After sleeping fast in Hong Kong, we boarded our Dragon Air flight to Beijing with much excitement. Upon our arrival, we decided to be very traditional for our first night's dinner. Just a block from our hotel we found a great restaurant and set out to have a true feast.
The food arrived looking like works of art. We enjoyed a beef dish and asparagus and even tried sea urchin - a delicacy suggested by Elin as a must try. Our waitress was very sweet and very patient and spent a lot of time making suggestions and showing us the proper way to serve the various dishes. By the end of the week we had decided that a must have skill for visiting China is a working knowledge of chopsticks. Beginning with this meal, we did not see a fork again till our arrival back in Hong Kong.
Of course the highlight of the evening was our Peking Duck. For those of you who are fans of the movie "A Christmas Story," it arrives just the same way. There is absolutely no waste when it comes to duck. The skin is very crispy and it is removed, sliced and served with sugar for dipping. The meat is sliced and served, the remaining meat is prepared into a dish much like any chinese meal and the bones are then cooked into a soup. The food just kept on coming! Plates full of additions are brought to the table along with very thin pancakes and our waitress showed us various combinations to try different flavors.
Before starting our meal...
...and after.
Following dinner we decided to take a walk along WongFuJin. This is a very nice shopping area that ran between our hotel and the Steelcase Beijing office. Most of the area is newer stores and large upscale malls. However, mixed in with all of the new are some old and beautiful sights.
This gate marks the entrance to a Catholic Cathedral. I think that Beijing is one of the few areas where there are various churches and I do not know what the rules and restrictions are for them.
Walking farther down WongFuJin there are bronze sculptures along the walkway including this rickshaw that you can climb into for a fun photo. I think I forgot to mention that most of this area is a pedestrian mall. That means no cars are allowed, but don't confuse that with no cars being there. Traffic in Beijing makes US big city traffic look light. The city is so huge and there are so many cars and motorbikes. No one pays attention to right-of-way or blending. Driving is an art which relies on the ability to fit a large van into a small space and push the other cars out of the way without hitting them. It is not for the faint of heart. Westerners are not permitted to drive in mainland China and I cannot imagine anyone actually wanting to. Crossing the street on foot is also an adventure. Traffic lights are merely a suggestion and if a bus is anywhere in sight, stay on the curb because they do not stop for anything. As soon as you think you are good to go, a bicycle or motorbike is likely to mow you down from behind. Scary but we managed to survive.
The area is lit up like Times Square with lots of ads and big screens. Yet tucked in between these large modern structures we found a small market that gave us all pause. You entered through a beautiful gate and the entire market was lit by lanterns and tiny lights. As in most markets in China, you can buy knock-offs of almost anything along with lots of local foods. But the one that gave us all the shivers was the stall that sold...
...bugs! The really creepy thing is that when you look closely you can see that the bugs are still alive and moving. Ugh! We think that once you pick your stick they are deep fried. But none of us was going to test that theory personally. I will tell you that I have yet to meet a Chinese person who eats these delicacies. I am sure there are many who do since there were several stalls like this, but most of the folks we met were as squeamish as we.
As the shops began to close down, we headed back to our hotel to get some rest. Ken and May Lene had training to do the next day. And Elin and I were going to find our own adventure!
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