Bai Gong Fang Museum

Last weekend, I went on an adventure to a strange yet fascinating museum. The 百工坊 (bǎi gōng fāng) museum is situated near to the Temple Of Heaven and roughly translates to “One Hundred Handicrafts Workshop”. The museum was set up in order to promote the traditional arts of Beijing and China; some of which are in danger of dying out. 

Liz and I started off the day, as every intrepid explorer should: with a thirst-quenching bubble tea. From speaking to locals, it seems that this museum is not very well known, so we were pleasantly surprised and slightly suspicious of how easy it was to stumble across the building from where our taxi left us. We were even more delighted that it was free entry.

The museum itself is spread out across three floors. Long corridors are dotted with doors and inside each room is a person demonstrating traditional Chinese arts. We saw many interesting handicrafts; including painted gourds, metalwork, pottery, dough sculptures, paper cutting and woodcarving. The workers were perhaps shy or nervous about speaking with foreigners; however, using the basic Chinese skills we came equipped with, some were more than happy to talk about their trade.

One particularly friendly craftsman, Mr Yao Fuying, was quite animated and passionate when talking about his job. He enthusiastically explained that from a young age, he started a special kind of embroidery work called Jingxiu. From what I could understand, Mr Yao said that Jingxiu is a skill that was passed down in his family and one piece of embroidery can take him about twenty days to complete. It is quite possible that he also told me the meaning of life, however my Chinese level is still not good enough to comprehend the technical language he used. So we thanked him and continued our journey around the museum.

On the second floor, we were incredibly intrigued (and perhaps a little perturbed) by the art of 毛猴 (máo hóu) “hairy monkeys”. It is a rather unique craft where small figures are created from the fluffy buds of magnolia flowers and the body parts of cicadas. These little models are then put into a variety of scenes depicting daily life. I felt compelled to buy a souvenir so I chose one that was wielding 糖葫芦 (tánghúlu), which is candied fruit on a kebab stick (Beijing’s version of a toffee apple).

I would definitely recommend a visit to this museum and would happily revisit at a later date - if only to buy some more máo hóu souvenirs!

On the third floor, there was a large workshop in which guests are invited to try some handicrafts in a “DIY” style. Unfortunately, there was nobody there to give us this opportunity. In fact, the entire museum was very quiet. I am not sure if this is because it was a Sunday or if it is often low on visitors. 

Munching on toast slice cigars after the museum visit.

Chủ nhật vừa rồi tôi đã đi một viện bảo tàng lạ. Tôi có thể tìm thấy nhiều món hàng thủ công đẹp ở đó. Rất thú vị nhưng kỳ quái!

Air a grievance and an art attack

I have been back in Beijing a month. The summer holiday already seems like a distant memory. It is good to get into the routine of work, but it has been rather hectic in preparation for the new school year.

I have no regrets about my decision to move to Beijing. I could begin writing an endless list of reasons why I enjoy my life here and why I would love to continue living in the capital of China. However, there is currently one reason why I know I will not continue living in Beijing long-term and that reason often eclipses all the positive features of this gargantuan city full of culture, history and adventures. That reason is air pollution.

The CCTV Tower through a veil of smog.

When I was in Britain, I took breathing fresh air for granted. I now have an application on my mobile phone which tells me the quality of the air outside. If the air pollution levels are too high on the weekend, it will usually result in cancelling my plans and staying indoors. I have also purchased an air purifier, which cleans the air in my apartment.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), air pollution can seriously affect our health due to the small, harmful particles floating around. The smaller particles are most harmful as they can penetrate the lungs when breathed in. After moving to Beijing, I soon developed the habit of checking pm2.5 levels. This is particle matter measuring 2.5 microns in diameter. The pm2.5 levels are monitored and can be viewed online. WHO suggests that people should not be exposed to pm2.5 levels greater than 25 micrograms per cubic metre in a 24-hour period. This is extremely rare in Beijing.

When the pm2.5 levels are less than 100, the air appears “clean” and we would have what appears to be a “clear” day. Last weekend, we had pm2.5 levels of over 200. The air appeared “foggy” although on these days, you can taste and smell the pollution. This is not just weather. It is pollution.

I can still recall the winter in 2013, when Beijing made international news for pm2.5 levels of greater than 800. Not only does the pollution cause health problems, it really affects people’s moods and attitudes.

Schools in the United Kingdom often have indoor play time when the weather is too bad for children to play outside. This seldom occurs here in Beijing, however we frequently have indoor play time due to the pollution. Sadly, for the students here, many of them are now accustomed to this lifestyle.

On the weekend, Liz and I conducted some research to find a place in Beijing which could shelter us from the poisonous particles outside while keeping the ‘pollution blues’ and boredom at bay.

We ended up going to the Today Art Museum （今日美术馆）which is a non-profit, contemporary art museum. I am not an art enthusiast, but whenever I visit museums such as this, I enjoy and appreciate the modern art. The lady at the reception was incredibly friendly, enthusiastic about her job, plus we got a discount for being teachers.

There are three buildings belonging to the museum and the exhibits are regularly changed and updated so there will always be something new to see. I would definitely recommend this museum to anybody looking for an activity when the air pollution is bad.

Afterwards, we headed to Sanlitun and feasted on sweet and sour prawns, lemon chicken and pan fried dumplings. It was the perfect remedy to a grotty weekend.

The Government has made plans to lower the pollution levels here in Beijing. However, on heavily polluted days, I can’t help but dream about my next place of residence and those days are far too frequent for me to wait for promises of improved air quality to reach fruition. For now, I will try to relish my time in this ancient metropolis, as I want to make sure I have enjoyable experiences before I leave.

Gần đây ở Bắc Kinh, không khí bị ô nhiễm nặng. Tôi đã mua một cái máy lọc không khí. Tôi nghĩ chất lượng không khí đối với tôi là quan trọng nhất. Bây giờ, không khí trong lành là một điều xa xỉ với tôi. Cuối tuần qua, tôi đã đi thăm một bảo tàng nghệ thuật hiện đại.