17th October: Beijing, China
Breakfast was interesting, although I suspect I might get tired of oily vegetables, tofu, and either rice or noodles 3 times per day. There is actually a decent amount of variety, but working out what is in some dishes is a minefield!
We headed back into the centre of imperial Beijing to wander the Hutongs. These small alleyways used to make up the city and even though only a small percentage remain, they still cover a large area around the old palace. Many are tourist-focused these days, although this is mainly domestic tourism. Apparently, we were interesting ourselves and had various people take our photos, including two people who wanted selfies with us! We tried a few of the snacks on offer, including a very gelatinous rice cinnamon cake, some sugar-coated hawthorn fruits on a stick, and a delicious, sweet tea. One cool thing with the tea was that there was a machine to seal the lid on, so that it didn’t pop off as always happens in Europe, and a special three holed straw to drink through. We also tried some delicious fruit teas – watermelon, mango, strawberry, rose – from another place and were going to buy a small amount but they wanted crazy money (more than we usually spend in a day!). That was enough Hutong action.
Nearby, were the Bell and Drum towers. These structures were used for time keeping in ancient Beijing. The sound of 25 drums meant that the evening curfew was beginning, with subsequent 2-hourly soundings used by those guarding the city to swap posts. Apparently, this could be heard even in the farthest reaches of the city. There are demonstrations during the day, but, ironically for a clock, every single website listed different times of these! Whilst we waited, we admired what we could of the views on an increasingly murky afternoon. The Hutongs stretched out before us, with the central axis splitting them and taller new buildings in the distance in every direction. Eventually, 3 drummers gave a show. I can only imagine how loud it could be with all 25 drums active.
We took the metro a couple of stops north to escape the tourist area in order to find food. A tofu salad for 80p was enough to keep us going and we also tried our luck in a supermarket for the first time. I could start a whole blog on the snacks available! By this point we were tired and a little overwhelmed.
Somehow, on the metro home we were stood beside two of the people who had taken our photo in the Hutongs hours earlier. This in a completely different part of a city of 22 million people! We spotted them cross-checking the photo on their phone, clearly as confused as we were. What are the chances?! The year in ancient China was split into 24 solar terms. The current one is ‘Cold Dew’, which feels appropriate in the evenings and early mornings! The temperature is due to drop by a further 10C in a couple of days, just in time for the beginning of ‘Frost Descent’. We warmed up in the local restaurant, on rice, aubergine, and tofu. Leftovers again taken away for lunch tomorrow and all for 1/6th of the price of a tiny bag of tea!
