Goodbye to Beijing

4:30 am, and the wakeup call comes in half an hour for our early morning flight to Xi'an.



I am not a city person.



But I think I could grow fond of this one. Of course we've seen only the highlights, and through vacation-tinted glasses at that, and at an impossibly high standard of living. I love the architecture, the culture clash of skyscraper and hutong (which the hutongs are losing, of course). We're here at such a transition. I love the skyscrapers themselves, so many of which are not monolithic glass boxes.

I love the water.



I love the public art, some of which is decidedly whimsical. I especially love the greenery everywhere.

Maybe it's the feng shui...