Today we are going off to the Hutong district, an old but affluent district
in Beijing. Here is our local guide, Mei.
The streets are narrow, so we are going to have to go by pedicab.
Since there are 25 of us, that's a long line of pedicabs.
We had lunch in the home of a resident.
Here is the family that prepared us lunch. They then answered general
questions through an interpreter, so we could get a sense of how they
lived.
Another pedicab ride to the next stop...
...which is a different house. All of the Hutong district houses are
built around a courtyard like this one. Typically the owners would live
on one side, the grandparents on another side, the children on another
side, and the servants on the last side. The owner of this house also
answered questions about his life. This was one of the highlights of the
trip, putting a human face on the Chinese people.
Some songbirds to grace the courtyard.
And on to the pedicabs. Here is Dino riding a bicycle to keep up with
us.
That night we go to the Beijing opera. Beforehand, the cast puts on their
make-up.
Here is the orchestra playing the overture.
The orchestra then moves to a box on the side of the stage, and the players
start. Tonight's story centers around the eight Immortals, five of which
are shown here.
The eight immortals are in conflict with this goddess. The ensemble plays
everything from her soldiers to the moving sea.
