The Other Side of the Tracks

From the Temple of Heaven, an imperial complex filled with emperors' artifacts, I decided to visit another area of town to see how the other half lived.

The old neighborhoods of imperial Beijing, known as hutong, are made up of narrow alleys created by lines of courtyard homes. The neighborhoods are often contained within a wall, like so... In imperial times, all of the roads and alleys were laid out along the four cardinal directions. Social status determined your home's allowable proximity to the Forbidden City.

Sadly, since the time of Mao in the Mid-20th century, the hutongs have been in decline, as people move into large apartment complexes. Many have been torn down to make way for new construction and still others are virtually empty. There is an effort underway to preserve as least some of these neighborhoods for their historic value.

I wandered out of the hutong and through a local park where groups were playing Mah-Jong. I stood and watched them for a bit, but didn't want to disturb the furious clacking and sliding of tiles.

One thing I love about the parks, is that they have fitness equipment that people actually use. But unlike at home, where it is all pull-up bars and stretching stations, these parks have cardio machines, like this electricity-free treadmill.

As I found my way back home, I spied this sculpture outside one of the metro stops and thought it was cute.