March in Beijing: Shanghai, Sandstorms, and Spring, Oh My!

Hi Everyone,

Welcome back to my Astronomer in Beijing blog. I hope this entry finds you all doing well and staying safe and healthy! As Passover and Easter are just around the corner and Ramadan began last week, I hope that for those of you who are celebrating, you have a lovely holiday. I’ll have more to update you on my Passover next month! Here in Beijing, things have largely returned to normal as COVID starts to recede into the city’s collective memory banks. However, people are still required to wear masks on the subways and I’m still wearing a mask anytime I’m at a place with a crowd (except when I eat). Also, I did get my 4th dose of Chinese vaccine last month. I got a nasal vaccine, which was a first for me and definitely interesting (I could feel it slide down my throat!). Although the staff at the Tsinghua hospital had a hard time believing that I’d been in China long enough to have gotten 4 doses, I was able to get that straightened out (although the only advice they gave me after getting the dose was not to sneeze that evening – I didn’t, but given that we can’t always control sneezing, I’m not entirely sure how that’s supposed to work). As the title of this blog post suggests, I did a lot of fun things this month, including visiting Jesse in Shanghai! And I finally got to meet his cats, Charlie and Scottie! While that was the definitive highlight, I also did a few other fun things this month, too! I hope you enjoy this month’s blog post!

Shanghai – Day One! (the Jing’an Temple and Shabbat with Kehilat Shanghai)

Last Friday, I took an early 8am train to Shanghai to spend the weekend with Jesse. As I hadn’t left Beijing since I arrived in September 2021, it was a bit surreal to take the train again. It was really nice that this time I didn’t need a COVID test or have to deal with any extra security checks that were put in place in 2021. As I mentioned way back at at the beginning of my Astronomer in Beijing blog posts, the high-speed rail is really a convenient and easy way to travel! It takes about 4.5 hours to get to Shanghai and the ride is really comfortable and smooth. It’s kind of like taking a plane, but far less cramped (they even give you snacks in First class!). I was able to do some work (mostly reading papers) and watch some tv on my ipad rather comfortably. For those of you who are wondering, here’s what the train and some of the sights looked like.

I arrived in Shanghai a little after noon on Friday and Jesse met me at the train station! Once we made the trek to his apartment, we had to deal with getting me registered with the police (for those of you who don’t remember, all foreigners must register with the police any time they move – either cities or within the same city). Unlike in Beijing, Shanghai has had a digital registration since Jesse arrived (Beijing’s was only implemented this fall). After some trouble shooting (and some issues correctly entering Jesse’s address), we were able to get me registered. We celebrated my registering with a delicious takeout lunch from Duli (see the More Vegan Food Section below)! After that, Jesse and I decided to visit the Jing’an Temple. Unlike the Lama Temple in Beijing, which is a Tibetan Buddhist Temple, the Jing’an Temple is a Tangmi Buddhist temple (a form of esoteric Chinese Buddhism that flourished in the Tang dynasty when the temple was originally built). Although the historical temple dates back to the 3rd Century, the current temple, which is situated in the middle of downtown Shanghai on West Nanjing road, was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and only rebuilt in the 1980s. Despite the relative newness, the site still has both a majesty and an awe to it (even in the rain)! I had seen it from the outside when I arrived in Shanghai after my quarantine, and it’s really cool how it’s just in the middle of modern, downtown Shanghai. It almost feels like you’ve been transported to a magic realm. Like many of the other temples, the Buddhas on display are magnificent (out of respect for the many people actively praying, I avoided taking photos inside the halls), however, I am particularly fond of the large, well-like structures that people throw coins into for good luck (Jesse was far better at getting his coins in the jar than me). Having seen so many of the historical sites in Beijing, I also loved seeing some of the similarities, including the stone carvings of dragons on the steps, as well as some of the differences (the inclusion of fish and elephants in the decorations). Also, possibly because of the relative newness of the temple, I loved seeing the wood bare, as opposed to it being covered in gold inlay and paint. However, my favorite thing was the giant, three headed golden lions, which reminded me of something from the manga One Piece!

After a fun visit to the Jing’an Temple, Jesse and I went to Kehilat Shanghai for Shabbat. Jesse’s friends John & Alex, who are both leaving Shanghai later this spring, hosted their final Shabbat dinner for the community and it was a lovely meal and service. Although I love Kehillat Beijing, it was also really nice to get to be a part of Jesse’s community. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming! There were also some familiar faces of different community members that I had met on the Zoom services that Jesse and I have led during the various lockdowns. We had some delicious falafel and homemade challah from John & Alex to celebrate Shabbat! Because it was a smaller group than Kehillat Beijing has most weeks, it was really nice to all sit around a table and eat together without having to break into smaller groups. I’m so glad that I got to experience the community that has been so integral to Jesse’s time here in Shanghai. Also, Jesse made some delicious jam squares for dessert following my mother’s recipe!

