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There is just so much to capture in Beijing photos that I just can’t do it justice in a reasonable amount of posts.  So hang on to your hat and get ready for a whirlwind photo tour of Beijing – the rest of our favorite sites (although I did save a few for tomorrows China summary post):

lunch with hutong locals
We had lunch with a local family in the Hutongs. This man cooked our delicious traditional meal of rice, various stir fry dishes including chicken, vegetables and another unknown meat plus the best ever sweet and sour pork from a recipe handed down from his grandfather who cooked it for the Emperor. After lunch we learned how to make dumplings and were shown the kitchen. In the Hutongs, houses are a living room bedroom and kitchen; everyone uses public bathrooms.
drumming in hutongs - part of the collection of Beijing photos
We climbed the 63 steep steps to the top of the drum tower to watch a drumming ceremony. It was loud, but really cool.
Birds Nest - Beijing olympic stadium
We stopped at the Olympic park to take photos of the “Bird’s Nest” 2008 Olympic stadium.
hutongs
Our guide Alex called this a “bar” road; it was part of our Hutong tour.
Beijing- Confucian Temple
Beijing- Confucian Temple
Dong Yu Temple Beijing
There was a department for everything at Dong Yu Taoist Temple, and each had it’s own room. This group is the “department for implementing 15 kinds of violent death.”

Plus we visited a cloisonne factory (all hand made), went to Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Wangfujing Street, Lama Temple, had a rickshaw ride, and visited a Chinese medicine doctor.  However, of all the things we did in Beijing, climbing the Great Wall was my favorite.

All photos on this page © Rhonda Albom 2012

Read Next: Travel Tips on China – Know Before You Go

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About Rhonda Albom

Capturing the essence of travel through photography, Rhonda Albom is the primary author and photographer at Albom Adventures. She is an American expat based in New Zealand. She travels the world with her husband.

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Comments

  1. Kim

    I’m so jealous you get to do this, I would love to travel all over & how did you come about getting invited to a local’s house for lunch? That was so nice of them (& very trusting of you)

    I’m just terrified of ‘seeing’ the credit card bills and all that between the hotels & plane alone. LOL me I’d have to bring an extra bag (or find a P.O. in each town to mail stuff back home!

    Reply

    • Rhonda

      We used tours by locals and our guide arranged for it.

      My credit card bills are pretty scary, but we have been saving for this for 10 years.

      Reply

  3. Tony Payne

    It all sounds brilliant. I am sure it’s going to seem really strange when you hit Europe and find proper toilets etc.

    Reply

  4. Julie

    I’m so glad you’re having a wonderful time! The pictures are amazing and the girls look like they’re enjoying every minute! I’m sure that they especially appreciated the Olympic Village!

    Reply

  5. Amy

    I am so jealous! I wish I ever had the chance to visit the Olympic village. My husband is an architect, he has told me so many times about those architectural wonders, just like the nest on your photo which was designed by Herzog and deMeuron from Switzerland…

    Reply

  8. Elyn MacInnis

    You lucked out in your hutong lunch spot – to have someone whose family cooked for the Emperor is awesome. I bet it was really tasty!

    Reply

    • Rhonda

      I know. He was so humble too, he didn’t tell us until we raved over the dish. It was really good, lucky Emperor 🙂

      Reply

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