In The Chinese 'Hood

After a tasty lunch in a Chinese restaurant, we went to an older, yet typical Beijing neighborhood.  Known as the Shichahai neighborhood, there are three manmade lakes, created back in the 1400s. 

The blocks are hutong style, which means the separate rooms of the house surround a courtyard. 

First, we were conveyed through the neighborhood on rickshaws.  I was skeptical at first, but it was fun.  Apparently it’s THE place to go for rickshaw rides in Beijing, as there were at least one hundred bikes/rickshaw style. 

Riding through the neighborhood and then along the lake was quite pleasant.  We passed houses, restaurants, and shops.  At the same time it was pleasant, it was chaotic.  Cars would pull out, people would be walking down the middle of the street, and bikes of all types would swerve around us. 

I suppose I should take a moment to provide some background on the trip.  There are 19 Americans on quickly earned the trust of the group by having his act together.  At first Carol and I thought he was a bit on edge, but we came to realize that was just first night jitters.  He’s been pretty calm and collected since.

Eddie served as our local guide.  At first I found his spoken English with a Chinese accent a bit hard to follow, but then I figured it out.  It goes better when I actually concentrate. 

(Editor’s Note: So listening comprehension goes better when you actually listen 100%, instead of snapping photos AND sort of listening?  Stunning!  Blogger Note: Hey, you aren’t my editor, you are my wife saying that!).

Andrew Wilson is the American guide.  He’s a China expert and has been coming to China since the 1980s.  He’s pretty personable, and has been patient with my questions as I try to fact check the blog.  If I’m going to do this blog, I figure I need to be somewhat near the facts and proper spelling.  Andrew is an academic (he got his PhD from some old university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  I’m betting he did not get in based on bribery. . .seems smart enough to make it on his own. 

Last night at Happy Hour at the very clubby hotel bar, I complimented Andrew by noting that while he’s an academic, he’s not dry.  He tells his stories in plain English, and makes learning fun and interesting.  It’s a real treat to have him on the expedition.

(Andrew, if I’ve messed any of this up, don’t hesitate to email me the correct info).

Now, back to our current story. . .

The rickshaws stopped, and we disembarked.  We walked through some narrow streets.  My favorite part was learning that the boards propped up against the tires of parked cars are to stop dogs from whizzing on the tires.  The creative adaptation at work!

We went into a courtyard of a relatively large one story house.  Apparently houses in this neighborhood sell for the amazing price of $20,000 USD per square meter.  Since it is nearly impossible to sell a house, I’m not sure what that means, but is expensive.  On the other hand, I didn’t see many Sotheby’s For Sale signs!

The mother of the house talked to us for a while about their typical life, with Eddie translating.  We looked in a couple rooms of the house, admiring the print jobs of stunningly colorful Chinese art.  After our visit to the Great Wall the next day, I regret not spending $60 on the evocative print of the Great Wall.  That said, we are not going with a Chinese motif for decorating our house, so maybe it is just as well.

We headed back to the rickshaws and rode back to the starting point.  Leo said it didn’t matter which rickshaw we got in, but our driver did not agree.  He chased another couple who had sat in our (well, actually his) rickshaw, so that was kind of funny.

Overall, it was a nice visit and gave us a better feel for an older Chinese neighborhood.