Now, we didn’t spend the entirety of the day outside of Jesse’s apartment, so I have to include some photos of his adorable cats Charlie and Scottie! I’ve been hoping to meet them in person since he adopted them over a year ago and while they aren’t the tiny little kittens they once were, they are still adorable! And they clearly love Jesse a lot. As you can see from the photos below, Charlie warmed up to me a bit quicker than Scottie – as Jesse can attest, my back and shoulders quickly became something to stand and jump on for Charlie, while Scottie was definitely a bit more timid around me on Friday (he warmed up on Saturday and Sunday). Although I have Goldie, she isn’t the jumper and daredevil like Charlie or Scottie, so it was amazing to see them appear at the top of closets and jump onto Jesse’s refrigerator. I also love how expressive both cats are, especially Charlie’s eyes! And don’t worry, there will be more photos of them in each day’s portion.

Shanghai – Day Two! (the Longhua Temple, Xujiahui Park, and Shazam: Fury of the Gods)

After a wonderful first day in Shanghai, Jesse and I set out on an equally awesome weekend. Because spring is in the air and all of the parks would be in bloom, Jesse and I decided to spend much of my visit exploring different parks and Buddhist temples around Shanghai! Unlike Beijing, which is known for its plethora of historic sites, Shanghai is the economic hub of China, not a historical one. Thus, much of the city is more modern and art deco inspired, rather than inspired by historical architecture. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a lot of cool Buddhist temples! Interestingly, despite its history, many of the ancient sites in Beijing, outside of the Lama Temple, are relatively devoid of religion. As such, it was really interesting to see the similarities and differences between the temples in Shanghai! The main temple we visited on Saturday was the Longhua Temple. Unlike the Jing’an Temple, the Longhua Temple dates to the Song Dynasty (900BCE), although it was rebuilt in the 1800s following that architectural style. The Longhua Temple is a Matreiya Buddhist Temple (the Buddha of the future, which focuses on the Lotus sutra). Architecturally, the temple is best known for the towering pagoda (see below), which you can spot as you enter the grounds and is magnificent. Given the height and sharp edges, it almost looks like something from a comic book! Structurally, this temple was set up more like the Lama Temple in that as you progressed through the various prayer halls, you saw increasingly bigger Buddhas. As it’s been over a decade since I took a course on Buddhism (and it was Japanese Buddhism, not Chinese Buddhism), I’m by no means an expert, but it is interesting to see the different depictions of different Buddhas, some who are more of the larger, jovial Buddha, some who look more regal, others who look smaller, yet elegant, and those who look prepared for war. Because it is the start of spring, the grounds are also in full bloom, so you can see lots of lovely blossoms! Also, because it is a Buddhist temple, they sell a variety of different vegetarian foods (Yay!). Because Tomb sweeping day is next week, we got qingming cakes (pictures in the vegan food section) and tofu skins prepared in the style of Vegetarian duck (a crispy tofu skin dish)! Given the strong ties between Buddhism and Vegetarianism, it’s nice to see (and always a safe place to get something for Jesse and me to eat that isn’t at a vegetarian restaurant).

After visiting the Longhua Temple, Jesse and I walked through the Longhua gardens and enjoyed a qingming cake as a snack (they are quite good!). As you can see in the photos below, the gardens are in bloom, so lots of colorful pink and red buds on the trees! However, my favorite aspect of this park is the incredible sculptures that fill the park. The park is a memorial as part of the Longhua Martyrs Cemetery, hence the military theme of many of the sculptures. Despite Shanghai being such an international city, I did find it interesting how Greco-Roman inspired some of the statues are. I also thought the giant glass pyramid, which is part of the memorial, was particularly stunning. Additionally, the bamboo forest area in the park is really cool and sets it aside from some of the other parks I’ve seen here in China!

When we were leaving the Longhua Park, Jesse and I walked right past a Toyota Prius! As a former Prius driver, I had to take a picture (electric cars, primarily Teslas, are far more common here than hybrids). Although I’ve seen a few Priuses in Beijing, Jesse said this was the first Prius he’d seen in Shanghai!

After visiting the Longhua Park, Jesse and I made our way to Godly, one of our favorite vegetarian restaurants in Shanghai, and one of the oldest here in China (see pictures of that in the More Vegan Food section). However, on the way there, we stopped by another park, the Xujiahui Park. Unlike the more sprawling Longhua Park, Xujiahui Park is a very picturesque and manicured park in the middle of downtown Shanghai (Jesse often runs around here). Aesthetically, it reminded me a bit of Congress Park in Saratoga crossed with a tiny bit of Boston Commons. Here, we saw lots of people taking photos of the flowers and enjoying the spring day. We even saw a stray cat (unfortunately, there are a lot of stray cats in China). I think my favorite thing was the tiny rabbit sculptures in the flower beds that reminded me of Peter Rabbit. I don’t know if they were there for the Year of the Rabbit, spring, or just to be cute, but they were great!

As we continued our walk across Shanghai (well, not all of Shanghai, but we walked ~ 27,000 steps on Saturday, so a fair distance), Jesse was able to show me the original gate for Shanghai Jiao Tong University (the university where he works). Although he works at the new campus, it was still cool to see!

