clinical practice vol 2.

Here is a glimpse of what we have been doing over the past few weeks at Clinical Practice.

Acupuncture training.

Concentrated faces...

"Come on, it didn't hurt so much! You only screamed a little."

Handiwork of a pro (a real TCM doctor).

This is how you hold the needle. And let me tell you, those suckers can be long. You need to know what you are doing. Seriously.

Anticipation...

One of the safest points to stick the needle in.

Yay!

Our thank you -cards to the staff!

Kinesiotaping. A combination of relaxing, activating and supporting techniques.

Pre-cut tape (blue) vs. self-cut. To combat f.ex. shinsplints.

Support-taping for shoulder with an emphasis on correcting the shoulder alignment.

Acupoints in the leg. We practiced on four points.

N. peroneus neural conduction velocity testing (sensory).

Brian showing us how it's done.

Testing NCV (n. ulnaris).

"Houston, I am going in!" We had the opportunity to observe operations - when it was my turn, I got to see a total knee replacement.

Another acupoint in the leg.

Future professionals! Call us!

the forbidden city and life in the hutongs.

Our hostel was nicely located on Cheniandian Hutong which meant that we had roughly 15 minutes to Lake Houhai by foot and a few minutes' walk to Andingmen metro station. We ended up touring in the hutongs some, even stopping to have a beer at the Drum and Bell Bar just in a neighbouring hutong. Though the weather was a bit chilly then, we insisted on having our beers on the roof terrace, watching some older ladies do the janefonda on a playground below to some seriously kitschy Chinese pop songs. That was the moment I fell in love with those hutongs! The streets do look like creepy alleyways, but there is so much life there you can't imagine. Cafes, pubs, bars, bookstores, restaurants, gift shops...and families living in 20 m2 apartments without toilets - this is why you see a lot of public toilets in the hutongs.

On the day we toured in the Forbidden City we bargained down the price of a 45-minute rikshaw ride in the hutongs (they were asking for 380 yuan - we ended up paying 150, so you need to be brave and start low!). The "driver" told us about the history and life in hutongs and mixed it all with some historical tidbits about the revolution and Mao.

Hutong door frame style!

Antiques at Lake Houhai.

Crowds in front of the Forbidden City. On the background, Tiananmen Square.

Guard in front of the Forbidden City entrance. They say only emperors are allowed to use the middle bridge.

Getting closer...

And we're in!

Some artwork near the Emperor's Garden.

The ceiling of a pavilion.

In a rikshaw in a hutong.

A view of Lake Houhai.

The four beam ends on top of the door mean that the official living in this house in the hutong was a high government official. The wall at the entrance is called a feng shui window - there was one just like it built opposite.

Our hostel.

Teapots at Houhai.

In the Emperor's garden.

The Forbidden City.

Animal statues are plentiful in the Forbidden City.

A knocker with a pair of, ehm, knockers!

You can rent some oldie clothing and pose for pictures in the Forbidden City.

The house Mao reportedly lived in at the age of 25 when he was working at the University library.

At the Fire God Temple. And no, my tricep is not really that large.

Another ancient residence. The stone posts at the door are drums and used to tell passers-by that the official living here worked for the military. And the two beams on top meant that he was a low-ranking official.

If memory serves me right, this house was a residence of a teacher (check the posts). Whether or not the daughter of this teacher could marry the son of the nearby military man depended on whether they existed under the Ming or the Qing rule.

During the revolution, many rank-indicating beams were torn down just like in this house.

A high-ranking Finnish female officer. Hehah!

Imperial vegetation.

Boats at Lake Houhai.