The Hutongs of Beijing

We took two cabs to the old section of Beijing for a hutong tour. Kate, Sarah and I piled into a taxi with a driver who obviously wasn’t too impressed with us. The entire ride, he kept looking at us and muttering, “Jeeze” under his breath. Sarah decided to respond to him by saying, “I understand, I know how you feel” and we collapsed into laughter- which made the driver even more frustrated. When we finally got to the tour spot, I pulled the washcloth from his meter that read 16- he insisted on 20. I pointed at the meter and said, “16”. He was getting really angry, so I pulled John over to help with the negotiations. I gave him 16 and he came out of the cab yelling. We had the entire street involved in our discussions. Eventually, I just put the money on the ground and walked away. It was sweet revenge to make him have to pick it up off the ground.
The hutong tour was spectacular. We all piled into pedicabs and went through the streets and alleyways of old Beijing.

We stopped at the Drum Tower and climbed to the top for a view of the hutongs- being threatened by concrete high-rises and McDonalds signs.

After a quick drive in the parking area where John got to peddle the pedicab, we continued our tour, stopping for a walk through the streets to visit the home of a local family. Then it was off to the garden of a local dignitary for a tea ceremony.

We had asked our guide, Mr. Liu to meet us for the afternoon, so we made a quick stop a McDonalds (they had a great spicy chicken sandwich) and headed to the museum, which was closed for renovation. So, we decided to visit the Lama Temple, the most renowned Tibetan Buddhist temple in China. It was declared a historical relic in 1949 and preserved, and somehow survived the Cultural Revolution.

From there, hot and tired and cranky, we dragged the group to the Confucian Temple- site of the Temple and Imperial College.

It was the second largest in China. The courtyard is a forest of steles recording the names of those who were successful in the civil service exams of the imperial court.

Inside they had a musical demonstration of Chinese instruments. When the group parked in front of the air vent of the A/C unit in the museum, we knew it was time to head to the hotel.
We had to do a traditional Peking duck meal, so we picked what was supposedly the most elegant restaurant in Beijing. What an exaggeration. The place was like a large buffet hall filled with people ordering duck. We got the full meal (except for the expensive duck soup made with all the innards). The menu was hysterical. They eat every piece and part of the duck- from the beak to the feet to all the internal organs. We got the full treatment and we were treated to a full table of dishes of things we didn’t recognize. The duck itself is pumped full of grain and soybean paste to fatten it up. Then it’s covered with molasses, pumped with air, filled with boiling water, dried and roasted over a fruitwood fire. It was served on multiple plates- meat, crispy skin with a side dish of scallions, plum sauce and crepes. It was excellent.
To top off our evening- and to avoid the obnoxious Beijing taxi drivers, we decided to take pedicabs back to the hotel. 3 pedicabs racing down the main street of Beijing- and then Martin decided to take the wheel and the driver hopped in the back and enjoyed the ride.