Journey Conversations….

Well, we have been up and running and blogging for one week.  This is our third blog post and I can tell you that writing is something that scares me.  All of our friends will tell you that I love to talk and talk, but writing always seems so difficult for me.

We will post blogs on Tuesday’s and Friday’s. Since I have a business partner, I really only have to produce one blog per week.  You would think that I would be excited, but quite frankly I’m terrified. So, are we expert bloggers?  Well, I haven’t a clue on what an expert blogger is, but when I read other blogs the words just seem to flow from their fingers and mine seem like they are typing through peanut butter.

But, we are now published bloggers and we truly believe it will be a wonderful journey . Our passion is travel and when we are moving and touring, and eating new foods and seeing new sights we feel complete and energized.

Maybe expert bloggers we aren’t (yet) but we are travel experts and we now get the added advantage of writing about what we see, feel and do so that others might gain more knowledge and excitement along the way.

Since our next adventure is to the wonderful country of China, I’ll start with the recent USA Today article Beijing’s Traditions Fall to Bulldozers’ Progress about the narrow streets or Hutongs of Beijing.  The article stated that the Chinese government wants to tear down these Hutongs with their fifteen foot wide streets due to overcrowding and health concerns, but the current residents say these Hutongs are their history and want no part in the government changing the area.

Rickshaw Tours of Hutongs - USA Today

We have a pedicab (rickshaw) ride through the Hutongs scheduled the first day of our arrival into Beijing as we thought it was a great way to feel and see the daily life of ordinary Beijing residents. These older areas of this great city,and not just the crisp clean show areas, are just as important to experience.  Oh, how sad we were to read about their possible demise.

After the Hutong ride we will visit the Drum and Bell Tower. The bell and drum were originally used as musical instruments in China and then eventually used to tell time.  During the Han Dynasty there was “a morning bell and dusk drum.”  Since there was no physical way to tell time except by the sun and stars, these instruments assisted the citizens to work and live on a regular schedule.

Almost every city ended up constructing a bell and drum tower with Beijing’s being the largest and highest.  These bell and drum towers are prominent structures in the Dongcheng District and have been rebuilt twice after two fires destroyed the previous ones.  During the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties (1271-1911) these bell and drum towers were the time-telling center of the city.

Summer Palace

A few other plans for our first day is to have tea with a local family and then venture out to see the wonderful Summer Palace.  We are excited to experience the ride through the Hutongs, the Drum and Bell Tower performance, tea with the locals and the beauty of the Summer Palace.  We hope to take you along the way as we blog about the experience.

Have you traveled to Beijing or, are you in the: I want to travel to Beijing crowd?  Please let us know your favorite Beijing experience, or the one you want to do most!

Live.  Travel.  Connect.