A quiet corner in an ancient temple

After walking around the numerous sights in Beijing, it's sometimes necessary to rest your feet and have a cup of coffee or tea (Chinese of course!) in a relaxing and interesting environment. I found one such place recently, located on the site of an an ancient temple in a small hutong right next to the Bell and Drum Towers.

As soon as you enter the courtyard, you are met by a goldfish pond, an old rickshaw and bamboo trees.

The old temple structure is evident outside but unfortunately large parts of the interior have been converted into a market ( 'to serve the people')

As you move in from the coffee shop outside, you enter an inner courtyard which has been converted into a small drinks area and meeting/conference area.

David Cameron even used this room to receive VIPs during his visit to China.

Outside in the hutong, there are still some genuine old courtyard houses.

The hutong is also quite popular with tourists, but they don't stay long!