Our last stop, and certainly not least, was we went to the IAPM mall to see Shazam: Fury of the Gods (ok, we also went to X11, an anime and toy store, but that’ll be in the anime section)! As I think is pretty obvious, Jesse and I are pretty huge DC comics fans and prior to Jesse going to China, we’d managed to see every DC movie together. However, because of lockdowns and the lack of China releases, this was the first DC movie that we got to see together in a theatre since the last Shazam movie in 2019! I really enjoyed Shazam: Fury of the Gods! It picks up a bit after the end of the first movie, but right away, it reminds you that at the heart of the story is a kid who doesn’t want to lose the adopted family he’s gained. The movie stars Zachary Levi, who brings all of the energy as the titular Shazam does a great job giving the other members of the Shazam family some time to shine (as well as have some very fun comics book nods and easter eggs). It’s also really nice to see a superhero movie that isn’t about a super serious end of the world (although the stakes do get raised in the third act) and knows how to have some fun. Even though most of the other people in the theatre (and it was pretty crowded) probably weren’t native English speakers, they all seemed to laugh at the jokes and have a good time! I also loved the Wonder Woman cameo! I definitely recommend it!

After such a fun day, it was nice to wrap up the day by hanging out with Charlie and Scottie! As I said before they are really quite adorable and so adventurous. On Saturday, Charlie jumped on me even more and Scottie went from hissing at me to letting me pet him and not run away (he was very interested in my clothes). They are such good companions for Jesse (although I can see how startling it can be for Charlie to jump on your back out of the blue!). I must say, I was taken by how long both Scottie and especially Charlie’s legs are! Charlie might be the tallest cat I’ve ever petted! He stands so high to the ground, especially in comparison to Goldie!

Shanghai – Day Three! (The Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum, Xiahai Temple, Jing’An Sculpture Garden, and Tianzifang)

On Sunday, Jesse and I went to the Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum, which is at the sight of the Ohel Moishe Synagogue in Shanghai. For those of you who are unfamiliar, while China has had a tiny Jewish community dating back all the way to the Tang Dynasty in Kaifeng, towards the end of the 19th Century, Jewish immigrants started arriving in China (especially after the forced colonial opening of China following the Opium Wars). As such, Jewish communities grew in primarily Harbin (almost exclusively Russian immigrants) and Shanghai (where two prominent Jewish families, the Khadoori’s and the Sassoon’s became prominent Shanghai-based business men). As such, during the early stages of WWII, when Jewish refugees were looking for safe harbor, one of the few places that remained opened to Jews was Shanghai (even during the Japanese occupation). As I am not Chinese, this is probably the closest I’m going to find to seeing my own heritage here in Shanghai and although I’ve seen documentaries about the Jewish refugees in Shanghai, it’s quite poignant and moving to see all of the stories together. In total, approximately 20,000 Jews fled to Shanghai. While the museum is not a comprehensive history of the Jews of China, the strength is in the personal anecdotes and accounts that fill the walls. You get an insight into the difficulties that many of these people had in both leaving Europe and arriving in Shanghai. It’s also important to note that while Shanghai today is a thriving metropolis, the Shanghai of the 1940s suffered from high degrees of food scarcity and poverty, so the struggle to survive was real. I thought it was interesting that while many of the refugees traveled by boat (usually via the Suez Canal), some did travel via northern train routes through Russia. Given the difficulties of the era, it was amazing to read the testimonials about life in Shanghai and the resiliency of the Jewish community. The Jews created their own synagogues, coffee shops, movie theaters, and schools. As you can see by the Judaica on display, they did not abandon their culture, either. There’s something comforting, at least for me, about seeing a menorah or shofar and immediately recognizing it, especially as most of the Chinese religious objects are still foreign to me! Although not subject to the horrors of the Nazis, the museum does discuss how the Jewish quarter became more and more restrictive under the Japanese occupation and how at times the Nazis had plans to create concentration camps in Shanghai (although they were never implemented). One thing that I also thought was interesting is that despite the fact that many of the Jews had Chinese neighbors (and their were multiple stories of people being befriended by their neighbors), the two communities did not mix, almost akin to how it is quite difficult today to include Chinese citizens who are not spouses of foreigners in our Jewish celebrations. Also, as the museum focuses on the refugees, it is both interesting, and perhaps a bit depressing, to see that the Jewish community basically disappeared from Shanghai after the war. Although the refugees recounted looking back on Shanghai fondly, there was a definitiveness to the fact that this was not a home for them, despite all of the hardships and difficulties to get here and set up their lives. Ultimately, my favorite line in one of the testimonials was about a family who left Shanghai for Atlanta, in which the story said that they “moved to Atlanta, a city like Shanghai” and although both Atlanta and Shanghai are cities, I don’t think they are terribly similar.

Although the focus of the museum is on the lives of the refugees, it does touch briefly on the Holocaust and the murder of 6 million Jews. Although I’m quite familiar with the horrors of the Holocaust, I have no idea if it is discussed (or how any world history is taught here), so I think it is vitally important to underscore the times. Strikingly, the personal accounts note that while there was initially celebrations after the Japanese surrender, it was short lived because the Japanese surrender meant mail could once again enter Shanghai and it brought the news of the death and destruction of the Jewish people. After that, the museum switches to a brief overview of prominent Jews who stayed in China or moved to China during the Cultural Revolution, which is a bit of an odd juxtaposition.

