Wow...the last two days have been very tiring!!! Helen and I got up early both mornings to meet our tour guide at 7:20am. I'm not use to getting up so early since I've been sleeping in late! Also, it's been really hot the last two days...so the sun just drains the energy out of you.
On Monday, we took a tour to the Ming Tombs and Badaling Great Wall. There are 13 Ming Dynasty Emperors that are buried at the Ming Tombs. The last Emperor to be buried there hung himself when he lost power during a revolution. There is a gate that leads into the complex and when you exit, you have to say in Chinese "I am coming back" before you cross over. In the old days, it was believed that if you did not say that, your soul would not cross over with you and it would be left behind...not a good thing! :) Wonder what would happen if you said it in English? Our guide taught us to say it in Chinese.
We went to the Badaling Great Wall and it was EXTREMELY crowded. Helen and I got to behave like Chinese people by pushing and shoving our way through this small entrance that leads up to the Hero's Tower (and when I say small, I mean small..the size of a door for hundreds of people to pass through). It was an extremely hot day, so people were carrying umbrellas...which made it more difficult to navigate through the door. We were trying to stay close to each other and eventually squeeze our way in. When we got up to the top of the wall, it was even more crowed...very difficult to walk around. It makes me so GLAD that I got to go to Mutianyu the day before. The weather was much better to see the Great Wall at Badaling, but with all the people here...Helen and I just went up to take some pictures and came back down. We didn't get a chance to walk on the wall the way I was able to do at Mutianyu. Badaling is the most famous Great Wall...so all the tourists and tour groups go there. We went in the afternoon, but supposedly, the morning is even more crowded...I just can't imagine it!!! If I come back, I'm never going back to Badaling...Mutianyu is a much better place to go to really enjoy the wall!
Tuesday, we visited the other touristy areas. Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace. We got to Tiananmen Square at 8am and you would not believe the crowd there this early in the morning! Again, we had to act like the locals and push our way through when we went through a security check. I'm surprised that people don't get upset when they are shoved around and there aren't fights between people.
There wasn't much to Tiannamen Square...so we didn't stay there long. We walked to the Forbidden City and I really enjoyed this part of the tour. Our tour guide did an excellent job providing information for the Forbidden City...to much to be able to write here. The Forbidden City is also known as the Palace Museum, but it's called "forbidden" because people were not allowed in nor were the people who were living there allowed out. The Emperor would live there with his wives (or maybe just a wife) and concubines.
Next we went the Temple of Heaven. Even though it's called temple, it's not a place of worship. The Emperor would come here to offer sacrifices and pray for good harvest. The Temple of Heaven is round, like heaven...and sits in a square area..which is Earth. The Temple of Heaven is built with just wood...and each of the stairs have 9 steps each, a number that is used only by the emperor.
Our final stop was at the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace is a park that was used by the royal family during the summer time. There is man-made lake in the middle and there are lots of trees to provide shade...thank goodness...too hot!!! We were able to ride on a boat to the other side of the lake and walked around for a little bit on our own.
After the long day, Helen and I got cleaned up and went to have our final dinner together...Beijing Duck! There is a restaurant in the shopping center connected to our hotel that is pretty well known for the duck. It was delicious. The duck was carved in front of us...we ordered some pancakes, cucumber, scallions and sauce to wrap the duck in. I normally don't eat the skin, but it was pretty good (though I didn't eat much of it). It was a great last meal considering the food I've had lately have been so bad!!! :)
I'm flying out tomorrow...so looking forward to heading home!!!! :)
