Today was the official "we-hate-Beijing-
cab-driver-day"! And we walked for hours...
Here is how it goes:
1. You stand at the side of the road and flag down one of the many cabs.
2. You'll get one of the following reactions:
- drive by without paying attention to us
- stop but don't understand where you want to go
- simply don't want to drive there
- offer to drive you for a ridiculously high amount (without turning on the meter which they should) and if you don't accept they don't drive.

So we walked all day... and saw the Forbidden City (huge - lots of walking there too) and a park with a butterfly exhibit. We learned a new definition of " a block away" - it is a few miles!

At 7:00 pm we saw the Beijing Acrobatic Troupe - a truly stunning show, comparable or better than Cirque du Soleil. Sorry, was not allowed to take pictures. I was mostly impressed with their hat-throwing number and their climbing up and down poles faster than monkeys. Some of the actors seem to be kids. Astounding agility and aesthetic!

After that, an another failed attempt to get a cab, we took the subway to a very nice Sushi restaurant (Hatsune).
And then we lucked out and found a nice cab driver who brought us right back to the hotel.