China | Beijing | Botanical Gardens

The next day was one of those days when you wonder what all the fuss is about pollution in Beijing. Even in Sanlitun, not far from downtown, there was a perfect vault of blue overhead. My friend Ms. R. and I decided go to the famous Botanical Gardens on the western edge of the city.


The Botanical Gardens
By the time we arrived a few fluffy clouds were floating by, but there was a nice breeze here on the outskirts of the city. It was perfect day for strolling in the garden, as several thousand other Beijingers had also concluded. Some had set up dome tents in the grassy areas of the Gardens and were spending the day playing cards, drinking tea, and snoozing.


Ms. R. outdazzling the daffodils

Ms R
That evening I went with Ms. R. and two of her friends to a new Uighur restaurant on a back street (I will never find my way back alone) just west of Bei Hai Park. Some people from Turpan in Xinjiang just opened it and the place with crowded with Uighurs. Wonderful laghman and best shishkababs in the city, plus homemade yogurt made on the premises. And such enjoyable company . . .


Three Roses of Xinjiang in Uighur Restaurant