One of the many different places unique to Shijingshan and Western Beijing is a temple at the end of the line the locals call ‘Fahai Si’. Aihua Academic Director, Dr. David Cotter, took me to this early discovery of his when he first came to Beijing. Barely a short drive from Aihua HQ, there is a marked difference in the environment and quality of life of those that live nearby. We walked from the car through a variety of winding alleyways and streets, derelict, vibrant, typically rural Beijing. Imagine a small winding Chinese suburb of a Nigerian shanty town and you’re almost there.

After passing two older gentlemen getting haircuts in a roofless barber’s shop, we entered the temple complex. Directly to the left and right of the pathway were two large empty stone pools with the locals playing ‘keep me ups’ (the tool of choice consisting of weights and feathers). Passing a bandstand with an elderly gentleman practising the flute, it became apparent that this particular temple complex catered for an aging demographic. Even at this low level, there was a sereneness and tranquillity at odds with the hustle and bustle of rural Beijing’s poverty stricken working class population, and the congestion they live with.

Continuing onwards, Dr. Cotter explained that the temple compound had a tiered approach regarding structure and individual ability. This is indicative perhaps of an original design, aimed at mastery in mind, body and spirit.  At the low levels, those beginning to learn the way of Kung Fu (or Badminton this day and age) practised in groups. The mid levels were occupied by those who mastered the basics and were on their way up. I saw only 3 people warming up for Kung Fu on the higher tiers.  Dr. Cotter explained these 3 older women would have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of mastering Kung Fu, estimating at least 40 years of persistence and skill.

As we neared the top where the temple stood, the environment felt perfectly calm and intrinsically relaxing. The higher we walked, the more of Shijingshan became available for us to view including the area’s visual icon, the abandoned Shogun Steelworks, instantly (and always impressively) recognisable on the horizon.

Unfortunately when we reached the top, the temple gates had yet to open, so we made do with watching a small crazy dog running around desperately trying to please it’s owner in the hope of some sweet tasting, non-nutritious sustenance. The dog, for all intensive purposes, was mental. For some reason, the local Chinese population have fondly taken to these small… annoying… rats of dogs one despises with varying degrees of passion in the West. They seem even more tacky, flimsy and irritating here, although the quiet ambience of the temple compound silenced any emotion and thought on the subject at the time.

Fahai Si left me with the distinct impression it had been crafted over the centuries to inspire and lead through example. The location, levels and locals interact with each other in a harmony that seemed perfectly natural. I’ll be returning to reflect on my time spent here more than once no doubt, and I recommend it those seeking genuine solace and cultural value.
Rob’s website

QingMing Festival Fun
The Chinese QingMing festival, Tomb Sweeping Day, usually falls about a week before our Easter. In any normal week at Aihua it’s hard to find a day when everyone is free, as our day’s off are all different, but around public holidays everyone’s week is rescheduled to give everyone the same days free, so at ZhongGuanCun centre a group of six of us leapt at the chance to do something together.
One of our Chinese co-workers had heard of a small place way up in the North of Beijing where you pay a set fee for a cook-it-yourself all-you-can-eat barbeque. Sounded great!
We took the metroline 4 to its northernmost tip, then stood on a bus for over an hour, to a place called something along the lines of “The Popular Red Resting Spot”. The weather was very pleasant and we had a half-mile walk along a riverbank (along with approximately half the population of Beijing!) to a small, noisy, deliciously smoky, meaty-smelling, sunny yard with several trees, a couple of pagodas and a vast number of happy people.
Having queued in several different queues for cooking equipment and trays full of various shish-kebabbed meat & veg, two by two we carried our lit stove and wooden picnic table and benches around to find a space big enough for both them and ourselves. After losing a couple of territorial discussions with others in the same predicament, we happened upon an ideal spot of excitingly undulating ground wedged between two spindly trees and prepared for our banquet.
The food, beer and soft drinks were limitless: the only requirement being that you finish everything you have, otherwise you pay for anything that’s left uneaten – several pairs of eyes were bigger than their owners’ stomachs that day! We ate extremely well, and had an excellent time. When the last morsel had been coaxed down we played pool and pingpong in a large dusty building that resembled a disused aeroplane hangar.
All in all, great fun!

