Quilted pajamas, the newest fashion craze?

As we were making our way to our hostel in Hangzhou for the first time after just arriving, Leslie and I noticed an older woman walking by dressed in a matching quilted pajama set. We thought it was a bit odd to go out dressed like that, but we figured she was probably just running a short errand and she was the only one dressed like that. After all, who are we to judge another person's fashion sense? (Not to mention, I've been guilty of running to the store in sweats in the past as well.)

However, before the day even ended, we realized this 'trend' was not limited to just one person. It was actually pretty common to see people walk around (men, women, old, young and children alike), do their shopping and errands in these quilted pajama sets. It seemed to be quite the trend actually.

I think in total, by the time we left Hangzhou, we counted somewhere between 30 to 40 different people wearing these odd quilted pajama sets. Forty may not sound like a lot, until you realize we were really only in Hangzhou for two days.

Although, I will concede one thing. Despite being a bit odd to where outside of the house, those pajama sets did look warm.  Here are some pictures so you can judge for yourself.

Speaking of snow

Look at the snowy scene I awoke to this morning:

You can't really tell from the picture above, but it was snowing as I took this picture.

It's supposed to snow off and on all weekend here in Beijing. While I'm not exactly thrilled---winter's not exactly my favorite season---I know any snow, however little, is a relief to the farmers and government who are worried the looming (very likely) possibility of a drought this year.

So bring it on, snow. Show us what you've got.

Qingdao

The first stop on my winter break travels was Qingdao, which is located on the southern most tip of the Shandong peninsula in northeast China. Leslie & I took the overnight train from Beijing to Qingdao and stayed in a hostel near the center of the old town. We had booked ourselves into a shared four person dorm; however since it was low season, we ended up having the entire room to ourselves the entire time we were there.

Now for background on Qingdao:

From 1897 to 1922, Qingdao was a German and Japanese concession city and as a result, much of Qingdao's old architecture still retains a German flair. In 1919, protesters in Qingdao headed the May 4th Movement against imperialism in China, with particular regards to the Japanese presence in Qingdao after the end of WWI. More recently, Qingdao hosted the sailing portion of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and it remains a popular summertime destination because of it's many beaches.

Some thoughts on my time in Qingdao:

• Qingdao is definitely a summertime city. Many things when Leslie & I were there were closed. Some of them might have been closed down early in anticipation of the Spring Festival/Chinese New Year, but I suspect some of them only do business during the summer catering to tourists. Plus, many of Qingdao's attractions revolve around the beach, which isn't a very hospital able place to visit when mercury is hoovering at freezing every day. 


• Qingdao is a hilly city. You know you've been in Beijing, which is a very flat city, for too long when your legs are sore after spending a day walking around Qingdao, even though the hills aren't really that steep.


• If you only stay in the older portion of Qingdao, it seems like a very small town. It's not until I took the bus out to the newer, more recently developed areas that I remembered that it's actually a city with a population of 8.1 million people.


• Despite claiming to be a big tourist destination, I don't think Qingdao sees many non-Chinese/ non-Asian tourists, which is ironic considering Qingdao used to be a German concession city and hosted a portion of the 2008 Olympics. Where ever we went, people were gawking at Leslie. I think we could count on one hand how many other Westerners we saw during our three days there. When we were at the Qingdao airport waiting for our flight to Hangzhou, a young Chinese woman actually exclaimed very loudly, "There's a foreigner here!" I don't think she expected me to be able to understand what she said.


• At least in the older part of the city, Qingdao has really maintained a German feel in their buildings. While some of the buildings were probably built when Qingdao was still a German concession, I suspect at least some of them were built later to mimic the more European styles of architecture.


• In the newer parts of Qingdao, it's obvious that Qingdao is still very much a city in transition. As we walked around the city, Leslie & I saw entire city blocks that were fenced off in anticipation of being demolished and rebuilt. There also a lot of signs for the metro system they're currently building.


• Things in Qingdao get started much later than in Beijing. Leslie & I arrived on the overnight train from Beijing at 8 AM. Coming from Beijing, we didn't think we'd have a problem checking in at our hostel and finding food. But we were wrong. Luckily though, we were able to call the hostel staff and wake someone up to let us check into the hostel. We soon figured out that morning that things in Qingdao didn't really seem to get moving until around 10 AM.

Now for the pictures I know you've all been waiting for...

The Protestant Church

May 4th Monument

St. Michael's Cathedral

  

Zhanqiao Pier

And I'm off!

Being the regular blog readers I know you all are, I'm sure you all realize I'm finally now on my winter break. Better late than never, I say.

Two days after my finals, my friend Leslie came to town. This past week, we've been fitting the bitter Beijing cold and wind and visiting Beijing's major sights. And when I say bitter cold...I really do mean bitter cold.

Tomorrow, we're leaving to travel for a total of ten days to Qingdao, Hangzhou and Shanghai. On the 30th, we'll head to Hong Kong, where we'll be spending the Chinese New Year/Spring Festival. I'm excited (as always) to return to Hong Kong to see family and friends again.

Not to mention that Hong Kong is a food lover's paradise and I love food. Plus, Hong Kong's much warmer than Beijing right now.

Since I'll be on the traveling through the 30th of this month, there will most likely be a decrease in blog posts until I reach Hong Kong, at least. I do hope to get some posts up while I'm on the road, but in case I don't, I hope that everyone has a good rest of January!

And for those of you reading in Hong Kong, I hope to see you soon!

If that doesn't look cold to you, you're crazy.
Summer Palace, Beijing

PS. For those of you going through Living-in-Cultural-Limbo-blog withdrawal (which I know is all of you), at least you know when I return, you'll have lots of pictures and things to look forward to. :)

The Search for Christmas

Choosing not to spend Christmas eve alone and depressed in my room about not being home for the holidays, I decided to go out and search for Christmas in Beijing. Christmas 'festivities' in Beijing begin on Christmas eve, so despite the below freezing temperatures this past Friday, many people were out strolling about shopping areas and hitting various Beijing nightlife hot spots.

After a not-so-great week in Beijing, my search for Christmas was exactly what I needed to raise my spirits. It was a good reminder of why I came abroad in the first place and why I like traveling so much.

Below are some photos from my search. Please appreciate them, especially since it was literally 11 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately -12 degrees Celsius) & colder on Friday night when I took these photos.

Xidan

Wangfujing

St. Joseph's Church in Wangfujing

Chaoyang District

Yam street vendor

 

Wangfujing

More photos on Angela Photo Musings:

• Christmas in China: Chaoyang District
• Christmas in China: St. Joseph's Church
• Christmas in China: Vendors
• Christmas in China: Wangfujing
• Christmas in China: Xidan

Forget Jack Frost,

...have you met Jack Ice?

Please excuse the clutter that lives on my windowsill

This is what I woke up to this morning--a icy window. Just to clarify, my window is frozen from the inside.  And yes...the heater was on last night.