Jan Bono’s Blog

Hutong means alley, but today the word is used to designate the entire backstreet, or traditional living area. I suppose that makes the Chinese “Hutong” the equivalent of the Korean “Hanok.” Miriam and I shared a little two-seater carriage pulled by a guy pedaling an...

I may have mentioned (maybe once or twice) that our guide was exceptionally good at his job. On our third morning in Beijing, we left the hotel at 8 a.m. and hightailed it straight to Beijing Zoo, for three very good reasons, according to our guide. 1) The zoo opens...

There are no words to adequately convey the intense bombardment of my conflicting emotions at The Great Wall of China. It was an absolutely reverent sojourn, amazingly spiritual, and left me with a deep sense of awe. After visiting the Olympic Park, we drove north...

Our first stop this day was Olympic Park, home to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. A pleasant Wednesday in June, there were no milling crowds, no rush to get from one event to another, no gold or silver medals hanging in the balance of a split second. We walked for a...

Still almost uncomfortably full from our delicious duck dinner, I'm thinking it's time to head for the hotel after our heavenly visit at the Temple of Heaven when our guide said, "There's an Acrobat Show we can just get to on time, if you’re interested. It's extra,...

The Temple of Heaven is round because the heaven is round, explained our guide. It's also painted blue, but here in the 21st Century, the sky is pretty smog-laden, and a blue sky backdrop is a rarity rather than the norm. Nevertheless, the weather Bruha (that would be...