Shopping and Dumplings

It is hard sharing a single internet connection (!), so we took a bus to one of the recommended computer bazaars, the Hai Long Building, to buy a router. This is in the Zhongguancun Area, a high tech region of Beijing, where there are many elaborate multi-storey buildings. The computer place is one of those crazy buildings with floor after floor crammed with masses of tiny computer stores, all desperately trying to get you to buy something. We purchased a cheap Chinese brand, without the haggling suggested in the guide books since it only cost about $12 anyway. The company website has an English firmware for downloading, but so far we are making do with Chinese menus.


Zhongguancun Shopping District


Good Prices at the Hai Long Computer Building!



Inside Hai Lan

In the evening Zhigang and Xiaowei invited us over to make (and eat!) dumplings. I don't think our attempts at the folding were as accomplished as theirs, but we learned the idea of how to do it. Altogether we made about 60 dumplings, some for frying, and some for boiling in broth (and a dozen left over we were kindly given for tomorrow's breakfast). The variety of tasty fillings (a meat one, a fish one, and a vegetarian one) and off-the-stove freshness made for a delicious meal!


Folding Dumplings


(Almost) Finished Product