Hi Everyone,
As always, thank you so much for returning to my Astronomer in Beijing blog. I hope you’re all doing well and staying safe and healthy! Here in Beijing, the city is still abuzz with Lunar New Year celebrations (check out that cool Astronomy Dragon on the first picture below!). As such, this month’s post will consist of a lot of fun winter/New Year activities. Since it’s the year of the Dragon, there have been a ton of amazing dragons all over Beijing and I hope you enjoy getting to see them! I don’t know if it’s because the dragon is a particularly cool animal in the Chinese zodiac, or more likely that as this is the first Lunar New Year that is 100% post COVID-zero (although Chinese New Year was after COVID-zero ended last year, much of Beijing was still sick), but there are a lot more decorations and festivities around the city this year. As the Chinese academic calendar aligns with the Lunar New Year, Tsinghua has been on vacation, so I’ve primarily been working from home on my research and my job applications. I hope you enjoy hearing about what I’ve been up to below!
Ice Skating at Shichahai
Although we just enjoyed an unseasonably warm week in the 40s and 50s, at the beginning of February, Pablo, Tom, and I met up to go ice skating at Shichahai! As some of you may remember, last year, Jesse and I went ice skating when he visited and it was a ton of fun and it didn’t disappoint a second time. As I’ve shown in some photos, the Shichahai lakes (Houhai and Qianhai) freeze over in the winter (though not entirely – see the ducks) and the city sets up both traditional ice skating and a more raucous and fun section featuring ice bikes, slides, & chairs.
Because this ice is never resurfaced and we were going toward the end of the season (and the fact that I’ve yet to find shoes in my size, so I’m not optimistic about skates), we went with the ice bikes! Tom, Pablo (he preferred navigating his ice chair with the ski poles), and I had an amazing time! We skated around for over an hour doing laps around the lake, spinning, and at one point looking for Tom’s GoPro camera (thankfully someone picked it up and brought it to the lost and found). As I hope the pictures show, the bikes work like a normal bike, except there is only a back wheel, so a bit more like a snow mobile, and the bikes sort of dig into the ice in the front. It’s a ton of fun and a really great workout!
And here you can see some videos I took of me on the ice bike!
This year, since there were three of us, Tom, Pablo, and I even tried a three person dragon sled (that’s what Pablo is sitting on in the photo below and we’re all sitting on in the selfie above)! While it was cartoonishly funny, we’re definitely a bit too tall to make it speed around the ice! They also had some cool Minions-themed sleds (Minions is crazy popular) and even some automated sleds with stuffed animal dogs to look like sled dogs.
Ironically, like last year, we went on the last day of skating for the year. While the lakes are still mostly iced over now, it’s clearly not thick enough to allow skating (it’s been in the 50s this week, I wouldn’t want to skate on a lake anyway). Since I won’t be in Beijing next winter, I’m so glad I got to go skating again this year!
A Lantern Dragon at Shichahai!
As we are now entering the year of the Dragon, Beijing is filled to the brim with Dragon sculptures and displays. One of the coolest ones just happens to be in my backyard, at the Qianhai lake (part of Shichahai). Chinese lanterns are one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen and I hope you enjoy this one! Here are a few pictures I took yesterday during the day.
And now, at night, you can see the dragon in all of its magnificence! I was always super envious of Jesse getting to see the amazing displays at the Yu Gardens, so I’m so glad they did this this year! It’s so cool! There’s something truly magical about these lantern displays, especially at Qianhai, with how the lights reflect off the water.
Lunar New Year at the Drum Tower
Although not as ornate as the dragon lantern at Shichahai, the Drum Tower also got in on the Year of the Dragon festivities! You can see a few photos of their display as well as some great views of both the Bell and Drum Tower and Beijing!
A Very LEGO Lunar New Year
Another, slightly more commercial, but really cool display that I saw was at TaiKoo Li in Sanlitun, the commercial area of Beijing with a ton of foreign businesses. Here, LEGO set up an amazing gigantic LEGO-style display (they looked like blown up LEGOs) to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Pablo and I visited last weekend and we both thought it looked amazing! You can see dragon dancers and other fun aspects of the Lunar New Year!
