Beihai Park and Houhai Lake

I am not sure how much the travel books say about these two places, since Paul was the one who studied most of the travel books, so I am going to talk about them. If you are ever in Beijing, you must go to these two places.

David took us first to Beihai Park during the day. The scenery is gorgeous, and the place is not crawling with tourists. As we wandered through the park we happened upon a man playing traditional Chinese music on a flute while looking out over the lake so we decided to stop to look out over the lake and listen to him. I did not want to leave. I must say, though, that after getting up and walking away, I was the most relaxed I have been in years. 

When you exit the park, you will find yourself in an area called Houhai Lake. This area has a superb and bustling nightlife. There are a lot of patios to sit on to have anything from tea, to supper, to a few drinks. There is even a bar called Sex and the City.

At the end of the path we happened upon a little square where people gather. There was a group of people line dancing to various songs and anyone is welcome to join in. As we watched the dancers, something happened to the sound system and there was no more music. A young man was selling these things that operate like hackey sacs, only they are discs with feathers sticking out of them. Paul purchased one and he and David went off to play with it. As they were playing, another fellow asked to join in, then a couple of his friends joined in. Soon we had a circle of no less than 6 people at any given time, and as one person left, another person would come in to take the empty place. I think what I enjoyed most was the sense of togetherness and community that I have not been able to find since I moved to Toronto so many years ago. 

Much as though we both wanted to stay and play, it was getting late and we had to return to the guesthouse to get some sleep. I hope very much to return to Beijing some day, and this will be one of the spots I will definitely come back to again. And now for some of my favourite photos of Beihai Park and Houhai Lake.