Smog, Postal Bike, Tibetan Skull (Kapala) and Femur Trumpet (Kangling)

API 522
The maximum level for the air pollution index (API) is 500 and last night (12/4/2011) it hit 522! In honor of this occasion, I thought I would post some smog pictures and the US EPA's API. Also, on the far right column of the blog I add a Twitter widget to giver hourly updates of the air quality in Beijing.

NASA Satellite Photo of Smog over Beijing

US EPA Air Pollution Index (API)

Postal Service Bike
All mail in Beijing is delivered by bike or electric scooter and the postal service has their own bike.

Postal Service Bike

Tibetan Femur Trumpet or Kangling

LS and I were at this Tibetan store when I noticed what looked like a "Femur Trumpet" I was saw in a climbing video. I talked with the shop owner and he said that is was made from a femur and that I could have it for 300$. I asked why so much and he said because of all the silver used. I guess the femur part did not add that much value. I did some research on Tibetan Femur Trumpet and this is what I learned.

Kangling (Tibetan: རྐང་གླིང།, Wylie: rkang-gling) is the Tibetan word for a trumpet or horn made out of a human thighbone, used in Himalayan Buddhist funeral rituals.[1] The femur of a criminal or a person who died a violent death is preferred.[2] (It may also be made out of wood or metal.) The kangling is usually only used in Tantric rituals, and seldom played in the open.[2] In Tantric Chöd practice the practitioner, motivated by compassion, plays the kangling to summon hungry spirits and demons so that s/he may satisfy their hunger and thereby relieve their sufferings.[citation needed] It is also played as a way of "cutting off of the ego." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangling

Trumpet from Femur

Tibetan Skull or Kapala
The decorated skull is called a Kapala (Tibetan: ཀ་པ་ལ, Wylie: kapala) is a loan word into Tibetan from Sanskrit 'kapāla' (Devanagari: कपाल) and it denotes the 'skull' or 'forehead' (most often of the human) and by implication the ritual item, the skullcup, crafted from the human cranium and skullcup is a cup made from a human skull used as a ritual implement (bowl) in both Hindu Tantra and Buddhist Tantra (Vajrayana). Especially in Tibet, they were often carved or elaborately mounted with precious metals and jewels. A legacy of the ancient tradition of human sacrifice, the kapala is nowadays perceived as a dark but fascinating form of sculpture. Tibetan kapalas, in particular, feature impressive bas-relief artworksdepicting religious figures and scenes, and are often adorned with semi-precious stones and silver-work. The elaborate carvings were handmade and the skull was soaked in water to soften the bone. In Tibet, skull cups are used at Buddhist altars to offer wrathful divinities either wine, which symbolizes blood, or dough cakes shaped as human eyes or ears. Through the force of tantric visualization based on meditation and deep philosophical study, a sort of transubstantiation will occur and the wine will be transformed into the Wisdom Nectar, a liquid form of the enlightened mind of one or all the deities in the Celestial Palace of the Mandala. This is just one of the many uses of the kapala in Tibetan ritual culture. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapala 

Carved Skull

Side View Carved Skull

Maohou

Maohou is a Chinese folk art form, and a form of Miniature Art. Artists build miniature sculptures using cicada sloughs and Magnolia buds. An old Beijing art form, Maohou sculpture came into being during the Qing dynasty. Legend has it that a Beijing herbal medicine shopkeeper designed such miniature toys for his son using the two traditional medicine ingredients since he was too poor to buy any toys. The most common Maohou sculptures feature dancing or posturing monkeys.

Z's trip to Beijing

A few weeks ago my very dear friend Z visited from Hong Kong for the weekend. Although it was a short visit the itinerary was packed. We managed to get in a trip to the Great Wall, some Beiijing Hot Pot, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, hutongs and a Beijing bike ride. 

