23.10.2008 von Ines.

We are in the process of forming an international organization. It is the “China International  Performing Arts” (CIPA) Association. We want to get the different forms of performing arts, like theater, comedy, magic, circus, acrobatics, juggling, dance, jazz and orchestra to be able to synergize and help each other. For the beginning we are planning an event together. For that some of us met tonight to prepare some space related objects like stars, moons, flowers, space ships and a robot.

And after that I met some colleagues in a bar in Sanlitun. It was quite nice to find out that all drinks for the ladies were free

Geschrieben in Performers, Beijing | Keine Kommentare »

23.10.2008 von Ines.

The weather has been great this October. Especially from about October 7th to 19th it was clear blue skies and sunshine every day. The temperature has been still very pleasant in the daytime. It did get cloudy and grey in the past few days and but that ended with strong rain and wind last night. So today it is again clear blue skies and sunshine! Only difference is that the temperature is now lower. It is very beautiful autumn weather for outdoor activities like bicycling, hiking, climbing, running. Here is the forecast for the next few days:

Geschrieben in Outdoors, Beijing | Keine Kommentare »

22.10.2008 von Ines.

This was sent out by the Benelux Chamber of Commerce in China to notify Beijing residents and visitors. It is amazing how huge streets can just be shut down for four days without much notice. Good that I ride bike and usually am not affected by road closures.

Temporarily closed Airport Expressway in Beijing
 

Starting tomorrow Beijing will host the Seventh Asia-Europe Summit from October 23 - October 26. The government will temporarily close the Airport Expressway and all the exits along it as follows:

October 23 - 8:30am - 11:00pm, Direction Airport to the City
October 24 - 8:00am - 1:30 pm, Direction Airport to the City
October 25 -    4:30pm - 11:00pm, Direction City to the Airport
October 26 -    8:30am - 8:00pm,   Direction City to the Airport

This will put extra pressure on the more local roads like Jing Shun Road with the potential to create major traffic jams and hazards.

Geschrieben in China, Beijing | 1 Kommentar »

22.10.2008 von Ines.

The progress of the indoor climbing wall and bouldering place is amazing. Just a few weeks ago it was just an idea to open a place for rock climbing in Beijing during the winter and now it is almost finished. The bouldering place we all went to last year unfortunately closed in the spring and they now have a restaurant in there (but still kept the bouldering wall and all the grips on it).

My friends is the project manager for this climbing & mountaineering center project. It is in the Ole soccer facility near East 4th Ring Road. She showed me the progress of the climbing wall and the bouldering room. The experts from the Tibetean Mountaineering Association just arrived to set up the climbing routes and work in this center. I think the bouldering room is so beautiful.I can’t waittill it is opened for us to climb.

Geschrieben in Beijing, Climbing | Keine Kommentare »

18.10.2008 von Ines.

Today I again did a performance in the Ditan Park. It was still for the Beijing Book Festival. I think it is great to inspire people to read books by doing tricks on a bike. As I do not have a camera right now these pictures were taken by two of my colleagues.

Some more really nice pictures from a friend are here on flickr. That is the difference of a nice SLR compared to small pocket size cameras.

Here are some more impressions of the book festival:

My friend brought his beautiful old track bike. But he installed a free wheel single speed on it. Old bikes are just very beautiful. Too bad I currently do not have a nice camera.

Then went to the Ole soccer venue opening party. They have 2 indoor fields and 2 outdoor fields. Plus a soon to be opened climbing wall and bouldering room. The indoor climbing wall is 10 meters high. Today it was already painted yellow and had an easy climbing route and an overhang route screwed in. I climbed the overhang route which was not difficult but fun. They have nice La Sportiva rock climbing shoes for rental. I cannot wait for the opening.

After that we went for a nice North Korean barbeque dinner.

Geschrieben in Fixed Gear, Beijing | Keine Kommentare »

14.10.2008 von Ines.

Tonight we met up for a fixed gear ride. We were 5 riders. We rode along Changan Boulevard and to the National Theater. Jack took some really nice pictures. Then we did a loop via the Financial Street and back East to Snalitun. On the way back we stopped to have some Xinjiang food with lamb skewers and nan. We chained all our bikes together to make this bike pile:

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13.10.2008 von Ines.

Today we had a meeting to discuss some of the final details of the association of International Performing Arts in China that will be soon formed. The association will be called CIPA. All different kinds of performing arts groups of Beijing are invited to join, for example the Bentationeijing Actors Workshop, the Beijing Improv group, the Beijing Jugglers, Dance groups, Jazz groups… After the meeting we had a short theatrical presentation with actors, dancers and jugglers in Club Obiwan. As I have no nice camera anymore I took these pictures with my mobile phone.

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12.10.2008 von Ines.

Friends invited us over to play risk. They live in a nice three sided courtyard.

Problem in the beginning was that the key for the room in which the risk was was inside the room itself. But we did manage to retrieve the keys through teh window from the outside.

So we could start the game. It was a really exciting game with lots of negotiations. A few hours later we had delicious roasted beef with mashed potatoes. That went along nicely with the red wine we had been drinking.

Geschrieben in Wine, Beijing | Keine Kommentare »

11.10.2008 von Ines.

Trek organized an introduction to Cyclo Cross racing and training. They held it at the Wenyu riverside in Shunyi. We cycled out and back to the city afterwards as it was such gorgeous weather. Trek gave out Cyclo Cross bikes (similar to road race bikes but with wider rims and tires) as loaners for people like me who do not have one. It was great fun to jump off the bike, jump over barriers, carry the bike uphill and jump back on again. Cyclo Cross riding seems very fun - I am looking forward to teh upcoming race season (6 races).

Geschrieben in Cycling, Beijing | Keine Kommentare »

10.10.2008 von Ines.

Wow! This was the first time that I had vegetarian Beijing Duck. They also had delicious vegetarian sweet & sour pork and vegetarian fish and vegetarian fried shrimps as well as vegetarian sausages. The special tea was really nice and it was claimed to be very healthy too.

Geschrieben in Beijing | Keine Kommentare »