Saturday, July 11, 2015

How to Determine If You're White and in China

Subway crowds

You hear "hello!" shouted as you walk down the street

People regularly talk about you in Chinese right in front of you

A guy chases you down the street to ask if you'll for pose for pictures with him in front of a famous temple but you don't even pose for pictures for your mother so that's not gonna happen

Little kids often say "哇!外国人!" "Whoa! Foreigner!" when they see you

A horde of salespeople immediately attach themselves to you when you enter a store

You've been asked multiple times if your hair is real

Somewhere, someone has a picture of you holding their baby

Groups of girls ask to take selfies with you as you walk through the mall

The only pick-up line guys use is a heavily accented "Nice to meet you"

When you say "你好" hello people are flabbergasted by your Chinese skills

You try to step out of the way so that you're not accidentally in strangers' pictures but then they turn the camera back towards where you're standing

If all of the above apply, then yep, you are definitely white and in China!
If some of the above apply, consider that you might be another ethnicity besides Asian.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

北海公园、颐和园、长城、避暑山庄、普宁寺

Beihai Park by boat

Jade Islet in the center of the lake
The Tibetan-style White Dagoba is visible topping Jade Islet
The Summer Palace:
"former playground for emperors fleeing the suffocating summer torpor of the old imperial city" -Lonely Planet







View of the Summer Palace's Kunming Lake, manmade as present for the emperor's mother
Round 3 of me vs Great Wall, this time the Jinshanling portion (very few tourists)


Imperial summer resort, like the Forbidden City but
with gardens and lakes to make it cool


                                                    

Punning Temple in Chengde city



Great Wall visible in distance