Booked the city bike tour today so got to sleep in a bit before meeting at 9.  Had some breakfast and then, somewhat apprehensively met the others and our guide in the lobby for the bike tour.   While most of the streets in Beijing seem to have separated bike lanes, our tour was going to take us into the hulongs, which are a labyrinth of narrow, maze-like lanes, full of people, bikes, scooters and vehicles. 

We took the subway north, changing 3 times to get to the stop near the Bell and Drum Towers.   We got our bikes and helmets and tested then out.   One of my brakes was loose and broken so they quickly replaced it.   Got ready and set out south, towards the Forbidden City.

I was pretty shaky at first but managed to calm down by the time we reached the hill behind the Forbidden City.  We parked and locked our bikes.   They conveniently have a built in lock on the rear tire so it is super easy to park then safely.   We then headed into the pagoda park.  It is normally pretty quiet but there was a peony festival going on so it was busy but very festive and lively.   Tried out some ribbon twirling and headed up the hill to the pagoda. 




There were some amazing views from the top of the city and the Forbidden City.  It definitely gave you a much better appreciation of just how large the Forbidden City is. 

We walked back to our bikes and then headed into the hutongs.  The riding was surprisingly pleasant and not as chaotic as I expected.   The people are accustomed to bikes and multi users of the roads so it was pretty easy to get through.  We made a few stops for some history of some of the buildings.   We also stopped at a couple of schools our guide went to as a child. 




We then carried on to a restaurant which specialises in liver and intestines.   Apparently the former U.S. vice president, Joe Biden, visited and tried the liver and intestine soup and the pork dumplings so we tried them as well.   I was the only one besides our guide that finished a bowl of the soup.   One other man got pretty close.  The dumplings were good – more like a steamed bun. 


After lunch we carried on and ended up back near the Bell and Drum Towers.  We took some photos and then carried on to a lake, where the wealthy, including Jackie Chan, have houses.  We rode around the lake and some touristy hutong streets before heading back to the towers, where we returned our bikes.  

We then walked/climbed up the Drum Tower.  At the top were a number of large drums.   The Drum and Bell Towers were used to report the time to the people.  
At the top there was a street performer doing an act, which involved swallowing a large metal ball and the spitting it out.

We were also lucky enough to get to experience the drumming.   Took a video, which I’ll post when I return home – quite entertaining. 



We then returned to our hotel by subway by about 5.   Had a shower and then met some of the others in the coffee shop for a drink.   Tried some “Great Wall” local white wine – wouldn’t recommend it!  Tasted almost fortified but not.  Very odd taste. 
A group of us then headed to the restaurant across the street for the final dinner for some that were leaving tomorrow and not doing the extension.   A nice dinner.   Sadly said goodbye to four of the others before calling it an early night.   Need to get a good sleep as we’ve got the overnight train to Xian tomorrow.