rikshas are coming

click image to enlarge

the lonely planet guide told: "you don't have to search for the rikshas to drive you through the hutongs, they will find you", and so it was. outside the north end of the forbidden city, you could merely walk for 5m without being asked for a riksha tour. As it was off season, there were maybe 50 rikshas for every tourist.

this photo on flickr

Some rights reserved.

hutong courtyard

click image to enlarge

the cold grey weather we had, just above freezing, perfectly matches the blue-grey colors here, with the chillies a perfect complementary in color as well as characteristic.

the chinese society undergoes a fast transition. this is strongly visible also inside the cities, where those who do not manage to be on the rising side live under very simple conditions. i did not want to think about winter temperatures in accomodations like this.

this photo on flickr

Some rights reserved.

from imperial splendor into the poorer quarters

click image to enlarge

the exit gate of the forbidden city shone in such a fresh and strong red that it was almost painful in the eyes - and to the sensor, as the histogram showed. a friend later on told me that the preliminaries of the olympic games 2008 had included a real orgy in paint, even in the hutongs, the leftovers of the traditional beijing quarters, where all the roadside walls were painted grey.

of course this was only a make-up and was not connected to substantial improvements. the hutongs were a strong contrast to the splendor of the forbidden city, and a contrast to the modern, multi-story, skyscraper architecture that is the visible result of the olympics boom. the hutongs feature a similar red as the old parts of the forbidden city, but the rest is dreary and grey, except for the more touristic parts.

this photo on flickr

Some rights reserved.