beijing spring

There’s a tangible sense of excitement in the air here. The skies are clear and the pollution is absent, for the time being at least.

clear evening sky may not last long unfortunately — clear evening sky may not last for long

New Year’s Eve in China

Fireworks exploding in the street – misrule is the order of the night – lit by cigarette. Loud bangs definitely more important than visual display. Fire engines and street cleaners kept constantly busy. The local security guards all posed with fire extinguishers for a photo-op at the start of the night as we live within a historically important – and mostly built of wood – location.

one of the security guards observes fireworks across the road from our apartment on the street — security guard observes fireworks across the road from our apartment

Snow fell and settled briefly, a rare sight in Beijing and evaporated quickly, no lingering ice on the roads, thankfully.

cycling in the snow, hard to spot, you need to squint a little

snowy landscape seen from the airport express — snowy landscape seen from the train

lamma temple flags - the few million people left in Beijing congregated here on New Year's Day — lamma temple flags – the few million people left in Beijing congregated here on New Year’s Day

street crochet outside or apartment — street crochet outside our apartment

As if being on the back of a bicycle in Beijing wasn’t quite hazardous enough, it seems that children sleeping on the way home from school are taking things to a new level, although the traffic is slow and the road surfaces are smooth you really need to have your wits about you as there are no traffic rules here when it comes to cycle lanes.