You may have noticed the blog was quiet for a couple weeks. A family member had asked that I take them to China this summer so I was out of the country.

I hadn’t intended to post any pictures from my travels, but when I was in Beijing I stayed at the Beijing Shichahai Shadow Art Performance Courtyard which provided a much more detailed and interesting experience than I expected. Tucked in one of Beijing’s hutong you might miss the building. The facade is slightly more detailed than the non-descript residences that line the narrow alley but that still leaves you underestimating what is behind the doors.

In the common area, they have a shadow puppet stage at which they present performances a couple times a week. Alongside the stage, they have all sorts of design drawings with notations about what is represented and the different motifs. Being an arts person, I definitely nerded out on everything.

Outside each hotel room is imagery associated with the shadow puppetry art form. They also offer classes but we were running around too much to really inquire and participate.

Like every city around the world, there are often hidden treasures in unexpected places.