Ditan Park Temple Fair
This past Thursday, Pablo, Tom, and I went to the Ditan Park Temple Fair. Temple fairs are a staple of Beijing’s Lunar New Year celebrations and Ditan Park’s fair is one of the longest running and best. However, because of COVID restrictions the last three years, this is the first time they’ve had it since I arrived. I think the best way I can describe a Temple Fair is if you combined Christmas, the 4th of July, and a county fair all in one! There were massive displays highlighting dragon mascots (and more ornate, traditional-style dragons), lots of shopping, street food, and games. I’ve been excited to get to go for a while now, especially since Ditan Park is only about 2 miles from my apartment! I took a ton of photos, so I’ve broken it down into different smaller sections. Here’s what you see when you walk into the park (at least from the entrance we went through – there are 4 entrances – the park is a rectangle) and the bright red dragon mascot!
One of the first things that we heard (and then saw) was a fun dance performance on stilts! I don’t know if the dancers are community volunteers, school groups, or some other kind of social group, but they definitely were having fun! I’ve never seen so much motion on stilts outside of a circus!
The main thoroughfare of Ditan Park is converted into an amazing open air market featuring tons of Lunar New Year gifts (see all of the cutesy dragons), twirling fans (a traditional Chinese gift for kids – I joked with Pablo and Tom that this is the traditional Chinese equivalent of giving kids those glow stick necklaces), lanterns, and other decorations! Since red is the color of prosperity, it makes sense that all of the decorations match! In case any of you are wondering, yes I did buy a few gifts for me and some friends (though at this point, I probably won’t put them up in my apartment). Although I’m not showing a ton of it here, they did also have tons of street food! While the vegan options were limited (most street food is meat skewers or baozi/jaozi that aren’t vegetarian), Tom did track down some fried tofu and was able to ask if it was vegetarian (THANKS TOM!!!)! I also got a few of my favorite sugar covered fruits (but I’ll show those in the Vegan food section). As you can see, we went on Day 5 (of 6) of the Temple Fair and it was PACKED!
When we entered the park, we saw tons of people walking around with GIANT stuffed animals, so we were keen to take a look at the games. While some were pretty different (throwing coins on a glass table and getting them to land on a circle), there were a few familiar ones (balloon darts & basketball), as well as some more games of luck (pulling random strings to win a plushie or cracking a golden egg with a hammer – we all did this, I won a little bootleg Spider-man plushie). It definitely brought back memories of county fairs and Fantasy Island in Buffalo (no squirt gun game though).
Beyond shopping, eating, and playing games, we also stumbled into an amazing acrobatics performance. While my photos probably don’t do it justice, these students were flying through the air doing the most acrobatic jumps and spinning on poles! It was pretty spectacular and definitely my favorite!
Beyond that, there are a ton of other fun things that we saw at the Ditan Park Temple Fair (some of which are part of the park all of the time – Ditan Park hosts the Temple of Earth)! I hope you like seeing all of the photos!!! They had a display on the history of the Temple Fair, too! While the displays were all in Mandarin, they did have photos of all of the previous mascots, that I thought were pretty spectacular!
Exploring Beijing – Happy Lunar New Year Edition!
As I mentioned, there are so many other displays that I saw that I wanted to highlight those, too! To start, the giant Mecha Panda near Wangjing South Subway station (both the closest station to 798 and to Roberta & Ted’s home) got into the Year of the Dragon festivities in epic style!
Additionally, when I got lunch with Pablo and Tom after going skating, we went to Wudaying Hutong (to get a delicious bowl of noodles at Yebozhai) and saw tons of cool smaller displays, including some really cool Dragon Ball Z themed year of the Dragon stickers (and yes, I already ordered them).
And of course, I’ve seen tons of cool door hangings and other displays all around Beijing!
