These men work really hard… especially when there’s 3 of us in the back！
As a passenger, the view is very different from this angle compared to biking on your own or in a taxi or bus. It’s totally enjoyable to be a passenger on the back of a bicycle.. your attention doesn’t have to be as cautious of other traffic and you can completely enjoy and appreciate the surrounding environment at a slower pace then motorized vehicles.
A visit to NanLouGuXiang was great to see with all the small independent and creative shops. From the pottery to Tibetan yogurt and craftmanship items.
It’s a shame to come across this article in the Beijinger noting the change in environment from an authentically developed ‘tourist attraction’ to one that will potentially be artificially enforced. The neighborhood is changing. The local, family and independent establishments will be pushed out due to higher rent prices and demand for the location:
Part of the problem — insofar as it can be called that — is Nanluogu Xiang’s popularity. Time, in December, listed Nanluogu Xiang as one of “25 authentic Asian experiences,” a pick that stands to look real silly once the commercial retailers move in. And a Chinese travel book listed it as one of the top 100 places in all of China, putting it in the same context as the Forbidden City and Great Wall. Nanluogu Xiang, in other words, can no longer be called trendy; it is established. And because of that, its place in this country, in the eyes of the powers that be, ultimately rests in a capitalist pasture with the other established cash cows.
Unfortunate.
Here are a few photos from my 1st visit last week:
So smart to orient the map the same way the street is laid out! Proof that community living and communal bath houses and toilets are still used and needed, even in a ‘developed’ city like Beijing:
I do wonder if this map is for locals or tourists, since it’s placed on a main street that currently has a number of high-end retailers and a Ferrari showroom.
A few photos from YuYuanTan Park (玉渊潭公园) this weekend:
It’s always a funny site to see tourists posing with monuments 
And I’ll be first to admit that I do the same. Even more entertaining is that the 2 couples were nearly on top of each other, attempting to take the same photo!
