Day 35:

Today was my last full day in Beijing. Typically, I spent it doing a bit more wandering, mostly in and out of the hutongs (alleyways) that criss-cross the inner-city. I poked about the shops around the hostel, buying a neat t-shirt and a few jazzy CDs for the next long train ride. The markets are good for buying stuff, but are wonderful for people watching. That's a good thing, since this city is full of beautiful and interesting people.

The people who clamor around the alleys closest to the hostel are all of the working class. Most travel on rusty bicycles, often carrying a young passenger on a rack behind the bicycle seat. Many of these people have dirty faces, and look quite tired. But it's important to remember that they are the Chinese working class, and not the urban poor, who are in much more dire straights, and live lives that are quite separate from the working class (I think).

Everything is loud around these parts... car horns blare incessantly, and so much business is done on the sidewalks that fill the streets with chatter. Some people have only a blanket for a storefront, though those who own shops have such small amounts of retail floor that both merchandise and employees invariably spill into the streets.

Away from the hostel (though not too far) the alleyway shops give way to more upscale boutique shops. They sell the same sorts of things, but of a higher quality and price. Most of the customers of these shops are young and fashionable, though in a trashy sort of way; short skirts, silly t-shirts and bad hairdos are the dress code of this area. Sort of like Korea, actually, more more "ghetto."

Back on the train tomorrow.