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Part 3.
Saturday, May 26, 2007 11:42AM / Standard Entry / Members only
9 comments

The Forbidden City. Was actually a bit of a downer for me as the whole thing is covered by scaffolding for repair work. The Olympics are right around the corner and there seems to be constructing and repair every 2nd street that I walk down. Bummer. I didn’t go and see the preserved embalmed body of Mao. I think there’s something very very icky about that. That’s just me though.

Across from Forbidden City is Tiananmen Square. There’s 8 lanes of traffic on the road separating them. Possibly the widest stretch of road I’ve ever seen. Wouldn’t it be perfect for Formula 1?

I can see the ad for it already. Picture this.

That whole long stretch of road completely empty. All 8 lanes empty. No pedestrians, no bicycles, no one. Deserted. You hear the Ferrari before you see it. It’s a faint drone, persistently louder and louder. Until it roars into view. One single red Ferrari. It screams towards us in a huge gust of wind and fire and then blazes past the portrait of Mao at the front of the Forbidden City. Then disappears into the distance. Spectacular. Mao’s hair in the portrait rustles a little from the faint blast.

Formula 1 in Beijing. What do you think?

S*

Entry comments (9)

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shorty
posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 10:44PM [Report]

Actually there was a lot of scaffolding when I went there at the end of 2004. Apparently it's been in need of restoration for a while. Me and one of the 14 people I went with spent most of the trip looking for signs which cracked us up - Beijing did very well at providing!
Katie_x
posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 7:24AM [Report]

You really do paint a good picture haha :) It's a shame about The Forbidden City. It should have been a spectacular visit if it wasn't for all the repairs and scaffolding. I REAALLLLYY wana see it. I love ancient China!
STANSHAN
posted on Tuesday, May 29, 2007 10:12AM [Report]

I remember about 8 years ago when they announced the Olympics were to be in China. I was ready to learn Mandarin and get a job showing tourist around who spoke Spanish to the best restaurants, hotels, etc. around.

Eight years, a wife, kid, and house later....

I still plan to learn Mandarin but hope to be able to speak to my neighbors instead.

Sorry to hear about the scaffolding.
catherine_413
posted on Tuesday, May 29, 2007 12:55AM [Report]

Unfortunately F1 has landed in Shanghai, not sure whether they will be able to fight another city for F1 in China, maybe.. hehe.. like the way your write your trip. I went there last year in the summer, and it was extremely hot and nearly burned my skin...

oops, just realise that Etchy as mentioned F1 in shanghai..
huckleberry
posted on Monday, May 28, 2007 8:19PM [Report]

Great photography.
Terence Yin
posted on Sunday, May 27, 2007 3:47PM [Report]

Really like your description, and that would be pretty cool! Old China speeding away in a Ferrari would be very symbolic!
unwoundclock
posted on Sunday, May 27, 2007 3:03AM [Report]

i went to beijing last year in december.. there was a whole lot of construction and painting being done.. wasnt really cool, but atleast it will look better once its 2008!..

the construction is still going on? wow..
rottendoubt
posted on Saturday, May 26, 2007 4:20PM [Report]

that would be pretty cool. altho ... think of all the traffic it'd cause! =P
Etchy
posted on Saturday, May 26, 2007 1:14PM [Report]

ha, they can use the ring roads for an oval too!

(shanghai already has an F1 race unfortunately, so they probably won't add another in china...)

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Steph Song

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Voted “Sexiest Woman in the World 2006” by Asian FHM magazine readers, Steph Song is, ironically, a staunch disciple of hard work, not hard bodies....
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Voted “Sexiest Woman in the World 2006” by Asian FHM magazine readers, Steph Song is, ironically, a staunch disciple of hard work, not hard bodies.

After attaining a double degree in Journalism and Nursing, she embarked on a meteoric ascent in a career in front of the camera.

Moving to Singapore in August 2002, she became the leading actress of English TV drama projects such as “First Touch”, “Concerto for a Bus Driver”, “Heartlanders”, “Love Poetry”, “Six Weeks”, and “Singapore Short Stories” - winner of Best Drama at the 2004 ATV Awards.

In 2003, Steph set a new standard with her role in the sitcom “Achar!”. The series was the breakout comedy of the year and went on to win second prize at the New York International Television Festival 2005 behind NBC’s “Frasier”. The series has since been broadcast in 10 countries, including Australia and the US.

In 2005, Steph returned to Canada in her breakthrough lead role opposite Paulo Costanzo (NBC’s “Joey”) in “Everything’s Gone Green”. “EGG” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival 2006 and is the winner of Best Canadian Film at the Vancouver and Edmonton Film Festivals. It was also in Official Selection at the Pusan and South by Southwest International Film Festivals. It premieres in the USA in April 2007.

She appears alongside Jet Li and Jason Statham in the action film, “War”, set for worldwide release in September 2007.

She has the female lead role opposite legendary HK actor Eric Tsang in CBC’s gritty “Dragon Boys”. Steph learnt Cambodian from scratch for the role and now adds it to her list of English, Hokkien and Spanish.

Steph is a new breed of Asian actress. Eastern looks and soul, combined with the feistiness and dedication to the craft born in the West. Once quoted as saying she’d “eat a homeless dwarf’s toenails to work with David Lynch”, she is not without humility or humour.

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