In this livestream-style video, the host (self‑identified as Dr. L) apologizes for an audio error that occurred during a prior Tiananmen Square segment and commits to re‑recording that footage, as well as a Victory Day parade clip, at 09:00 the next day. He then guides viewers through the historic Hu Guo Temple area, also known as Huxi or Hugsei Street, a 600‑meter‑long hutong that dates back to the Ming and Yuan dynasties. He explains the street’s name changes, its former residence of Mei Lang Fan, and its 2011 designation as a featured commercial street. While walking, he showcases preserved low‑rise architecture, local mom‑and‑pop food stalls, and interacts warmly with residents and foreign visitors, highlighting the genuine hospitality he experiences. Throughout, he emphasizes that geopolitics shape everyday life, previews upcoming deep‑dives on Venezuela, Yemen, and Turkey, and promises to deliver the missing segments in future videos. The tone is conversational, apologetic at times, and enthusiastic about both the local heritage and the broader geopolitical series.
Chapters
especially after I found out that the sound was off today when I went to Tiananmen Square. So that pushed me to decide now on going back and redo the videos for you. I'm gonna do the one about the Hutong, the old parts of Beijing. I'll talk to you about the other 3 topics. Basically, I'm gonna redo the videos, but you know, some will say, well, don't have to worry about it, Dr. L. No, I do, because that's my commitment to you. So I would greatly appreciate it if you can, uh, you know, watch it if you feel like it. But tomorrow, uh, I have scheduled, uh, another visit to Tiananmen Square because you have to register and so forth. So I'm gonna be going back tomorrow at 0900 hours and redo the, uh, the same video I did for you today. And by the way, this has nothing to do with YouTube, you know. I went over and looked. It was my mistake. I bear full responsibility for it. When I hit the, uh, to switch the screen, for some other reason my fat finger hit the, uh, muted the sound. So my apologies to that. So what I'm going to be talking to you about now is I will be addressing the area where I am sort of close by, and this one's called the Hu Guo Temple. Now you need to understand the history of this, and they do have some sort of reading for it where it details, for example, when it was built. You guys don't want to be on the camera, do you? You speak English? Okay, it's okay. You want to be on the camera? No. Huh? Okay, both okay. Just to say hi. So I asked their permission first because I don't like to just show people, and she said it's okay to say hi to my community. Hold on, hold on, I gotta, I gotta— so sorry, I'm gonna have to redo, flip the camera so the community can see you. Here we go. Yeah, they just want to say hi. So, okay, thank you very much. So, so like I mentioned before, uh, this is the area, an old town of, uh, of Beijing, and it's known as Huxi Street. This street, it's about— and I'm going to walk you through all the way to the end— is about 600 meters. But what's important about it is to understand how far back it goes. It goes all the way back to the Ming Dynasty, and this was called at that time Chang'e Si. My apologies if I mispronounced the word, so— and this one was named after Chang'e Temple. This is where the word temple came in. Chang'e Temple was built in the Yuan Dynasty, so there was the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, then the Yuan Dynasty. And this one was known as the Huguo— that was known as Hugsei and was known later on as the Huguo Temple for short. So the street was also, based on the record here, renamed Hugsei Street along with the change of the temple's name. This is what's interesting about it. And what's in this street basically is the cultural resources. And when you look at, for example, in the street used to be the residence of the former— it was a former residence of somebody by the name of Mei Lang Fan. Mei Lang Fan. Somebody just passed in front. He didn't realize I had the camera on him. And it was till 19— I'm sorry, till 2011. When it was listed as a feature commercial street by the Beijing Municipal Commission. That's why they render it into a commercial part. And that's what I'm going to be walking through to show you some sort of all the kind of snacks and various parts of the, of the country that is around here. So, so let's start and I'm going to switch the screen for you. Now I'm going to put my reading glasses so I won't mess around with that. And before I move forward, please give me a thumbs up if you can hear me. Let me see. I want to see if you can give me a thumbs up. I would greatly appreciate it after this incident this morning. Can hear you. Thank you so much. Uh, okay, all of you saying yes, so perfect. Appreciate it. So let me switch this screen and we'll go. There we go. So it became clear to me now the mistake this morning was my own making. So I feel— I feel— I, uh, I, I