Outside the museum (and in front of the Ohel Moishe Synagogue), the museum has a series of memorial tablets for all of the Jews who lived in Shanghai. While I don’t believe anyone in my family was ever in Shanghai if anyone who is reading this had family that came through Shanghai, let either Jesse or me know and we can look for them. Unfortunately, the Ohel Moishe Synagogue was closed to the public when I visited, so Jesse and I couldn’t go in side, but it was quite a moving morning. While ultimately a story of resiliency and survival, it was definitely far heavier and depressing. However, part of me also can’t help but wonder what the Chinese audience learns from this museum. As Judaism is not an officially recognized religion in China and the Jewish communities are small, do the visitors even really know what a Jew is? I hope people don’t think of us as people who once existed, but understand that we are a very much alive (and even still in Shanghai) today. When Jesse and I were there, there were a number of Chinese patrons, so clearly they are going to the museum, but unlike for me, where it was to learn about Jewish history, I wonder if they approach it from the perspective of what Chinese generosity did for another people. I don’t know if I’ll get a satisfactory answer, but it is interesting to think about.

After the Jewish Refugee Museum, Jesse and I visited the Xiahai Temple, which is an ~ 5 minute walk from the museum. While not as grand as the Longhua temple, you can see many similarities in the architectural design, including the metal wishing wells, and series of increasingly larger Buddhas. I also really liked the distinctive yellow coloring of the prayer halls and all of the intricate stonework, it really make the stone work stand out. This was a far less crowded temple, so it was nice to just enjoy the quieter serenity and see all of the intricate little details in the design. Interestingly, unlike the other temples we visited, which were built as Buddhist temples, the Xiahai Temple, which dates to 1700s, it was built for the ocean god Mazu (Shanghai is a coastal city). While it’s since been converted, this may be why it looks a bit different from the other temples! However, one of the things that I find most interesting about all of these Buddhist temples is all of the flourishes. There’s always a place for an interesting decoration and it is so cool to notice the little ones. Also, since Shanghai isn’t Beijing, not everything mimics the style of the Forbidden City.

After the Temple, Jesse and I took the Subway toward downtown Shanghai, where we had lunch at Vegetarian Lifestyle (see the More Vegan food section). After that, we made our way to the Jing’an Sculpture Garden, which is one of the coolest parks I’ve ever seen. As the name suggests, the park is a mix of beautiful flowers and funky modern art sculptures. It’s really cool to see Shanghai embrace modern art in such a dramatic way. According to Jesse, the tulip festival had recently happened, hence the fields and fields of beautiful and different colored tulips. In those fields of tulips were my favorite sculptures, the bulls! They reminded me of the story of Ferdinand the Bull (although I have no idea if that ever made it to China). It’s such a picturesque park and I can see why people were taking selfies everywhere! I also loved that they had some more traditional Chinese art and garden inside the park to add the contrast to the very prim and proper urban garden. There was also a cool exhibit of children’s artwork in the style of traditional Chinese work.

After the Jing’an Sculpture Garden, Jesse and I decided to spend a bit more time enjoying the sunshine and walked through People’s Square. Although I had been to People’s Square last time, it’s such a large park that I don’t think I even saw half of it! This time was the perfect time to visit because of rows and rows of cherry blossoms. The park was full of beautiful pink buds (and a kids roller coaster if you look closely!).

The last stop on our whirlwind Sunday extravaganza was a trip to Tianzifang. Akin to the market hutong area near the Shichahai Lakes by me, Tianzifang is a narrow clustering of alleyways filled with colorful shops selling everything from scarves to statues to ice cream! It was really cool to see more of a small neighborhood vibe rather than the towering malls I usually associate with Shanghai. They also had lots of cool looking little statues (and I definitely picked up a few for myself!).

After such a full day, it was really nice to relax at Jesse’s apartment and spend more time with Charlie and Scottie. As you can see, Charlie continued to treat me like a piece of furniture to jump on (that means he likes me) and Scottie became more interested in me. I’m still amazed by Scottie and Charlie’s jumping ability! There is really no place that they cannot get to in Jesse’s apartment. I’m happy to say that after spending ~ 3 days in Jesse’s apartment, Scottie finally decided to sit on my lap on Monday morning, just before we needed to leave for the train. I’m glad he finally warmed up to me. While I love how low key Goldie is, it was fun to see Jesse’s cats bounce all over the place and Charlie’s willingness to crawl all over me. I definitely felt loved by them!

All in all, it was an amazing visit to Shanghai (and one full of walking – we walked ~ 68,000 steps over the weekend)! I’m so glad that I got to join the Kehillat Shanghai community for a Shabbat and also have Jesse show me even more of the city. Also, it was a lot of fun to just hang out with Jesse. Given that we’ve both been in China for ~ 1.5 years (Jesse was here for 2 years before me, too), it’s a shame that the travel restrictions from both of our universities prevented us from doing more. Jesse is planning at least one more trip to Beijing and I’m hoping to at least head to Shanghai to help him pack up before he leaves China (we also have some in-China travels planned, too!). I can’t wait to see Jesse again (though next time, we need to make sure I arrive with more than 5 minutes to make my train, as I almost wasn’t allowed to board).

