Eric's Beijing Diary

Got up at 6:30 this morning and rode my bike down to Houhai Park. Haidian Church has started a new English service at noon on Sundays, and since I was going to be going to that service, I decided to get up early and enjoy the spring morning. Beijing is really beautiful in the spring.

One of the major differences between Beijing and Shanghai, is that when Shanghai began to put in all the new developments, they just wiped out the bicycle lanes. Beijing preserved them. I remember the first time I encountered a freeway when I was riding my bike. I was beginning to do some mental calculations about how far out of the way I would have to ride to get around the clover leaf in front of me. To my surprise, the bicycle lane didn't stop! It just kept right on going up and around the circle. It's hard to describe, but it's amazing how well it works.