take full responsibility for that. So I don't want to get this glare into your eyes with this motorbike because their lights are very, very bright. So here is just to highlight to you the old structure right here. What's important about this street, if you notice, and as I move forward, there are no high-rising buildings. This is one section of town that they decided to keep it just as it was back then. And it's really a charm that is reflecting the historical sites here in Beijing. So, and I really like it. You feel, uh, literally when you walk through the streets, uh, uh, very, very old. I'm going to walk you over here just to see, because I want you to see the structure, old stuff. There is not— no new developments right here. So, so if you notice It's just— if you notice, it's just the old structure right here. Somebody was talking on the phone. So I'm walking down the street here, so, and I'll show you some hutongs where certain streets where they have the food and so forth. But on the other hand, also, I'm going to be talking to you about the 3 main topics that I mentioned last time. One of them has to do with Venezuela. The other one has to do with Yemen. And the third one has to do with Turkey, not in this order, but I'm gonna be just highlighting. As I mentioned to you, I made the decision to redo the videos. I took them down from YouTube and it's just because it's not fair to you to be hearing only half of the story. So it's my responsibility to, you know, do the work again. So for the community, and I don't mind. It's— I, I, I care for my community, for all of you guys, and, and it's our community. So if I do the work, it's for all of us. So I appreciate your support for this. Um, uh, like I mentioned again, when— yeah, you can see here at night with the trees how those are huge big trees that just highlight to you how old, uh, this area and the city of Beijing decided to maintain this. By the way, there are a lot of foreigners in this area here. So a lot of foreigners stay. Apparently everybody is gravitated towards this and it has really some good vibes about it. I mean, for me, I can't speak for others, but for me, as I feel this one, people are very— Hi, you want to say hi? Hi. Hi. Look at them, just wonderful people. They just say hi and wave and thank you. So they get excited when they hear somebody want to speak to them in English and all that stuff. But genuinely, they are sincere about it. When yesterday, when I was setting up everything at night, one lady just stopped by and she said, do you need help? It was so kind of her. I was so touched by that. I said, no, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I said, I'm just setting up my livestream with my community. And, you know, just casually, and she said, "Have a good night," and moved on. So that's my point. You know, I know there've been some stories about, you know, the Chinese, this and that. No, no, no, it's not true. I'm here on— I see. All right, I'm halfway here. Actually, not still, because there's one small street I'm gonna walk you through. And as I mentioned, I don't want to talk about the parade till tomorrow. The parade that just— the Victory Day parade that just took place. Of course, you— it's too bad that I did the video today, but hey, I don't mind. I will do it again at 0900 hours. I'm going to head out there. And the checkout, they are very strict about the checkout. And they took one of my notepads. I have small sticker notes. She said to me, no sir, you can't take that with you. I said, okay. But for my phone and DJI equipment here, they said no problem at all. So here is what you start to see, those old type of restaurants. And those ones, they make like mom-and-pop places. So, so this is like some dishes they, they make those here. That's the local here. So of course people already ate some of them because they start eating here around 6:30 from what I noticed. And, uh, but that's just, uh, some other— is a tiny— look at this tiny streets right here. So, and by the way, you can walk through the streets and you end up on the other side of the main road. So a very, very fascinating and interesting, uh, location right here.. And this hutong, it's— I forgot, it starts with the B. There are about 3 or 4 types of hutongs which— where they have the street foods and all that. But this one, I forgot the name, sorry. Here is another rest— a small— those are, those are the homemade stuff, mom-and-pops shops here. Hello! Saying hi. So I need to step out. There we go. It looks like when I walk walking into stores, I, I lose the connections here. So anyway, as I said, I will go tomorrow at 0900 hours to Taksim Square, and I will do another live for you. So till then, I appreciate your support. Thank you very much, and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. As always, remember, uh, let me switch this one here. As always, remember, geopolitics impact your daily life. In more ways than one. Till next time, guys. Bye-bye.