Other Sights in Shanghai!

After spending more time in Shanghai, it’s hard not to see the differences between Beijing and Shanghai. I think the differences could be equated a bit to the differences between NYC and Boston in the US. Shanghai, like NYC, is a very metropolitan, multi-cultural, totally urban city, whereas Beijing, like Boston, is studded with far more history (although there are ultra modern portions). While I’ve really enjoyed my time in Beijing, I will say that it was nice that when Jesse and I were walking around (primarily in the French concession in Xuhui, the district he lives in), we were not the only non-Chinese people around. Sometimes, it’s nice to not stand out just by walking on the street. I know I’ve said it before, but I really do miss the anonymity of walking in a crowd in Boston. While I occasionally see other foreigners in Beijing, I think I saw as many foreigners walking around in a single weekend in Shanghai as I do in a typical month or two in Beijing. Also, there’s generally more English in Shanghai, which given my difficulty learning Mandarin, is much appreciated. I can definitely see why people say that it is easier to be a foreigner in Shanghai. Also, as you’ll see below, I think Shanghai has a bit more fun when it comes to urban design (including a building that looks like a mini version of the Flat Iron building that is apparently super popular to take photos in front of). Now it might be that the hutong area that I live in is pretty traditional, but it’s also really cool to see so many fun and unusual statues, signs, and advertisements!

And of course, since it’s spring in Shanghai, there were tons of colorful flower displays and blooming trees around Shanghai that I wanted to share with you all! Hopefully those of you in the Northeast can enjoy these since flowers are still a couple weeks away.

I also love these really interesting looking trees that are all over Shanghai! I think they’re French plane trees, but I love the craggly silhouettes that they make!

Sandstorms in Beijing!!!

Now, back to Beijing! Unlike the beginning of 2022, where winter seemed to last all the way through March, Spring has officially sprung here in Beijing. This month, we’ve had multiple weeks where the average temperature was above 70 degrees. While I wish that the beginning of spring meant that I’d only have pretty pictures of flowers to share with you, unfortunately the beginning of spring also means that it is sandstorm season in Beijing.

I’ve mentioned that the air quality in Beijing can be pretty terrible some days, but the two sandstorms this month were the worst by far. Basically, because of the lack of forests between Inner Mongolia and Beijing, anytime there is a storm in Inner Mongolia, all of that sand ends up (eventually) in Beijing. For those of you who were wondering just how bad the air quality is, according the the Blue Air app, the air quality index in Beijing peaked at over 1680 in AQI or a PM10 or 1793 micrograms/cubic meter. For comparison, the AQI is usually between 20 and 40 in Saratoga and the PM10 is ~ 10 (which is pretty typical of most of the US). As you can see from some of the photos below, all of that haze was not fun! Thankfully, this kind of weather definitely isn’t the norm (though the air quality in Beijing can leave much to be desired) and most days I don’t need to worry about that! One of the few benefits of already wearing a mask!

The St. Patrick’s Day Vegan Market

This month, the Vegans of Beijing Vegan Market was St. Patrick’s Day themed! While there wasn’t too much in terms of thematic food (outside of some delicious cupcakes), these markets continue to be a ton of fun and a great place to get some yummy, primarily western-style food. All of these markets are charity fundraisers for various animal shelters in Beijing, so it’s always nice to see some cute dogs (no, I won’t be adopting a dog) and support a good cause. It’s also nice to see some friends at the markets as I’ve become a regular!

This month, I got lots of delicious desserts, including an amazing Vegan creme egg, two delicious crepes, lots of cupcakes, and some yummy vegan meatballs! Ironically, Miss Green, who makes the vegan meatballs is based in Shanghai and Jesse had gotten the meatballs during the lockdowns and really enjoyed them. Since I was in Shanghai last weekend, I picked up some vegan meatballs for me to take back and enjoy!

Astronomy – Life at Tsinghua

As with the last few months, much of my time this month has been spent between Project Radio (my study of the radio properties of bent radio sources inside and outside of galaxy clusters in the distant universe) and Project Morphology (my study of the shape of protocluster galaxies). As I mentioned last month, I submitted my paper to the Astrophysical Journal around the middle of February. Last week, I got my revisions and unfortunately the referee had a lot of criticism. Although a few of their criticisms about my writing style I can quibble with, a lot of their critique is valid including the paper being a bit overly repetitive and changing how I did part of my analysis. While it is certainly frustrating to get a difficult review, I did find the insights they raised helpful and am currently working on making the paper stronger. Right now, my focus is on remeasuring the radio flux so that I can measure a resolved spectral index as opposed to the pixel-by-pixel spectral index that I had previously measured. Unfortunately, the referee didn’t think the Bayesian analysis that I spent much of December working on was necessary, so I’ll be removing that from the paper (though the new version of the code should be much quicker to run). My plan is to try to finish all of the edits by early May so that I can resubmit the paper by the beginning of June. I printed out all the comments so I can get some joy in crossing off each comment once I address it! Fingers crossed that I can get that all done.

