25 September 2010

BEST OF BEIJING - 8

BEST MEMORIES FROM THE 798 ART ZONE



In one of the galleries, while paying fo

r our purchase...


Chinese Man:

Where are you from?

Me:

(UH-OH. I looked at J. I was too scared to answer.)


J:

We’re from the Philippines.


A:

(Will he shout at us? Kick us out of his gallery?

Blame us for th

e August 23 bus bloodbath? My heart was beating too fast!)


Chinese Man (as translated by J):

You look Chinese ("zhong guo ren," literally China person). She very pretty ("hen piaoliang").


A:

Oh. Xie xie. (“Thank you” in Chinese.) *blush*blush*

(Big sigh of relief. Kuya, tinakot mo naman ako!)




But you can't blame me for being paranoid.
Saw this banner at the entrance of one of the galleries...

We didn't enter the HK Art Museum. I didn't feel "welcome," hehe.


Still, next to The Great Wall, the 798 Art Zone was the other Beijing attraction that got me really excited. I loved it here! It's a haven of creativity -- rows and rows of art galleries, bookstores, cafes, dress and souvenir shops. Art installations abound!

Above: Italian Gallery

Above: inked cherub

Above: caged giant

Above: Hang tough, Mister!

Above: red lipstick

Above: A Red Guard?

Above: Emperor & Empress?

Above: one of the Cafes

Above: concrete car


We had lunch at the Timezone 8 Bookstore & Cafe, as recommended by Frommer's (the only book I brought for this trip)...

Above: My pink passport holder with "Beijing Day by Day"



J had the Art Book Lover's Burger with salad and fries. It was very good.

I had Chicken Satay with Salad and Green Tea Smoothie. Yummy!

This is one of our dream business ventures, a bookstore cum cafe... (Sarap mangarap!).

798 Art Zone: Definitely a must-see!

Address: 798 Art Zone, Dashanzi Art District, JiuXianQiao Road

Commute: Get off the Dongzhimen Subway Station, proceed to the Public Transport Hub, take Bus No. 401.

Bus fare is only RMB1 each (Php6 each). Bus Ride is approximately 30 minutes, with traffic.

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