finally, pictures! touristy stuff 2

to continue from my last post...


candice and i finally got to see one of beijing's famous "hutongs", or alleyways, that are disappearing slowly to give way to modernisation. we stumbled on this one in the center of beijing while searching for a tourist attraction called the "underground city".

this hutong was basically a little neighbourhood of small crumbling houses that has been blocked from view by a large perimeter wall. people there lead simple lives: we saw a family playing badminton, a lady selling fruit, and many other people sitting around, a stark contrast to fast-paced modern beijing.


we found that the "underground city" tourist attraction had been closed because it was unsafe (the picture above is the entrance). but it was really nice to walk down the hutong talking to people and taking videos. it's like i'm storing the last memories of a place that may disappear very soon.


next we took a walk to the temple of heaven! the place is actually a collection of temples surrounded by a very large park where locals love to hang out. approaching the complex, you begin to see kites flying very high up in the air. there were a bunch of old men playing chinese instruments at the main gate, and man were they good! the audience (mainly local) looked totally enthralled.

going further into the gate you can see middle-aged ladies playing chantek (they are VERY good) and various other people walking around happily. deeper in the park i heard strains of beautiful music from some chinese wind instrument, and saw an old man playing a flute-like thing with two friends watching over. the whole place is like a totally different world.


we didn't get to enter to temples themselves because they were closed, but we walked down a large open-air corridor that linked two of the temples. it was gorgeous! there were many locals there lying down on picnic mats, or flying kites, or just walking around. we even got a mini kite-making lesson from a middle-aged lady who was flying a lizard-shaped kite (basically, "it's hard to get the shape of the kite right"). i've never seen such amazing kites. they come in all shapes and colours, and people here fly them so high you wonder how many kg of rope they brought.

i think for all the impression of rushing and money-making china can give, many people here are still contented and peaceful. their philosophy seems to be to take the modernisation in stride and enjoy the little things. maybe singaporeans should learn from them.

China experience: day 60 of 70