Beijing Sightseeing

It smells good, too!

While visiting Beijing we see other historical (and non-historical) places.  At the Temple of Heaven, I see my first (known) juniper tree.  Very pretty!

Long, but not quite as long as the Great Wall.

Near the entrance gate we walk down the Long Corridor (that's it's name, really - I checked the map).  The beams are very colorful and similar to what we saw at the Ming Tombs at Forbidden City.  Previously we asked our guide about it, and it's not exactly paint - minerals are crushed and applied to the surface.  The colors are very saturated.

This appears to be THE place to hang out.  It's shaded, and there's a bit of a breeze, so it helps with the heat.  People must be able to get season passes - I can't see them paying every day to come in.  There are groups all along the Long Corridor - segregated by activity.

There is a section of checker players...

Would it be called Chinese Checkers if they're playing regular checkers in China?

...then there's the card playing area (the most popular pastime)....

It looks like they're playing Go Fish!

...and my favorite, knitting!  I have some friends who would have jumped right in and started talking with these women.  Even if they didn't speak the same language, they would have been able to communicate just fine!

Knit, purl....okay, that's all the knitting lingo I know.

I'm able to tell from the roof lines that these buildings are not as important as the ones in the Forbidden City.

Less than twelve creatures!

There are audio guides available, but we don't get them.  I do learn a little bit, though.  The entire facility is about 660 acres, so it's quite big!  It was originally built in the early 1400s by the same emperor responsible for the Forbidden City.  The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest is made of only wood, and there are no nails.  The current structure was built in the late 1880s - lightning caused a fire that destroyed the previous one.  It's very impressive and the interior is gorgeous, too!

Say cheese!  Or should it be chow mein?

Beautiful!

There's incredible stone carvings here, similar to the Forbidden City.

Scary dragon!

I love the designs on the columns in the buildings.  These would be very interesting as quilting designs!





















 

This is their ninth photo of the day with strangers.

Here's a very common sight during our trip to Beijing - people wanting to take pictures with Craig, Michelle and the girls.  We believe it's the blond hair - no one wants pictures with Steve and me!  I think Emily has decided she doesn't want to be famous.  She gets tired of all the stares and pictures.











 Ha - we'll take our own picture!

Seriously, why doesn't anyone want our picture?  We don't bite!

We have some fun at the Circular Mound Alter.  These openings are fun to peep through!

"Chow mein!"

Across the street from the Kingdom of Heaven is the Pearl Market, so we go over to do some shopping.  Our guide, Sharon, has a friend of a friend who's willing to show us some merchandise...

Inside, it's not so bad.  Steve told me stories of his previous visit where people would actually grab your arm and try to pull you over to their booth to sell you merchandise.  I hate over bearing sales people, so I wasn't sure if I want to go in.  But it's not like that at all.  Everyone has their own counter like a department store.  No one touches you, and they call out at you to try to get you to come over, but it's easy to say no and they leave you alone after that.  

For dinner, we decide to go back to the same restaurant as the previous night.  We order some new dishes and some favorites from before.  Craig remembers a local liquor he wants us to try and teaches us a Chinese toasting custom.  The girls get a little worried that they might have to carry us home, but it's not a strong alcoholic drink (or at least, we don't drink that much of it) so we're okay.

Not a food market

I had wanted to see the night food market, but it was permanently closed the week before we arrived in China.  Too much noise and pollution, apparently!  I read about another little night market near Wangfujing Street (a major pedestrian-only shopping street) that's only a few minutes walk from our hotel.  Some of us go to check it out.  Unfortunately, there's no interesting foods on a stick, so I don't get to try anything new.  It's more like a chance to do some last minute tourist shopping - there's all the items we've seen at every souvenir shop the entire trip.  Naturally, we all end up buying some things we feel like we have to bring home with us.


 

We pass these statues several times.  I don't know who they represent, but I've been dying to get a photo with them!

