Beijing bicycle / "Climb the mountain"

April in Beijing has been great. We've had some cold and some wind the past couple days, but, especially last weekend, the weather has just been awesome. Chinese people love to be outside and are whenever possible (...there are way too many of them to all be inside, anyway) and when they're outside, two of their favorite things to do are, as they say, "riding the bicycle" and "climbing the mountain." I guess riding a bike though, for most, is more of a necessity thing, but for me, Dave and Ryan last weekend it was a fun time. We borrowed some bikes and headed out towards Bei Hai Park, just north of the Forbidden City, to explore some nearby hu tongs, the neighborhoods that make up Old Beijing. It's awesome to see a big city by bike, to weave in and out of traffic, and when you're in Beijing, to experience what millions of Beijingren do everyday. The hu tongs were awesome (the last time we saw them we'd paid some ridiculous amount of kuai for a rickshaw tour... I definitely recommend by bike) and the weather between 5 and 8 p.m. last Friday (while we were riding) was, no joke, the best I've seen in China, ever.








The following day I was invited to, as the Chinese say, "climb the mountain." I love the expression: pa shan in Chinese. The invitation goes like this, "Are you free Saturday? Do you want to climb the mountain?" I mean, how can you turn that down? Really. Sure it's because Chinese English speakers love that particular definite article, but how can you pass up climbing THE mountain? That's a challenge to my manhood if I've ever heard one. The invitation came from my English boss lady in the Kindergarten, Jennifer, and I headed up to Chang Ping, the town where she lives with her husband, to climb the mountain with them, two of her friends, and my fellow Kindergarten teacher, Michelle. We had a good time, succesfully reached the summit and enjoyed the view from the top of the mountain overlooking the Ming Tomb Reservoir. The climb consisted of walking up a pretty steep road and about 1200 steps. A good day's work in my opinion. The reservoir area was pretty cool, and I heard a spot where they'll do some cycling and running in 2008. And, it sure was fun teaching my Chinese friends to say "reservoir." Enjoy the pictures!