The Hutong, or back alley, is one place we could see what life might have truly been like in old China. These small alleys are a maze of walls and buildings. We took a Rickshaw bike tour to one of the family homes in this district. Our ride was held up by a traffic jam. Two Chinese mail vans were competing for space on a VERY narrow road.
Each family unit living in the Hutong may have multiple relations living with them in their "family home" The homes are smaller walled areas, containing multiple rooms such as bedrooms, living quarters and a kitchen. These areas are so old that there is no plumbing and bathrooms are communal between multiple families. There is electricity running to the homes, but you can see in the pictures, it isn't neat and tidy.
We enjoyed a lunch inside the family home we were visiting. This family opens their home up everyday for tour groups and feeds them an authentic Chinese dinner. All for a fee of course. We ate a TON of food and even got to try making our own dumplings. Their kitchen area was small, yet they were able to feed all 16 in our tour group with plenty left over! We were left to wonder though. Were the ducklings in the cage pets, or next months dinner?
And just because I know someone will ask... The Tomatoes and Eggs were suprisingly good. Tasted very much like scrambled eggs with a bit too much catsup on them.
After lunch it was back to the bus which offered a couple more photos for you to enjoy:
See you all tomorrow for the final photos of Day one.
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