Mrs. Hals' Traveling Classroom: Night Markets, 798, Temples, and More from Beijing!

The Night Market was not a sight for weak stomachs. We visited Donghaumen the government monitored open Night Market for an adventurous evening snack. Stretching for several hundred yards, there were stands boldly baring foods from fried silk worms, frozen fruit sticks, sheep kidneys, starfish, sea horses, snakes on a stick, sea urchins, skewered sharks, bubbling drinks, fried banana dough, even fried scorpions on a stick. Yes...I said scorpions.

We worked our way through the market, daring each other to indulge - I tried a few things - bubbling pear juice that looked like it had been plucked from Hogwarts, mystery fruit (that was DELICIOUS), fried banana dough, a veggie dumpling... and I have lived to tell the tale. My colleagues tried everything from snake to cuttlefish to scorpions and silkworms...and some of them are a little worse for the wear from the experience...

The next day we set out for 798, the contemporary art district in Beijing. Originally a munitions and industrial area designed by Easter Berliner architects over the past decade, this district has become an absolutely thriving and blossoming hub for aspiring contemporary artists and a showcase for international artists as well.

Our guides were fantastic and we visited multiple galleries (as you can see in the pictures) and then were given free time to wander the area, and I thoroughly enjoyed ducking in and out of some of the intriguing and compelling galleries.

We enjoyed another fantastic lunch and then headed into a Buddhist temple that sits North of the Forbidden City and has a staggering 70-80 foot high Buddha at the Northernmost point. I also enjoyed comparing the Buddhist temple in Beijing with the Buddhist temples I visited in Korea from the way the Buddhas are depicted, the layout of the temples, the practices/interactions of the visitors...there are some intriguing differences and commonalities.

After that we visited the Confucian temple that had been built during the Yuan dynasty and functioned as the Imperial temple during the Ming and Qing dynasties as well. Confucian temples are often my favorites - probably because they are centers of learning, scholarship, and respect...

My favorite part was the wooden blocks that lined the bridges leading to the central temple where the emperor woudl sit - each block bore the name of a person hwo had passed the state exam. There were hundreds, if not thousands...and each one represented a tremendous accomplishment.

From there we were off to yet another delicious meal - that was a vegetarian buffet and was absolutely fantastic! I ate my fill of lychee berries ( a new favorite!) and also especially enjoyed some of the various types of mushrooms and eggplant (I don't really like eggplant...but here it is amazing!)

After that we tried to see the author of "When a Billion Chinese People Jump" by Jonathan Watts speak at an English bookstore (that had a very fun atmosphere) called The Bookworm. We didn't have tickets (it was an impromptu decision to go), but we were able to sit in the cafe and listen to the audiocast - it really was quite interesting.

On Friday we attended the first day of the International World History Conference and I was very excited to see several of my colleagues from the AP World readings including the textbook author I had spent so many ours working with on the alt exam a few years ago. The panels have spanned from dry to very intriguing, but I am pleased to say I already have some new ideas for next year....