Dashilan

About 3 weeks ago we took a walk on a nice weekend afternoon. As you can see spring has arrived in Beijing.

There were a lot of people out enjoying the sunshine in the park - playing cards, dancing, people watching, etc.

This is Changpuhe Park. It is just north of Chang'An Ave near the Forbidden City.

I took a picture from this same location back in December on a much colder day. On that day we were the only people in the park besides a couple of other hardy souls.

You can compare the winter scene here  Winter Scene if you scroll down.

This worker was taking a nap when he saw him. Notice the brooms. Whenever I have seen these I assumed they were old leftovers from the 30 years ago. I guess I'm wrong - these look brand new.

Later on we wandered through the old hutong neighborhoods south of Qianmen Ave. It is very quiet in these narrow streets.

Although it is very quiet, someone is always just around the corner going about their business.

Then you see things like this. Fish drying in the window of a home. I don't imagine they add a very nice aroma to the breeze blowing in the window.

It was a nice day for birds to enjoy, also.

This is the entrance to Dazhalan or Dashilan.

Da means big and zhalan means railing or bars. In days past neighborhoods were fenced  or walled off and the gates in the big fences were closed at night as a security measure. This neighborhood had a large railing keep questionable people out at night.

Even today most residential areas are sort of walled off with just a few entrances although they seem to be open all the time.

This area has long been a commercial street.

This picture is inside one of the old silk stores in Dazhalan.

This picture is outside the store above.

You can see other pictures from the area at this link. --> Dazhalan and Liulichang

Down the street we ran into an area of outdoor restaurants. These guys are serving Halal lamb or chicken by the looks of their hats.

This area is near what was the Muslim quarter of Beijing.

Another picture of the Qianmen area.

This area was completely rebuild a few years ago. When we were here in 2006 the area was completely blocked off for redevelopment. They have replicated the style from before but it is all new.