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Published: September 1st 2006
The Guardian
Not quite an angelOne of our favourite names from the Summer Palace. They're certainly imaginative when it comes to naming temples here but then I suppose having so many you have to get creative.
Although it should be pointed out that on occasion the names are really quite basically descriptive. Take "The Animal Killing Pavilion" at the Temple of Heaven for example. Not mincing their words, just their livestock.
You get to your limit of temples quite quickly, even with a string of funny names to keep you amused. Possibly the best sign was to be found on the barriers surrounding some statues at the Summer Palace: "Help protect our Cultural relics. Help protect our railings"
We reckon we've tried quite a variety of transport options on the trip so far and at the Summer Palace we added one more to our list - the pedal boat. After an hour we were wishing we had opted for the less romantic motorised option.
Speaking of pedalling - we've been compiling a list of the best things we've seen on the back of a bike: another bike, most of a tree, 12 people, an air-con unit and a fridge full of beer
Fancy a cold one?
Funniest things we've seen on a bike, number 256 to name but a few.
For a welcome break from the traffic the parks are a good place to head. Here you can be entertained by everything from tai chi to music recitals. The latter are perhaps best avoided if you're not hard of hearing. Traditional music is a bit of an acquired taste - to us it sounded like beginners violin class.
There was no sign of tradition when we headed to the main shopping district on Wangfujing. It was like being back in Glasgow only bigger with all the usual shops and similar prices. We much preferred the flea market on the outskirts of the city where I went a bit mad buying pretty things. At less than a pound for a necklace my spree didn't exactly break the bank.
I drew the line at the stuffed reindeer, selection of swords and Mao/Stalin/Lenin/Marx posters - my rucksack is heavy enough. It was a good place to brush up on our bargaining skills although it feels ridiculous arguing over what turns out to be 10p.
Then again, 10p goes a long way here when you think we managed to have dinner with beers last night
Stairway to heaven
No sign of the pearly gates though for 3 quid.
It's almost time for us to leave this city with its funny mix of the old and new. Building work around the hutong isn't exactly modern but it's fun to watch. We saw a workman on a roof being thrown bricks one at a time by his colleague on the pavement. Trees are used as ladders or scaffolding and when tempers fray we have literally seen the bricks flying. Some things are universal - while one person works ten others are observing.
Modern life is encroaching everywhere. With frantic preparations underway for the Olympics new skyscrapers are closing in on the old neighbourhoods and even in the hutongs it's hard to find a cafe that doesn't have free wireless internet.
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