The AM trip today was the Beijing Zoo. I believe every one's favorite was the Giant Pandas, which were beautiful and fairly active giving us great picture opportunities. We also saw all kinds of animals like monkeys, elephants,gorillas and even raccoons.
After the exciting, yet short visit to the zoo we visited a home which belonged to a Chinese family in a Hutongs village. The couple made us traditional food, and gave us a taste of their life. They shared stories of their past and present with all of the construction in Beijing. In a Hutong village up to 10 families may share a common bathroom! This was an amazing journey back in time to help us understand how the Chinese lived, and many still live in communities. Many are being forced to leave now due to development but would prefer to stay rather than go to condominiums.
After the meal, we all went on cart rides driven by Chinese men on bicycles. The men brought us over to the Beijing drum tower where we walked up a completely vertical flight of stairs which led to the drums and other historic pieces. Outside was a wrap around balcony which looked over Beijing from the Forbidden City to the Olympic village.
KLG
