"You say goodbye, I say hello"

We woke this morning, ate breakfast in the hotel, packed our bags and cleaned our rooms and took a walk through a nearby hutong. Hutongs are neighborhoods of single story connected buildings, some of which are hundreds of years old. They are rapidly being replaced with modern high rises. Narrow, mazelike streets, open food markets and friendly people are all part of life in a hutong.

We said good bye to Beijing this morning, and to our wonderful friends Dachuan, Liang and Ryan. A new place is always so much better when you have guides who know the area, know the language and want to show you everything! Thank you again Dachuan, Liang and Ryan- you made it all so much fun in Beijing!

We returned to the Beijing Capitol Airport Terminal 3 for our trip to Chengdu. The airport was completed last year and is in the shape of a dragon. It is the largest airport in the world. We boarded our plane to Chengdu and arrived two hours later.

We were greeted at the airport, and off to homestays! Flowers and signs and smiling waiving families is a pretty good way to start a visit in a new town!