Category > street scene

the birdcage in the middle of the city

Whenever I pass by this large birdcage on Xi Dawanglu (西大望路)just outside the Blue Castle complex, I have to wonder who thought of putting a large birdcage in the middle of the Central Business District of Beijing.  Did a developer look around and think, “What this city really needs is a birdcage?” On a more [...]

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beijing public toilets, the video game

Alas, I’m just kidding. But that is exactly what I thought when I was walking out of the Dongsishitao subway station and saw this handy map. Lights on this electronic map randomly flash to draw attention to the various locations of the toilets; in the picture it is at the top right hand corner. I’m [...]

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cartoon graffiti

A few weeks ago, we were sashaying along the Third Ring Road, and we came across this series of funky cartoon animals spray-painted on empty advertising spaces. Maybe I just haven’t been hanging out in the right places, but most graffiti in Beijing consists of mobile numbers scribbled in random places. I was happy to [...]

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