There were lots of artisans in the district. This is candy, hand spun into these shapes.
These little bottles were filled with different scents, such as menthol, which were designed for medicinal purposes. The menthol bottles smelled like Vick's salve. They could fill it with other scents for you or paint your name on the bottle if you wanted something different.
The bottles are painted from the inside. This video was made at a different location, but it is the same way it was being done in this little shop.
The area was beautiful with a lovely canal.
I loved the little brooms they used to sweep the streets.
After walking around the Hutong for a while, we took a rickshaw ride to the residential section. The drivers raced each other in some sections. It was definitely the bicycle races! (Now, hear that song in your head while watching this!)
Once in the residential section, we went to a private home for a home-cooked dinner. It was getting dark by the time we got there, so there are no good pictures of the homes. Just like when you have a historical designation in the US, these homes are historically designated, and permission to make changes must be obtained from the government. In most cases, these homes do not have private bathrooms and cannot install one, but there are public bathrooms scattered throughout the neighborhood. Dinner was served family style and was absolutely delicious. For the sake of not posting pix of people who may not want their faces posted on the blog, here is a picture of the remnants.
Our first full day in Beijing was definitely packed! There was enough opportunity to stop and rest for a minute, though, in most cases. I only had to stop the group once, and that was on the way back to the bus after dinner. When we finally got back to the hotel, I was exhausted. Fell asleep the minute my head hit the pillow!
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