Woke up early with the jet lag still in our heads, ready for a long day with much to see.
We started by returning to the Hutong district where we met our Hutong guide, Grace, and went on a rickshaw ride through the tiny streets. It’s an amazing pocket of old China right in the middle of a massive city. First, a short stop where Grace (who talks about herself in the third person a lot) explained the history of the Hutong aswell as some of the design freatures of the houses/courtyards and stopping evil spirits entering the buildings.

From there we went to meet Mrs Zaio(sp.) who took us into her home and talked more about the history and the way of life in the Hutong (she shares her house with her brothers family, her parents and her cousins family as well as her own). Then it was back on the bikes to return to the bus.

The forbidden city is vast and beautiful. Hard to imagine it without all the people, but the shear size of the place means it’s not too crowded.

Writing this, we’ve Just got out of the “Legend of Kung Fu” show. Absolutely brilliant, combination of Kung Fu fighting, gymnastics and ballet and then the cast posed for photos at the end, which was fun.