The (Asian) Education of Miss 爱美丽

As I’ve already shared with a lot of you, my trip to Beijing was truly one of the most memorable traveling experiences of my life. It’s hard for me to find the words (and time) to  synthesize the impressions Beijing left on me, since my time there in six short days taught me more about China than any of my previous education (re: little to none) had done before. Instead, I’ve rounded up some of the highlights and pictures to give you a sense of how and why I fell in love with the city.  Enjoy.

Highlights:

• Watching my host-with-the-most, John, present his Green Beat environmental video project to a room full of hundreds of international do-good’ers and go-getter’s at a PechaKucha conference.
• Watching my hostess-with-the-mostess, Kira, bounce between her French coworkers and the Chinese villagers her micro-finance company is awarding at a wine tasting (their first) in a French grocery store. And running into an old Georgetown friend there. Priceless.
• Ju’er Hutong and Nanluoguxiang, one of Beijing’s most famous streets, and also right outside Kira’s door. A fantastic spot for my first time in the city.
• Riding Kira’s bike (along with many of Beijing’s 17 million residents) for five hours straight all around the city -along the lake district, the Forbidden City, the Bell Tower, winding hutongs – and somehow making it back safely.
• The Summer Palace. Easily rivals Versailles in its sheer size and balance between natural and man-made splendor.
• The Great Wall. Obviously amazing. The rugged landscape, the steepness, the size, the ski-lift/tobogan combination for ascent and descent! Truly an unforgettable experience.
• Driving throught beautiful autumn countryside on our way back from the Great Wall.
• Spending a relaxing hour with a pot of jasmine in a traditional tea house.
• Being stopped in the street by strangers (on several occasions) for a picture or a simple chat in English. 
• Riding public transportation and being swept up in the masses of rush hour commuters.
• THE FOOD: Yunnan, crepe-like jian bing, roadside spicy tofu with cilantro, dumplings, cheap noodle joints, yogurt (see former post), and my new favorite cuisine Uighar food. More on that later.
• Peking duck – the pancakes, scallions, plum sauce skin, the whole shebang – at a traditional neighboorhood joint.

Check it out:

Nanluoguxiang

Forbidden City

Biking around the lake district

For more Beijing pictures, go here.