Let's go swimming 咱游泳去！ (住黑桥，说黑话，黑着良心开黑店 I )

At the entrance of Black Bridge village, you will see a big black sign as shown on the photo above, meaning “Black Bridge Swimming Pool”. After a quick nap at mid-day in the middle of August, I joined some friends who decided to go swimming together. We arrived in front of this big sign and found a small window which looked like a ticket office, but no one was there. A small muddy road led us to the back of the sign; a large metal creature which resembles a boiler greeted us with poise.

After 45 minutes walking in some even muddier roads, going through corn fields, wheat fields and being traced by very mean dogs at every corner of the road, we decided to stop and question the actual existence of this swimming pool.

In China, you have the privilege of having a sign and running a complete different business underneath or just not having a business at all but use this wall because you kinda need it.

But somehow, this felt like the ending of a horror movie from the 70s, I missed the entire film, here is the last part – This big black sign of the black bridge swimming pool, and blood coming through from the top of the wall, in the middle part first, dripping over the character “游” and then more blood coming through this wall, from the top, from the bottom, from both sides, and eventually flooding over the entire wall with strength and speed. 2 seconds later, the sun shines and here is what you see: (but who knows what will happen when the sun goes down)


Do not walk alone in the dark at Black Bridge Village!

Lightening Rod

Huge thunderstorms hit Beijing this evening. I actually never spent summer here in Beijing before, and cannot quiet figure out if this is normal, but lightening and the heavy rain is definitely real. The loudness of the raindrops is beyond what one can imagine. I found 5 leaking spots from the roof, my pots and pans are just enough to fill their evening shifts.

I start to question the technical aspects of the building structure, I thought a sculptor would be the right person to ask. I sent a text message to my neighbour cross the courtyard, an honored graduate from the Central Academy of Arts, and a student of the renowned Chinese sculptor Sui Jianguo.

"it is as steady as how it is built" his answer.

I suddenly remembered a great ancient invention which protects humans from hitting my lightening - the lightening rod. It is often found on old country houses in the south where I am from.

"do you think we have lightening rod installed here?" I just thought I would ask.

"the human body is a lightening rod!"

Two seconds later, I received an MMS, it was a happy fat little pig running across the woods, I was not certain if it was a way to relieve my tension or just to make fun of me. But one thing I can be sure is that this pig neither has the shape nor the functionality of a lightening rod.

Welcome to black bridge - a lightening rod free community!

Crossing the border

It has been eight months since I moved back to China. This move is the most incomplete and the least rational. I left an entire apartment filled with all my books, Cds, twenty something cameras and memories around the marble chimney, which can never be washed away by the drizzling rains of Paris. Here, I have 250 square meters in a new established artist village outside Beijing called Black Bridge, yet, I am not sure what to bring in…I keep buying plants, it might however take an entire forest to fill the place. Of course I have all the time to pick and choose, and in my suitcase I still have a return ticket to my Paris apartment.

Some people enjoy choices in life but I am one of those who should never been given any choices. I hated choosing dishes for lunch at boarding school and often had whatever appeared on the top of the blackboard; I hated choosing majors in University and eventually went to a school, which did not have majors; I didn’t know where to find a real job and ended up working for a company started with letter “A”. I once loved two boys but did not want to choose, one of them became dad today (no one told me but I know) and the other would not forgive me, my only way of getting news from him is to google his name.

The choice of city or not choosing a city of residence would probably lead to less dramatic consequences, but somehow my heart tells me that I am crossing the border, this time with no return!

Go China, Go Bloggers!

Questions of the day are:

- "How many gold medals today?"  

-"Your car is odd number?"

- "Can I go through Tiananmen tomorrow it is the Olympics closing?" 

As the whole world is glued to the TV for the past 10 days or so and the Chinese all taking pride in their atheletic achievements in this Olympics.  As a new resident of Beijing, questions of the day are:

1. "how many gold medals today?"

2. "Is your car odd number?"

3."Can I go through Tiananmen tomorrow since it will be the Olympics closing?"  The little bit of pride I can find is way over shadowed by all the inconveniences I have to deal everyday.

However, the best news to me ever this month is -

Blogspot is no longer blocked in CHINA!!!  ... after several painful years... someone was wise enough to understand that there is nothing to be blockked that cannot be unblocked somehow.

Welcome back Ana, and Go bloggers!