Beijing Day 1

We left the hotel at 8:30 AM and headed out for a hutong tour. This is basically a tour of an older home in Beijing. We rode on rickshaws to the neighborhood which was uncomfortable as it just didn't seem right to let a little elderly man pull me and another grown man around. He was huffing and puffing the whole time.

Our tour guides George and Michael (I combine their names and call them both "George Michael")  assured us that this is for tourists and not to feel bad for them- just tip them a few dollars. Within a couple of blocks I probably saw 200 rickshaws. They were mostly just lined up on the streets, the men talking and not actually pulling anyone.  We reached the hutong and received a tutorial on the entrance way to these homes. The numbers, pillars, number of steps, and statues out front tell everything about the family- their social status, occupation, wealth, etc.

We got to tour a home. It was really interesting. There are several little rooms surrounding a courtyard. There was a sitting room, bedroom, art studio, and pigeon room. What? Yes a pigeon room. This particular family has two hobbies- caligraphy and training prize pigeons. I am not sure what they trained the pigeons to do exactly but they had received many trophies which they proudly displayed. This family had a side-by-side refrigerator which we learned is rare in China. They also had many birds, dogs, and cats. Check out the fat cat in the middle!  

 Art studio

 Ikea kitchen

court yard

Next we went to a silk factory and received a lesson on how silk is made from silk worms. They had all types of silk comforters, duvets, scarves, ties, and dresses. It was all pretty and very interesting.

Next we had a delicious family style lunch at a restaurant I know would not pass American health code standards. It was really good, especially a dish of spicy asparagus. I couldn't figure out exactly what I was eating but it was super spicy and asparagus was the main ingredient. I don't think I want to know what it was! Next we went to the Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was where the emperor lived so it's not really a city but common people weren't allowed in the gates so they nicknamed his grounds the Forbidden City. It was quite opulent and sad to think that the emperor had so much wealth and he had 9,999 bedrooms and his people were starving to death.

The Forbidden City

We got back to the hotel around 5 PM and I fell asleep by 7 PM. My internal clock is still not right! I am having a great time here. All the families are lovely and welcoming of me into the group. 

A few observations on Beijing-

1. There are no rules on the road. I get anxious riding on the bus because we come so close to hitting cars, pedestrians, etc. We do U turns in major intersections, head straight into on coming traffic, cut people off, cut in line,  and run every red light.

2. Most men seem to smoke. My hotel room is non-smoking and it smells like smoke and has four ashtrays. I confirmed it in non-smoking and they said yes. Somehow I don't believe them.

3. I thought only the blond hair/blue eyed folks would be popular but our whole group is quite popular. I have taken numerous photos with strangers. They come up and get their camera out and boss me around in Chinese. I actually understand that they want me to pose with them and throw up the peace sign. Today one lady was especially bossy (takes one to know one!) and kept telling me to move because she didn't like the background of the picture. A few times I thought people wanted me to take their picture for them but no, they want to take a picture with me.

4. Since we are a large group (about 30 people) we get some stares especially since we have two Asian children with us (both previously adopted from China). I noticed people kept coming up to George Michael and asking him something, he would respond and then they would  walk away or stare. Mostly stare. So yesterday I asked George Michael what they are asking him. He said some people want to know are we Americans? Some want to know are those children Chinese, Korean or Japanese? Others want to know how George Michael speaks English so well.

5. There are lots of dogs running around here. They all seem like they know where they are going. They cross the streets with crowds of people and no one pays them any attention.

6. I have seen more McDonald's and KFC around here that anything else. They are everywhere.

7. With so many cars here I have yet to see one gas station.