"Midnight In Peking"

As a teacher, I often have students in my class who can't put down a book they are reading in English class.  This year, the book that fit that description was "Midnight in Peking" which retold the story of an unsolved murder of a young British girl on January 7th, 2015.

Here's a map of the walk.  1) Is the Beijing Railway Station  2) Armour Factory Alley (Werner Home) 3) Fox Tower (Body Found)  4) Original Beijing City Wall  5) The Badlands  6) Soochow Hutong  7) French Legation  8) British Legation  9) US Legation

Since the book takes place in Beijing, the author has a walking tour of the sites of the book.  This past Friday afternoon, I downloaded the audio guide to the book and took a walk.  The major sites lie in the areas between Tiananmen Square and the modern day Beijing Railway Station.  We start here on what used to be called Armour Factory Alley.

The hutong is exactly the same as when Pamela Werner (the murdered girl) and her father, E.T.C. Werner lived here in the 1930's. 

The hutong layout is the same, but the out classic courtyard houses have been subdivided into smaller residences.  This is #1 Armour Factory Alley, the Werner residence.

The other half of #1 Armour Factory Alley is not a printing shop.

Just down the road at #13 (now #6) is this hotel.

But it was the residence of the Snow's, who were huge proponents of China and Edgar Snow wrote, "Red Star of China" when he lived here.  The Snow's played a large role in the attempts to solve the murder mystery.

Inside the courtyard of the hotel, you can see the layout of a typical hutong home, which is centered around the open space in the middle.  Back then there would have been one story, not three.

Just a few hundred meters away from Armour Factory Alley, just to the southeast is what was then named the "Fox Tower".  This still standing tower is one of the few remaining gates into the city of Beijing.  Between where this picture is taken and the tower are the railway lines that lead into Beijing Railway Station.

Now looking at the tower from the Southern side, it was in the ditch/canal in front of the tower that Werner's body was found the morning of January 8th, 1937.

Extending west from the "Fox Tower" is the only part of the original city wall that encircled Beijing that still stands today.

The wall, which stood for 500 years, was 20 meters thick at the base and 12 meters thick at the top.  The city wall was nearly completely dismantled in the 1960's when the 2nd Ring Road was built and when the original loop subway line (Line 2) was built.

Just to the northeast of today's Beijing Railway Station and east of Tiananmen Square was the former no man's land called the Badlands.  This hutong, Chuanban, was the heart of the Beijing "Badlands."

It was along this hutong where one could find gambling dens, brothels, drugs, pornography and cheap lodging.  This was the place where underworld Beijing was found.  It was in the Badlands that the police went looking for murder suspects.

A few streets to the north is Suzhou (or back then Soochow) Hutong.  It was the northern border of the Badlands and was known for the numerous food stalls.  It was here that Pamela Werner was known to have had her last meal.

Is this Europe?  Nope, it's Beijing.  Just to the west of the Badlands, one crosses into what was the Legation (Embassy) Quarter.  In the old days, one would have needed to show papers (to keep local Chinese out) to get into the quarter.  It was here that all the western countries built western style buildings for their embassies and other commercial interests.

This grand entrance was the gateway to the French Legation.  Inside the French Legation was an ice-skating rink.  It was here at the rink which was where Pamela Werner was last seen by her friends before being murdered and found the next day, a few kilometers to the East at the Fox Tower.

Across the street from the French Legation is the apartment building in which the dentist, who was a main suspect (and totally sketchy) lived.

Just down the main East-West Street of the Legation quarter is the corner where a number of banks were housed.

The entrance to the British Legation, now the home of a government security office.  It was here in the 1900's that foreigners were housed during the Boxer Rebellion.  It was also where the British citizens of Beijing were sheltered once the Japanese invaded Beijing later in 1937.

That's my friend Milan from Serbia.  We are walking along the tree lined parkway that bisects the main North-South street of the Legation Quarter.  Close your eyes, the somewhat quiet and you might think you are in Europe.  Kind of....

I love this juxtaposition here of the Greek/Roman archway which stands in front of the monstrous modern building which is a Beijing courthouse.

A building with Ionic columns, now repurposed with Chinese Characters on the front.

The wide streets in front of the former American Legation.

And a few steps to the west, we're at the eastern end of Tiananmen Square with Qianmen standing over the southern side of the square.

Milan and I at the end of our nice walk.  This walk finally got me into the Legation Quarter, which I've been meaning to go and see since I moved to Beijing.

This building at the southeastern corner of Tiananmen Square is the former Beijing Railway Station.  This is where the trains entered Beijing before the 1950's.  It's now the Beijing Railway Museum.

Cross Off Buddhist Monk as a Possible Profession

Just outside of Shijiazhuang, known to be the most polluted city in China, is the Bailin Buddhist Monastery.