In terms of Project Morphology, I am happy to report that after many months and tens to hundreds of e-mails with the creator of Galapagos that I finally have Galapagos running and can get down to work measuring the morphology-density relationship in protocluster galaxies! It feels great to actually be able to do the analysis and not bang my head against the wall! Additionally, I submitted an abstract to present this project in the middle of May at a galaxies and cosmology conference in China, so I’ll need to put the pedal to the metal to get the analysis done before then (which will also help me get the paper drafted over the summer, too)!

Outside of these two projects, Jesse and I spent a fair amount of time chatting about Project Low-z, our study of bent radio sources in local galaxy clusters and I think we’re making some good headway. Jesse is using archival data from SDSS to update the catalog and I’ll be analyzing the radio properties of these sources shortly! Additionally, I’ve built the catalog for Project Quench, my analysis working with a fellow postdoc at Peking University to study galaxy evolution in galaxy clusters and groups and should have some preliminary results early next week.

All in all, this was a pretty busy month research wise, but with me applying for postdocs in the fall, I think the research will only get busier and the grind more real. Anyway, though I spend most of my time on campus in a very boring office, at least the campus is pretty to look at when I can walk around!

Also, we’ve continued to have our monthly Department “Special Coffee Hour” and I must say that this cake decoration was amazing! I feel really bad for whoever had to decorate the cake (especially as there’s a decent chance they aren’t fluent in English and an even better chance that they were not familiar with the equations).

Goldie!!!

As she has been since I adopted her, Goldie is still my constant work companion. She loves spending time with me on the couch and waking me up at all hours of the night for snacks and to play (she doesn’t always get a snack, especially when it’s not even 2am yet). I love having her with me and keep me company.

Lately, she’s taken to burrowing under the covers in my bed and sleeping for hours on end without getting up. While I was a bit concerned at first, she just goes into the blankets and is purring away, so as long as she’s happy, I’m happy. Also, she rediscovered one of her toy mice that I had gotten when I first adopted her and she’s been playing with that non-stop! She holds it under here arm like a football sometimes!

While we didn’t have any visitors this month (at least none that I noticed), this was the first time that I’d left Goldie alone since I adopted her. Although I was a bit concerned about how she would react, I was glad that one of my friends from Kehillat Beijing who lives near me was able to come by and clean the litter, give Goldie some cat treats, and make sure she was ok. While Goldie was definitely a bit skittish near him, she seemed to get more comfortable with him as he came back (though he did say she was always disappointed when it wasn’t me). However, since I have a little cat camera, it was still very sad, especially on the first night, to see her sitting on the couch staring at the door waiting for me to come home. I really did miss her and she missed me. She was so happy to see me when I got home! She immediately paraded around me and was very vocal. She even sat on my lap for a bit (usually she just snuggles under my arm)! It was so nice to be reunited after a weekend away!

Jewish Life in Beijing (and a Wild West Purim Shpiel!)

As I mentioned in last month’s blog, Kehillat Beijing is 100% back now and it’s been so wonderful to have Shabbat in person again. While I was sad to miss last week (although I had a lovely Shabbat at Kehillat Shanghai), we did have three Shabbat’s that I could attend. The first was our Wild West Purim Shpiel Shabbat. For those of you unfamiliar, Purim is a Jewish holiday commemorating yet another time that the Jews were not massacred. This time, the hero of the story is Esther, who is married to the King and who aids her uncle (Mordechai) in uncovering the plot from the evil Haman. Traditionally, Purim is celebrated by eating delicious triangle shaped cookies (hamentaschen), wearing costumes, and recounting the Purim story. At Kehillat Beijing, we do things a bit differently, so instead of a traditional story, Ted rewrites the story as a political satire featuring many well known American (and occasionally foreign) politicians and world leaders. This year, we featured “Georgina” Santos as one of the potential brides of the King and multiple references to balloons. Because we did it a bit more informally this year (no script memorization), I took on a larger role and was Esther’s uncle Mordecai! It was a ton of fun to do and you can see that I even dressed up in costume a bit, too! Outside of the Shpiel, we also had a delicious Wild West Themed Shabbat dinner!

The following week, we had a delicious St. Patrick’s Day themed Shabbat, complete with lots of Irish inspired foods!

And this past week, we had a delicious (and very fun) April Fools Day Shabbat! Ted really does go all out with the themes!

Additionally, while I don’t have any photos, at last Friday’s Shabbat, we had a talk by the Israeli ambassador to China about the current situation in Israel (I also went to a zoom talk put on by the Progressive Jewish community in Hong Kong on Thursday). While the US is not in the greatest space at the moment, the situation in Israel is certainly concerning. While I’m not an expert, I did like that the ambassador was very blunt and straight forward about a lot of the underlying concerns. I hope that Israel stays on the road toward a better democracy and doesn’t lean away from that. Beyond that, we’re all preparing for Passover here. Chabad got their shipment of matzah in on Thursday and I was able to pick up two boxes (they also had a number of pesadicah cakes and candies this year, but I stuck with Matzah since I’ll make my own desserts). While I don’t go to services at Chabad, I’m glad that it exists and can help the Jewish community get matzah (and other Jewish foods) here in China! Additionally, earlier in March, I also got a lovely Purim box from Chabad to celebrate that holiday, too! And I must say that the hamantaschen that Jesse got from Tacolicious in Shanghai were some of the best that I’ve ever had (thank you Jesse for saving me a few!!).

