On Friday afternoon the sky got dark as night and it began to pour with rain. Beijing is so dry for most of the year (we go months without rain) so it was a welcome sight. The rain cleared the air and, on Saturday morning, Beijingers all over town leapt out of bed to the most beautiful sight: a bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds! It was like a dream for those of us who regularly suffer grey, smoggy days. The weather was perfect; hot but not too hot and the AQI count was as low as 13! Yes, 13. So basically almost no pollution at all! That’s as good as it could ever get! It was as though everything came together polltion and weather wise to make a magical and beautiful day! As luck would have it, we already had the most perfect activities planned that would allow us to enjoy this beautiful day to the full.
First, we headed downtown to visit our new apartment. We will be moving in 2 weeks time (time has flown!). We are taking over from friends who are leaving Beijing so we went to sign some paper work and, of course, check out the views. We will soon be living on the 26th floor, which is just perfect on a clear day like this. After having lunch with our friends we headed down to the hutong near to Yonghegong. This time for drinks on some other friends lovely hutong roof terrace. Sitting outside, sipping wine overlooking the hutong roof tops is probably THE way to spend a sunny, pollution free day in Beijing! After chilling there for a while it was just a short walk through the alleyways to The Other Place. A small cafe/bar in a hutong courtyard, where another friend was DJing. Listening to music played on vinyl and drinking beers in a courtyard- another must do Beijing moment! Finally, we went over to The Hutong (an actual place of the name, not just the collective name of the alleyways). We met up with more friends and enjoyed a delicious taco and margarita party on the rooftop! Days like this are rare in Beijing. The combination of beautiful blue skies, fluffy white clouds, no pollution and the mountains in the distance becoming visible, made it absolutely perfect! If it could be like this everyday then I’d stay in Beijing forever.. If only… 