Beijing Art Museum

Last Saturday morning, we went to see the Pompeii Exhibit at the Beijing Art Museum.

We had a hard time looking for the 'sundial' landmark because it's somewhere behind Beijing's Military Museum. The picture above is the revolving sundial. You wouldn't think it's an art museum if not for that big blue banner saying so.

This picture can be seen outside the Beijing Art Museum. It's a huge map of China with dragon engravings encircling it.

We decided to check out the Ancient Civilization exhibit first. We were allowed to bring our cameras inside BUT we weren't allowed to take any friggin' pictures! WTF! When we were finally inside, I was kinda resigned to the fact that I won't be getting any pictures fromthe exhibit when I saw a man, with his camera dangling from his neck, stealthily taking pictures. AHA! Now here's my chance! I did the same thing the man did and left my camera open so I can take pics whenever 'the coast is clear'.

With Cujo and Ester as my two accomplices, they served as my look-out whenever I 'stole' some shots. It was so hard wearing a poker face while nonchalantly 'checking' out the exhibit. So you must understand why there were only a handful of good pictures taken because I wasn't looking at the viewfinder when taking pictures. We were afraid the museum guards will take my camera or worse, get us deported! Haha!

Pompeii: Stories from an Eruption

We finally checked out the Pompeii exhibit. A little background for you: around 79 AD, Mt. Vesuvius erupted and buried Pompeii, a well-known comm'l center of the early Roman empire and Herculaneum, a small seaside resort. Untold numbers were buried in volcanic debris, and the city vanished overnight. The exhibit showcased the stuff excavated from the site.

This is a cast of a dog buried alive during the eruption. Casts were made from remains showing real people (and animal) caught as they fled to nearby towns.

The exhibit has also shown a family buried inside their home, a man sitting down, well..you kinda get the picture. It was horrid and fascinating at the same time. It's scary how one instance, in this case an eruption, can bury a whole town alive, never to be seen again.