Kettle 壶 (Hú)

Noun: A vessel, commonly of metal, for boiling water or other liquids over a fire.

(Source: Oxford English Dictionary)

Kettle

The act of being in someone’s face and/or area of space. A variation of the phrase… “Getting in someone’s grill”.

(Source: urbandictionary.com)

Today was all about finding our feet in the heart of Beijing; something of a scouting mission, in preparation for our planned visit to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, tomorrow. Although we were aware, we had not fully accounted for the fact that China’s National Day (National Day of the People’s Republic of China) is celebrated annually on October 1 to commemorate the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. It may not be 1 October but, it being 5 October, we are still in Golden Week: a seven-day public holiday running from October 1 to October 7, giving citizens a long break for travel and family reunions. So, long story short, Beijingers head out of town, with the rest of China migrating in!Visiting the Forbidden City is something of a pilgrimage / rite of passage for all Chinese people. Damned tourists, eh?! Is this helping you understand why this post is headed by the definition(s) of ‘kettle’? If not, bear with me.

Talking of ‘getting in someone’s grill’, we couldn’t resist asking this lovely couple if they minded. They appeared not to. What do you think? Read their faces…

Along with a general air of celebration, many (mostly young/ mostly couples) were dressed up in traditional costume. Quite a sight. Something of an upgrade on being in Whitby on a certain weekend of the year.

If you look over the young man’s shoulder you will see the road sign, ‘Dongchang’an Jie’. It was this road we chose to follow as it is the very street featured in Jonathan Chatwin’s Long Peace Road: A Walk in Modern China.