I also saw lots of cute and fun statues, toys, and candy for the Year of the Dragon! In case any of you are wondering what all of the little brightly colored rabbits are and why they are out during Year of the Dragon celebrations (about halfway through this image block), they are not actually from the previous year. They are a deity protector of Beijing called Tu’er Yu! And given the new year, they tend to pop-up over Beijing, too!
Life at Tsinghua – Astronomy Update
As I said at the start of this post, I spent much of this month working from home since Tsinghua is on winter break. I want to stress, that when I say Tsinghua was on break, I do not mean me. I’ve been busy as ever working on Project Low-Z and Project Morphology, as well as actively applying for jobs. On the job front, I’ve currently applied to 65 positions, which seems insane. I’ve had multiple interviews, and while I don’t have anything definitive to tell you all yet, I do have some positive inklings that I’ll hopefully be able to share next month. On the job front, I do want to say that if any of you find yourself hiring any kind of position, I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to never hear back from an employer. A simple rejection e-mail when you don’t make the short list, regardless of how disappointing that may be, is really appreciated. Also, if you offer the job to someone else, it’s really nice to be kept informed, even if it’s just to say, that you aren’t the first choice, but should the person turn the job down, you are still very much being considered. The job process is incredibly stressful and any little thing helps.
On the research front, the data crunching that has taken up almost all of my time with Project Low-Z, my study of local universe galaxy clusters hosting bent radio AGNs that I’m working on with Jesse, is DONE! This means that I should have preliminary plots this week and I’m excited to put this paper together and see what we find! As for Project Morphology, my study of the morphology-density relation in high-z protoclusters, I’m making steady progress, but I’m hoping to make some real headway this week. Fingers crossed for a productive week and that I’ll have started to write up both of these projects by my next post. I’m also starting work on my first project as part of the C3VO collaboration with my friend Brian Lemaux! It builds off of my work with Project Morphology and it’s really great to be part of such an active collaboration.
Jewish Life in Beijing
This month, Kehillat Beijing had three Shabbats (we were off for Lunar New Year), and they were three very different Shabbats. At the end of January, instead of a traditional Shabbat, we went to a musical performance at the Italian Embassy in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The music was beautiful and it was all composed by Italian-Jewish composers.
Then, in the first week in February, we had an amazing Lunar New Year Shabbat (featuring an super cute Dragon challah that Roberta made). Roberta & Ted’s Ayi cooked an amazing Vegetarian feast with lots of dragon influences (look at that cucumber). I really love the Jewish community here and it was so nice to have such a large group.
Lastly, we had an amazing potluck Shabbat this past week (we’ll be doing potlucks for the next month or so). I made roasted potatoes & peanut butter tofu! All of the food was delicious. I am in charge of coordinating everything (leading the service and making sure people could sign up to bring things), so it was a bit tiring on my end, but also a lot of fun. I wasn’t sure how many people would come since the official Lunar New Year holiday was still going on, but I’m so pleased we got such a great turnout! I’m so thankful that Roberta & Ted continue to open their home to all of us and that we have a place to call home here in Beijing.
Vegan Food!
Although I’ve been busy working on research, applying for jobs, and prepping for interviews, I have had some delicious vegan meals in the interim. In late January, I returned to the DuLi pop-up at Ori and had a delicious meal with Tom (Tom had been to DuLi when he visited Shanghai, so he was keen to go to the pop-up). We got apple tea, mapo tofu hummus, quinoa salad, scallion pesto pasta, chickpea bao sliders, and tiramisu! DuLi is one my favorite restaurants in Shanghai and I’m very excited that they are doing another pop-up in Beijing in March! The mapo tofu hummus and the bao were my favorites! The tiramisu was also amazing!
After our ice skating adventure, Tom, Pablo, and I went for a late lunch at Yebozhai! Although they only had a limited menu since we got there pretty late, we had a delicious meal! We got ginger juice (boy, did that have a kick), Sichuan noodles, spring rolls, and a slightly sweet pancake.
