Beijing, May 11: Bell and Drum Towers and the Hutong Area at Houhai Lake
Bell and Drum Towers
After leaving the community center we had a brief look at Beijing’s Bell Tower (above left) and Drum Tower (above right), and then we checked out star-rated toilets before heading for the hutong area at Houhai Lake.
There we noticed incredible electric utility wiring and mysterious passageways before even venturing any further.
Expert Paper Cutter
Yi Xie took us to the China Butterfly Zheng Paper Cut Art Studio, a shop in the hutong area, and introduced us to Butterfly Zheng, a Mongolian lady who is a world-class paper cutter. As we watched, she folded a single piece of red paper twice; then for about 10 minutes she made a series of freehand cuts with scissors. When she unfolded the paper, we saw that three pigs, all different, had been created at the same time.
Butterfly Zheng will be participating in an international juried art show in Santa Fe, NM, later in 2006. We thanked her, and Yi gave each of us a hand-made souvenir paper-cut bookmark (below).
Touring the Hutong area at Houhai Lake by Pedicab
As we waited for pedicabs to take us through the hutongs, we examined unfamiliar rules posted outside a bar and watched a food vendor serve unfamiliar treats from a cart.
We settled into several pedicabs for a tour of a Beijing hutong area, where courtyard homes and shops are densely packed, and accessible only by very narrow alleys (hutongs). We passed through many hutongs barely wide enough for two pedicabs to pass each other and there were enough pedicabs to create traffic problems. All of them seemed to be carrying tourists.
We also stopped and got out at the doorways of two hutong courtyard homes (above), while the pedicab tour guide commented on the markings over them. I cannot recall just what he explained, but Yi Xie later told me that the four Chinese characters over the door at right are Yi Xiang Ru Yi, meaning auspicion and blessing.
Chinese Medicine Clinic in the Hutong Area at Houhai Lake
We visited a Chinese medicine clinic in the hutong area. Yi Xie showed us that they have a lot of traditional medicines in drawers and jars.
We gathered in a patient examining room and the doctor came in. Llani decided to try it out. The doctor took her pulse while at the same time discerning all the things which might be ailing her. He told her that she was in good shape and gave her a neck massage. Llani decided she liked this medicine.
Hutong Area at Houhai Lake
Finally, we looked at the Guanghuasi (Temple of Universal Enlightenment), a major active Beijing Buddhist temple. Then we explored a shopping street in the hutong area, where a dog with leather shoes added a touch of elegance (below).
