Rick's Roadshow: Beijing, China- Day 1

Welcome back to another installment of Rick's Roadshow. This post is about my first day in Beijing, China. I should start off by mentioning that I am no longer in China, but I was not able to post anything to Blogger while I was in China because they have several websites censored. Things like Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, etc just could not be accessed. So anyway- now that I am in a democratic nation (Taiwan) I am able to catch up on the Roadshow from China.

Beijing (or Peking as many Asians still call it) is an interesting city. It is huge. Crowded. Chaotic. Insane traffic like I have never seen. The worst smog I've ever breathed. Between the factories and all the vehicles, the air quality is terrible. In the center of it all lies the old city, the heart of China. Tomorrow I'll take you with me on a fabulous tour of The Forbidden City. But for today, here are a few photos of the old Courtyard houses in Beijing, which were a common method of housing in old China. Many of these are still in use, but certainly today Beijingers rely on tall apartment buildings due to the size of the population.

The courtyard houses were a classic family unit. Each of the four sides were for a part of the family; males, females, elders and parents each had a side, with common areas, and a much valued courtyard with Pomegranate, Bamboo and other plants. They are actually quite charming, with lovely detail not seen today.

interior room of the courtyard house.

exterior wall at the front entrance of the courtyard

these birds were in the courtyard saying 'Ni Hao!' (hello in Chinese)

lovely river banks

wonderful architecture can be found in this old area

My first day in Beijing was full of mixed feelings. The traffic and air was very frustrating. It just seemed like way too many people, even though the city is huge in size. Despite all this, I found the old Beijing quite exciting and visually stimulating. The locals seem to like tourists and were especially friendly to me and my business colleagues. Tomorrow's photos will no doubt impress you- The Emperor's official buildings and residence, so stay tuned for a dose of really ancient China! Rick's Roadshow of Beijing continues...