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Hiring a pair of bikes was a great way to travel around the city and get a taste of everyday Beijing life. The junctions are slightly hazardous though; even when you’re on green other traffic can still turn right into your path, so when in doubt we got very close to the locals and followed exactly what thy did.  We saw lots of smaller temples, bell towers and Hutongs (small residential alleyways) that you could never see in a car.  This architecture is under threat as they modernise the city however.  Foreign architects have built some really exciting work here (see photos of ‘The Egg’ performing arts space and CCTV headquarters) but it would be a real shame to loose any more of these traditional areas.  After 4 hours our bums had had enough so we traded the bikes for beers.

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