Here’s a quick update on what we’ve been doing.

Yesterday we woke up a little earlier and went outside the hutong (ancient neighborhood where we’re living) to get some breakfast at the roadside stands and restaurants. We had some steamed rolls with rice, egg mcmuffin-eque sandiwiches, and potato and chicken rolls. Then we boarded a bus for an hourlong drive to the famous Summer Palace.

The Summer Palace is a resort that ancient emporers and their families used to use to get away from the dirty and hectic Beijing scene. Because yesterday was a national holiday, Labor Day (”Wiyi”, or 5-1, May 1st), the Summer Palace (and the rest of Beijing) was packed … everywhere we went we were stumbling over bodies.

The place was still fantastic, though … a huge lake (Kunming Lake) with hundreds of boats, some big temples, lots of arched bridges, and some beautiful willow trees. We walked around for about five hours, climbing huge rocks and steep steps the whole way. Then we boarded a crowded bus (where we actually got seats!) for the hour-and-a-half journey home.

We had an early dinner of Beijing Duck, a delicious local specialty that was everything it’s quacked up to be (that pun was courtesy of my dad). We also had some fried eggplant and pork and some tasty broccoli.

Then we rushed off for an evening performance of kung fu acrobatics … a flashy show designed for the viewing pleasure of hundreds of western tourists. The ride there was crazy … because of the holiday, traffic was terrible and we all had to grip our seats and bite our tongues as our driver weaved through traffic, getting us there minutes after the show started.

Today we decided to step back a little and relax … we’re not going to do as much walking, and we decided not to visit the Forbidden City as planned simply because it will be jammed with people (they say that if it rains on May 1st, the ground doesn’t even get wet because of the crowds). So we’re probably going to a silk market, a famous park (Temple of Heaven), and then catching another acrobatic show tonight.

Here we go!

Posted to webeldotnet on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007 at 10:30 am EST in China & My Life & Family (comment feed). If you refer to this post on your blog, please trackback. Thanks!