Inside the Forbidden City, Beijing. People identify their groups with hats and customized flags.
Together with the red walls, I find the scene overwhelmingly red. How in reality do people identify their group, if from far far away?
I believe gods would not differentiate who comes to pray, but it seems people do choose to which god’s house to pray at. Here at Tokyo Daijingu, which is known to have effect on your love fortunes, seems to be the holy house for young women.
How do you tell where you are? Looking at the fashion of two men walking in front of me, I sensed my destination Harajuku, the center of youth fashion, is near.
In a city where most streets have no names and without grid, pedestrians sometimes give better hints about your location.
In Ditan Park, Beijing. In many parks here in China, you find retired people demonstrate their skills in music, calligraphy, and dancing. Expression on their faces show confidence and accomplishment though general attitude for performance may be casual.
Although I hear retired people in Japan also become engaged in communal activities learning different forms of art, the outcome of the learning itself seems to be for their eyes or to the closed ones only. As a general public, you hardly have occasions to see people perform singing or calligraphy, in the way Beijingers do in the park.
Apart from the performance itself, which often collects crowds and initiates conversations with passers-by, the simple fact that the society’s older generations being so lively and cheerful definitely have an positive effect on the society.
Nice handwriting seems indeed important in the culture. Text your name to a number and you will receive an improvised signature as MMS. The outcome? The advertisement claims you should impress girls as you sign your name.
The service is definitely interesting but makes me wonder, how are those signatures produced? Are they automated, which surely will involve some technical solutions, or done by hand of their staffs individually? Something to find out during my next visit when my phone is within the network.
The number of convenience stores are increasing in large cities like Shanghai, however, not as fast as the industry expected when it comes to other cities in China. Although capital, Beijing is not an exception.
The photo shows a typical kiosk that you’d find on almost every street corner in Beijing. They offer ice cream, cold drinks, prepaid phone cards, and occasionally hot snacks, which resembles to a crepe but with chopped herbs and tasty sauce. Unlike convenience stores they are typically run independently.
Convenience store chains are trying to adapt and expand, it us interesting to see what elements they change and what not.
From the South exit of Forbidden City. Forbidden city is vast and exhausting. There is hardly any place to sit inside, and vehicles are forbidden to approach the entrance. As a result, you’ll find many exhausted tourists leaning on those red walls.
But here’s an approach I found at the North exit of Forbidden City. The couple or the lady accompanied them, surely know well about the location coming with foldable chairs as they wait for someone to pick them up.
The sticker placed in the car lists etiquette Beijing taxi drivers should follow. You can also interpret this as something that drivers tend to or used to do until recently.
1. Inside the car should be organized, shall not be personalized.
2. Inside the car shall not smell.
3. The driver shall wear uniform during operation (I have never seen a driver wearing uniform)
4. Passengers can request the settings inside the car
5. Driver should sincerely serve; talk politely
6. Make sure passenger carries one’s belongings
7. Should proactively help passenger to place their luggage
8. Should not smoke or drink during its operation
9. Use meter accurately
10. Should voluntarily provide receipts
11. Receipts should be clearly readable
12. Should not spit or throw bins outside
13. Should accept credit card payments
Based on my personal experience, Beijing taxi drivers are one of the best mannered taxi drivers in China now. We seldom come across with a driver who tries to cheat or resists to issue receipts. In a sense, we could already presume that by the time we see such stickers properly visible in a vehicle, these manners are most likely put into practice.
Personally I find the quality of Beijing taxi lies elsewhere, and I very much prefer Beijing taxi over ones in Tokyo. Beijing taxi drivers, they are flexible, friendly, and helpful. A taxi driver would keep an eye on my luggage and my daughter as I check if I am in the right terminal and fetch a cart at the airport. Without running a meter. Unlike in Tokyo, they wouldn’t play a recorded voice telling me that I should buckle a seat belt, either. What is there not to love about them?
When there are more availability than you could handle, star ratings come in handy. Here in Ditan Park, Beijing, found star-rated public toilet. Having had the experience of backing out of a public toilet as I was challenged with my limit for sanitary tolerance, I appreciate that now there is something I could assess the quality prior to entry.
The replacement works perfectly fine. Why spend extra money fixing it?
