Beijing

We had a holiday at the end of March and took the opportunity to visit Beijing.  I never thought I would visit this particular city prior to one year ago :).  I'm definitely glad we had the chance, because it was very fun!

We arrived late on a Friday night.  The winds were high and had brought in a lot of sand (dirt?) from the nearby desert.  When we stepped off the plane it felt like we had been actively gardening there was so much dirt in the air.  Yuck!

Thankfully when we woke up the next day, the sky was (relatively) clear and the sun was shining!  Our first day was a walking tour of the city with some major sights on the agenda.  We started with Tiananmen Square.

This is what our guide referred to as "Chairman Mao's Memorial Home."  He is entombed here in a crystal coffin.

The line wraps around the building for a glimpse of the chairman in his memorial home.

We did not participate.

The Great Hall of the People:

The entrance gate to the Forbidden City.  Can you see Chairman Mao's giant picture in the center?

One of the buildings inside The Forbidden City.  They all looked very similar to me.  This one is The Hall of Supreme Harmony.  It's not very harmonious trying to look inside.  With no lines, good luck getting a glimpse without being crushed!

After an extended visit at The Forbidden City, we walked through some hutongs to a local restaurant for lunch.  Here's a picture of the entrance from the street:

On the way back to the hotel we walked through a souvenier market.  Anyone for a snack?

Day 2 started with a 1.5 hour drive to the Mutianyu section of The Great Wall of China.  This is just a bonus picture from the drive in:

The Great Wall of China.  Who would have ever thought we would get to see this?!

The Wall is very steep to walk on.  I was really surprised!  Take a look at how it seems to drop off in this picture.  There aren't any stairs, just continuous slope!  Our guide told us that he likes to take 10-day hiking trips on the wall.  They hike along the wall during the day and sleep in the guard towers at night.  Sounds fun and strenuous!

 After our morning at The Wall, we came back to the city and visited Jingshan Park.  The park is a place where many older Chinese get together to exercise during the day.  We also heard a LOT of chant-like singing.  Amplified chant-like singing.  It was the definition of cacophony.  I took a video, but I'm pretty sure my 6-year-old erased it.  It was on his camera!  The really great thing about this park is the views of the city it provides if you hike the large hill (made from the dirt excavated to form the moat around The Forbidden City).

The Forbidden City as seen from Jingshan Park:

We couldn't leave Beijing without a Peking Duck dinner!  Yum!