Day 2 in Beijing

Today we ventured out once again via the subway to the back lakes area, Shicha Hai to check out some of old Beijing. Before the 20th century, Beijing was dominated by the Hutong which were mazes of narrow and winding passageways that were as little as 20 inches wide and no wider than 30ft. The traditional house was the Siheyan or courtyard house which typically consisted of four rectangular building arranged around a central courtyard with a door at one corner (ideally facing South for some reason). They were originally designed to house a single family but each one now houses 5-6 families and in some cases a structure has been built in the courtyard to house yet another family. We are told that until fairly recently as much as half of Beijing’s population lived in some sort of Siheyan, but large scale bulldozing of the Hutong is quickly changing that landscape as many people have migrated into modern buildings. For some it was forced upon them but for others they were willing to move as they were eager for central heating and plumbing which is rare in the Hutong as we found out. I used many public squatty potties today and in one case even had the opportunity to enjoy the experience of the person next me as there wasn’t much of a wall. *smile*. Even though today was pretty hot and humid, which was quite a change from the day before (and we were a disgusting, sweaty mess most of the day), spending the day exploring these quaint neighborhoods surrounding a lake was so enjoyable and something that is sure to be one of the many highlights of our time here.

We had a couple of interesting encounters today…we ran into our first American, Jeffrey at a Buddhist temple. We are surprised that we have not run into any other Americans up to this point. We have met a few families from Holland staying at our hotel, adoptive families actually which was kind of fun. But it was enjoyable to chat with him and he was clearly thrilled to see us and speak English for a little while. He is in China studying Mandarin and Temple customs and rituals.

Also, we got to talking with a local fella. One question lead to another and we ended up telling him that we were adopting a little girl from an orphanage. He was clearly mystified by it all and while looking at Camden asked why we would want a girl when we already have a boy. He could just not understand. He was very nice and friendly as we have found most Chinese to be but he could just not understand why we would want to do that.

Once we returned to our room, we had a message waiting for us in our room. Unfortunately, someone on our flight was found to have a fever since arriving in Beijing and they are now requesting that we have our temperature checked twice daily, morning and night. This is a little strange to us as we thought that no one had a fever upon arriving in Beijing. Perhaps the person had a connecting flight to somewhere else in China and was found to have a fever then? Either way, we are hoping and praying that this person doesn’t test positive for the Swine Flu as that would mean a 7 day quarantine for us, a delay in receiving Avery and a delay in heading home. However, we trust in God’s plan for our family and we know that He will work it all out!

Photos from our day:

Heading up the steps to the Bell tower which was originally built in the 1400's but had to be rebuilt in the 1700's due to a fire. This is a good (but small) warm up to the Great Wall which we will visit on Sunday.

Cam & I in front of the Bell Tower which was made in the 1400's.

Going down the Bell Tower. Yeah!

Doug & Cam checking out some exercise equipment.

Old Drum Tower originally built in the 1400's. Unfortunately, we couldn't go in as it was being renovated.

Their telephone booths.

Entrance to a quaint shopping area in the Hutong.

Strolling along the lake.

An entrance to a Siheyan.

Wedding Photos

Buddhist Temple

Loving the kitty at the Buddhist temple.

Old temple from the 1700's.

Locals swimming in the green/brown lake. It looked like a favorite activity here.

Enjoying the gardens at a former Imperial Palace.


Having fun at a local park.

We enjoyed Green and Jasmine tea at this local tea house complete with a bird that said Ni hao and other things that we of course couldn't understand. The owner was so sweet and she even gave us a little souvenir that she said meant that she hoped that great treasure would be coming to our family. Wow - if she only knew! One of the best treasures ever! :)

** Side note...I am having trouble uploading photos so I may not able to upload as many photos in the future unless I figure out a better way to do it.

Three days to Avery!!!