Today was a quiet, rainy day. Since the schedule is going to get very busy soon, I tried to take it easy, planning and exploring the area with Ling, my roommate and fellow educator. We saw some of the quiet side of Beijing — exploring a local park, ducking into alleyways, checking out random shops, and figuring out how to safely cross multi-lane highways. While this city is full of many, many people, it’s clear that there’s plenty of space for everyone.
Just outside of the bustling cityscape near our hotel, we happened across this awesome park.
This man was hanging out in the park doing impressive tricks with a kind of popular yo yo here.
On the other side of the park, there was a little river, which appeared to have lower water levels than usual.
A veggie market we visited off the main street. We didn’t end up buying dragon fruit, lychees, or peaches, but I plan to taste test them soon!
A rare sight in Beijing — a stretch of empty road.
Categories: China
Innovation on Earth 
I’m enjoying your travelogue! Thank you :).
hi Ms. Krakauer!!
when i was in Beijing, i mostly saw the crowded or loud side. but i did sometimes see a little bit of the quiet side. like in your last picture, i saw a quiet stretch of road with no cars coming.
i really loved the park you went into!! i thought the picture you took was awesome!! since it’s so quiet and peaceful, maybe you can have a picnic there. did you see anyone else?
i also really liked your picture of the river. i find it a little odd; usually in the summertime, rivers should be growing in water volume. maybe it’s because of Global Warming?
i noticed the little boat by the side, and it got me thinking: are you planning on going into a river on a boat soon?
i saw the stone walls by the river, too. was that river a man-made canal or a natural river?
as for the the fruits you plan on trying soon, i can tell you that (in my opinion) the lychees are awesome!!! i don’t know how you’ll find it, so you can find out for yourself, too.
finally, the yo-yo that you saw was the Chinese yo-yo, as you probably already guessed.
if you want to learn more about it, you can visit either of these links:
http://hua.umf.maine.edu/China/ModernBeijing/pages/286_ChineseYoyo.html
http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~yoyo/about.html
best wishes!!
😉 ~ anna
Ha that is so cool
Hi Ms. Krakauer! I hope your enjoying your trip a lot! I have enjoyed looking at your posts! The veggie market seems to be full of great food. I would try dragon fruit or something like that! Also i have never seen a park like that!!! Looks like your seeing a lot of great things already.
Have fun!
is the park really have that tilted hills, or is it just a camera illusion?
Yes, it’s really tilted. The path was up on the top of the hill.