Beijing

Leisurely start, with a 9 am departure to the Temple of Heavenly Peace. This is a beautiful peaceful park in central Beijing. originally reserved for various Imperial worship ceremonies, it is now a public park and a meeting place for many locals. We found groups dancing, others playing forms of racquetball (based, apparently on Tai Chi) and many playing cards or Chinese Chess. The park itself is green and beautiful, with some spectacular Imperial temples.

Then to Tiananmem Square for a look around. Mao was closed today, so we had to pass on paying our regards.

The afternoon was free, so we and one other group member (Shirley) went to Benhai Park and had lunch there. Following that, we do a great tour of the hutong areas, by bicycle rickshaw. The hutongs are the older Beijing accommodation. Streets are narrow and most houses are enclosed and centered around a courtyard. The house might accommodate a number of generations of a family, or in one case that we visited be a larger quadrangle housing 20 families. We also saw the "house" of Soong Ching Ling, who was the widow of Sun Yet Sen (and who was revered in the Communist era). She lived in a large and magnificant former palace (the last Emperor of China was actually born there many years before). Set in beautiful gardens, the house itself was quite exquisite - large rooms, beautifully laid out and quite simple in design.

Off now to buy supplies for the train.