Today was our last day in Beijing, but before we left for Xi’an, we visited a Hutong, or old neighborhood, and visited a world-renowned artist who paints the inside of glass objects. It was amazing to see how she uses a curved brush to apply the paint so delicately and precisely.
Next, we traveled by rickshaw to the Bell Tower (钟楼) for a tea-tasting. We tried five different kinds of tea, and then had the opportunity to buy the tea, of course. It was fun and delicious!
Today our tour took us to the Badaling section of the Great Wall. 30 years ago when I visited, I believe we came to the same section, but we started at the main parking area. This time our tour group took the tram up to the top, and from there we were able to hike along the wall. We first completed the easy section to the end, then turned around and went for a bit on the hard section. It was significantly more difficult because of the steepness of some of the sections, but my brothers and I did well.
It was pretty amazing to be up on the Great Wall even if it is a big tourist destination.
After our visit to the Great Wall, we went to the Jade factory/market and received some “education” on the tradition of Chinese jade, the meaning behind it, the types of stone, and the quality differences. After the short lesson, we were provided with a pretty huge lunch with plenty of beer, wine, and a super-potent liquor. I sure this was in order to loosen up everyone’s purse strings before shopping in the jade market. 😆
After that, we checked out the park at the entrance to the Ming Tombs, then drove through the 2008 Olympic area and saw the “Bird’s Nest” stadium, and the “Water Cube” from the bus, before returning back to the hotel.
Since we had a couple hours before dinner I did a little shopping at my favorite two stores: Uniqlo and Muji. I didn’t buy anything, but I always enjoy browsing those two!
And to conclude the day, we went to a restaurant for Peking Duck, where we stuffed ourselves and drank a bit too much! The food was yummy and the company was hilarious. It was a good time, for sure!
Well, it was a long, fun day today. To finish up, 6 of us from our tour group attended a Kung Fu show at the Red Theater. The martial arts were for the most part pretty good, especially the acrobatic moves and poses. I didn’t care too much for the feats of strength and breaking of “staffs” since it seemed like the wood wasn’t very strong to begin with. Also, the story got a little slow at parts, and combined with jetlag, we struggled to stay awake. I think all of us nodded off for bits here n there. 😴
But regardless of that, I’m glad we chose to see this optional excursion. And we even got a souvenir DVD to relive the experience. 😆
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/105 sec, ISO50 “Temple of the Sun” Beijing, 2018
This morning I woke up extra-early due to jetlag and decided to go for a run. At 6 am, the streets of central Beijing were surprisingly empty. In fact, I could pretty much run in the middle of the streets if I wanted to! I guess most of the people were beginning their commutes outside of the city, so it wouldn’t get busy until they arrived.
Since I don’t know the city at all, I just ran with Google Maps on and I looked for interesting places and parks, which led me to the Temple of the Sun. It’s a cool little park which has a beautiful pond and other points of interest and is also very popular with runners and walkers. So I was totally at home running (more like jogging), walking, and stopping to take photos.
You know, I try to run in new places, like when I visited Stockholm for business. Running can get you to places really quickly, and since you can stop at any time to take in the sights, it’s a great way to get familiar with a new city. Especially if you can do it early in the morning. 😀
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/50 sec, ISO64 “Sunrise Over the City” Beijing, 2018
Like this:
LikeLoading...
My camera & photos
I use a Fujifilm X-series camera for most of the photos on this site and my Instagram. Why not pick one up for yourself?
