China Culture

grandiose architecture

During the 90-minute drive to our hotel it's interesting to see the city.  A lot of the buildings are very grand looking - lots of architectural details - but when you look closer you see signs that indicate they are not in the best condition.

Wangfujing Street

I do see my new favorite small car!  This would fit in perfectly in Tokyo.  It's smaller than a Smart car. 

I want one!

I guess it keeps them cool?  Or do they just think it looks cool?

While walking around, we see a common fashion style...unfortunately, most of the men doing this weigh a bit more than this gentleman.  I tell Steve he should follow this trend, but he decides not to.


On the map it looks like an easy walk from the Forbidden City to Tiananmen Square.  It turns out to be about two miles.  If I'd known that I would have suggested we take one of the pedicabs.  At least we got the kinks worked out from the flight!  On the way over a rainstorm starts up, which is not on the schedule.  We pay the "tourist price" for some umbrellas (are you supposed to bargain?), one of which doesn't even make it through the day.  

I did not ride on this.

Hutong entrance - leading into the alley of houses

During our (long) walk, we do go through a historic section of Beijing - the Hutong district, an area of narrow streets and alleys. We didn't actually realize this while we were walking; the guide we use the next day tells us about it.  When built in the 1400s these buildings originally existed as single family homes with the house built around a courtyard.  But during the early 1900s they were subdivided and made to house many families.  

Inside the Hutong entrance

Apparently there are few with bathrooms, and at the corner of most blocks you can see a public bathroom, which is shared among the families and public.  I went inside one to wash my hands (the heat & humidity causes them to swell, so washing helps).  They are very open - the walls only go waist high above the in-ground toilets.  Unfortunately, it smells very, very bad, too.  On our trip I realize they often do not flush the toilet if it's only urine....plus used toilet paper is usually placed in the trash, not in the toilet (in private places - our hotel, restaurant bathrooms, toilet paper is flushed).  I had read Beijing is working on finding solutions for their water shortage problem.  Apparently the city has sunk more than Venice due to the water table being depleted.  I'm surprised I didn't see any signs in our hotel about conserving water; I would have thought they'd ask you to not be wasteful.

Speaking of bathrooms in China, the other surprise is that toilet paper isn't always provided.  Again, at the hotel we have it, but in some public bathrooms - even at major tourist locations like the Great Wall - there is no toilet paper.  So carry some with you!  Near the end of our visit I saw a toilet paper roll as we went in to a bathroom.  You're supposed to grab what you need and bring it in the stall with you.  Once I knew to watch for that I started looking by the bathroom entrances, but often the roll there would be empty, anyway.

 During our hike we see trashcans on the streets!  There are none in Tokyo (remember, the scrap of paper has to stay in your pocket until you get home).  It's convenient to be able to dispose of trash "on demand."

Do the cars go through security, too?

We finally make our way into Tiananmen Square...though we have to pass through security.  Which is weird, because there are hundreds of cars driving though it.  It's pouring rain, so it's hard to take pictures & hold the umbrella. 

Famous Chairman Mao portrait

The 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square are one of the first world events that caught my attention as a teenager.  At the time, I couldn't understand why the US didn't help them.

I can't believe there are no kids running around in the background of this picture.

We finish up the day by eating Peking Duck.  The following day our guide gives us more info on how names originated.  In Cantonese, Beijing is known as Peking.  In the 1600s Europeans were first limited to trading in the coastal cities where Cantonese was the language and the Cantonese referred to the capital city as Peking.  In the 1950s the Chinese language was romanized, and was based on the Beijing dialect, which is Mandarin.  So the city started to become known as Beijing around the world, but the old name was kept for some things, like Peking Duck.  Whatever it's called, it's a tasty dish!  Our restaurant even provides a pretty presentation.  The duck flower is almost too pretty to eat!  We try to take a picture with the restaurant mascot after the meal, but after the long day all the pictures are blurry.

No ducks were harmed in the taking of this picture.