Beijing on Bill Glover

Sounds of China

hello@bill.dev (Bill) — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 18:00:00 +0000

I present these audio clips as a collection of sounds I heard in Beijing this winter. Recorded as voice notes on an iPhone they capture the ambient sound heard at different points during my trip. I didn’t aim to capture any specific sounds or situations, so what you hear is a fairly random sampling of sounds. The only trigger was my remembering to start recording.

When recording these, I didn’t know how they would turn out. But listening back to them I can place every single one. The sound takes me back to that specific moment. I can see the people, feel the motion of the subway cars, or picture the items on the isles in a supermarket.

Beijing, Winter '23, Day 15 - Shougang

hello@bill.dev (Bill) — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 23:00:00 +0800

For our final day in Beijing, we met up with friends in the Shougang district. Shougang is an old steel district. Many of the factories have been converted to offices or retail spaces. The district underwent significant regeneration ahead of the Winter Olympics. Many of the old steelworks buildings are now home to offices and retail outlets.

A building in Shougang Park (首钢园).

Beijing, Winter '23, Day 14 - Skiing with a side of Dumplings

hello@bill.dev (Bill) — Fri, 29 Dec 2023 23:00:00 +0800

We are back in Beijing after a short break further north. This was our first family skiing trip, three days at the Thai Woo ski resort outside of Chong Li (崇礼区) in Hebei (河北). Chong Li was the home of skiing at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Much of the infrastructure remains, including a fast rail link from Beijing. But, as with many Olympic projects, significant portions of it appear abandoned.

Our eldest preparing to ski down from the hotel on our first day.

Beijing, Winter '23, Day 8 - Packing

hello@bill.dev (Bill) — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 23:00:00 +0800

We set today aside for packing. A quick weather check for tomorrow’s trip and it’s a high of -12ºC and a low of -24ºC. I suspect we’ve ended up over-packing as a result. We’ve not been able to break the habit of carrying stuff around to deal with unexpected scenarios.

What if our youngest gets hungry and we can’t find somewhere to eat. Mum will feed him. But what if mum is feeling unwell? Dad will make him a bottle. But what if we can’t boil some water in time? We’ll bring some ready made milk as well. And like that, we are carrying way more than we’ll ever need.

Beijing, Winter '23, Day 7 - In search of biscuits

hello@bill.dev (Bill) — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 23:00:00 +0800

We are heading north to Hebei province on Sunday. We allocated today to get everything we needed for the trip, and tomorrow for packing. We’ve learned from experience that trying to pack too much into a day hurts us in the long run. Our youngest still doesn’t sleep through the night and so we trying to keep some semblance of rhythm in the days. By rhythm, I mean food and naps.

Beijing, Winter '23, Day 6 - Home with food

hello@bill.dev (Bill) — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 23:00:00 +0800

We gave ourselves another rest day today. My eldest has spent a bit of time on homework and writing his own travel journal. Our youngest has been learning to pull himself up into a standing position. I tackled life admin; taxes, school registration, and a clear out of our family calendar for next year. 2024 sees several changes to family routine and we are taking whatever time we can to get ahead of things.

Beijing, Winter '23, Day 5 - At home

hello@bill.dev (Bill) — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 23:00:00 +0800

Today was a pizza and puzzles day. We took one look out the window this morning and decided we need a rest day. When we have the heating on back home, I open the windows occasionally to keep the air indoors fresh. With better draft insulation and more of us living under one roof, I’ve been trying to do the same here. The only trouble is, I open a window and the whole thing freezes in position. My rest day became a constant battle against frozen window mechanisms.

Beijing, Winter '23, Day 4 - The Forbidden City

hello@bill.dev (Bill) — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 23:00:00 +0800

Our eldest is old enough now that he remembers the places we take him. He loves making connections between things he sees in books and things he sees when out and about. One of the places that comes up often is The Forbidden City (故宫). We decided that winter would be a good time to take him based on a memory, now decades old, that it was quiet in winter.

Beijing, Winter '23, Day 3 - We needed warm clothes

hello@bill.dev (Bill) — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 23:00:00 +0800

We had one goal today, and that was to get warm clothes. After a couple of days in these temperatures we are starting to know what clothes work and what don’t. One of the largest malls in this part of Beijing is a 35 minute walk away, but with a baby to carry, we took the subway.

Heading out into the compound, still covered in snow.

It always amazes me how many cars are here. You’d never know there was a vast underground carpark that was also full.

Beijing, Winter '23, Day 2 - The Temple of Heaven

hello@bill.dev (Bill) — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 23:00:00 +0800

I’ll start with an admission. I spent all day shooting photos with the camera only to get home and realise that I had left the memory card at home. I’m kicking myself for disabling the warning in the camera. I’m even more annoyed that I didn’t review the images while out. I would at least have picked up on my error. I’m gutted. Photos today are the few I took on the phone.

Beijing, Winter '23, Day 1 - We stayed local

hello@bill.dev (Bill) — Sat, 16 Dec 2023 23:43:00 +0800

I’m often asked what it’s like to travel to Beijing. I’ve never known how to answer the question. Ask me what to do here and I’d have to reach for a guide book before making any suggestions. I’ve never turned up to this city as a tourist or an outsider. From my first visit over 17 years ago I was welcomed into the city as a local. I can still remember looking out an apartment window at a snow covered Beijing below. Everything was strange. I couldn’t speak the language and yet I felt so comfortable.