The '2-dollar' China Tour - Beijing Part 2

Who hasn't heard of the Great Wall of China? Even our 5 year old grandson Luke was most excited when he knew that Grandma & Grandpa would visit the Great Wall of China. Many words have been written about this antiquity and we would be kidding ourselves to improve on any of those. But it is a most amazing and imposing structure. I would have loved to have flown over it but was still impressed with the little we saw.On the Great Wall and a challenge awaits us. Well, Siebrand anyway as Carol chose to remain quietly behind.
So, I am ready. Let's go and see whether I can make it to the top.....which it is out of the picture.
Sights along the way. It was fascinating to see the terraced grounds as we continued our ascent.
The higher we climbed, the fewer people were on the wall, which I suppose suggests that it was pretty tough going....and it was! The steps were uneven and made regular walking difficult and tiring.


The next pic still does not show our destination, so we just kept climbing and I wondered whether I would really make it.
The third picture gives some idea how high we climbed and shows some of the mountain ranges on which the Great Wall was built. Just think that the route over mountains like this extended over 7000 kilometers. It boggles the mind!!














Yes, I can do it!!








We made it....well nine of us including those in this pic; from left Chris, Christine, Yours truly, Ricki, Phil & Colin. Graeme turned up just after this was taken and Adam & Kerry were just too fast for us!The view from the top.... ....and finally back where we began the ascent. It was a great walk that drained my fluids. Hence, a litre or so of refreshment recharged me to tackle the next challenge!
In the evening we chose to let others do strenuous exercise. We went to the Heaven & Earth Theatre and were entertained by the most amazing acrobatics we have ever seen! It was superb. Words are inadequate and we will just have to show a lot of pictures as a silent demonstration of the wonderful energy and acrobatics.Chris looks pretty comfortable between two lovely ladies.
And now, the beginning of the spectacle:It just does not seem natural to be able to bend one's body to such an extent. But she did!These girls were quite something. In the end they all hopped on to one bike - all twelve of them, with one pedalling and no one fell off! It was rather hard to get a sharp photograph, but I hope that these pics will convey their achievement.
The following day we set out for the Summer Palace which goes back to the mid 18th century. It seems that the most notable period of occupancy was during the reign of the Dowager Empress Cixi, who must have ruled the place with a lot of authority from 1861 to 1908. She must have been a formidable lady who crushed the Wuxu Reform Movement in 1898 and imprisoned Emperor Guangxu who was further supported by his loved Concubine Zhen who finally found her end in a well in the Forbidden City (see Beijing Part 1).

Well, let's start with ourselves at the entrance of the Summer Palace:
An early glimpse of the wonderful lake that is part of the palace complex:We all listened attentively to Eric as he explained some of the history of this place. From left to right Kerry, Christine, Carol perched on her portable stool (a great asset) and Chris:
While my moustache attracted a lot of attention............. it was nice for Carol also to be recognised. Quite understandable considering her lovely smile. On many occasions people asked us to pose for photos with them and of course we were happy to oblige. Here is one such instance at the palace:
Part of our palace tour was to walk through the 'Long Corridor', which is 728 meters long..... ......and contains some wonderful paintings. In fact there are over 8000 of them. So, just a sample:We were suitably impressed by the Chinese way of hanging pictures on their walls. Very natural, making excellent use of the natural beauty of the place. Like these:Being holiday time in China there were many Chinese families taking time out to visit their own historical sites. Once again, we delighted in sharing a photo with them. How good would it have been if Chris had had his clown stuff with him to do his tricks.The walk around the lake was enjoyable but we all chose to take a ferry ride back to other end. And no, it wasn't this one made of marble.........instead, one like this suited our purpose very well and gave us a touch of the dramatic:The views from our little boat revealed this small island in the lake:The next photograph must be the most photographed bridge in Beijing. It looks pretty impressive and has a sort of romantic look about, even though one doesn't associated romance too much with the imperial dynasties of China:
The end of the day was a rather fiery performance of a floor show - Kungfu:

Our final day saw quite a change of pace starting with a rickshaw ride:Just a view as we passed through a village:He is all show, isn't he...and wouldn't have lasted the distance!
A visit to a local kindergarten/creche was next
Kids are really the same everywhere, and we loved seeing them and sharing a few quiet momentsAnd yes, inevitably the moustache again attracted attentionAnd to ensure that all the kids were comfortable....And finally, what is a tour in Beijing without a visit to the Silk Market. It was pretty massive, but we found the constant sales pitch rather stressful and hard to take. At least on the upper floors it was a little more civil and so we bought some stuff and had some fun in the process:
Our Beijing visit was quite outstanding and we loved the place and its people.