart of the city, many people still look as though they are living in the countryside.