Springtime in Beijing!

As I’ve already said (and as you saw from all of my photos of Shanghai), spring is in full swing here in Beijing, so I hope you enjoy the photos of all of the flowering trees (including some cherry blossoms – I think!) and flowers!

More Vegan Food (including Shanghai Vegan Food!)

This month, I went out for a lot of vegan Chinese food (mostly in Shanghai)! Early in March, I went to the vegetarian restaurant near Tsinghua with one of my friends from Kehillat Beijing who also works at Tsinghua. We got watermelon juice, sticky sweet lotus root, kung pao mushrooms, and a spicy mushroom hotpot (which was my favorite!)

In Shanghai, I got to eat from three wonderful vegan/vegetarian restaurants (Duli, Godly, and Vegetarian Lifestyle). On Friday, Jesse and I got a lovely lunch from Duli (a Chinese fusion vegan restaurant). We got delicious chickpea cauliflower baozi sliders, wonton curry soup, and a gongbao pizza! All of it was delicious, but the baozi was the best! While I loved all three restaurants, we just don’t have any vegan restaurants like Duli in Beijing, so it is always great to go there!

As I said above, we went to Godly on Saturday. Everything we had at Godly was delicious! We got kaofu (spongy seitan), chrysanthemum tea, vegetarian duck (layered tofu skins with a delicious peanut sauce), sword beans (which I’ve decided is the perfect vegetable side dish), braised gluten with vegetables (the seitan, which they call gluten, was unlike anything I’ve ever had before, it has a delightfully soft and airy texture – very different from the kaofu), a tofu and mushroom hot pot, and fried mushrooms! All of it was delicious, but I think the sword beans and the braised gluten were my favorites!

On Sunday, Jesse and I went to Vegetarian Lifestyle. We had another delicious meal! We got green tea, sword beans, pear juice, cumin dusted mushroom skewers, veggie chicken with a sweet sauce and basil, vegetarian fish with Sichuan pickles, braised tofu, and lion’s mane mushroom bao buns! Everything was delicious and it was nice to have three such amazing and different meals. I think my favorites was the vegetarian fish (the la spice – the numbing spice – was a really nice counter to the rest of the meal), the silky braised tofu, and the mushroom buns!

Outside of restaurants, I also did a lot of vegan cooking of my own, including monster cookies (using the recipe from the Lunch Room in Ann Arbor), spicy lentil chili, red Thai curry noodle soup, black bean burgers, cauliflower chowder, Southwestern Corn chowder, and Chinese Sword beans (which I made with Jesse)! In Shanghai, I also got some delicious qingming cakes (a sticky red bean filled cake – the actual dough is green) served in honor of Tomb Sweeping Day (which is this Wednesday). Texturally, it’s similar to mochi (very sticky) and very delicious!

Exploring Beijing

While I didn’t do a ton of exploring this month (I did do a lot of exploring of Shanghai though), I did see some cool architecture, motorcycle blankets, posters, signs, and other fun things around Beijing! Enjoy!

China Drawings

This month, I did some more of my usual, anime-inspired figure drawings. Since I’ve been staring at a computer screen a lot (between running Galapagos and working on my revisions), sometimes I just need to take my eyes off a screen and draw a bit. Let me know if you have a favorite.

Animals of Beijing (and Shanghai!)

While I love Goldie (and loved meeting Charlie and Scottie), I still do like seeing some of the neighborhood animals, as well as my favorite puppies in Beijing, Mimi & Honey! It’s always so nice to wander by a cat or dog (and lately one of my neighbors cats has been spending a lot of time in their window)!

In Shanghai, I also saw a lot of neighborhood and stray cats (including the cats by Jesse’s gym – F45), as well as three of the most magnificent giant dogs I’ve ever seen! There must have been 30 – 40 people standing around taking pictures of the dogs (it reminded me of when the truck with the giant white huskies used to park on Broadway).

What am I Reading/Watching

This month, I finally finished Neil Gaiman’s American Gods! For those of you who haven’t read it, it’s a great modern look at old-world gods living in America and their struggle to survive in an America that doesn’t embrace the religions of the old world. I really enjoyed the book and loved the different versions of old world gods, the interpretation of Ragnarok (pitting the old world gods against the new world’s consumerism gods), and the trials of the protagonist, Shadow. Since I finished that, I also started reading Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America. Given the rise of antisemitism in the US (and around the world), it feels like a hauntingly timely read (the book is set in a fictionalized world where noted antisemite and Nazi sympathizer Charles Lindburg is elected president instead of FDR’s 3rd term). It’s a really nuanced and poignant look at a potential rise of fascism at a key point in US history. On the graphic novel front, I read the four volumes of the Ogre Gods saga (a French graphic novel series) by Hubert and Bertrand Gatignol. It’s a really cool story of a fictionalized world where giants rule over humans and the protagonist is a young giant named Petit (because of his small, almost human-like, stature). I definitely recommend it!

