Can you guys believe it's already December?? Time just keeps on flying by. It is getting prettttyy cold in Beijing now. My friends and I went out this past Saturday and we were outside all day walking around Beijing. I have never been so cold in Beijing as I was that day. It was a mix of not wearing enough and also that the events we went to were outside. But more on that later...
Out of all the holidays, Christmas is by far my favorite. Something about the feeling in the air with all the Christmas songs, the Christmas spirit, the snow... I love it! Except, all of that is almost non-existent here in Beijing. I saw a bit of Christmas stuff in Shanghai, but Christmas is definitely not a big thing in Beijing. My friends and I decided to change that! We ordered a Christmas tree and ornaments online from a Chinese website called Taobao and set it up in the dorm while singing along to Christmas music of course. It put me in the mood to watch Home Alone haha. I love that movie!
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| Pre-decoration |
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| Decoration in progress |
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| Final product =D |
This past Saturday, my friend Crystal also found some Christmas related celebrations happening around Beijing so we went around Beijing to check them out. The first stop was the German embassy. They had set up multiple booths outside the embassy that sold different types of holiday food and drinks and also small holiday trinkets. It was pretty cool getting to see how a different country celebrates Christmas. Lots of sausage type things, wine, cider, and yummy looking pastries!
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| Outside the German embassy |
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| The pastries! yummy! |
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| Tons of people inside avoiding the cold outside |
After the German embassy, we made our way to the Hilton hotel near Sanlitun because we heard they had a Christmas tree lighting ceremony. When we first got here it seemed a little dead, but after a while a lot of people started showing up and they had a mini show. They had set up a hugeeee Christmas tree in the lobby area that they lit up at the end of the show. They also handed out free hot chocolate, mulled wine, and Christmas cookies! My friends and I definitely took advantage of those haha. Being there was definitely the most Christmasy feeling I've had so far in Beijing, and it made me really happy =)
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| Enjoying our hot cocoa and wine |
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| The tree lit up at the end of the ceremony |
So, back in the states, I never really ordered in as food was always pretty close to my apartment and delivery fees are annoying. However, in China that is not the case! My friends and I have been going through an ordering in craze lately =P It's nice especially if we're sick of the dorm food and it's too cold to go out and get something off campus. It's not too expensive either and delivery is free over a certain price, which is a nice plus. Most of the stuff I've ordered in has been delicious as well!
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| Fried chicken set from a Korean restaurant |
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| Delicious Katsudon |
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