Finishing Up China

So just a few more pictures from China. So many of the places do look alike because the architecture was all done around the same time.

Here I am in front of the entrance to the Forbidden City. Of course it has the famous photo of Mao on it. This is Tiannamin Square where they had the protests in the 80's. I figured out it was because it is right across the street from the government buildings and also because Mao's tomb is there.

This is inside the Forbidden City. It is quite large and impressive. Eventhough it was very busy, you could go along the outside and avoid a lot of the crowds who seemed to all congregate in specific buildings.

The wall of the seven dragons.

The Temple of Heaven. This was after we had a delicious lunch with the most fabulous chicken that I didn't take any pictures of.

I learned about tea while I was there and figured out I've never liked it because I was making it wrong. I came back with a lot of tea and a tea set.

I rode in a rickshaw through the Hutong, which is the old part of Beijing. That is my tour guide Christina with me. She spent three days with me interpreting and ordering meals. I highly recommend a personal tour guide when in a country where you don't speak the language and have no idea how to read anything.

Noodles was the one dish I had problems using my chopsticks with. But by the end of this meal I could do a pretty good job.

This is my last day of touring at the Summer Palace. Yes it was that smoggy. Most of my pictures have a gray cast to them.

You could take a ride on the dragon boat on the big lake that is at the palace. We didn't do that because it was so smoggy I doubt you would have seen much.

The Summer Palace is extremely busy and full of tourist stops the entire way. This was the main place where I noticed the big difference between the United States and China. Most of the "historical" places in the U.S. don't have as many tourist shacks within the property. Outside of the property sure, but on the property no. And this is also where the noise of the crowds go to me. The tours through here use bullhorns to talk to their group and that was just loud and I of course didn't understand a word. Several times my guide would have to stop talking because I couldn't hear her right next to me.

My hotel on the sunny day I left Beijing. Blue skies make everything look better.

The Beijing airport is the largest one I've ever been too. The International Terminal was massive. Once I got checked in (I was quite proud I figured that part out on my own) I had to take a little video of the entrance. I don't know if you can see the massiveness of the building from this clip.

But the airport was really nice. Lots of things to look at. I wish I had stopped for something to eat before going all the way out to the actual terminal because it is a shopping/eating mecca at the main part.

So there you have it. My trip to China was interesting. I'm very glad I went but I was super glad to get home.

The Great Wall of China

I think when most people hear that you are going to China they wonder about the Great Wall. After all, it is one of the seven wonders of the world.

The wall was originally made by the different provinces of China to keep the others out but in 221BC, Qin Shi Huang conquered all of the other states and made a united China. He unified the wall to keep other nations out rather than having the in-fighting that had plagued China for centuries. The current wall was most likely remade by the Ming dynasty in the 14th century.

You have to drive about an hour outside of Beijing to get to the closest portion of the wall that is accessible and walkable. The steps are uneven and worn. There are watch towers every so often and as soon as you climb past the first one the crowds thin out. It seems like people go and climb a little and say they have done it.

This is the relatively flat (compared to the rest) area that you can enter the wall. If you look up, yes that's what you climb. This is a country of hills and mountains. And that isn't fog...it is mostly smog.

A variety of warnings while climbing. The no climbing refers to the actual watch tower, not the wall. LOL

This is taken looking down from the first watch tower you get to.

While this is looking up from the same watch tower. As you can see it just keeps going up and up.

A good view of the stairs. A lot of them are super worn by the handrail because more people walk there.

At the base of this section where most people park they have a few traditional buildings.

I found the climb at the Great Wall to not be too bad, especially after the week before's climb up Laoshan Mountain. I went on a Sunday and while the first section was crowded, I didn't think it was unreasonable. I'm glad I went and did this.

Beijing Olympic Park

While I was in Beijing, I went to the Olympic Park twice. Once on my way back from the Great Wall and once on my way to the airport. You can tell the difference in days just by the photos.

The first day was a Sunday and the air quality was poor. Everything looks dingy in the photos.

The day I left was a sunny day. It had rained the night before and washed away all the smog.

The water cube was where all the swimming events were held. They have turned into a water park for kids and was very reasonably priced. The Birds Nest holds a few events but it is prohibitively expensive for anyone to use it so it mostly sits as a backdrop for photos.

The Fashion Police - China Edition

I can't help myself. Whenever I go somewhere I start looking at fashion and have to take pictures. Mainly so I can share with you the readers on my blog.

China was no exception. I didn't even get everything I saw but this will give you some ideas.

These gentlemen were showing all they got on the beach. Almost felt European with all the tiny bathing suits and men who shouldn't be wearing them.

Lots of grown women were wearing these hats.

How about some baggy pants and the jeans with different colored cuffs. And these were on MEN!

I think I had her outfit in the 1970's

These women were wearing these shoes to climb the Great Wall. I saw lots of women in bare feet who had to remove their shoes because of the climbing.

Beer

Now that I have your attention, I thought I would write about the famous local Qingdao beer called TsingTao. You can buy it in the US. Qingdao was inhabited by Germans in the early 1900's and they wanted their beer so they brought in brewmasters from Germany to teach the Chinese how to make it. And that is how a Chinese beer (TsingTao is pronounced Qingdao) tastes like a light German beer from hops. It is really tasty and it is served cold (one of the few drinks in China served that way). We toured their museum and of course what tour is complete without samples.




Isn't this a great fountain?












They even had bottles of the beer at the buffet at the hotel. You could take as many as you wanted to the table.

Random Stuff About China

I'll start my China recap with some random tidbits about China.

First thing I saw about the hotel was the gas mask. Why you wonder a gas mask in the hotel room? In case of fire you put it on to help you get out.





Then of course was the usual hair dryer. While I was happy that there was something, my hair didn't appreciate the effort. At least the second hotel I stayed in had a real one.





Did you know brides in China have huge production pictures taken before the wedding with the group? In Qingdao they took them at the beach, the park and the churches. The photographers have all the dresses and they do multiple changes. It isn't the dress they get married in.










They have lots of American fast food chains.














There's lots more to write about but I had to start somewhere. Hopefully I'll put together some thoughts about actual places soon.