However, at the back of the place and in the back alley are merchants selling everything cricket –related: crickets of various sizes (and sound), cricket cages, cricket food dishes, brushes (to make them sing), worms for food, and more. There are also merchants selling walnuts, a collectors’ item I gather for some, as well as for use in hand dexterity exercises and massage. There are also merchants making and selling traditional cloth shoes and the odd sidewalk “antiques” seller with a smattering of odd items on a newspaper or cloth on the alley floor.
From here you can walk the back alleys to the Lu Xun Museum. The museum itself is very modern and has lovely displays, but there isn’t much in English or other foreign languages to explain everything. Still, one can see the pride China has in this forefather of modern socialist literature, and when one tours the old courtyard home and sees a photo taken in the 20s of the Miao Ying Temple White Dagoba in the background of his lane, and then one steps out and sees the same White Dagoba in the distance, that’s HISTORY!
There are three other places of interest in this area, all within walking distance: The Temple of Emperors of Successive Dynasties (Lidai Diwang Miao), looking like a somewhat more compressed, but no less impressive Forbidden City, and the Miao Ying Temple White Dagoba Temple (Miao Ying Si Baita), built in 1096 and later restored in the Ming Dynasty. This latter of two dagobas of the Tibetan style in Beijing, the other being in BeiHai Park. And the Guangji Temple, originally built in the Jin dynasty (280-316AD), but completely destroyed during the chaos of the Jin and Yuan dynasties, is now headquarters of the Chinese Buddhist Association and a center for Buddhist learning. It’s across the street from the Geological Museum. I found out about this area through an excellent article in Time Out Beijing a year or so ago, and guests never cease to enjoy sights in Beijing which they feel are “undiscovered” by the masses of tourists. But warning: Mondays are museum holidays! (At least, this past Monday was...) Which is why, when my nieces and I found both the Temple of Succession and the White Dagoba Temple closed, we jumped in a cab to the Drum and Bell Towers and explored Hou Hai environs instead. And we found winter fun!
I admit, I’ve lived here almost five years and knew about skating in that area, but until now I hadn’t seen for myself, on a cold winter afternoon, old and young people, pairs and groups, even the single old man pirouetting on his skates, all having a blast on the ice. The slide show should give you a good idea of the scene. There were skates available for rent, little sleds (1-2 person) which one propelled through short ski poles, and what we dubbed “bing-cycles” (bing meaning “ice” in Mandarin), which was a cross between a bicycle and sled. We even saw a guy leading a large sheep pulling a sleigh around on the ice! There are various access points onto the ice -- and I don’t think anyone is keeping track of HOW MANY people are on the ice at the same time. You pay a entrance fee to the ice. If you rent skates or sleds, you will not only pay for an hours’ rental, you will leave an additional deposit for the safe return of that item. My nieces had a blast tooling around the ice on their “bing-cycle” and I hope you do too!
Later, we walked south to visit BeiHai Park, entering from the East to climb to the other White Dagoba in Beijing! From the island summit we could look down upon more ice skaters and ice sledders, though in a more controlled (as in fenced) area. The same system for rentals seemed to be in place.
Baby, it’s cold out there, but there are fun things to do. So, go rent a “bing-cycle” and have a blast.
Locations:
Lu Xun Museum: 19 Gongmenkou Santiao, Fuchengmennei Dajie, Xicheng
Miao Ying Temple White Dagoba: 171 Fuchengmennei Dajie, Xicheng
Temple of Emperors of Successive Dynasties: 131 Fuchengmennei Dajie, Xicheng district
Guangji Temple: Fuchengmennei, opposite (more or less) the Geological Museum
