courtyards

Another beautiful blue-sky day, so we went for a walk through the hutongs (alleys) near the Lama Temple in Beijing. Lots of Beijing's hutongs have been knocked down, but pockets remain- the government may have finally realised that they are a tourist attraction in themselves, so many are being redeveloped- but this still means that the long-time residents are being driven out. Courtyards like this one have been rebuilt and turned into modern luxury homes, complete with own bathrooms and heating (spot the CCTV camera...)