The next morning we have a little trouble with our ride to the airport.  Everything was all arranged through the same company - our airport pickup, the tour with Sharon, and the dropoff for the airport.  But the driver never shows.  Even though all the communication was through email with the an employee of the hotel (so he said), the front desk says it's not the travel agency they use.  Interesting, since I was contacted within 24 hours of making the hotel reservations, and they knew Craig's family and our family were together, so they got our information somehow....  It takes about thirty minutes, but we finally get a large taxi to fit the six of us and our luggage.  We still make it to the airport with time to spare.  We've enjoyed our trip, but we're glad to be returning to Japan!

China Tour

Yes, these are the same clothes we wore at the Great Wall.

I feet like the Great Wall deserved it's own post, but it's not the only thing we see that day.  I book a tour through our hotel so we have a driver and an English speaking guide ("Sharon").  It's a wonderful combination because Sharon can talk without having to concentrate on driving in the dense traffic.  She's full of knowledge and information and does a good job educating us about China and what we see.

very detailed work

Our first stop is to a jade shop.  One of the reasons I want a private tour is so we don't have to go to the shops where you feel pressured to buy something.  But Sharon assures me there's no obigation to buy, so I don't try to convince our group not to go.  It turns out to be very interesting - and it's a good bathroom stop, too! 

He must have very good eyesight!

We're first given a little educational tour, before we're let loose in the shop.  They have some employees working in the front section.  The process of carving the jade reminds me a bit of how they cut Waterford crystal.

I did not get to buy this!

And yes, we all end up buying a few pieces.

a small part of the giant jade shop

Emperor Chengzu

Next we go to the Ming Tombs.  The thirteen emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) are buried here. (There was lots of drama among the emperors - Sharon tells us several good stories.)  Every aspect of the location and construction follows feng shui - in fact, it took years of searching before they found the perfect location to place the tombs.   It's only reasonable to visit one tomb, because they're spread out in the valley.  We go to Changling, the mausoleum of Emperor Chengzu and Empress Xu.  We don't go underground, but we get to explore a large part of the buildings.  One is used as an exhibition hall, with artifacts, statues and a little gift shop.  Hmmm....is the jade less expensive here?  I'm sure the quality isn't as good as it was at our jade shop (at least, that's what I tell myself).

Carved stone ramp...and some people who jumped in my photo.

The Ling'en Gate is in front of the Ling'en Hall

Sharon has us follow a traditional Chinese belief.  On our way to the tomb we don't go through the Ling'en Gate (Gate of Eminent Favor).  Because we go to the "afterlife" section of the grounds, on our way back we are to cross through the arch (being careful not to step on the door sill as a sign of respect) and call out in Chinese, "I'll be back!"  This way the spirits are not tempted to follow after us.

Having a guide is the best way to see the Ming Tombs, otherwise you don't know the history and you just feel like you're looking at architecture similar to the Forbidden City, so it wouldn't be worth the distance traveled.

After the Ming Tombs we visit the Great Wall, which I wrote about in the previous entry.  Sharon escorts us up there and gives us some history and background before leaving us to explore on our own.  Eventually we're to meet Sharon at Subway, and while we're waiting we eat lunch.  I enjoy the translation on the Lay's potato chips bag.

I assume it says "numb" because your lips are numb from the spice?  I don't know if these would be popular in the US.

What shape is this supposed to be?

As we drive back to Beijing, Steve sees a familiar sight - it's the IBM building.  You can see the letters in the upper right hand corner.  We also get to experience the Beijing traffic.  Even though they limit the cars, it's horrible.  (Each license plate ends in 0 - 9, and two of the numbers cannot drive on the road each day.  For example, license plates ending in 0 and 5 can't drive on Monday.)  No one pays any attention to basic rules of the road.  Cars, and big buses, cut into different lanes indiscriminately.  I edge closer to the center of our van because I don't want to sit by the door - it's too close to the other vehicles.

It's eight lanes like this - and there's only markings for five lanes on the road.

