Hutong tour and Drum Tower

Our big adventure today was a tour of the Hutong area and Drum Tower, via bicycle rickshaw. I called our agency guide, Grace, at 11 AM to ask how soon we could reserve a tour. At 11:39, a local guide, Nancy, met us in the lobby of our hotel. How's that for service? We first took a taxi to the Hutong district -- a mini-adventure all by itself.

We rented two rickshaws while Nancy rode a bike through the Hutong alleys. We stopped in front of a gate while Nancy explained the traditional Chinese superstitions involved in the placement of each piece of the gate. She also talked to the girls about how in ancient China, men walked to the left up the steps while women walked to the right, because the left is of higher importance and status. Then she laughed and told the girls how she likes modern China much more, because she can walk anywhere she wants. Nancy is the 2nd daughter of 3 children. Her family was rural, so they were allowed two children or one boy, whichever came first. Her parents really wanted a boy, so they had another child and paid to make him legal. At that time, 1981, the fine was 300 RMB; now it is 50,000 RMB. In 1981, Nancy's father made 20 RMB per month, and he lost his job shortly after Nancy's little brother was born. The whole family contributed to pay the extra child fine. I kept wondering how many families would have left the second daughter at the orphanage gates, rather than paying for the boy.

We were so lucky to be able to visit an established family in the Hutong district. Mr. Jiang lives in a house and courtyard that has been in his family for 200 years. During the Cultural Revolution, the government took possession of the household from 1966 to 1976, but allowed the family to stay. At that time, 12 families lived in the household. In 1976, the household was returned to the Jiang family.

Mr. Jiang lives there with his parents, aged 91 and 95, and his Didi (little brother) and MeiMei (little sister), and their families. He also has 3 JieJies (older sisters), so he loved the story of our soon-to-be son and his 3 big sisters. He showed us pictures of himself as a baby and his family when he was a child.

The Hutong district households have no private toilets and are heated by coals. While we sat on the sofa in the living room building, it became increasingly obvious that Devyn needed to pee. Nancy told us that if we could wait, Devyn could use the public toilet outside the household. Mr. Jiang told Nancy something that made her laugh, and she told us, "Mr. Jiang said she is only a little girl. She can go potty in the courtyard. But I know that is not accepted in other countries." Scott and I looked at each other with guilty grins; Devyn will pee anywhere. I told Nancy if it was really okay with Mr. Jiang, then Devyn would be happy to pee in the courtyard, as we let her do that in our backyard and in airport parking lot plantings, etc. So, uh, she did. Mr. Jiang seemed very happy that we were raising our children properly. Eiley, Mia, and Devyn enjoyed playing with the Jiang family dogs: 2 Bichon Frises, a Corgi, and Lily who was maybe a Pomeranian mix.

I was really impressed by all the food growing in the Jiang courtyard. A date tree, a walnut tree, ginseng, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, grapes, green onions, and the oldest and most beautiful pomegranate tree I've ever seen. Nancy told us that a pomegranate tree is supposed to bring lots of boys, and then she laughed at the fact that Mr. Jiang's parents had had 4 girls and 2 boys. I was liking Nancy more and more every minute.

After the Hutong tour, we toured a local market and then went to the Drum Tower. We climbed up the 69 steep steps and looked out from the second story. Nancy told us that it was unusually clear today, and I was very impressed at how much the Beijing air pollution has improved. We could see Coal Hill, the Forbidden City park, and several high rises. The drum tower demonstration was impressively loud. I'll post pictures separately.

We had planned to go to the Chinese acrobats show tonight at 7:30, but the girls fell asleep at 5:30. It's 10:30 now, so I should probably do the same.