Beijing
Capital city of the Peoples Republic of China
I was invited to be a Graphic Facilitator for a project with Maersk (China) - one of the worlds largest shipping corporations.
They had a workshop which had teams from across South East Asia who came together to brainstorm on different ideas. I had
to play the role of the person who can give this idea a form, identify a story around it and make their data look meaningful.
After the work was completed. We headed to Beijing! via the popular overnight sleeper trains.
Beijing, means "Northern Capital". It is the most populated city of China. Beijing was an introduction to the East, through
the West. The Peking Yard Hostel where we stayed was a lookalike of any conventional European hostel. This hostel is
built in a 100 year old traditional 'Siheyuan' (Courtyard residence) in an area known as Hutong (Narrow streets and alleys).
The stay was akin to a Euro trip until we stepped out onto the street. The Art and Architecture see a constant wavering between the old and the new, modern and traditional, insignificant and imperial - Red and yellows emphasizing traditional Imperial architecture vs street graffiti, murals, ceramics breaking prior cultural traditions to make modern statements.
Beijing is a city of contradictions, like most other capitals.