old-world charm

We've just been reminded to do up our SEP report and submit pictures. well, in return for a $3000 award, it's very much worth it. But that still makes it a tough assignment - with 3000-4000 of my own pictures AND another 2000 of SH/ST/JD's photos! I wonder which ones the SEP team would want? And where do you start reporting on 4 months?

The focus is certainly not on the studies! Can't believe I've my first paper tomorrow - I had another tour of beijing with mum and jie who came over last week, and just so distracted by playing with photos... tell me more horror stories of losing your 2nd upper honors and repeating a semester if you fail on exchange!!


Hutong (alleyways) and siheyuan (courtyard houses) have been a signature feature of Beijing since the Ming dynasty. Some interesting stories of phrases like 少东 and 门当户对 arose from these neighbourhoods - eg. how there are different no of beams above the household entrance, a sign of social and political status.

The hutongs have such a old-world charm - it's a pity that many of are making way for modern development and wider roads! We took a pretty touristy tricycle tour around the hutongs, but it's so quaint that they are still inhabitated, with people heading home on the bicycles, etc.

With a temperature of 36 degrees(!!!) in the past week, it's no wonder that jie didn't like beijing that much. But I love the way Beijing is a mix of new and old... walking along the old hutongs out to the traffic-jammed roads (no, i still don't love the traffic), going from crowded shopping places to mountaineous Great Wall in the rural areas....
3 times great wall + 4 times peking duck. good thing the law of diminishing returns hasn't set in yet! at least this peking duck experience was unique - to complete the old-world-charm- week, we went in search of Liqun Peking duck, situated in a siheyuan, a 15 minute walk into the hutongs. catch it before it becomes another quanjude tourist chain!!