Just before Lunar New Year, Pablo and I went to Tianchu Miaoxiang near Tsinghua for a delicious vegan lunch. We got stir-fried caulilower, passion fruit juice, kung pao chick’n, sauteed bamboo and okra, grilled matsutake mushrooms, and roasted taro with woody mushrooms! I really loved all of the mushroom dishes!
This, this past Thursday, my friend Andrea organized an amazing Vegans of Beijing dinner at Blossom vegetarian! There were 11 of us, so we got to try a bunch of delicious dishes! We got spicy cold mushrooms, tofu with Chinese pancakes, veggie ribs, quinoa salad, sauteed mushrooms, avocado & hawthorn jelly, sizzling potato & veggie balls, cauliflower dry pot, mushrooms & edamame, sauteed vegetarian duck (tofu skins), spicy vegetarian mock fish, and crispy stuffed pancakes. It was a delicious meal and a wonderful evening with the Beijing vegan community!
Although not a full meal, I also enjoyed some street food this month (a fair amount at the Ditan Park Temple Fair). Obviously, my favorites are the sugar covered strawberries, but I also got sugar covered blueberries, which were delicious! I also got a sugar covered mix fruit (and yes, the first piece is a cherry tomato, which was …. weird – here in China, cherry tomatoes are treated as a fruit, so it’s not to surprising, but still odd to me – the other fruits were great, but strawberries are my favorite), as well as grilled corn, and a spicy Sichuan tofu (thanks again Tom!)!
Despite the amazing meals that I had, I also did some cooking of my own! I made a delicious lentil stew, tomato soup, cauliflower chili, and mushroom enchilada soup! I also made mapo tofu for Lunar New Year, and some delicious apple pie cookies!
Goldie!!!!
While this was a less eventful month for Goldie since she didn’t need to go to the vet (I did get her titre test results – checking the level of her rabies antibodies and they were excellent), she certainly enjoyed having me at home and getting to spend the day on the couch next to me. She was very well behaved during my interviews (she slept and didn’t jump on my desk), and has enjoyed doing lots of burrowing, napping, and playing in new boxes (she has a new favorite, which is unfortunately already falling apart, but I guess I’ll hang on to it until I need to leave). I’m so thankful to have Goldie in my life and help keep me sane during all of this stress.
Also, we had a bit of excitement when one of the big neighborhood cats decided to hangout on the skylight. While I never know if Goldie is trying to get their attention or being territorial, I’m always amazed at how quickly she spots the cats and seems to sense their presence.
Exploring Beijing (Everything Else)!
As I did a fair amount of exploring this month, I also saw a lot of fun non-Lunar New Year related bike decals and other fun stickers!
I also saw a lot of other cool statues and displays (and a painter!) around Beijing this month! I love all of these fun, cartoony statues! Enjoy!
China Drawings
While I was busy with research and job applications, I did finish up another drawing! Let me know what you think!
Animals of Beijing
As the weather has started to warm up, the street cats have been out in force, particularly my neighbors cats. Since it’s still not super warm, I’ve been doing my best to give them a bit of food when I see them just to make sure they’re ok. They all seem to be doing fine, but are always thankful for the food! I even got a thumbs up from a neighborhood worker after he saw me feeding them. I also got to see my favorite puppies in Beijing, Mimi & Honey (Roberta & Ted’s dogs), who always enjoy the Shabbat company!
What Am I Reading/Watching?
While I’m still reading Andy Weir’s Artemis (it’s really great), I did read a few great graphic novels. I read When I Grow Up by Ken Krimstein, which is a graphic adaptation of a number of stories written by Jewish teens in Lithuania pre-WWII for a letter writing contest for a Yiddish Language newspaper. The letters survived the Holocaust by being hidden in a church and the stories were both beautiful and tragic since you knew what was coming next. On the more traditional comics, I read Mark Waid & Leinil Franics Yu’s Superman: Birthright, a fantastic retelling of Superman’s early years and origins. Mark Waid really understands the core tenets of Superman and this is an excellent example of that (as is his current World’s Finest series with Dan Mora). I also read The Mighty by Peter Tomasi, Keith Champagne, Peter Snejberg, and Chris Samnee. Another excellent graphic novel, this is a unique look at a Superman-esque character who might not be the boy scout he appears to be. On the manga front, I also finished reading Hoshin Engi by Ryu Fujisaki. This is a tale of a mythic-history of ancient China featuring Gods and immortals as they wage war for the future of the Human world. I really enjoyed it!
