We arrived late at night, so after getting some sleep at our hotel, we walked over to nearby Tiananmen Square. We didn't do the research, though, and while Labor Day was a 1-day holiday in the Philippines, it was a 3-day holiday in China and the final day of that holiday was this very day. On the plus side, the factories were closed down and we had blue skies and little pollution. On the downside, people...lots and lots of people. A crush of humanity. Then again, that was kind of cool--our first impression was that we were indeed in a country of 1 billion+ people.
After Tiananmen, we followed (were carried away by?) the crowds into the Forbidden City.
(old sundial)
The kids were very popular...lots of cheek grabbing and requests for pictures.
Lots of lion statues, too.
Beautiful doors and windows.
That night, we hopped the subway during rush hour and headed over to see a remarkable acrobatics show.
(gymnast balancing on about 15 chairs stacked on top of each other)
(many ladies on bicycles)
(Shane's favorite--they had 8 motorcycles going at once in that steel ball)
The next day was our trip to the Great Wall of China. Of course, there is a lot of history involved (essentially, keeping marauders out) but it's the sheer enormity and durability of the wall that is so impressive and makes visiting it an incredible experience. Here we are down below.
And then up on the wall.
(with our tour guide, Mark)
The kids found the wall pretty neat, but their favorite parts were going up to the wall by ski lift...
...and down by toboggan.
Beijing had no shortage of iconic places to visit that you realize, upon visiting, that are highly evocative as symbols of the East to we Western folk. This was remarkable to us even after 2-and-a-half years living in Asia and traveling all over. One of those iconic places was the Temple of Heaven, situated in its lovely namesake park.
The park is filled with people doing all sorts of activities: playing music, exercising in any number of ways, participating in seemingly intense card games and dominoes, etc.
We went to the Beijing Zoo to check out their many pandas.
But it was the cheetahs, Eliana's favorite animal, that obliged her by pacing back and forth right in front of the window that were the real highlight of the trip.
We also visited the train museum.
And to ensure that we kept things a little modern as well, we took a trip out to the 798 Art District.
We hired a rickshaw driver to give us a guided tour of a nearby hutong, which is a narrow old-style Beijing neighborhood.
(our rickshaw driver really wanted to hold Shane for this picture)
(view from the seat)
(lobby of a hostel in the hutong)
Of course, one of the big highlights in a visit to China is the food and we found Beijing cuisine to be especially tasty.
(we didn't eat any of these)
(these preserved strawberries, we did)
(and street dumplings)
(our little vegetarian found coconut and corn)
(green tea soft serve ice cream)
(cold spinach and peanuts in vinegar--so good)
(Peking Duck carved tableside)
(Sam enjoying lamb dumplings)
(Eliana with celery and water chestnut dumplings)
(Shane with the iPad, allowing us to eat in peace)
(Sam amid nighttime food stalls)
On Wangfujing walking street, right around the corner from our hotel.
And here are some other shots around town to close with...
