Comments on: The Ends of Beijing http://cupofcha.com/2007/11/25/the-ends-of-beijing.html This is China Thu, 16 Oct 2008 04:46:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Another Beijinger http://cupofcha.com/2007/11/25/the-ends-of-beijing.html#comment-976 Another Beijinger Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:39:05 +0000 http://cupofcha.com/2007/11/25/the-ends-of-beijing.html#comment-976 The hill you saw is called Jindingshan(金顶山) with several villages around it. The places around Pingguoyuan Subway Station are quite interesting. Had you come 3-4 years earlier, you'd have the feeling of a time warp to the 1960-70's. You'd seen rural sceneries combined with traditional Socialist/Soviet style buildings, railroads, steam locomotives hauling freight trains running through the factories, etc(Many of these things have already gone by the time of your visit). The factory in your picture is a very small part(about 1/50) of the once-prominent Capital Steel Plant complex, which is being evacuated to Tianjin to diminish air-pollution. That plant used to be one of the biggest state-owned enterprises in Beijing and almost 1/2 of the residents in Shijingshan district(where pingguoyuan stated) are its workers. "Why would tracks veer north just before the last stop?" It's because that the Gucheng train depot is located between Gucheng and Pingguoyuan. The track takes a right turn out of Gucheng station and goes north-west underneath the Yangzhuang avenue before it splits into two branches. One lead its way into the depot, another continues NW to reach pingguoyuan. Another reason is that, initially, pingguoyuan was not supposed to be open to the public upon its establishment in 1968. It was intended to be a military-only. So the ground entrance is identical to the village shacks around it, and the station received military designation as "Station #54". Actually, pingguoyuan is NOT the terminus of Line 1. There are supposed to be more stations further north-west into the mountains. They have military designations and I cannot say anything more about that. Of course, neither of them is shown on any map available. The hill you saw is called Jindingshan(金顶山) with several villages around it. The places around Pingguoyuan Subway Station are quite interesting. Had you come 3-4 years earlier, you’d have the feeling of a time warp to the 1960-70’s. You’d seen rural sceneries combined with traditional Socialist/Soviet style buildings, railroads, steam locomotives hauling freight trains running through the factories, etc(Many of these things have already gone by the time of your visit). The factory in your picture is a very small part(about 1/50) of the once-prominent Capital Steel Plant complex, which is being evacuated to Tianjin to diminish air-pollution. That plant used to be one of the biggest state-owned enterprises in Beijing and almost 1/2 of the residents in Shijingshan district(where pingguoyuan stated) are its workers.

“Why would tracks veer north just before the last stop?” It’s because that the Gucheng train depot is located between Gucheng and Pingguoyuan. The track takes a right turn out of Gucheng station and goes north-west underneath the Yangzhuang avenue before it splits into two branches. One lead its way into the depot, another continues NW to reach pingguoyuan. Another reason is that, initially, pingguoyuan was not supposed to be open to the public upon its establishment in 1968. It was intended to be a military-only. So the ground entrance is identical to the village shacks around it, and the station received military designation as “Station #54″.

Actually, pingguoyuan is NOT the terminus of Line 1. There are supposed to be more stations further north-west into the mountains. They have military designations and I cannot say anything more about that. Of course, neither of them is shown on any map available.

]]> By: Luna Tucumana http://cupofcha.com/2007/11/25/the-ends-of-beijing.html#comment-190 Luna Tucumana Mon, 10 Dec 2007 09:36:48 +0000 http://cupofcha.com/2007/11/25/the-ends-of-beijing.html#comment-190 Hi, just passing by to drop a line about a flash animation realized by our team on Urbanization in China (http://www.erenlai.com/index.php?aid=1245&lan=3). The author of the flash movie worked a couple of months on it.. The datas are very 可靠！Thank you for your attention and sorry for popping up in your blog but after reading your entry, I thought it was related. Hi, just passing by to drop a line about a flash animation realized by our team on Urbanization in China (http://www.erenlai.com/index.php?aid=1245&lan=3). The author of the flash movie worked a couple of months on it.. The datas are very 可靠！Thank you for your attention and sorry for popping up in your blog but after reading your entry, I thought it was related.

]]> By: beijinger http://cupofcha.com/2007/11/25/the-ends-of-beijing.html#comment-88 beijinger Sun, 25 Nov 2007 05:49:00 +0000 http://cupofcha.com/2007/11/25/the-ends-of-beijing.html#comment-88 It's called Napa cabbage (or 大白菜 in Chinese). 15 years ago, it was the only vegetable you can buy during the winter times in Beijing. There were no supermarkets then, so people buy a lot of them and stock them in stairways and balconys. The 3rd ring rd was the edge of the city and looked just like this place. It’s called Napa cabbage (or 大白菜 in Chinese). 15 years ago, it was the only vegetable you can buy during the winter times in Beijing. There were no supermarkets then, so people buy a lot of them and stock them in stairways and balconys. The 3rd ring rd was the edge of the city and looked just like this place.

]]> By: chriswaugh_bj http://cupofcha.com/2007/11/25/the-ends-of-beijing.html#comment-87 chriswaugh_bj Sun, 25 Nov 2007 03:36:21 +0000 http://cupofcha.com/2007/11/25/the-ends-of-beijing.html#comment-87 Line 8? Do you mean the Batong Line? I lived near the end of that for a year, just 200 metres from the Liyuan Station (third to last stop). The Batong follows the Jingtong Expressway out to Tongzhou, then swings southeast, following the old Beijing-Tianjin highway (which is actually just a two-lane suburban main road as it runs along the edge of Tongzhou Town). The area around the end of that line is interesting, but entirely different from Pingguoyuan. It's a mixture of 10 - 15 year old housing estates, like where I lived, corn fields, what's left of the villages, and fancy new rich bastard housing developments. It seems the rich prefer to move east- all the more reason to buy a place on the west side, in my book. Anyway, if you get off at the last stop, Tuqiao (Earth Bridge, although you'll be pleased to know that the nearby bridges are all concrete) that's what you see. If you follow the Beijing-Tianjin highway further out southeast, crossing under the Sixth Ring Road, you'll see the last of the rich bastard housing, and then you'll see an odd mix of cornfields, villages, and pollution-belching factories. I also came across a field where somebody was growing those luridly-coloured plastic palms that some rich people seem to like. Line 8? Do you mean the Batong Line? I lived near the end of that for a year, just 200 metres from the Liyuan Station (third to last stop). The Batong follows the Jingtong Expressway out to Tongzhou, then swings southeast, following the old Beijing-Tianjin highway (which is actually just a two-lane suburban main road as it runs along the edge of Tongzhou Town). The area around the end of that line is interesting, but entirely different from Pingguoyuan. It’s a mixture of 10 - 15 year old housing estates, like where I lived, corn fields, what’s left of the villages, and fancy new rich bastard housing developments. It seems the rich prefer to move east- all the more reason to buy a place on the west side, in my book. Anyway, if you get off at the last stop, Tuqiao (Earth Bridge, although you’ll be pleased to know that the nearby bridges are all concrete) that’s what you see. If you follow the Beijing-Tianjin highway further out southeast, crossing under the Sixth Ring Road, you’ll see the last of the rich bastard housing, and then you’ll see an odd mix of cornfields, villages, and pollution-belching factories. I also came across a field where somebody was growing those luridly-coloured plastic palms that some rich people seem to like.

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