Beijing: Welcome to the ‘hood

I am now in Beijing, ensconced in my hotel, which is a clean but extremely basic place, with an very very firm mattress, a window that looks onto the wall of the building next door and as usual.. no one around who speaks English. Thankfully, I have several translation apps and can have some rudimentary but slow conversations. I do say nie haou(hello in Mandarin) to the children at breakfast who stare back with curiousity or perhaps even a bit of concern. 

BJ Exposition Hall with some Kite Flying

This morning, my first in this hotel, I explored and discovered that the neighborhood changes significantly block by block. I usually do this the first day I arrive to discover the possibilities of the area- including where there are markets, banks, places to eat and metro stops.

Walking from my Hotel

 The street of my hotel is in a small alley, requiring several turns (I still get lost trying to get to the main street) and passing what looks like older working class apartment buildings in close proximity. Reaching the main street, walking in one direction, I pass immense and formidable exposition halls, surrounded by gates and guards and then the Zoo, with lines of parents and kids, even at 8 in the morning. Across the street (a very big street) is a bus station and several malls most of them fairly middle-class places for the folks who live nearby.  (Rule of thumb: when look for food whether inexpensive restaurants or grocery stores, go down to the basement).  

Morning Exercise 

In front of some of the malls are groups of  older women exercising, dancing or even practicing a fan dance as young parents or grandparents walk by. 

Morning Fan Dancing

A few blocks in the other direction, there is a river park with covered pavilions with more kids, grandparents plus some people playing flute-like instruments. Then it suddenly becomes big and fancy.. three buildings that look like oval mounds house an upscale shopping mall, with more western shops and office buildings in the top floors. 

 

Luscious Shopping Malls

It is spring, so as I walk, I notice ever present roses planted in road dividers as well as other brightly colored flowers.  It amazes me that this city moves so quickly from large, crowded, slightly run down buildings to oases of water and plants to large strangely shaped buildings. Everything rubbing shoulders with everything else. I am now hanging out at a Costa Coffee shop watching business men in light shirts and dark pants walking past. I think I will close for now and write more later. Thanks for reading and comments are always welcome.