First things first, the Hudong Tour. We went there not last Saturday but the Saturday before.
It's a mix between old and new. It's a preserved area where the elite used to live before the Cultural Revolution. It's new because during the SARS epidemic people thought it was safer to be near water. Since there is a river running through the area, people flocked there. This created new businesses all along the water front.
But enough gabbing, here are some pictures. :)
The river I was talking about
The new shops that kinda look old
The door to one of the old houses for the elite.
By looking at the door, people could tell the rank of the person who lives there.
A little tid bit about these old houses.
These older houses are in high demand. People will pay at least 3 million dollars (for a small house) to buy the license to the house. Then they tear down the house and rebuild it to look the same as before but with modern convinces. (western toilets, indoor plumbing, etc)
I personally couldn't believe it when they told me and I still can't believe it now that I've seen the inside of one these houses.
The houses are made like a big square with an opening in the middle. This is the courtyard in the middle.
One of the doors off the courtyard
The older couple that lives in the house and Mao
The man that owns the house is an artist. He placed a white piece of paper over a red one and used a knife to cut away all the parts he didn't want!
(The house that these pics are from hasn't been renovated. It is still lacks modern convinces.)
While we were on our visit, we ate dinner at one of the houses. (different house from the pictures above.)
This was the food on the table when we got to the house. About five more dishes were added to this pile. This is a normal meal!!!!
We learned to make dumplings after dinner
I bet you're all thinking that I walked a ton that day. I didn't. We got everywhere on rickshaws!!!
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