THE LAOWAI TIMES: Little Known Beijing Museums: Planes, Trains, and Tanks

Security is tightening as the city prepares for the upcoming party conference. If stiff technocrats don't interest you, make sure to check out these photos from two of Beijing's lessor known museums. I spent the last two weeks checking out some of Beijing's lesser known tourist attractions, maximizing my free time before my Chinese classes start again. First up are some photos from the Beijing Railway Museum at the southeastern corner of Tiananmen Square. The museum is in an old train station and features some cool exhibits.

Railway Museum ironically framed with buses in the foreground

Chinese propaganda saying, "Keep Hong Kong and Macau developing prosperously." The
picture is actually of midtown Manhattan. If you look closely you'll see
the Bank of America and Chrysler Buildings. Close enough for government work I guess.

Entryway

A shoutout to Tangshan on a museum plaque

Museum artium

Some awesome Chinglish

Some of the exhibits were down for repairs

Warning: This flatscreen is dangerous

One of the clock faces from a clocktower at Beijing Railway station.

All graphs surprisingly display 1949 as a pivotal year for everything

Sorry about the blurriness

Nancy Pelosi unwittingly becomes a propaganda tool

A model of a railroad bridge in Nanjing resembling the Sherman Minton Bridge

Outside the museum looking at Tiananmen Square. Mao's Mausoleum (right) and the Qianmen Gate (left)

While wondering around Houhai Lake one afternoon, Tang Qi and I stumbled onto a new coffee shop. Trendy hipster joints have been multiplying like rabbits in the capital. This one has a unique angle. Everything in the coffee shop is for sale, and I mean everything, giving caffeine addicts the ability to get their fix and purchase some overpriced nicknacks.

Inside of a new, local coffee shop.

Coffee from the Dark Side

Didn't realize there was a demand for this shit.

Go for the Doughboy. I had one of these a child. Good times

Bikes and a massive clock for sale

If you need a bust of the predator, I know where to go

First rule of life; always go into the shady basement

The sign and name of the place....I guess

The coffee shop's Dragon Alley like entrance.

A lone protest outside a central Beijing government office.

Tang Qi enjoying Indian food. It's cool to play with your food here.

A beautiful view of Tangshan from Tang Qi's family's apartment.

Beijing enjoyed one of its few, fabled blue sky days Wednesday. In an effort to maximize my time breathing moderately clean air, I visited the Military Museum. Indoor exhibits are still closed as part of a never ending renovation, but the outdoor stuff is open for business. Notice that all of the exhibits and pieces are covered in a thick layer of dust. Though I don't know why the museum staff doesn't clean the exhibits, it helped to remind me about the hazard Beijing's air poses to my lungs.