Shopping in Xidan

I am hearing complaints about the lack of posts. Some have called me lazy, others have been kinder but no less disappointed! Unfortunately for everyone out there and me, the last week or 10 days have been utterly boring and uneventful. I have fallen into a routine of morning class, lunch, tutoring session, nap, dinner, homework, relax time and bed. Same thing everyday. It think though, it has become a good thing because I now have a routine and feel like I live here in Beijing and am not just a tourist or passerby. However, the result has been thatI don't really have as much to talk about...if you think of your daily lives, how often do you have something really noteworthy to write on a blog?

Nonetheless, I this past weekend I went clothes shopping with a few of my Chinese friends because I really needed some more winter clothes. China is a shoppers paradise, whether its clothes, food whatever. The big choice in China that you have to make especially when buying clothes is where to go. Generally you have two choices, you can go to the clothing stores like Gap, H&M etc. or you can go to Chinese shops and markets. The biggest difference between the two is price but quality is also not as good at the Chinese shops. However, when you consider the price of the two, its easier to pick the lower quality one. Many of the Chinese shops have really great choices and have almost identical clothes to what you would find in Gap or H&M.

In Xidan, there are both malls filled with dingy, somewhat rundown Chinese shops and 21st Century mega-malls where you can buy Gap, H&M or even Versace, Prada and LV. Obviously, I chose the Chinese shops because if you know how to bargain...you can get great deals. Oh yeah, that is the other big thing about Chinese shops, you have to bargain, or you will get ripped off! I hate to bargain because Chinese people are very nasty when it comes to business and because there are two prices at these shops, the Chinese price and the Foreigner price. Lucky for me, my friend Annie is the GREATEST bargainer, perhaps in the world! Unfortunately for me, because they were Chinese shops they didn't have a lot of things in my size so I didn't buy much. However, I was able to buy a belt, two of those new, trendy circular scarves and a sporty winter jacket for 295 RMB! For those of you who want the the conversion that is about $44. Exactly! Pretty cheap. On top of it all, the coat I bought must be the warmest coat I have ever bought in my life!

One of the cool things that I especially like about Xidan is the architecture. Since it is right next to Tian'anmen Square it seems to have molded a little bit of Imperial, Sino-Sov and Modern architecture designs (Sorry I didnt get any of the Imperial-style architecture).

Also, Chang'An Avenue runs right by Xidan shopping plaza. Chang'An is probably the most famous road in Beijing, maybe even China. It is also the widest road in Beijing, with 10 lanes and two bike lanes!

Here are some pictures of Xidan.

And the last picture is of Chang'An Avenue during morning rush hour, courtesy of Wikipedia!

One last thing, since today is the Mid-term elections in America, I thought I would teach everyone how to say election in Chinese, since I learned it as well today, when I told my teacher I was going to leave class early to watch the returns! 选举 (pronounced xuǎnjǔ) means election. You can also say 大选 (dàxuǎn) or literally the "big election" since today is a General Election. A primary would be called 初选 (chū xuǎn) or literally meaning "early election." Not sure what you would call the mid-term elections maybe 半中腰选举 (bàn zhōngyāo xuǎnjǔ) or 中途选举 (zhōngtú xuǎnjǔ) which I think both mean halfway election but I don't know if that is how it would be said in Chinese. I will attempt to get a clarification on that.

Good luck Democrats!!!!