beanilika's blogilika: The Return to Shijiazhuang (Days 11-14)

The concert in Beijing went pretty well considering our lack of rehearsal. Due to logistical problems, I was not able to meet Mr. Han's student until about ten minutes before the concert began, when he dashed backstage for a few minutes to get the complimentary tickets I managed to get hold of. I don't even remember what his name was. Whoops!
One thing that really surprised me about the Chinese audience was that it wasn't silent during the performance, like it would be at an equivalent concert in the US. People were whispering and walking around in the back of the hall while we were playing. The audience as a whole also didn't know where to clap, and when they did clap, it wasn't even long enough for Josep to walk off stage. However, once we got to the super-fluff encores we'd prepared, they couldn't get enough! They cheered endlessly for Hungarian Dance No. 5 and Radetsky March even though our great piano soloist only got total about one minute of applause! It's so strange for me especially because I'm the exact opposite. I hate the pops encores and definitely prefer the serious music. Now I can see why our concert program is all pops, though.
Because of our canceled concert in Shijiazhuang a few days before because of lack of heat in the concert hall, we had to return to Shijiazhuang after our Beijing concert to perform there. However, we did get a free morning before traveling back to Shijiazhuang. I went with a few friends to do some more speed sight-seeing. We began in Jingshan Park, just north of the Forbidden City. From the top of the mountain, you can see all of Beijing, including the whole Forbidden City. We hiked to the top amid Chinese practitioners of Tai-Chi to admire both the view and the architecture of the temples and pagodas topping the hill. Upon returning to the bottom, we joined in as the Chinese swing-danced to Michael Jackson. Crossing the street, we entered the Forbidden City. Among the hundreds of pagodas and rooms we explored, my favorite was one called the Hall of Mental Cultivation. After a few very chilly hours there, we crossed another street into Tiananmen Square. It looked pretty much the same as it had at night, so we walked around the corner to take a look at our concert hall from the audience's point of view. This remarkable new arts complex, called the National Center for the Performing Arts, is an architectural masterpiece. It is surrounded by a moat, and when you enter the building through the main entrance underground, you can look up and see the water in the ceiling. Each of the concert halls is extremely beautiful, and the structure that encloses them is perfectly suited to the atmosphere. Very tired, we then returned to the hotel for a lovely bus ride back to Shijiazhuang.
The highlight of the return to Shijiazhuang was a trip to a restaurant called OK Pizza. This place was wonderful, not because of the food, which was mediocre imitation American cuisine, but because of the translations. The restaurant's motto was "More delight, less pick-up," and we sampled dishes with names such as "Close as flesh and blood," "According to burns the fried rice," and "The fragrant bean sauce burns the cowpea." It was fantastic. They also had those coolers that usually hold lemonade and fruit juice, but with wine. Wow. Later that evening, between our sound check and the concert, a bunch of the orchestra members visited Starbucks. Starbucks in China is a completely different establishment than in the United States. It was a sit-down restaurant, complete with 50-page menus! They had full meals to order, including steaks and stuff like that. I'm used to Starbucks' tea being prepared from a teabag, but the tea that they served had leaves in it and everything. It was wonderful. I'm hoping to buy some tea to bring home as a souvenir for myself.
The Shijiazhuang concert went along the same lines as the Beijing concert, but even less of a classical music oriented audience. Pepole were literally opening the doors to the hall, taking flash pictures, and talking in normal voices during our pieces. We played only the most pop music of our repertoire, and people clapped along with everything. It was so much better than it would have been before because they seemed to have figured out how to heat the hall while we were in Beijing. Still, though, I was wearing literally four layers of clothes and had a space heater next to me and I was comfortable. I haven't been feeling very well recently, though. I lost my voice, I believe from a combination of smoggy air and constant smoking even in the clean air inside, so I haven't been able to speak naturally for about three days. I hope it comes back soon!
The day after our concert in Shijiazhuang, we didn't travel directly to Dalian, our next destination. Instead, we took a detour to visit the Great Wall at Juyongguan Pass. It was a wonderful experience! I enjoyed it even though I felt all weak and queasy. I think I'll probably be in the video blog about visiting the Great Wall, once they put it up, so look for me there! I'm so glad they organized a day trip to see it, because how horrible would it be to visit China and never see the Great Wall? After we finished ogling, we drove to the Beijing airport, from which we flew to Dalian, a coastal city in Manchuria. Since we got in around 11 last night, I haven't really gone out to explore the city yet, but we're here for four days so probably I'll have time later. Our first concert here is tonight, and I believe we have three concerts in this city.
Now for some pictures from the past few days!