Outside of Shazam: Fury of the Gods, I also finished watching a few different tv shows this month. In terms of live action, I finished Jack Ryan season 3 on Amazon Prime. Based on the Tom Clancy novels, this season finds Jack (played by John Krasinski) in the middle of a political crisis and potential war between Russia and the west. Given the nature of the show, it’s not hard to understand why they delayed releasing the season for almost a year and at times it definitely felt almost too real. However, it’s still a really good show. I also finished watching Shrinking on Apple TV+. Created by Brett Goldstein (from Ted Lasso – this season has been great so far!) and starring Jason Segel, Harrison Ford, and Jessica Williams, the show centers around Jason Segel’s character, who is a shrink in the middle of a mid-life crisis after the sudden death of his wife and how he deals with it as both a father and a therapist. Like Ted Lasso, it definitely is light hearted and generally leaves you feeling happy! I definitely recommend the show. This month, I finished the Teen Titans animated show that originally aired on Cartoon Network in the mid-2000s. While it was a rewatch for me, it was fun to revisit and is just a really good show! I also watched the anime Mob Psycho 100 on the Funimation app, which centers around the exploits of a middle school psychic named Shigeo Kageyama (Mob) and his boss, Reigen, who is a fraud. It’s a really fun show and I definitely recommend it! I also really liked that the show had a definitive end!

East Meets West

While US-China relations (and the rest of the west) are still frayed and things don’t seem to be moving in a positive direction, that doesn’t mean I haven’t seen a lot of signs of Western influence and pop culture. Here are just a few pictures from Beijing (there is still far more in Shanghai)! As usual, lots of Disney, but also Harry Potter, an advertisement for Hoka running shoes, Spongebob, and a FedEx sighting!

And here’s some of the Western brands (including some giant stores) that I saw in Shanghai (and yes, that is a Chili’s). And no, I have no idea what they serve at KFCsweet – all I can imagine is some kind of maple glaze on the chicken, but I think this is more of the case of someone co-opting an American brand. I think my favorites were the bizarrely macabre half-Elmo/half-skeleton, and a random Roger Federer ad!

Anime & Comics

No Astronomer in Beijing post is complete without me sharing all of the photos of anime paraphernalia that I saw and this month I saw a lot! While Jesse and I saw more anime swag and toys in Shanghai, I also saw a lot in Beijing this month (it helps when I wander into a mall past a toy store). Here are some of the cool anime statues (and anime-inpired things that I saw). It’s still a ton of One Piece, Demon Slayer, Dragon Ball Z, and Pokemon, but I love seeing it! There were also some pretty cool Marvel statues and even a cool Batman and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles decals on bikes! Also, Makoto Shinkai’s newest movie, Suzume, opened here in China! As I’ve really enjoyed and highly recommend his last two movies (Your Name and Weathering With You), I’d love to check it out, but given that it’d be in Japanese with Mandarin subtitles, I think I’ll wait to watch the dub when I can.

In Shanghai, I also saw a ton of comics, manga, and anime adjacent toys, stickers, and posters (including an interesting collaboration between the Jewelry company Pandora and Marvel Comics), as well as lots and lots of anime figurines! You can see some Pokemon, Demon Slayer, Gundam, Bleach, Dragonball Z, One Piece, and even a Deadpool decal!

But those were just the smaller displays. Jesse and I made a point to visit Xll, a big toy store near his apartment that has tons (and I mean tons) of anime statues and displays. It’s really cool to see all of the different figurines. As a big fan of Dragonball Z, One Piece, and Gundam, it’s hard not to fantasize about what one could buy with unlimited funds and space. They have so many cool figures! After going to X11 (and seeing Shazam), we also popped in to the Popmart in the IAPM mall, which has it’s own array of fun anime statues (as well as other cutesy toys). Lastly, we saw that Uniqlo had some new One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach shirts and we had to check them out (and buy a Bleach shirt)! It’s so cool to see how pervasive anime is here. It’s nice to not think of everything that I’m a fan of being a tiny subculture and remembering that there are enough fans for all of these stores.

Although I love seeing all of the normal figurine size statues, I also had to highlight these three amazing, human-size Pokemon statues in Shanghai outside of a mall. These were actually a collaboration with an American artist and while I’ve never been a Pokemon fan, I found the battle scarred/decaying Pokemon to be amazing! Really cool to just turn the corner and see!

If you made it this far, congratulations! I know this was a long post, but there were lots of photos, so hopefully you enjoyed those! I hope you liked hearing about my trip to Shanghai and all of what I’ve been up to here in Beijing! It’ll be a full April with paper revisions and Passover, but hopefully it should be a fun month, too! I hope you all have a good Passover, Easter, and/or Ramadan (and for those of you celebrating Passover, I hope you have a lovely Seder on Wednesday night and that you don’t get too sick of Matzah too quickly). As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to reach out (either here or via e-mail) and let me know! It is always great to hear from you!

In Peace,

Emmet