Sunday in the Park

Sunday, my roommate Adam and I started walking out of our apartment and toward Hou Hai (a lake surrounded by shops, restaurants, and bars.) In the Wangfujing shopping district, we ate a skewer of scorpions (cooked and spiced!) A little further along, we came upon Jingshan Park, and decided to pay the 2 RMB entry fee. When we entered, we saw many groups of Chinese people making music! There were brass bands, small choirs, and men with karaoke machines in every corner of the park. Jingshan Park has at its center a large hill, on top of which sits a temple that contains a very large Buddha. The hill was built from the digging of the moat around The Forbidden City. We climbed to the top and enjoyed the vistas of the Beijing skyline. We came back down and saw more people making music and dancing in the park.

After Jingshan, we continued our wandering through the city. We wandered through countless shops, drank an ice cold Tsingtao (local beer) as we walked, and eventually made our way to Hou Hai. Note: there is no regulation of alcohol in China. A 5-yr-old child can buy a beer, and anyone can drink on the street. I've even heard tales of taxi drivers drinking beer while driving!

This is a direct photo of the sun through the smog. This was even a decent day!

Beijing Belly: See above for an example of the phenomon "Beijing Belly." When it's warm, men in Beijing hike up their shirts under their armpits and walk around with their belly exposed. It's rather humorous. 

All together, Adam and I walked about 4 miles (we think) and 6 hours. Adam hopped in a cab to go get a full body massage, and I headed down to the whirlpool to relax. We saw many different neighborhoods, touristy and not, and got a real feel for the city life in Beijing.