Our first full day in Beijing - September 14th, 2013

As I mentioned in my last post, we stayed in Beijing at the Downtown Backpackers Hostel located in Hutong, or narrow alleyways, in the northern part of the capital very close to many of  the city's most famous attractions.  Since Beijing's hutong are such an integral part of the city and famous in their own right and because we spent so much time wandering through them, I hope you'll enjoy reading about them for a bit. Just so you know, I've cribbed the following from one of the many travel articles I brought with us on the trip.

• "A journey into the city's hutong is a voyage back to the original heart and fabric of Beijing - from now on, I'll shorten that to B'jing.  Many of these charming alleyways have survived, crisscrossing east-west across the city and linking up to a huge, enchanting warren of one story, ramshackle dwellings and historic courtyard homes.  According to official figures, hundreds of hutong survive but many have been swept aside in B'jing's race to  manufacture a modern city of high rises.
• Hutong run nearly all east-west so that the main gate faces south, satisfying feng shui (wind/water) requirements.  This south facing aspect guarantees a lot of sunshine and protection from the more negative forces from the north.  This positioning also mirrors the layout of all Chinese temples, nourishing the yang (the male and light aspect), while checking the ying (the female and dark aspect).
• Some hutong are christened after families; others simply take their names from historical figures or features while some have more mysterious associations, such as Dragon Whiskers Ditch Alley.  Others reflect the merchandise piled at local markets, such as Ganmian Hutong (Dry Flour Alley) or Chrysanthemum Lane."
• Back to our hostel: it was the first time since our stop in Irkutsk in Siberia that we had a private room PLUS, mirabile dictu, our very own bathroom - sure got used to that quickly again!
• An interesting shower feature as it was all part of the toilet area - you just pull the shower curtain across, turn the shower on and of course the whole floor gets wet.  I'd read about the combo toilet/shower but this was my first time experiencing it. Certainly an efficient use of space.
• FYI - our cost for 6 nights in the private room WITH a window and a/c (and a 5 gallon or so plastic jug of boiling water for our constant cups of tea just steps from our room) was 1208 yuan - a little less than $200.  A windowless room was less but that sounded way too claustrophobic for us; we also had had enough of dorm rooms too!
• The rate included a Western breakfast at the restaurant next door but I gave up on that after two days of our being served orange juice and then our server forgetting the rest of our order.  Back to rolls, tea and fruit for me in our room for the rest of our stay but Steven held out for the eggs, etc!
• Walked to the nearby Drum Tower (the location of the old Mongol capital) and staggered up the incredible steep steps to the top where we had impressive views of hutong rooftops.  I chatted with and shared some of our Russian dates and raisins with some of the locals who, in turn, shared a new to me delicious fruit with me as we all waited for the drum performance to begin.  It brought me back to my watching countless performances of Nina's high school marching band and especially their drum corps for 4 years which I found equally mesmerizing.
• Walked to the Bell Tower but not much there as it was undergoing renovations.
• Stopped to use one of the omnipresent, in Beijing, public toilets; don't know if it's true but I'd read that they are everywhere b/c so many residents, especially those living in hutong, do not have their own.  They're all free which is a welcome change from having to dig into the depth of a purse or pocket to look for change too.  First one I used sure was different from others I used before or since: it had 5 open stalls with holes in the floor; 4 of the 5 women were also texting or using their phones at the same time, not a small feat let me tell you while squatting.  I developed a new found appreciation for yoga, Ivy, all of a sudden after trying to get down AND then up again.  Mindy, NOT the place for you with your knees, I kept thinking!
• On next to the Confucian Temple and Imperial College: we found the latter very intriguing and spent hours there.  Built by the grandson of Kublai Khan in 1306, the former college was the supreme academy during the Yuan Ming and Qing dynasties.  Photos below.
• Then on to the nearby Lama Temple which is the most renowned Buddhist temple outside of Tibet; it has 32 buildings.
• That evening after walking about 7 plus miles, we went to a performance arranged through our hostel at the Tiandi Theater of young acrobatic performers from the China National Acrobatic Troop with hoop jumping, 2 contortionists, bike riding tricks, pole walkers and jumpers, and spinning wheels on ropes.  One lonnnng day!
• Onto photos that I hope will give you an idea of our day.

Steven waiting for breakfast at restaurant next to our hostel.

A lovely sunny day before the haze from the pollution.

Drum Tower photos.

In training for climbing the Great Wall: aka climbing steps to the Drum Tower!

Fairly steep, ya think!

Me with some of my new found friends before the drum performance.

Try and read this if you can!

You would NOT believe the number of guitar stores we walked by in a very small area of Beijing.

Suellen and Ron: thought of you when I saw these.

Steven in front of a Beijing middle school.  Don't think he wants to go back to a middle school any more!

Confucian Temple: we didn't realize that Confucius is credited with the Golden Rule til reading all about his accomplishments here.

Well Pavilion at Confucian Temple.

Imperial College

 Classrooms at Imperial College

More classrooms!

One of the many semi fossilized cypress trees by the Temple and College.

By just a few of  the 189 stela or stones or slabs decorated with figures or inscriptions
  recording the 13 Confucian classics consisting of 630,000 Chinese characters.  It was started by Jiang Hang in 1791 and completed in 1803.

 

Entrance to Lama Temple

Burning incense sticks as prayer offerings.

More of the same.

A beautiful view at the Lama Temple, I thought.

Building the Statue of  Maitreya out of one sandalwood tree earned an award ion the Guinness Book of World Records; the statue os 18 meters or 54 feet tall.