On Friday, August 10, we did not have our weekly test. Instead, we were allowed to explore Beijing. I decided I wanted to go and see the Hutongs, the traditional Beijing homes found in the alleyways. It took us about an hour to get to the Houhai Hutongs, the area where we were visiting. Hutongs are spread throughout Beijing; the ones we visited were near Beihai Park in a pleasant area. I spent about two hours strolling the Hutong area and speaking with one of the locals. This Hutong fieldtrip would be part of my final exam so I had to investigate what it was like to live in these homes. Not all the people who lived in the Hutongs were so eager to talk. After my second try, an elderly lady welcomed me into her home and answered all my questions. The living conditions in the Hutong are very poor. There is a public restroom for about 15 families and there are no showers. It is very crowded and dirty. The lady I spoke to had been living in the same Hutong for about 40 years and was just very unhappy with her life. She told me that meat is too expensive to buy so she only eats rice and vegetables; she has to lock her doors because it is getting very unsafe; there are a lot of people from the country moving into the Hutongs and Beijing people don’t like them; the government repairs the outside appearance of the Hutongs but not the inside (trying to make the city pretty for the foreigners who are coming next year for the Olympic games). One thing that I did not do while I was in the Hutongs was go on a rickshaw ride; there’s always next time. She was just not a happy camper! After spending about two hours strolling the Hutongs, I had lunch in Houhai by the lake and then went to Prince Gong’s Residence. On my way to his residence I signed up to be an Olympic volunteer. Although I already filled the online form, I filled out the paper form – who knows, maybe that will help. They took what seemed a thousand pictures, and then I got a sticker. Cute!
Prince Gong’s Residence
In the mid 19th century, Emperor Xianfeng gave his half brother, Prince Gong, this residence. It is one of the larges private homes in Beijing. Prince Gong is well-known for having negotiated with the British during the second Opium War. Prince Gong agreed to the terms of the Treaty of Tianjin, handed large amounts of silver and part of Kowloon to British Hong Kong. In exchange, the British did not interfere in Beijing and supported the Qing against the Taiping Rebellion. We are actually not allowed into the Prince’s home, but we are allowed to see the garden. The garden is full of winding paths, rockeries (taihu rock structures), water, and buildings. All these elements form part of a traditional Chinese garden. For example, a visit to a Chinese garden should be an engaging and surprising experience. You have to walk around, look through the walls, the windows, the gates, etc. You must actively participate in the “garden experience.” You can also admire the interaction between the solid structures such as the buildings, pavilions, and rocks and the water (huge pond). I was also very excited to visit Prince Gong’s home because in my Art History class I also studied Chinese gardens. It’s always rewarding to see first hand what you’ve studied for months in a text book. One of the garden’s highlights is the theatre almost in the middle of the garden. Although I did not go inside, I was able to sneak in a picture of the ceiling which is beautiful.
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