On the TV front, I finished a few different shows this month. Early this month, I finished Bosch season 5, which is the next installment in the long running Amazon Prime saga of Detective Harry Bosch in the LAPD. This season focused on Bosch going undercover to bust a drug smuggling ring, while at the same time having his career under threat from the reopening of an investigation early in his career. It’s a great show and I’m glad I still have a few more seasons! I also finished Fargo season 5 on FX. While it was a bit weird at times, this was really a tour-de-force by Juno Temple, who played Dorothy Lyon, a woman who ran away from her abusive husband (played by Jon Hamm) to fight for a better life. Both Temple and Hamm were fantastic. I really enjoyed this season! I also finished the first season of the animated show Scavengers Reign on Max, about a group of space travelers who are stranded on a hostile world when their shipping vessel crash lands. It was a unique psychological examination of grief and hardship, with some very unique animation. I also finished watching Celebrity Jeopardy on ABC. While I was rooting for Katie Nolan (I’ve enjoyed Katie Nolan’s work on various sports podcasts I listen to, especially her post game commentary on Pablo Torre Finds Out), it was nice to watch Jeopardy again! It’s hard to watch the daily episodes here, but ABC streams Celebrity Jeopardy, which. is always a plus for me! I also finished the Full Circle on Max, which was a weird show. It’s directed by Steven Soderberg and although it features an all-star cast, it just didn’t come together for me. On the anime front, I finished three great shows! I finished season 3 of Dr. Stone, which is about a world where humans were turned to stone for thousands of years and the ramifications of human reawakening in the stone world. It’s a fun mix of science and adventure! One of the anime’s that I was most excited for this year was Pluto, which is based off the manga by Naoki Urasawa (a modern master), which itself is based on the world’s strongest robot arc from Astro Boy! Pluto is basically a modern and more sophisticated retelling of one of the best Astro Boy arcs and the manga is one of my favorites. Thankfully, the anime (available on Netflix) does the manga justice and expertly portrays the feelings of grief and the terrors of war in this human and robot society. I highly recommend it! I also finished the anime Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu, which is based on the Touken Ranbu video games, in which the spirits of swords gain human forms and must travel through history protecting the timeline of Japanese history. It was another great show!
East Meets West
Of course with all my explorations of Beijing I saw a lot of examples of American pop culture and iconography, including some fun Peanuts t-shirts at Uniqlo, Simpsons graffiti, and lots of Disney & Minions. Especially at the Ditan Park Temple Fair, I was surprised to see some many stuffed animals of Stitch, Garfield, Pink Panther, and other American characters (there were a ton of other ones I didn’t recognize, too)!
Anime & Comics
As always, no Astronomy in Beijing post is complete without a full recounting of all of the anime, manga, and comics paraphernalia that I saw this month! And boy, did I see a lot! Between a slew of cool new Bleach, Hunter X Hunter, and Naruto shirts at Uniqlo, One Piece stickers, Marvel & DC figurines (yes, I already bought those cute little DC kids pops), and lots of Dragonball Z and Pokemon figures, it was a very anime & comics-filled month!
As always, if you made it this far, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my blog. Thank you so much for all of your support. I hope you liked all of the photos of the numerous New Years decorations and displays! Let me know what your favorites were! As always it is wonderful to hear from you, so if you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please either reply below or reach out directly. This next month will see the beginning of my last academic semester in China and while it’ll be the start of the end, I also hope to make a lot of headway finishing up two of my major projects that I’ve worked on here in China. I hope that the rest of February and the start of March is a good month for everyone! See you next time!
In Peace,
Emmet