Hey, I think I see Michael Phelps!

Our next stop is one I've been looking forward to - the Bird's Nest!  I thought we would just hop out of the car and take a few photos, but it's in a huge complex, so we actually have to walk for quite a bit to get to it.  Sharon makes sure we're in the best spot for photos.















After going back to the hotel, we're a little tired, so we end up eating across the street at a Chinese restaurant (is there another kind in China?).  We order a bunch of dishes to share, but we overdid it a bit!  Too bad we can't take home the leftovers - we'll probably be hungry again in a couple of hours.

Yep - still the same clothes!

The Great Wall

It goes on...and on...and on...and on...

There isn't be a lot of text here...but there are a lot of pictures!  The Great Wall is named correctly.  It is simply great.  What a fabulous experience to walk along it.  Amazing - in a way it reminds me of Milford Sound in New Zealand, because it's just majestic.  

We end up hiking along the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall.  I'm a little concerned because we get there in the late morning/early afternoon, and I thought it might be crowded.  Luckily, it's the first Monday of the summer that the big tourist draws in Beijing were open (Forbidden City, etc), so that may help, because there are very few people on the Wall while we're there.  Plus it's a relatively clear day, so we get some nice shots.  Very lucky!

Not sweaty yet!

I bet there's a Starbucks around the corner.

Never fear about China invading the US, because we've already invaded the Great Wall!  Burger King & Subway both have franchises at the entrance of site, not to mention the five other restaurants/cafes located there.  However, this is your last chance for a bathroom - there are none on the Wall itself. Who designed this thing, anyway?

Really - you can turn all the way around and look at us!  It won't tip over!

Part of the fun of this section of the Wall is you can ride a "chairlift" up to the Wall instead of having to hike up the mountain (you can do that, too).   Then you can take it back down or go down on a "toboggan."  Guess how we got down? 


Being at the Wall encourages lots of photos and selfies.  You definitely want a record of the fact that you're here.  Plus Steve wants to try out our new camera!

This is me...and this is the Wall.

The girls continue their practice of photobombing our selfies...

This might have been in our Christmas card.  Maybe we'll still use it!

...but I manage to sneak one in!

I am the only human here.

All the nooks and windows make for cute frames!  Actually, the windows are our favorite part of the Wall.  There's a tunnel effect with the breeze, so that's where we stand to cool off for a few minutes.

Cute guy!

Cute window.

 The girls have fun with different poses at the Wall...and inspire Steve to try something new!

Jumping for joy!

Jumping, hoping not to get hurt!

We manage to get one group picture in, with our guide, Sharon, in the background. 

Great friends!

Another scenic shot!

...and on...and on...and on...

Another selfie, too!

I feel very lonely - there's no one photobombing my selfie!

And a family portrait!

Great family!

This is very steep, even if it doesn't look like it!

Yes, parts of the Wall are very steep, though if you stick close to the watchtowers around the chairlift, it's not too bad (though you can get a good workout in if you want).

We have some water with us, but there are a couple of snack bars at the Wall (at least during tourist season) if you need a cold drink to refresh you.


















You probably guessed right - we took the toboggan down!  This reminds me of Raccoon Mountain in Chattanooga.  Unfortunately, there are some very, very slow women in front of us - they constantly use the brake on their sleds.  It probably saves Steve from getting hurt, though!  The track is set up with lots of curves and you can potentially go very fast.

a very small section of our track

Steve, about to launch his sled!

A minor kerfuffle after our time on the Wall - we can't find our guide!  We're at our meeting place, but she forgot and thought we were going to be at a different location...just a short delay in the rest of day.  However, it's worrisome thinking about trying to find a couple of taxis for the 90 minute drive to the hotel.

Luckily, we're able to forget all about it!  One of the nice parts about having a driver - you can stop and pick up refreshing drinks for the drive back to Beijing!

Cheers!

For those of you concerned, don't worry - the girls are drinking water!