Exploring Beijing, Hutang Shopping & Peeing Babies

            The next day we headed off to go around Beijing and do some shopping.  We ended up wandering into an ancient market that was just off the main street!  Mom had some great insight on it so I'll defer to her today:

On the streets (Tue, May 1)

            One interesting feature that we see daily is the peeing baby phenomenon.  The toddlers wear diapers and pants with slits between their legs so they can squat and pee (and maybe more) when they need to.  Usually they are over a grate or near a tree with Mom standing nearby.  On the subway we can see the tuffs of their diapers sticking out through the slit.  When the weather warmed up, we learned that they just wear the same type clothing without the diapers. This makes the clothes fit loosely so sometimes a little butt is hanging out.

I was pumped to get this photo so I could prove it really happens!

            Today our wanderings took us to the ancient market near a hutang, a traditional city street. The shopping was okay but clearly designed for tourists.  I get tired of asking Landon to haggle for me.  At times it would be much easier to buy something and go on!  He likes it though because as he says, “It’s socially acceptable arguing.”  I much preferred it when we walked out of the shopping area and into the real hutang where people still live.  These are just basically alleys lined with shops that sell vegetables, meats and convenience items.  Apparently the homes are behind or above the shops.  There is lots of color and signage in large Chinese print.  All the buildings are old—it’s hard to tell exactly how old.  Electric wires run overhead and the place is packed with humanity, bicycles and, yes, cars.  It would be unbearable if the people and alley weren’t fundamentally clean.

Nestled just behind the busy street, the hutang is barely seen.

The irony of a Chinese shop selling a traditional Tibetan monk outfit is quite large.

No clue what it says but the shop was pretty cool.

This woman was screaming for people to buy something...anything.

No hutang is complete without some exotic birds!

            We went looking for lunch and ended up at a street restaurant where a guy had a wok set up on the street under an awning.  A rival “restaurant” was across the way and tables and chairs lined the street. Quite a few people were there eating, all of them Chinese.  Just two blocks off the tourist street, this area was definitely authentic and a bit more grungy looking than earlier, mostly because so much stuff was sitting outside.  The cook had a table in front of him holding various ingredients covered with plastic wrap.  That made me feel better about food safety, and I was even happier once I realized the food he cooked for us would come from inside the building, not off the table. 

            We all stood there while Landon tried ordering for us.  Unfortunately the guy was from another province and didn’t understand Landon’s Beijing accent, so it was a bit of a process.  Almost immediately a crowd gathered from the neighborhood.  They weren’t even staring at Abby’s blonde hair; it was Landon trying to speak Chinese that fascinated them.  There must have been a dozen people avidly listening to the conversation and occasionally chiming in.  I could tell that Landon was starting to get frustrated.   We finally ordered with the help of a man in the crowd who spoke English.  He had a small girl sitting on his shoulders and had listened until Landon started to struggle.  Then he volunteered to help.  What was really weird was that he spoke English with a Southern accent!  He must have gone to school in Texas or Georgia!  When it arrived the food was absolutely fabulous!  We sat at a little table, the crowd dissipated, and the kung pao chicken was so delicious that I forgot about breathing polluted air!

This guy could cook!!

P.F. Changs ain't got nothing on this!

Mom's, and ours, hangryness is now gone!

            We all enjoyed traveling off the beaten path and seeing a more authentic side of Beijing.  Next, we would see the Forbidden City and what a site it was..