China 653 Going local exploring a hutong

One of the things Len and I really enjoy doing
is riding the subway to discover a hutong area.
Hutongs (traditional residential neighborhoods) are
quickly disappearing in Beijing and throughout China,
to make way for high rises and a growing population.

There is a preservation society working to maintain the history
 and and culture of Beijing through these hutongs.  To me, it is so
 interesting  to see how the locals work, do business, and live-
as they have for centuries. Many of the homes have limited
electricity and plumbing, and most still use the public toilets
and washroom down the street. Others have been lovingly restored
 and modernized, like my friend Jeannette's home, who chose to use
 her housing stipend to live fully immersed in the culture and
language of China. Like her little patio garden, every square inch
 of space is utilized, like these grape vines growing across the alleyway.

In the hutongs, I find it so interesting that a
man can make a living selling leeks...

...or tomatoes from the back of a van...

...or cabbages from a pedal cart for 15 cents each.
I never cease to wonder how it all works???

This man was selling six foot braids of beautiful
garlic- but I would never use that much garlic in a year!
Notice the man next to him has a handful of squash,
cucumbers, chinese cabbages and beans for sale.

Back home in Indiana, we would have called this "Indian
corn" which we would hang dried ears of it on our front
door in the fall as a decoration. They were selling it to eat.
I wonder if it tastes like field corn, like all the other corn I
have tried in China?  I sure miss Indiana sweet corn!

The 'scarier' purchases to make off the street
are the various meats...

...like duck necks or duck heads...

...or sesame chicken feet...

...or spicy snails...

...or live crawfish trying to make a great escape
from a styrofoam box which held no ice.  Smh.

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The hutongs have very narrow alleys so the traffic is all
foot traffic, pedal carts, tuk-tuks, scooters and bicycles.

And sometimes you happen upon a cart full of cute
little Chinese babies, some still in their school uniforms :-)

"Yo quiero Taco Bell."  Me, too, little buddy, me, too.
I did hear recently that Taco Bell is coming to Beijing- hooray!

.

I love the tile roofs, with the figurines along the roof's edge.
Sometimes they are dragons, buddhas, monkeys, dogs or
other mythical looking creatures- so interesting.

When you explore the vast alleyways of the hutongs,
and you're willing to find yourself a little lost, you
never know what you might discover around the next corner-
like Zhengjue Temple from the Ming Dynasty dating 1467.

The temple was mostly in ruins, and no longer in use,
except for this feral momma kitty and her babies who
had taken up residence in what remained.

So long as you keep your eyes and ears open,
there truly is something new to discover in this land
far from home.  Anybody know what the name of this bug
 might be?  It's a hopper, and it scared the bejesus outta me!
It's all part of the adventure in getting up close and personal, lol.


G'nite, y'all!