Lake District

On Saturday we ventured to the Back Lakes for an afternoon meander. It was a beautiful day and the tourists were out in hordes (including us, of course). It's easy to see the attraction--there are tons of great shops, restaurants, and bars in the area as well as hutongs (alleyways) to explore.

Houhai Lake.

You can also rent boats and paddle around the lake. There was a bit too much traffic for us, though...maybe we'll go back during the week instead of on the weekend and give it a go. Or maybe not.

Traffic jam under the bridge.

When we were looking at apartments a couple of weeks ago, we visited a siheyuan (courtyard house) in the neighborhood. It was way out of our budget, but it was cool to see what the traditional houses look like. I'm really glad we hadn't been to the lakes yet, though, because it would have been that much harder to turn the siheyuan down!