churches and hu tongs

Below are some photos I took of two churches and two hu tongs in Beijing.  These two areas are quickly becoming my favorite subjects.  Churches because their European architecture is so attractive and in a Chinese setting seems so foreign.  Hu tongs because they are so distinctly Chinese and a taste of the old Beijing culture.  Most of the time I have off I ride my bike around looking for signs that say "such and such hu tong"  They are so distinct and somewhat similar.  The saddest thing is that many of them are disappearing at an alarming rate.  I fear that some of the hu tongs I have pictured here will be gone very soon, actually their destruction has already started as you may notice from some of my photos.




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