The creepiest/best part about this fantastically scary marionette is its jutting out leg. So much sass!

Scenes from the Great Wall’s simatai section. Known to be more isolated and challenging, and less Disney-fied. I was extremely lucky to have gotten a ride all the way out there.

I’m getting my overdue haircut tomorrow. Finally, I will have bangs again.

One of the absolute best moments of my life was walking at night and stumbling upon a pseudo-flash mob of ballroom dancing at the backside of the forbidden city. There were at least a couple rusty bikes outfitted with speaker systems, and dozens of healthy, happy, older people just delighted to get their dance on on a Friday night, 10pm-ish. Believe me, I saw some sweet rug cutting. The scene made me deliriously happy.

It was probably around this time that I started warming up to the idea of children actually being cute. A completely novel notion for me at the time.

ain’t nothin’ like a hot, crispy, fresh cong you bing (green onion pancake) to hit the spot.

More scenes from nan luo gu xiang.

There’s a stretch in Beijing called nan luo gu xiang, and it’s rad. You might see a lot of expats (what is my baggage with these expats zones?), but it’s got the old world hutong (alley) / courtyard feel combined with the eye candy of artsy hip boutiques, comfort of cafes, and familiarity of consumerism. Lots of young folks hang out here.

These shirts sort of poked fun at classic Beijing characters. You see the spitter, the sweltering happy-go-lucky guy with a revealed belly, and I can’t tell what’s up with the guy perched above them. Does it say “no piracy”?