Browsing Category: IN THE CITY

In the City: Standing near Yinding Bridge in Shichahai, Dad found one of those places where historic Beijing and the modern city seem to occupy the same streets. When we say Old Beijing, it’s easy to imagine somewhere quiet. Gray hutong walls. Traditional courtyard houses. An old bicycle. Perhaps an elderly resident sitting outside his front door. But then Dad walked into this part of Beijing. And it wasn’t quiet at all....

What We Found in Beijing: Heping Guoju (和平菓局) Dad went wandering around Wangfujing while Elaine visited the National Museum — and discovered an entire version of 1980s Beijing hiding underneath a department store. 🚶 Dad Went Downstairs… and Found Old Beijing This was another discovery from the afternoon when Elaine managed to get a free ticket to the National Museum of China — and Dad didn’t. 😂 Instead of waiting around, I...

There are two ways Dad & Elaine can travel Beijing. One is: Go. Go. Go. Forbidden City. Temple. Museum. Next attraction. Check the map. Walk another 15,000 steps. 😂 And then there are days like this one. We took the Beijing Metro (北京地铁, Běijīng Dìtiě) to the Qianmen area with a much simpler plan: hang around. No guide. No tour bus. No ambitious sightseeing checklist. We wanted to spend the day around...

Not every day in Beijing needs to be: Forbidden City → Temple of Heaven → Summer Palace → Great Wall → exhausted Dad. 😂 Sometimes we just want to go somewhere… and spend time there. On this particular day, Dad & Elaine took the Beijing Metro (北京地铁, Běijīng Dìtiě) to Wangfujing (王府井, Wángfǔjǐng). There was no guide waiting for us. No tour bus. No complicated itinerary. Elaine wanted to revisit a bookstore...