China 2014

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Now 2 weeks into my 5th China trip; the 4th to teach at HUST in Wuhan. Arrived in Beijing, returning to the Xiao Yuan Alley Courtyard Hotel in Liji hutong the heart of Dongzhimen, just east of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. I stayed in Xiao Yuan my last stay in Beijing and so it was a comfortable return visit. Beijing has become an expensive city, especially during peak summer travel months. The Xiao Yuan is perfectly located, easily accessible by subway just one stop from the terminus of the line from Beijing Airport into the city. There are some great, small restaurants nearby serving Beijing cuisine as well as food from many other parts of China.

This return trip to Beijing en route to Wuhan was primarily to reconnect with my first TA from my teaching gig at HUST back in 2014, Ian, who was graduating with a Masters in English from prestigious Peking University. His family couldn't afford the trip to Beijing for the ceremony, so I was there to congratulate him.

Did have a couple of days to hang out in areas I hadn't had a chance to get to on previous visits, but had already seen most of the tourist highlights. Most of my time was spent exploring other hutongs. Those that remain in the center of Beijing are now protected, but some have been saved like historic districts in the US by combining commerce with conservation. One, Nanluoguxiang, is a popular pedestrian street with shops along a remodeled hutong street, with residential lanes, including several historic courtyard homes, crossing it and extending several blocks on either side. I didn't spend much time along Nanluoguxiang itself, but enjoyed meandering along the lanes discovering interesting doorways and other sites along the way. Like the area I stayed in, there's always a find just around the corner.

Braved my first bike ride in the heart of Beijing. I remember my first trip to Beijing over 10 years ago, when bikes ruled the roads. That's no longer true, but bike lanes remain, though they're now sometimes busy with motorbikes honking for slower bicyclists to get out of the way. I spent most of a day riding through a good part of Dongzhimen from my hotel south to the train station, west to Tiananmen Square and north to Yonghegun (Lama Temple) and the Confucius Temple, areas I'd explored on my last visit, seen differently by bike. I can't claim the biking is pleasant, since Beijing is polluted in general and it is only magnified at street level with the crazy traffic and buses. Still, it is an unbeatable way to get around a city that's hard to walk when you want to see what lies between subway stops.

Returned to the old Summer Palace, which I had remembered from my first visit here years ago, long before Beijing became such a major tourism destination. I'm generally not able to remember many specifics of places I first visited so many years ago, but had several deja vu moments while re-exploring. Clearly, the place made an impression on me. The Summer Palace is what the name implies, where emperors went to get out of the heat of central Beijing and the Forbidden City. Most of the original Palace and gardens were destroyed by the British and French during the Opium Wars in 1860. It was partially rebuilt in 1880 and destroyed again during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, with most artifacts being split between 8 western powers. Rebuilding has been going on ever since, but the original blueprints were lost, so who knows what we're really seeing. In any case, it is now a popular 700+ acre park around a lake, packed with domestic tourists.

As is true anywhere, you never know what will catch your eye just walking around. In the heart of what is the 5th Avenue of Beijing and is partially a pedestrian-only street, Wanfujing, I came across a demonstration of an electric unicycle. Unlikely to ever be sold in the US thanks to liability issues, but sure looks like fun!

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