Blogs from Xuanwu District, Beijing, China, Asia

Day 29 (Thurs 4thOct) So the first task of the morning was to get the money back that the housekeeper had stolen. On waking up I packed my bags and headed to reception. I handed them my key and asked for my money, which I was given in full along with the 3 days I had paid for and wasn’t going to be staying there for. So off I go to my new hostel, which is actually a hotel but the top floor has some dorms in it instead, it’s far nicer than the previous hostel so I’ve fallen on my feet here. First major problem on the road overcome and time to enjoy the rest of Beijing. With it being early afternoon by the time I got settled into new surroundings, I decided to head ... read more

The Muslim population in Beijing is quite large. There are many mosques around the city, one on Wangfujing street and a whole areas around the Xuanwu district. As a Muslim I read about the Niujie mosque in history books. One of the oldest mosques in Asia, it was built in the year 996 by an Arabian scholar Nasurutan. I was expecting to see s huge domed structure to indicate the mosque. I remember when the taxi dropped us to the mosque I thought were in the wrong place! I walked up to a gate where I saw a series of Chinese style houses. On the gate there was a sign welcoming us to Niujie Mosque. It was a real pleasant surprise. The grounds are quite and calming. A man came out to greet us in limited ... read more

We spent our last full day in Beijing exploring the area near our hostel. This district, between Tiananmen Square and the Temple of Heaven, seems to be one of the last parts of the city to retain the old development pattern wherein low houses with interior courtyards are grouped together into hutongs, forming what are effectively villages within the city. This development plan dates back to the Mongol days when the capital was moved here. In fact hutong is derived from a Mongolian word, and this term is not used for alleys or back streets any place but Beijing. In modern times, and especially since 1949, most of the city's hutongs have been torn down to make way for grand government buildings, tall apartment houses, and, more recently, modern retail development. In the core tourist area ... read more

So we have arrived safe and sound (just about! - we were last on the plane from London, kinda held it up oops!) to the coolest and cheapest city ever! It is super warm, people are hilarious and were havin lots of fun already! Stay tuned for more updates and photos...... read more