BTC Beijing

Cool and as usual overcast. Some rain.

As a side note. Google plus is blocked by the Chinese firewall on my ipad. Works fine on the Android. Some of you may even have seen the post and pics.

Hutongs. When the mongolians ran china they set their residences around a water hole and connected the residences by narrow alleys. The small alleys that connect the quadrangle houses are called Hutongs. Our visit today is to a residential Hutongs adjacent to the forbidden city. A preserved area where families live and work. The Hutongs behind our hotel are commercial.

The residential Hutongs operate as a collective. One price for a visit to Soong’s museum, a rickshaw ride through the alleys, lunch at a local family house. By far and by consensus the best meal of the trip. The owner of the residence did the cooking.

Libby asked about visiting this area;now clear why.

Second stop today is the forbidden city. One fourth the size of the temple of Heaven (see two days ago). Adequately described on wikipedia.

The central questions are becoming clearer for this trip. What do you think of America? What is your source of information about America?