For the Chinese Qingming Festival, Emily was kind enough to organise a day trip outside of Beijing.
The first stop was Tianmo Desert, about 2 hours from Beijing by bus. We drove through the mountains and caught glimpses of the Great Wall in the distance. The origin of the desert is a mystery, since there is no sand within hundreds of kilometres of Tianmo, inspiring the locals to name it “Desert from the sky”. It consists of 2 huge sand dunes, nestled between the Dragon Treasure Mountain and grassland (that unfortunately wasn’t too grassy in April). We walked upwind through the desert to a stone house where Chinese tourists were taking photos. Just as I was thinking it must be of some historical importance, we were told it was left over from a movie set! The building was made of plaster and even the rocks were made from paper mache. I touched a tree on the way back just to be certain it was real!
Windswept and sandy, we got back on the bus to head for a bountiful lunch. Next, we went to a village with a beautiful building, which is a replication of old-style Chinese structures. We strolled along the street, and in and out of shops. Then it was time to leave the fresh air of Hebei Province and head back to the neon lights of Beijing.
Thank you, Emily, for a great day!

Aihua’s Changyin centre organized an Easter activity for new students. The day before I spent a whole evening boiling about 50 eggs. I never thought that boiling eggs could be so difficult. Chinese cookers are pretty powerful and the water heats quickly: a bit too quickly for the eggs as quite a few of them cracked.
On Sunday I took the bus too school with a basketfull of eggs, which raised some eyebrows in the bus. It was kind of funny.
At 10 o’clock the students came in, and we started our Easter lesson.  First we explained, with the help of a PowerPoint, who the Easter Bunny was, and we talked about some Easter traditions, such as colouring eggs and egg hunts.
After that we coloured eggs with the students.  I had brought some materials for decoration from home and we had plenty of coloured markers.  The students really enjoyed this activity, using all their creativity to create some beautiful Easter eggs.
After colouring the Easter eggs we did an egg roll competition.  We rolled the eggs over the ground with help of spoons: not the easiest task in the world.  The eggs rolled into every direction except the direction you wanted them to roll. The students managed to get the eggs to other side of the classroom without breaking any of them, but our service manager Selina was less lucky as her egg broke.
All in all it was a great Easter morning, and as I had some eggs left I used them in my other classes in the afternoon.  Colouring eggs is something all the students enjoyed doing, and for me as a teacher it was great fun doing it with them.  Still, I missed the chocolate Easter eggs from home. At the end of the last class that evening, one of my 5 year old students came to me and gave me a small bag with Easter decorations on it, and in it were 8 small chocolate Easter eggs. A friend of her father had just come back from Germany and had brought them back for her. She had saved 8 of them for me, as eight is a lucky number in China. I thought it was very touching. It definitely made my Easter complete.

Hiking Badachu was an early goal of mine when I arrived in Beijing in early August 2011.  Looking outside my balcony window every morning, I’m reminded of the mountains that surround Beijing and their mystical beauty.  China’s history is so vast I often wonder what might have occurred in these mountains long ago.

The morning of the hike I woke up with high spirits.  A handful of foreign teachers, including myself, met at the Gucheng subway station early in the morning waiting for the Chinese teachers so we can transfer on the 958 bus and head to Badachu.  After about ten minutes of waiting we jokingly thought they forgot about us, but soon enough the Chinese teachers had arrived and off we went.

My new, and very Irish, friend Paul was telling me that the night before he randomly stood next to a worker at a store and took a very quick picture with her.  She was incredibly surprised to say the least.  I mean, who wouldn’t be?  I thought it was hilarious.  So as we waited for everyone at Changyin to arrive at Badachu, Paul and I made it our mission to take what we call “force photos” with the rest of our co-workers.

We were debriefed the day before that as employees we would be divided into teams.  The first few teams to make it to the top respectively won prizes.  I thought it was a fantastic idea, however when we walked through the Badachu gates everyone went on their own pace and individual goals set in.

Personally, I’m a competitive person.  I’m also 6’5 (almost two meters) with gargantuan long legs that can make me walk as fast as a normal person jogs!  So it was hard for me to walk slow or slow down.  I stopped to take a few pictures of the beautiful scenic mountains and peaceful Buddhist temples, yet I wanted to get to the top and fast.  However, so did my co-workers.

Unfortunately, I was not first.  Jordan and Hannah, the U.K power couple, and Paul were the first to arrive.  Paul cleverly took a secret horse trail and incredibly found his way to the top where everyone was supposed to meet.  As we sat there reminiscing of what we just climbed and accomplished more and more employees started making their way to the top.  Some were eager and some I can say were sluggish.  I will not say any names.  Sadly, my team came in very last place!  Once again, I will not say names.

The way down Badachu was more peaceful and adventurous than the way up.  We decided to take Paul’s secret horse trail.  Minus maneuvering around horse feces, the trail was a fun experience in itself.  The landscape on the that side of the mountain reminded me of Southern California.  We passed random horses with their Chinese masters along the way and we would politely move out of the way, say “ni hao” and move on.

My trip to Badachu was an incredible experience.  When you live in a modern industrious city like Beijing, these mountains almost seem forgotten.  Sometimes you need to escape the stress a city brings and clear your head.  What a better place to do this but hiking at Badachu with your friends.