Hutong

One of the highlights of our trip was going to the area of Hutong. It is a very old and expensive section of Beijing where we took a rickshaw ride and then we went to a traditional Chinese home. The ride was freezing and Danny was all wrapped so you could only see his eyes. Long ago, homes were laid out in a rectangle with a courtyard in the middle. Prior to the Revolution, many were owned by one family or several generations of one family. Each side of the rectangle would be a separate house. We spoke with a woman whose grandfather owned these houses and she told us all about "the old days." It was very interesting. Another plus was that she had a heater which we snuggled up against.

It was interesting to know that the number of steps that led up to your door marked the status of the family living there. Hers had 4 which told others that they had lots of money and that her grandfather was in the army. As we were walking out of her door I couldn't see where I was going because my camera was sticking out and I missed a step and fell and scraped my knee. Luckily I didn't rip a hole in my pants but I was cut up pretty good. It still hasn't healed completely.

After picking myself up off the ground we took another rickshaw ride over to another home where they made lunch for us. It was the best Chinese food we ate. I think Danny's favorite thing about this house was that it had a sit down toilet. In the upper right hand corner is a photo of the home. The owner is a Kung Fu master and his son is living in California and teacher Kung Fu. He and his boys have met Jackie Chan and there was a photo of them together. I would have loved to see him wield the sword but I was trying to take care of Danny and there wasn't a lot of room in their kitchen to move about.