Beijing

The theme of our Fourth of July was old Beijing. We visited by pedicab the historic hutong district, characterized by narrow streets and alleyways. The small houses typically are passed down through generations. Unfortunately, since the mid-20th century many of them have been demolished to make room for new development.

We visited the home and workshop of Mr. Zhang, who is well-known for his paper cuts, and had lunch with Mrs. Zou, shown with Leah in her courtyard. (Can you believe she is 51?) This was her first time hosting a foreign family. We hope we didn’t scare her off. We also climbed 60 steep steps up the Drum Tower where—you guessed it—drums were once used to help the residents keep track of time.

We also visited a sports institute (no pictures allowed) where invited athletes from all over China come to train with the hope of making it to the various national teams. We saw gymnastics (adorable little ones practicing), badminton, Tae Kwon-Do, volleyball and, of course, table tennis.

Other activities today included a visit to the crowded Silk Market, where you are practically assaulted by sales clerks, a visit to the Garden of Prince Gong, a dinner of Peking Duck (well, for one of us) and an impressive acrobatics show in the evening.

Reflecting on the hutong tour, Cheryl said that since I like bicycling maybe giving pedicab tours would be a good activity for me when I retire. But then she quickly reconsidered, figuring there is no place to take people to in Williamsport (plus, she offered, I would probably be the first person ever charged with pedicab road rage).

It turns out we had Fourth of July fireworks here in Beijing after all with evening thunder and lightning followed by flooded streets.