China Street Markets

We stayed in decent hotels in middle class neighborhoods away from the city centers. I am sure that this was a function of cost, but it also kept people in the hotels at night. Early mornings and late returns made for tired travelers. It was just too complicated to try to find some hip nightspot after a long day. One of the benefits, though, was that I could walk the streets in the early mornings before we left the hotel and get a sense of what daily life was like a working person like myself. Narrow treets were filled with sidewalk markets where people bought and sold produce, meats, and fish. Workers and students bought breakfast at open air restaurants. Soft morning light in pungent air.