This trip was a quick one. My wife Sue was invited to participate in the Diamond Leaves Triennial, a prestigious show of artist books at the new museum of CAFA, the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and we decided to make the journey to deliver the work and attend the opening – left on Monday and returned on the following Sunday. Our week was spent visiting friends and eating lots of great food, an afternoon at the Summer Palace, delivering work to the museum, a discussion with faculty and graduate painting students about art East and West, and attending the museum on Saturday.

These images are from our walks around a neighborhood near our hutong style lodging, a small, one story hotel built around a courtyard.

The narrow street of the hotel:

The neighborhood:

 

 

 

 

Comfortable and not so comfortable outdoor seating.

This canal was not far from the hotel and provided a welcome “green space” among the shops and apartment blocks. A little farther to the east, this same waterway was called the “Beijing Greenway,” upgraded  with paved walkways and more formal plantings.

Behind the apartment blocks.

On the other side of the street along the waterway.

A narrow alleyway, much more quiet than the larger streets, but still an occasional car or scooter.

Recycling center.

While there are more and more cars in Beijing, there are still a few places where a bicycle is the most efficient way to run errands, as the number of bikes in front of this supermarket shows.

Originally posted at rhintzeblog, November 7, 2015.