Wednesday 23 May 2007

Beijing: a day unfolds

I was looking forward to today's trip to an art village. However because of the heavy rain yesterday and a wrong weather forecast for today, this trip was cancelled. So I had extra free time and started to enjoyed it on the sofa reading a book about Chinese Houses. (yeah, my life in Beijing is not too bad) I read a chapter about Beijing Courtyards ... and came across pictures of the former residence of the famous Peking Opera actor Mei Langfang. This courtyard is a museum since 1986. So, this became my next destination! With my camera and a bottle of water I went on a ride. I strolled through hutongs (small alleys) and found this beautiful courtyard house.


And more. Not too far away, I checked out the new stylish Kapok Hotel that is located between Wanfujing Shopping area and the Forbidden City. Both in about 5 minutes walking distance from the hotel. And they offer bicycle rent for 60 RMB / 24h. Great idea, as this is the right area to discover the charming part of Beijing - the way you expect Beijing to be.


And more. Walking down to the gate of the Forbidden City, I came by 'The Courtyard' restaurant. They have moved the 'Courtyard Gallery' from the basement to out of town Shunyi area. Now, you can have a very intimate dinner in the basement, still with views over the moat of the Forbidden City, and even with a bed next to the table... what kind of dinner will that be? Well, they won the 2007 Restaurant award in the category 'Best for a date'.


And then, my 'photographer eye' caught fishermen. And I observed them for a while. I tried lots of different shots and different settings with my camera. And I enjoyed this peaceful moment in Beijing. It is really picturesque in this area. This is my favorite picture of today: A fishermen fishing in the moat of the Forbidden City, the red wall on the left is part of the Forbidden City.


So that was my other day. Not bad for a short notice cancelled day. Maybe even better. I will know next Monday, as this is the day the art village trip is postponed to.

All pictures coppy right by me.

5 comments:

Diane Dehler said...

What a place you live! I like your blog so much I mentioned it in my new posting. What do you think are the most gorgeous hotels in Beijing giving a view of old Beijing?

- Susan - said...

Thank you for mentioning my blog. I am glad that you got inspired through my art gallery link.
I have a draft post about hotels coming soon.
Good night for now.

Anonymous said...

Lovely picture of the fisherman...I love to fish...so tranquil. Nice blog here...I wrote a post about China today but I was not too nice. I am a bit upset about the food we are importing from China in US...do you worry about chemicals in your food there? I was wondering what the perspective is from someone that is there...I hate depending on newscasts for information. There is always two sides..but I admit freely I don't like the side I am seeing right now. Sorry to ramble...

Anonymous said...

OOPS...I used wrong account to post!

- Susan - said...

Hi Stacie,

thanks for stopping by and leaving a massage.
Where can I find your blog?

I posted about food before. Did you see?

Yes, of course, I do worry about chemistry in food. E.g. I only buy these dirt covered carrots, because they seem to me more natural, less treated, than the orange coloured ones. Yes they colour carrots with orange water or so to make them look nicer! It just looks so unnatural. And these are only carrots and you can see it with your eyes that they have been treated. So I worry about other vegies, fish and meat more where you cannot see the chemicals.
There are also people in the 'organic food' business. Even at Carrefour you can buy organic food. But this is a matter of trust. There are no such strict controls like in Europe or US.

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