I’ve settled into my apartment in Beijing its in an older undeveloped part of town called Tuanjiehu in Chaoyang district, the apartment is on the 4th floor of a Chinese block… there are little wooden stools and bicycles and hand made stick brooms on the landings… the lights are sound sensitive so you can hear as each person ‘stamps’ on the landings on the way up and down the concrete stairs.

Its sunny and light… overlooking a quite street lined with birch trees and providing passage for a steady stream of bicycles and carts and taxis, the sound of hawkers ‘calling’ or pedestrians laughing or the military marching drifts upwards…

I have everything a girl could need within walking distance… to the east at the end of the block a bank, across the road to Jingkelong Supermarket and a small local fresh food market, opposite a Chinese department store next to the post office… further to the north beside Chaoyang park, Jenny Lou’s for those that crave white bread, fresh milk and cheese, its shelves lined with comfortingly familiar international ‘brands’… to the west Beijing Roast Duck THE best Peking duck restaurant in China!

The 115 bus takes you to the circle line or line 5 subway stations or on towards the National Gallery, the 402 takes you north east to Factory 798 (the ‘contemporary’ arts precinct) the 420 to CAFA, the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts, while the 43 takes you on a round about route southwards which eventually passes Red Gate Gallery and the Beijing Railway Station. (This of course was discovered after a little trial and error)

I’m being very well looked after by Brian Wallace from Red Gate Gallery, a welcome dinner on Thursday Night and Gallery opening on Friday… he is currently ‘hosting’ a dozen artists from across the world, so conversations are guaranteed to be lively.

Off to Factory 798 tomorrow, to have a look at Art Beijing 2007 – that should take most of the day cos there are literally hundreds of galleries and artist studios to visit…. then I’m going to buy some rice paper, ink and brushes, wood cutting tools and some nice soft wood (to carve)…