This is our last full day in this exciting city. It will also be my last blog entry; the next one will be from home! We will leave for the airport tomorrow soon after lunch.
Today was souvenir day. We headed to Panjiayuan flea market across town. It is a giant flea market with thousands of vendors selling "antiques", jewelry (lots of pearls, jade, and amber), and an assortment of knick-knacks. It's a great place to bargain. Even haggling the price down 50% is not enough. I read that vendors will jack prices up 10 fold! It's not a place for amateur treasure seekers because one has to be an expert in antiques and Chinese history not to be fooled. I'm guessing 99.9% of the stuff they sell is fake. It was fun to walk through and experience the sights and sounds.
When we were not venturing around town today, I caught some TV shows. There's this soap opera that ran at least 10 episodes from morning until night today. It is set in modern Beijing, very sappy, and the story a little pathetic. The story weaves around a woman whose husband wants a divorce so he can marry his mistress. The wife refuses and hangs on to this un-reciprocated marriage. She relents eventually after seeing her husband's display of affections to his mistress and hearing that he never loved her. But, the mistress gives her husband-to-be an ultimatum sensing that he is still really devoted to his ex-wife and daughter. Before the news came on earlier tonight, the family appears to be reunited after the doctors reported that the man's suspected tumor is really benign. How's that for a synopsis of 10 episodes of Chinese soap opera.
Today was souvenir day. We headed to Panjiayuan flea market across town. It is a giant flea market with thousands of vendors selling "antiques", jewelry (lots of pearls, jade, and amber), and an assortment of knick-knacks. It's a great place to bargain. Even haggling the price down 50% is not enough. I read that vendors will jack prices up 10 fold! It's not a place for amateur treasure seekers because one has to be an expert in antiques and Chinese history not to be fooled. I'm guessing 99.9% of the stuff they sell is fake. It was fun to walk through and experience the sights and sounds.
When we were not venturing around town today, I caught some TV shows. There's this soap opera that ran at least 10 episodes from morning until night today. It is set in modern Beijing, very sappy, and the story a little pathetic. The story weaves around a woman whose husband wants a divorce so he can marry his mistress. The wife refuses and hangs on to this un-reciprocated marriage. She relents eventually after seeing her husband's display of affections to his mistress and hearing that he never loved her. But, the mistress gives her husband-to-be an ultimatum sensing that he is still really devoted to his ex-wife and daughter. Before the news came on earlier tonight, the family appears to be reunited after the doctors reported that the man's suspected tumor is really benign. How's that for a synopsis of 10 episodes of Chinese soap opera.
1 comment:
How was the air quality?
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