We stayed in Beijing at Grand View Garden Hotel which is in southern Beijing. We felt very safe in the whole area. We walked around the area until well after dark. We even walked down some small dark alleys but always felt comfortable. We did come close to getting run over by both cars and bicycles, but that appears to be an all-day, every-day occurrence here. You can see our hotel below.

There isn’t much concrete or asphalt in Beijing. Most surfaces are either rock or brick. Most ground is uneven so we really had to watch our steps. We found some really great walkways in the area. They have paths along roadways and rivers. Most paths appear to be relatively new. There were lots of trees about to bloom. We noticed that people here walk a great deal and they also stop to exercise a lot. Our guide said that there are nine million bicycles in Beijing. Bicycles are everywhere and also function as carts, trucks, taxis, and so on.

People appear to be very healthy. We have hardly seen anyone who looked heavy, let alone over-weight. On our walks, we saw people cooking and selling food along the road, fixing bicycles, and cutting hair. Free enterprise is everywhere. We also saw people in public parks playing ping-pong, chess, and other games. You can see a guy below operating his barber shop in the park.

We ate dinner tonight at the Peking Duck Restaurant. We had a huge meal including two Peking ducks with the heads served as well. We also had duck soup, cucumber pickle, lemon chicken, beer, wine, tea, and a table full of fourteen other dishes.