Booming Beijing

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Great to see the old Beijing as they truly are bulldozing the city, in preparation for the Olympics 2008. We were staying in Far East hostel which is bang in the middle of a hutong. Our introduction to hutong-life was a taxi drive from the train station there. We felt so bad as the taxi driver barged his way thru these little streets, showing no mercy for rickshaws, bikes, pedestrians, street stalls or anything else which got in his way. Out of the way or be flattened. Horns are as important as brakes here. Seemed insane that anyone would try to drive down these little mazes. They are busy and haphazard...brimming over with shops and stalls and people trying to make their living selling everything from a puncture repair service to a melon to a chinese lantern.

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