BEIJING 9. Relaxing in the park. 

Beijing 8. Mother and son. 

BEIJING 7. History speaks loudly in Beijing. (they were empty!) Taken at a ruined temple. 

BEIJING 6. According to my friend, the oldest bridge of its type in China. Hmmmm. 

BEIJING 5. The Olympics..are you going? 

BEIJING 4. The city in the distance. 

BEIJING 3. Beijing buddy. 

BEIJING 2. Walking in the hills 

BEIJING 1. hutong life is slow and peaceful 

One country, two worlds.

After a 5 year gap I was suprised to see so much hadn't changed with the city. Still a huge, hot ,dusty grid of roads. Still full of pirated stuff. The whole point of the trip was to get to eat a meal and spend time with some of my old students:
They where around 17 years old when I was their teacher, and to sit down 6 years later with a table full of smoking beer drinking beijingers in their twenties was something. Plenty of 'hot' 'salty' BJ cuisine, lots of shouting, joking and toasting. I was slightly drunk by the end.
I filled my 4 days with walks in parks, up and down mountains, through hutongs and along the wide straight roads in the city centre, I walked more there than I ever do in HK and it was very good. I've forgot how much I enjoy walking.
I think once you get past the seedy froth of street level bussiness that feeds on innocent tourists, make good friends with a beijinger or two, then the city becomes a different place. Beijingers speak directly and laugh easily, and really do love their friends.
Hong Kong People are more confident, a thousand times more experienced and know whats what in the world. But BJingers are innocent and have imagination. One country, two systems? more like one country two worlds.

Good to be back in civilisation! Sad to leave the 'wild north' with some good friends.