If you heard bedlam this afternoon in the hutongs of Beijing, I’m sorry…it was the day of our semester semi-circumambulation of the 2nd Ring Road. The idea started many years ago as a full circumambulation of the 2nd Ring, which actually walking along the highway for its entire circumference. We did this for several semesters until we realized that it was really boring and then we started modifying it and modifying it until now it’s more of a trapezoidal stroll through the avenues, streets, and alleyways of Xicheng and Dongcheng.
We took the subway down from Weigongcun, 20 students packed on a train, and got off at Xizhimen to make a token appearance along the 2nd Ring, but only as far as Financial Street. A left on Chang’an took us past Xidan (I pointed out the venerable Sanwei Bookstore) and Zhongnanhai (where we were hustled onto the sidewalk by the local donut patrol and scolded for loitering out front) and finally through Tiananmen and up Nanchizi to Grandma’s Kitchen. Living in Dongcheng, I forget how isolated our students are out on the West Third Ring and I was mystified at their surprise over such Grandma’s commonalities as “milkshakes” and “a