We woke up early today to have a fantastic breakfast at our very nice Beijing hotel, and then leave for a hike up the Great Wall. On the way we did pass several future Olympic sites, including the soon-to-be famous Beijing Olympic Stadium (I have heard it called the bird’s nest stadium, and I can see why). It was really fantastic to see, even if it was just from the highway. Next summer you will be seeing a lot of China through the Olympics, and they are working hard to get ready.
The Great Wall is of course huge, and the one small section we visited was at Juyongguan, about an hour or so outside of Beijing. This section was originally built from 770-476 BC and was worked on and linked up to others sections throughout history. It was rebuilt in 1993 to restore it for tourism. The beginning of the climb up is shown below, and then with me pictured just getting started.
It was a hot, clear day so it was a beautiful but exhausting climb up. I did make it and was rewarded with some great views from the top. The picture below is from about half the way up looking towards the top.
Once I made it to the top with several other group members, we took a bunch of pictures and then bought little metal plaques that said we climbed the Great Wall. It was especially rewarding since we had the date etched into the metal: 7-7-07. We assume it will bring us luck. After climbing back down we relaxed on the bus and rode to a shopping center/restaurant to have lunch and do some shopping. Next we headed off to see the Summer Palace. This was where Chinese emperors came to escape the heat of Beijing. It is a beautiful complex right on a lake outside of Beijing. Part of the site is pictured from our boat ride across the lake.
We had about two hours to explore what could have taken a day, however we were able to climb to the top of the complex pictured above. The architecture and artwork on the buildings was incredible throughout. Each of the individual buildings had names and purposes, and some had statues and thrones to visit. It was certainly an impressive sight. Below is just a taste of the color and design of the palace.
After leaving the Summer Palace, we drove to a market that sold almost everything from MP3 players to pearls. Jose and I walked around together just looking and being called at to buy from each booth. We left from there for the airport to leave on our Air China flight at 8:40 PM. However, there were big storms and our flight was delayed and then delayed some more. They fed us some horrible meatballs and gave us water while we waited. Finally the flight was cancelled around 11 PM. We were all very dirty and tired from having been out climbing in the sun all day, and all just wanted to take a shower and go to bed. Fortunately the airline bused us all to a hotel (that at first sight was really scary because it looked like a prison camp when we entered the grounds) that was pretty nice and we were able to spend the night there. This was a very long day that was wonderful right up until the four uncomfortable hours at the airport waiting for a flight that would be cancelled.
Once I made it to the top with several other group members, we took a bunch of pictures and then bought little metal plaques that said we climbed the Great Wall. It was especially rewarding since we had the date etched into the metal: 7-7-07. We assume it will bring us luck. After climbing back down we relaxed on the bus and rode to a shopping center/restaurant to have lunch and do some shopping. Next we headed off to see the Summer Palace. This was where Chinese emperors came to escape the heat of Beijing. It is a beautiful complex right on a lake outside of Beijing. Part of the site is pictured from our boat ride across the lake.
We had about two hours to explore what could have taken a day, however we were able to climb to the top of the complex pictured above. The architecture and artwork on the buildings was incredible throughout. Each of the individual buildings had names and purposes, and some had statues and thrones to visit. It was certainly an impressive sight. Below is just a taste of the color and design of the palace.
After leaving the Summer Palace, we drove to a market that sold almost everything from MP3 players to pearls. Jose and I walked around together just looking and being called at to buy from each booth. We left from there for the airport to leave on our Air China flight at 8:40 PM. However, there were big storms and our flight was delayed and then delayed some more. They fed us some horrible meatballs and gave us water while we waited. Finally the flight was cancelled around 11 PM. We were all very dirty and tired from having been out climbing in the sun all day, and all just wanted to take a shower and go to bed. Fortunately the airline bused us all to a hotel (that at first sight was really scary because it looked like a prison camp when we entered the grounds) that was pretty nice and we were able to spend the night there. This was a very long day that was wonderful right up until the four uncomfortable hours at the airport waiting for a flight that would be cancelled.
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