part 7

We headed out to lunch and I was famished, hoping for some good Chinese food. Simon, our guide, decided that since Ben and Caleb are both Hubei boys, that he would take us to a restaurant that specialized in food that you would find in Wuhan. I was less than thrilled as the choices were extremely limited in what some of us would be willing to eat. Lots of fungus, kidneys, a huge variety of fish and turtles, eels, snakes and seaweed.

... more

part 6

We had friends who did the hutong tour just last week and who were told that the home they visited was worth about $500,000.00. Either inflation is way out of control, or the home they visited was considered on the wrong side of the tracks! ;)

The woman who lived there was willing to answer any questions that we had about her life there, and even though the home was very small, I liked the fact that it... more

part 5

After leaving the elementary school, we hopped back into the pedicabs. Caleb and Ben began to holler again, encouraging their drivers to go faster. When one would pass the other, the one in the lead would shriek with delight.

Our route took us past a frozen lake where people were renting what looked like gliders that they could take out across the ice. Ben was not amused that we could not just stop... more

part 4

After we left the classroom, the kids played outside on the playground for a bit and Caleb chose to be rather obnoxious. Everything was "my school was better", "our playground was bigger", "we had flowers and they don't", "we had more exercise equipment", etc. Taylor decided to put him in his place and said via our guide, "Well, their English was sure a lot better than yours." Caleb thought that... more

part 3

Our first stop was an elementary school that was in the neighborhood of the hutong that we were pedaling through. This was the best part of the tour, because we were able to visit a fourth grade classroom. Since Caleb was in fourth grade in China as well, it was nice to see what his education might have been like.

About five children stood and spoke for us in English and it was very cute... more

Before I was distracted by the politics involved with the destruction of hutongs in Bejing I was starting to tell you about our own hutong tour. I had this blog half done only to have Internet Explorer crash on me before I had hit save, which did not make me a happy camper. Let's try take two...

part 1

part 2

January 12, 2007 With Jeff staying back at the... more

Part 1

Sadly, other than the hutongs that have been preserved for tours, many of them are being torn down in the name of modernization. There are pros and cons to Beijing having the Olympics in 2008. I like to think that having the Olympics there will open the country to more scrutiny from outsiders and that perhaps some of their human rights issues will improve. One of the huge cons in my mind, however, is that the hutongs and siheyuans or courtyards that comprise the hutongs are being torn down and hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced.

I'd... more

January 12, 2007

Since Alyssa was running a fever and feeling just generally awful all over, Jeff volunteered to stay at the hotel with her and read a book while the rest of us went on the hutong tour in Beijing this morning. It was probably a very wise choice as she slept most of the day away. Before we left for China, people told my children that they were going on the trip of a lifetime; one they would always remember. I'm sure Alyssa will always remember this trip, but I'm not so sure it will be with the fond memories... more

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

When we arrived at the bottom of the toboggan run, these two men were dressed up as Mongols and wanted to take a picture with you. Of course there was a fee. 10 yuan. After you took the photo, they clarified that they wanted 10... more

Part 1 Part 2

The views were nice, but sadly nothing like the beautiful greens that are here in the summertime. Instead, all the trees are dead looking and grey. Taylor enjoyed messing around and saying things like "Mongols advancing to the North!" I would have enjoyed climbing much higher than we did, but with young ones and Alyssa ill,... more