Zippy on Tour, Beijing - Lee Stang, LMT

Zippy In Beijing

Zippy_OlympicPark_rings.jpg

Touring around Beijing Zippy came across the Olympic Park. Site of the 2008 summer Games and the site of the 2022 Games as well. Zippy took a tour around the site and saw the swimming box, Olympic rings and got up close and personal to the Birds Nest that iconic style Olympic Stadium that represents the Chinese Olympics.

Zippy_OlympicPark_taichi.jpg

The Olympic Rings still look over the stadium complex that includes the Birds Nest and the Swimming venue. The park is still well used and a huge destination for the Chinese people coming in for holiday. Here are a group of folks performing a form of Tai Chi.

 

 

Zippy had a good look at the Birds Nest and the very cool architecture that defines it.

Then Zip took a look at some sights at the Olympic Tennis park including the Lotus court and the Women’s singles trophy. All pretty impressive

Zippy had a morning that got him out of the hotel early and onto the streets of Beijing in non other than the basket of a bicycle! At first it was a little daunting what with the Beijing traffic but we soon found that we could maneuver the streets safely within the marked bike paths. Now bike paths in China certainly don’t mean that it is only bicycles that use them. Indeed there are bicycles, motored bicycles carrying any number of items and people, motorcycles and scooters and of course cars. But just not quite so many cars. And also don’t think that being on a bicycle gives you the right-of-way to do anything. Riding a bike in Beijing is the definition of defensive driving. But we found a lovely park to ride through; until of course the policeman stopped us and in no uncertain terms indicated that the park was for pedestrians not bikes!

Zippy_beijing_park_01.jpg

     

View of the park while we were still in it. Didn’t last too long till we had to maneuver in the streets.

Zippy nestled in the bike basket had a great view along the streets of Beijing.

A stop to explore the lions of China: on the left is Zip with the nurturing lion with the cub under the left paw; on the right the lion that is guarding the world with the world under its right paw. Zippy continues his Asian swing with trips coming up to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Singapore!