Houhai Indeed!

This afternoon was SO. COOL.
Steve and I ended up in the Houhai area, which basically consists of a small lake (Houhai Lake) surrounded by restaurants, bars, and cafes, with lots of outside seating. On the water, there are lots of boats, both powered boats and paddle boats, and around the rim, tons of rickshaws constantly wheel sightseers around.
I'm telling you, THIS is the kind of place I love most about all large cities. I adore those places people go to to see and be seen. There are few things I love more than seeing all the different styles and mixtures of people. I could do it forever!
After a quick walk around part of the rim, Steve settled down in one of the cafes and I took post at a bridge a little further off.


Leaning against one of the bridge's stone pillars, I took photos for about 90 minutes. EVERYONE passed over that bridge, and I got to have a go at shooting ALL of them!
Goodness gracious, I was in heaven. The people watching was world-class. There were locals, visitors, internationals, government officials, workers... Oh, sweet, sweet paradise!
For one thing, I loved looking at the clothes. There are a couple of things I saw worn today that I particularly liked. Little sweater dresses were among them. So cute! I also noticed people wearing knee-breaches... or at least narrow, elongated shorts that reminded me of knee breeches, with tights underneath. Also surprisingly cute! Of course the bows scored high with me, but I'm kind of a sucker for those things.
I also loved watching the dynamics of that particular location. There were the guards, who watched all the passersby and helped vehicles get over the bridge when they got stuck (they'd walk up, give them a good shove, and watch them roll off)...
There were the cafe workers who tried to entice customers to sit down...

There were the rickshaw runners trying to find shares...


There were also the commuters, passing through on their way home, and of course, there were those at leisure, enjoying the late afternoon. Many were doing just what I was- taking TONS of pictures.


Others were playing in the water with their boats. Every now and then, I would hear "AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" CRASH! and look behind me into the water to see a terrible gridlock of motor and paddle boats. Hehee!


Everyone who wasn't moving or taking pictures was sitting in a cafe, enjoying the scenery. It was utterly fabulous.
It took Steve and I over an hour to get back to the hotel after we reunited, but it was SO worth it. I seriously think that the Houhai area is my favorite place in Beijing. It's not that I wasn't floored by the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace; it's just that people-watching in places like Houhai are pretty much my number one favorite thing to do. Oh, what fun!