On Saturday we split into two groups to explore Beijing. One group travelled to the Forbidden City and the Beijing Zoo, while the other went to a Hutong and a lake. In the Forbidden City, it was super crowded! Five of us and our hosts met up inside the gates, and then we walked around for a few hours. Due to the great heat, our hosts bought us juice from the Forbidden City shop- the strawberry and mango ones were the best. In the zoo we saw various pandas and some interesting birds. The other group first went to a Hutong on Nanluoxiang, a shopping street, and  walked around a lake in the Houhai area. There were lots of food stalls and shops lining the street. In both groups, strangers loved to take pictures with us!