I have saved the visit to the Lana Temple to the last day – don’t ask me why. Visit “www.lanatemple.com.cn”:http://www.lanatemple.com.cn I think you’ll find everything you need to know.
Although fortunately I arrived whilst all the monks were chanting in a ceremony within one of the temples, the rest is very similar to other temples I have visited. Put gold, red, timber, tiles and Buddha statues together and there you have it. I’m not doing it any disservice, just not much point of describing another similar temple.
Just north of the Beihai Park is the Hutong that I went round by rickshaw the other afternoon. As it was late the light was poor and I didn’t get to see an awful lot.
The taxi drops me off just south of the Drum Temple by the bridge where the small canal leads into the leisure park.
The rickshaw men are about and desperate to sell their services – but this time it’s shank’s pony to do the work.
Where is Chelyabinsk apart from being on the eastern side of the Ural Mountains – didn’t Stalin build loads of factories there. So anyway I walk around the lake where it clearly states no fishing in both English and Chinese and sure enough they are fishing. Somewhere it says no swimming, probably for health reasons, but the Hutong Swimming Club is out in force. In the water out of the water they are right by the sign that states no swimming. This is where they were the other evening; it’s their spot no doubt.
Further round the lake where there are also people boating on those scary swan designed boats is the Lotus Market. Right at the start of the market on the left is a Starbucks facing the lake on the right. I know that there are also Macdonald’s and KFC in China as I witnessed them in Shanghai but haven’t noticed any prominent sites with these two in Beijing.
So lunch now, how about black goat with rice noodles followed by double boiled wild turtle and snake. You have to give it a try. The black goat is minced in with chilli and finely diced veg with the noodles. That’s fine. The turtle and snake, well different! The turtle well I am having a stab at which is which, tastes more like calamari, quite rubbery, whilst the snake which somehow I imagined that to look like eels, is finely chopped and yes it tastes like chicken, although the ginger and pak-choi confuse the taste buds. There is too much of the liquid in the soup, no doubt that’ll go in the lake.
So when there is no market and that’s only when all the lotus flowers that are on the lake bloom, this area is bars and restaurants.
There is tranquillity in this area with no cars, buses and taxis. When you are out of the market area there are rickshaws and bicycles.
In this light I can clearly see that where they are pulling down the edges of the Hutongs they are building new frontages. This plan certainly helps clear up the initial image but like a book it doesn’t show the quality of the contents.
You can feel the life of the Hutongs wandering around the alleys. In some spots the smells are rancid and in others the smell of the cooking.
Beijing brings a multitude of images, together with the modern and the old changes in the landscape with new high rises. The cold clinical atmosphere of the high rises whilst the old areas elude charm and history. It’s hard to image how Beijing’s changing.
Changing it is and China will no doubt be the new super power. I am so glad to have witnessed one small aspect of Chinese life and the cities. Was it memorable? Yes and deeply implanted with the vision of the Great Wall fully emblazoned on the inside of my head.