My friend Jonathan and I took an overnight trip to the monastery because it is one of the few in China that allows foreigners to stay overnight in the dormitories and live the life of a monk.

We arrived in the afternoon around 5PM and dinner was served promptly at 6PM.  This is the dining hall.

The monks sit in the row of tables closest to the center. Note the monks on the other side that are facing us. Guests sit behind the monks.  Male guests on one side, female guests on the other.  Each person is provided two bowls and a set of chopsticks.

All means are vegetarian.....actually vegan if I'm not mistaken. Monks walk by with bowls of food and pour some in your plate.

Here's Jonathan powering down his food.  No waste allowed.  You have to eat all you are served.

After dinner, there really is nothing to do.  So we just walked around the monastery and talked and had moments of silence.

I decided to go out in the dark, without my phone and just sit and reflect.  I tried to let my mind wander.  Just sit and be calm.  Meditate.

I tried to observe what was around me.  To feel the breeze, to do all those things they tell you about being present.  Too look at the lighted prayer area here.  I lasted less than an hour.  I couldn't take it.  I needed something to occupy my mind.

Having gone to sleep at 9PM, the gong started ringing at 4:45AM for morning prayer.  The start of the day has the monks arriving at 5AM in the prayer hall.

I'm not joking!  5AM

There were probably 100 monks in prayer.  I wonder if there used to be more.  We stood and faced the center.  There was one monk on the microphone chanting the prayer while the monks chanted in unison.

There were three types of sounds.  A very low gong that came from hitting a large vessel.  A nice medium gong sound and a bell, like a desk bell at a hotel, that signaled it was time to kneel down and bow your head.  I was expecting prayer to last a couple hours, but it ended right at 6AM.

Time for breakfast!  In the morning the monks wear brown robes.  In the evening, they wear gray.

After breakfast, the monks go and pray again (no visitors allowed this time) and then the monastery is opened to the public.  It's a rush of worshippers and the quiet and peace of the night time gives way to the voices of the day guests.

I'm not sure what they are picking here and I asked one of the women, but she didn't know either.  By the time it was 930AM, Jonathan and I were bored.  Having planned on staying until 3PM, we decided that we had experienced enough of Buddhist monk life and went home.  It's clear I am a product of our modern society.  I need more than prayer to have a happy life!

10 Gay Men for Dinner at my apartment in Beijing

Remember a few weeks ago, I wrote about the birthday dinner for Onions friend, my FRENEMY?  If you don't remember, here's the story.  Anyway, this past weekend, Onions invited my FRENEMY and the core of that group of friends over for dinner.  I promised Onions that I would be on my best behavior and NOT get all sullen.  In my opinion, I don't get sullen.....it's just that I really have nothing to add to these conversations but I'm not going to argue the point with Onions.

There he is!  On the left, with his back to me, the Frenemy!!!

So, the two guys at the end of the table are not part of "the crew" but are a couple play volleyball with Onions.  These guys are great, have nice normal conversations with me, just talking. 

Food is served.  Being the bachelor that I am, I didn't have enough plates and bowls to cover serving and dining.  You'll notice some people eating out of plastic Tupperware. Onions had recently made a trip home to Quanzhou to visit his parents.  He brought back some specialties that his Dad makes that I like to eat.  His

My man is a ROCKIN cook!  I need to go to the gym just to make sure I don't put on too much weight eating his cooking.  I've also gotten really good and washing dishes!

On the left, Nick. I get annoyed at talking with him because he always asks me about the United States, but in a comparison way.  I know he means no ill will, but it doesn't come across as inquisitive, but a bit as if he's judging everything I say about the United States. On the right, is Hua.  Hua is the nicest guy in the group and always gentle in speaking with me and talking to me in a level of Chinese that he knows I understand.  Yes, I have a little crush on Hua!

On the left, Onions.  To his right is Frenemy's boyfriend,  Xun, who is quiet and I also like a lot.  Xun is an interesting story.  He has a PHD in science and because of that the Chinese government will NOT let him travel abroad to certain countries, including the United States.  The group is VERY happy that Xun is a partner.  I also realized why Frenemy doesn't talk to me or talks to me in an infantilizing way....it's because he is embarassed that he doesn't speak English and that I do speak Chinese.  That's my current working theory.  The guy next to Frenemy is single.....and totally looking for a boyfriend.

Even though I didn't say very much, I enjoyed the evening and felt more connected than ever.  Perhaps that was because they were on my turf and NOT drinking too heavily.  But mostly I sat there in amazement that here I was in Communist China sitting with a group of gay men, some coupled, some single and all talking about the same things gay guys do everywhere.