Directed by
Jason Reid
Produced by

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Welcome to Beijing!

Our adventure has officially begun. Ian and I arrived in Beijing a few hours ago and are extremely jet-lagged after our long day of travel. We left Seattle at 9am on Tuesday and arrived in Beijing around 3:30pm on Wednesday. Our great hotel, the Bamboo Gardens, is in one of the most interesting areas of Beijing.

We met up with our main contact here in Beijing, Christine Boyle, who took us out to a cool restaurant with seating on the roof of the building. She invited some friends and we all had a good time eating the delicious food and getting to know each other.

Now, unfortunately, it’s time for me to get some long-awaited sleep. Tomorrow Ian and I will be hitting the town and doing a lot of shooting all over. Sean and Kevin will be leaving on Friday and arriving Saturday….Then we begin our bicycle adventure on next Monday!

Be sure to stay posted to the blog as we will be updating it as often as possible. Thanks again for everyone who donated to the project!

Ian & Reidster...Ready for action!

Ian & Reidster in Beijing-Ready for action!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 at 12:27 pm and is filed under Beijing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

2 Responses to “Welcome to Beijing!”

  1. Patrick Says:
    September 10th, 2008 at 2:08 pm

    nice!

Man Zou is a common phrase in Mandarin. It is more of a philosophy than anything. Man Zou literally translates to "Walk Slow."

"Slow and steady wins the race," they say. This is at the heart of the meaning of Man Zou. Walk slowly and you won't fall. Act carefully and you won't go wrong. A slow walker is faster than someone who walks fast but always has to stop and rest. Persistence is important in learning or doing anything.

To explain a little more in depth, read this quote from The Challenge of Trekking in China by Kyle Acierno:

"I recently underwent the most thorny, intricate, and demanding trek of my life. China is no walk in the park. The county is extremely diverse, and with diversity comes complexity. There is no smooth road laid for backpackers and attempting to do anything or get anywhere can be incredibly arduous...I really needed a break and I didn't know where I would be next. I sat down to a plate of rice noodles and peanuts. A hardy meal for a hardy man. A giant of a woman served me, but with her giant body came a giant heart. With a quick phrase that I have become accustomed to, she filled me with self-assurance that I needed for the rest of my trip. ?Man Zou!? she shouted with a big smile on her face. This literally translates to ?Walk Slow?. To me this means more then just ?be careful.? To me this means take the time to see the wonders of life. The power it gave me changed the rest of my trip. From then on everything went smoothly...I learned a lot from this Trek. I learned the beauty that exists just off the beaten track. I learned that anything amazing takes time. I learned just how much you could learn from people without even using language...By taking the time to notice all the small things in life you can really appreciate who, where, and what you are. Patience, persistence, and practice makes perfect."