Hutongs, Crickets, and Acrobats

May 13, 2010
We enjoyed a wonderful day tourning the Hutong section of Beijing and seeing an acrobatic show with one other CCAI family. We had arranged this tour with JC Travel before we knew our exact schedule with CCAI. Turns out we could have waited a day and toured the Hutong with our travel group. The good news is we were able to climb to the top of the Drum Tower on our visit and we saw Cricket Liu again. (A relative of your's, Minqi?) The stairway up to the drum room is treacherously steep and the only thing more difficult than climbing up is going back down. Abigail and Olivia are simply amazing. I was worried to near fit-stage before we made it back down. Olivia, ever inquisitive as usual had some really great questions for our guide Nancy. One of the drums on display is one of the original drums that was destroyed with knives by the Huns. Olivia asked who cut the drum all up and when Nancy told her the Huns she asked, "Why? Cause they didn't want them warning the people?" Maybe she's watched Mulan a few too many times. :o)

My camera battery died must a few minutes after we met up with Cricket Liu, who's famous fighting crickets won him a new car a few years ago. For those of you who don't know, the Chinese fight crickets like some countries fight roosters. These fights only take place in October during mating season. Cricket Liu showed us the different types of cricket cages he had brought with him. (To Olivia's group mates, we were not able to go to his home this time because that section of the hutong is closed to all but foot traffic now. Therefore he travels to a courtyard of a friend to share his hobby with tourists). The girls loved his presentation and it was a highlight of our day.

The acrobat show was great fun. Abigail was simply amazed by the performances and Olivia enjoyed most of the show. At one point one performer changed faces many times and this worried Olivia right into my lap, but for the most part it was well worth the time. (Again, my camera was out of commission, so I'll have to post pics from my phone camera when I get a chance. I won't let that happen again).

After such a long day we ended with a Peking Duck dinner. By now Olivia has decided that the squatty potty is the only kind she wants to use and it's almost like when you first begin to potty train a toddler...they want to check out bathrooms everywhere you go. I finally had to have a talk with her and let her know that we're not visiting every toilet we pass just so she can practice her squatting skills, for heaven sake! I have to say, though, if I ever find myself needing to make a difficult trip and can only take one member of my family with me, I want it to be Olivia. She was just as tired as the rest of us and never made a single complaint. Her little feet walked miles further than mine and Dale's with her short little legs, and yet she never gave out and never griped about a thing! She's a super traveler!