Zhu

Today I took a tour of a Beijing Hutong district with a few friends. We hired a couple bicycle rickshaws to guide us around. The tour itself was interesting - Taoist temples, lots of small homes crammed into narrow alleys, beautiful gardens, etc. But about 2/3 of the way into the tour, we were cruising alongside one of the lakes when I noticed a group of people huddled around a tree taking photos. As we got closer, we realized they were taking photos of someone's baby miniature pet pig (zhu in Chinese) that was tied to the tree. Naturally I asked the rickshaw driver to stop immediately so I could hop out and join the crowd. It was the most adorable miniature pet pig I've ever seen - I want one of my own! And while we're on the topic...the pig is a sign in the Chinese zodiac. People born in the year of the pig are supposedly generous, giving, peaceful and compassionate individuals.

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