Beijing Days 2 & 3

Day two in Beijing was packed full of site seeing, rain and crazy traffic. Apparently we encountered an amount of traffic that "never" happens and if we didn't have an amazing driver we would have not made it to our destinations. The day was supposed to begin with a trip to the Great Wall but the two lane road we were on came to a dead stop. Our driver turned around (a lovely 10 point turn) and we headed to our secondary destination first. (We found out later that on this two lane road a large tour bus ran out of oil and there was a head on collision of two cars. When there is no shoulder and people driving on the wrong side of the road in an attempt to get somewhere faster this creates a VERY large mess!)

 

We headed to the "Tombs" where 13 of the 16 emperors of the Ming Dynasty (and the empresses as well as the concubines) are buried. All of the associated buildings were built in the early 1400's, near the same time as the Forbidden City. The picture attached is the Emperor Zhudi (aka Yongle).

 

We were finally able to make it to the Great Wall after we stopped for lunch by coming at it from a different direction (Thanks to the masterful driving prowess of Ahn!) We were both expecting to see a stretch of wall, long and straight, like seen in most movies but we were taken to JuYongGuan which was an important mountain pass. It was raining and cloudy when we arrived but luckily the rain stopped as we were climbing the stairs of the wall. Steep stairs and hundreds of umbrellas do not get along! We had about an hour for a round trip so we went as far as we could in 30 minutes before heading back down. This took us up and through three different battlements. We learned that if a battlement had a peaked roof that was where the soldiers defended from, but a flat roof was where the signal fires were lit to let the soldiers know how many enemies were attacking. This was an amazing experience! Our last stop for the day was an acrobatic show that was mind boggling!

 

 

Day three was much calmer. We started our day by attending a BCIF service (Beijing Christian International Fellowship) in the morning. To get through the door you have to show ID to prove you are not a Chinese national. No Chinese are allowed to attend. :( Most of those in attendance were part of the Embassy community, business people who are living/working in Beijing, and/or tourists.

Our final excursion was to the Temple of Heaven. This was built the same time as the Forbidden City (early 1400's) and is three times the size of the Forbidden City (HUGE!). It was a scorching 95 degrees and we were very thankful that the previous two days were cloudy and a bit cooler! Umbrellas have a two fold purpose in China, sun and rain. It became apparent why today. It was very nice to have "traveling shade" while walking through the Temple of Heaven Grounds.

 

We spent our final afternoon in Beijing relaxing at the hotel and moving items around in our bags so they meet the 44 pound weight requirements for our flight to Ghangzho tomorrow morning. We leave at 7:30 in the morning and when we land we head to the Civil Affairs office to meet Zeke . . . GOTCHA DAY! It's finally here!!