Grammy Festival - Beijing 2018

Got tickets to the Grammy Festival  at the Changyang Music Theme Park in Beijing over the May-day holiday weekend. Got to see One Republic, Phoenix, Daya, Macy Gray, Carly Rae Jepsen, James Bay, and Pharrell. Amazing festival. Everyone sounded great, the artists were on time for their set, weather was nice, and despite the venue putting ice cubes in the beer, everything was perfect. I always forget how nice it is to do things that break up the routine

Spring Festival

The almighty Spring Festival is right around the corner, officially starting the day after Valentine’s Day. What does this mean for China? Well, most people will work this Saturday to balance out having days off in two weeks. Further, the holiday truly puts China’s transportation infrastructure to the test. Everyone, and I mean everyone, travels back to their hometown for the holiday to meet up with parents, grandparents, and other relatives. Due to the demand, Chinese trains and high-speed rails are completely booked, with zero tickets remaining in the days leading up to and following the start of the festival. Pictures of train stations will inevitably be posted on social media when Spring Festival starts, and they will show a sea of Chinese people all aiming to get home for the holidays.

Once home, those who are single will deal with the barrage of passive questions and comments from their family and friends about why they are still single, and how they should get married soon. They’ll do this over a table full of home-cooked Chinese food, including dumplings, which are a must for Spring Festival. Hongbaos, or red envelopes filled with money will be exchanged, and for the cities where firecrackers and fireworks haven’t been banned, the night sky will fill with their explosions of sounds and color. 

Most foreigners leave China, taking advantage of their week off to finally get out of the country. However, their desire is short-lived as many other popular destinations for Chinese people during Spring Festival include Bali, Bangkok, and Boracay. Students in China probably enjoy the festival most, as they have the longest vacation, ranging from two to six weeks. For most people, especially those who work, a week is allotted amount of time; enough to go home, visit the family, and leave before growing sick of them. 

The festival lets you know it’s here as city streets in China’s capital are now adorned with huge red lanterns and large replicas of the famous Chinese Knot. There seems to be a buzz in the city, like the buildup in an EDM song before the bass finally drops. This is China’s Christmas, and year after year, the country never fails to breathe life into an otherwise mundane lifestyle. Spring Festival is exciting, even for foreigners, not just in China, but around the world. Countries with large populations of Chinese such as Singapore and Malaysia also have huge red lanterns and decorations around their cities, celebrating just as hard as the Chinese in China. 

So wherever you are, or will be, I wish you a happy 2018 Spring Festival. May your hongbaos be full, and your stomach too. Wishing you good fortune and great success for the rest of the year!

Happy Dragon Boat Festival!

So this is called "Zongzi" and it's a traditional Chinese food eaten during the Duanwu (Dragon Boat) festival here in China. They come in a variety of flavors, but are most often categorized as either salty or sweet. They are made out of a sticky rice, with different ingredients mixed in depending on where you live in China. 

Personally, I think they are super gross and I will never try a Zongzi again. For some reason, most of China's traditional holiday foods, except for dumplings, are not so good. Even some Chinese people don't like them. I have a theory that because it's gone on for so long, everyone just pretends they like them and fake smiles in between bites of this atrocious holiday snack. 

端午节安康～

Zongzi

‘Zongzi’ - the traditional food of Dragon Boat Festival. Mixed fruit or meat with rice wrapped in some kind of leaves. I hate them, but most Chinese people love them. This big pot of them was on the counter of a 7/11.

Buddy took this from atop a mountain during the Mid-Autumn Festival

Happy New Year!

As people slowly start to catch their flights back home for the Chinese New Year, Beijing slowly begins to shut down. Restaurants board up their windows and stack the chairs while others merely put up a sign which I assume says, “Happy New Year”. The streets seem a bit less crowded and by Friday, I’m sure they will be empty. My gym closes in 2 days and for that first week of February, I’m not sure the word ‘bored’ will even come close to  the way I will feel. Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy thanksgiving from China! No turkey though

Chinese lanterns on the street for the National Holiday