Welcome to Beijing

Mùtiányù Section of The Great Wall

Our day at the great wall was great! We decided that due to the time constraints we would head up to the wall on the chair lift. Initially we thought we would spend 2 hours on the wall but just before we decided to turn back we realized that we had reach the wild wall section and another hour of hiking was under way. It was a beautiful clear day and the grey snaking wall against the mountain side was stunning. The hike itself definitely had Z and I aching the next morning and the highlight of our day was the toboggan ride back down to the car park.  Z definitely had the toboggan workers jumping out of their chairs as she went screaming down the hill. Mr Cui then drove us back to Beijing for a hot pot and some sightseeing.

The Original Wall

Authentic Beijing Hot Pot

A Beijing Subway Ride

The Forbidden City

On Sunday morning we cycled over to the Forbidden City to join the crowds viewing the ancient palace.

Z's New Hommie In BJ

Goodbye Beijing

Hit by Car on Sidewalk

LS and I were talking about the Tibetan store we were just in, when she suddenly lurched forward. We were both stunned by what had just happened, because the last place you expect to get hit by a car is on the sidewalk. Then again, this is Beijing or as once expat put it, “You haven’t lived in Beijing to you have been hit by a car”.

When LS realized the driver had backed into her from their illegal parking spot on the sidewalk she yelled at the driver to “Watch where you are going”. I became furious and slammed my fist onto the truck of the car (denting it a least) and yelled to the driver to get the f**k out of the car. As I walked over to the driver side window to tell the driver to get f**k out, I was shocked to see him and his wife just laughing at us. Bare in mind that in Chinese culture it is very improper and extremely rare to show your true emotion, so to see two enraged laowais (老外), would have been either humorous or terrifying. Since I am sure that we were not the first laowais they had seen hit by a car, they thought it was hilarious. Seeing them laugh at us enraged me and I yelled at the driver to get out of the car. The driver was too scared to get out so his wife got out to tell us she was sorry in her barley intelligible English. I proceeded to yell at her and rudely explain how bad of a driver her husband was and chastise them for their lack of regard for other people or driving regulations. All the while she just laughed at me and told me in her intelligible English, “Sa-whee”. I can not explain how unsatisfying and demoralizing it is to yell and admonish someone without them understanding what you are saying. Frustrated, I gave up and walked back to LS and asked again if she was alright. In retrospect, admonishing the couple was pointless. We should have photographed the license plate in case LS’s back was sore the next day and walked away.

Lama Temple (Yonghe Gong) 雍和宮

The Yonghe Temple , also known as the "Palace of Peace and Harmony Lama Temple", the "Yonghe Lamasery", or - popularly - the "Lama Temple" is a temple and monastery of the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism located in the northeastern part of Beijing, China. It is one of the largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world. The building and the artworks of the temple combine Han Chinese and Tibetan styles. Building work on the Yonghegong Temple started in 1694 during the Qing Dynasty. It originally served as an official residence for court eunuchs. The temple is said to have survived the Cultural Revolution due to the intervention of Prime Minister Zhou Enlai. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yonghe_Temple)

The entrance

The atmosphere at this temple was one of calmness in a haze of incense.

The main courtyard

Persimmon Tree

Glazed ceramic roofs and ornate figures

The roof of a building is believed to belongs to the spirits, according to Chinese culture. It acts as a platform where the spirits can descend and ascend between the two worlds. The ornate figures on the roof are there to assist in this communication with the celestial world, attracting good fortune, protection and blessings. These roof decorations are generally found on temples and palaces and the number of figures along the ridge depends on the significance of the building. For example, the roof of the main temple in the forbidden city has 11, the highest number of figures found on any roof. (This history lesson by LS is now over and you can continue your browsing.)

The covered statues

 Tibetan tantric statues with ferocious-looking gods and goddesses in sexual union are covered due to government required modesty. Absurdly, the adjacent building displayed uncovered smaller versions of the statues.

Cute couple

Monk on his cellphone

Colorful buddhist statue 

Look at the skulls on this head

Incense burning and offering prayers

Stunning architecture

This temple has definitely become one of our favorite attractions in Beijing.