Day 11: We walked the Great Wall of China!

We woke up on day eleven knowing we were in for a long day. We started off the morning with a trip to the Great Wall in Badaling. After reaching our goal peaks in the scorching heat, we made a very frightening descend, realizing how high up we really were. We ate a well deserved lunch and headed off to the Ming Tombs, where China's finest Emperor's are laid to rest with their most prized possessions. The tombs wre dark and dreary but a cool break from the rising temperatures outside. Once we saw all we could see there, we moved on to our final destination at the Ming Tombs avenue. Where large stone creatures line the walkway to the tombs, protecting the past Emperors in the afterlife. The day was a great break from the hustle bustle of the busy city, but by the end of the night we were all ready for our beds. -Elaine & Meghan

All of us ready to climb The Great Wall of China.

Todays' goal peak!

Finally made it to the top!








































The group who made it to the eighth tower.

Day 9 & 10 Visits to artists' studios and project work.

Day 9 and 10 were spent further developing our work for the exhibition. To help and inspire us we visited some local designers in their studio to see how they worked.

Mr Xiao Yong was kind enough to show us round his studio and show us his some of his work past and present. Mr Yong was the designer of the Olympic medals for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

After the visit to Mr Yong we popped round the corner to lemonista studios where Mr Feng Yan the CEO of lemonista and tutor at CAFA showed us around.

Mr Yan demonstrated some of the many apps that the company designs, from the beginning conception, to the illustration, animation, programming and product testing, it all happens under one roof.

Then it was back to the studio for some project development.

Paulina's work is coming along nicely.

The exhibition is beginning to take shape.




Elaine 

Day 8: Lost in the Forbidden City

Lying in the heart of the Beijing, the Forbidden City is it's finest monument. The central halls with their wealth of imperial pomp, may be the most magnificent buildings, but only the side rooms, with their display of the more intimate accouterments of court life can bring you back in centuries and make you feel the real energy of the time.

It was forbidden to enter the city without the permission of the emperor. However in the 21st century anyone can enjoy the beauty of the halls.

In order to learn bits of history of the Forbidden City, we got electronic guides. However we all met unaccepted technical problems but luckily we managed to deal with this issues.

Almost every colour and image in the palace is richly symbolic. Yellow was an imperial colour. Purple symbolized joy.

The sign of the emperor was the dragon. You can see it on almost every building. The numbers 9 & 5 can be found all over the complex. 9 represents luck and associates with male energy while 5 - harmony and balance.

The Emperor's gardens; The place that everyone enjoyed. The green trees and nice shaped rocks made a lovely combination.

At the end of our day we met a cool Chinese boy - Sam. He spoke awesome English and was very friendly. We all had a lovely chat with him, and hope to see him in England one day...






Paulina and Karyna xx

We're all dying...

We started the day unusually early today and while we were walking along the main street we saw the huge crowd of people doing some kind of the morning gymnastics. They were so relaxed and happy that we were actually jealous and thought that we might join them some day.



Some of us went to the the flee market today...


...while the more panicked (!) few decided to have our first studio day... enjoying, (or not so much) one of our hottest days...

Doing like the locals traveling for the first time on public transport...boiling!
...surprisingly, transport to the studio was slightly more complicated- 2 suitcases of bricks/tiles, 2 wholesaler packets of cotton buds, a lap top and polystyrene...where's the taxi?!



...stocked up with materials but we're always on the look out












We arrived at the market at 9ish...early for us but everything was already in action when we got there. Presented with so many interesting things, it was hard deciding which to buy. It was fun trying to haggle down the prices which seemed extortionate- though nothings expensive here anyway!!
Finally down to work...I seem to be obsessed with cleaning...(must admit I got some funny looks at the pharmacy)...while Kirsty is making a mess in her stock motion animation
The mannequin and the model! Both ready for working...








Fanny and Methman keeping the energy up

Karen returns and saves the day!!


Chinglish...but also a room at our studio...obviously a dangerous place, advised not to enter!!

At the market place you can find pretty much anything you can think of. The ghosts of the past are flying in the air and the atmosphere is very mysterious.
Loulou & Karyna xx

Day Five: Rain Rain, Go Away

Today we awoke to heavy rain fall and severe thunderstorms so we had to slightly adjust our itinerary, putting off the Great Wall for a day with better weather. With the rain making it difficult to gather materials for the exhibition, we stayed in, having group discussions and brainstorms about project plans. Once the weather cleared up we all gathered to pick a restaurant for dinner. The sun began to set and we found ourselves immersed with great food, great people, and great lanterns!
-Meghan Paplauskas