Beijing Opera 京剧

We had the chance to see Beijing Opera with Yellow's Chinese class. We weren't quite sure what to expect, and let's just say that it is definitely different from the usual western opera experience.  There are many similarities of course in that it involves costumes, music, dance, and vocals. However, you have to make some adjustments upon entering the venue. First of all, the colors are so extremely bright that your eyes need a minute to adjust. Then the sound of the music and the singing at first are quite jolting as the keys are different than what we are accustomed to, but after a few minutes your ears get used to it and its quite nice.

 

It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. It  was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China.

 

They had subtitled the words in Chinese characters on the sides of the stage. Yellow was trying to follow along, but it was way to fast. It was fine though because the storyline was very understandable through their actions, and we got most of it. Our favorite part of the performance was their facial expressions, which were so great. You can catch a few of them from the pictures below.

 



 

 

Ding Jitang's Woodcut Prints

While wandering through the Muslim Market we came across some beautiful pieces of peasant art. The artist, Ding Jitang, is from Chenggu, China which is another city in the Shaanxi Province.

 

In 1956 he started painting in Huxian County, the birthplace of peasant painting in China, and has brought up many other artists there.  It's just about an hour from Xi'an. His shop features his work as well as his students. He happened to be in when we stopped by, so we got to speak with him some. He showed us his work and also some of the places around the world where his artwork has been exhibited.

 

Woodcutting is an artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, which allows for multiple prints to be made. The first two that we've posted here are ones that we brought home.

 

 

 

Daxuexi Xiang Mosque

As you know from previous posts, there is a Chinese minority people group called the Hui here in Xi'an (and other parts of China) that are Muslim.  As far as we know Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity were first introduced to China in the 7th century. You can see the presence of this people group around Xi'an especially in the Muslim Quarter but most other parts of the city too. For example, we have several halal restaurants very close by and a Muslim meat market where we can find beef and mutton.

 

While walking around the Muslim Quarter, we stumbled across the Daxuexi Xiang Mosque, which is the second largest mosque in Xian, next to the Great Mosque in Huajue Lane. It is also called the West Mosque.

 

We visited quite a few mosques this summer while visiting Istanbul, but this is the first mosque we've visited in China.  We were quite intrigued by the mix of Chinese and Islamic architecture.  

 

 

 

 

Xi'an City God Temple

We had our first visitors last weekend and took them out around town. We came across a lovely surprise at the end of the street market that had been closed the last time we visited. The colors of all the flags and hanging lanterns had us quite mesmerized. This temple is located in the heart of the city and has a long history there. This part of the city was even developed around this temple.

The Bell and Drum Tower

 

 Both the Drum Tower and the Bell Tower are located in the center of the city. Historically a bell was struck at dawn from the Bell Tower and a drum was beat at sunset.

Here is the Bell Tower which is now surrounded by a huge roundabout. This is a huge intersection both above ground and underground as there's a gigantic pedestrian underpass here too. It also has access to get to the Bell Tower.

 

And of course there's a McDonald's not so far. Notice the store called Mona Lisa behind it.

 

This is the Drum Tower lit up at night. The Chinese really know how to give a good night view.

 



 

And a glimpse of the Bell Tower by night.

 

The Muslim Market

In Xi'an there is a Muslim market which has been home to city's Hui (Chinese Muslims) for centuries. There are tons of shops selling nuts, dried fruits, sesame oil, meat, souvenirs, and noodle restaurants everywhere. There are also mosques behind big wooden doors, men wearing white caps, and women wearing colorful scarves.  We visited and got our share of souvenirs and dried fruits. 



 

 

 

You can see that as evening arrived so did a lot more people. Here are some night shots.

 

The New Campus

 So we live on the old campus which is close to the downtown of the city, but we work on the new campus which is southwest of the city at the foothills of the Qingling mountain range. These pictures were taken on a beautifully clear day after a very heavy rain. Unfortunately the mountains can't be seen like this everyday.

 

 

 

This is the new library which boasts to be the biggest library building in Asia. Not sure about their book collection.