Jed field trip

On Wednesday I accompanied Jed's class on a China Link field trip. In school, they study the local culture and take occasional field trips to see what they've studied. So, we went to to visit a Hutong (old Chinese village), the old Drum Tower with the ceremonial drums, and a local park that was behind the Forbidden City.

At the Hutong, we took Pedi Cab rides ("taxis" pulled by bicyclists), visited a home and made jiaozi (dumplings). The kids loved it. The house was clearly made nicer for the benefit of tourists. It even had an indoor toilet which is not at all common in the villages. They have communal bathrooms with squatty potties. The woman of the house had prepared the dough and the kids rolled out the pieces, put the filling inside and closed them up for her to boil. Then, most of the kids ate them. They were quite a hit. Jed ate 4. If I'd served them at home, he'd have turned up his nose, I am sure.

The Hutongs are the old villages and they are quickly being torn down by the government in order to make room for office buildings, shopping and apartments.

After the Hutong tour, we drove to the drum tower. We were told to be on time as the last show starts at 11:30 and we needed to be there. We arrived at 11:00 so we had a half hour to walk around the drums and see the view which was not great due to the terrible pollution. The steps up to the top were very steep and numerous.

At exactly 11:30, costumed men and women started the show, without announcing the start. At 11:33, the show was over. The children sat, waiting for more, but it soon became clear that nothing would come, so we headed down the steps and took the bus to lunch.