Beijing Side B

Our visit to Beijing spanned the spectrum from an authentic 21 course "Peking Duck" dinner, to sleeping in a hotel hidden back in a hutong amid hundreds of thousands of Chinese leading their everyday lives. There is waaay more to show and tell than you have time for, so we have divided the story into two parts.

Side A shows the beauty and fascination of China -- there's a reason it has attracted visitors forever!

Side B shows the curious and unusual -- there are many things the traveler doesn't understand
Enjoy one or both! Or try Chinese Takeout

Great Escape These idealized but rowdy Chinese revolutionaries have been hanging out at Mao's Mausoleum. Now it looks like they're about to make their break over the fence and join the crowds in Tianemen Square.


Hi Ho Silver! Holy golden toad, Bat Man. This isn't a bas relief. It's a pile of silver statuettes. What a classy street market this is!


Shhhh Displayed at the Forbidden City is the whip on the right and the text on the left which reads, "Quieting whip placed on the [sic] both sides of the imperial path before the Hall of Supreme Harmony to enforce order at grand ceremonies."


Eaves Dropping The Chinese add gargoyles, animals, even whole parades of creatures to their roofs.

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Sign of the Times It's easier to control the news if everyone reads the same newspaper ... but it's harder to do the crossword through the glass.


Chinese Takeout In some parts of the world you have to worry about scorpions in your shoes ... in China you have to worry about them in your lunch.


These fruit kabobs have been dipped in liquid sugar and are the snack of choice in Beijing.


Basic Transportation These are the 'minivans' of Beijing, used to deliver everything ...

... including salvation?


Wall Street Why is L grinning ... he's thinking about what his stone mason grandfather would say about the reconstruction on the Great Wall.


There are lots of great walls in China. This one runs along Peking University. It is perfectly smooth except for one nook, where the man is seated. He was there everyday, wearing a uniform and sitting on a stump. His job ...?


We passed a canal with this lovely stone wall and trees on the far side. Between them was a painting of a lovely stone wall with trees on the far side.


On Language English translations in China are notorious for being inscrutable, as we reported from Shanghai. One of our most enjoyable examples from this trip is the following. (Don't miss the second number 3.)