Day 3

On Saturday we decided on a tour of Ming Tombs (burial of 13 emperors once the capital was moved to Beijing) and the Great Wall. We got picked up from the hotel and were off to Ming Tombs. It was interesting to see and learn about the history. Afterwards, we were brought to a jade factory – this stop was missing from the tour information, but as you can imagine they spent about 30 minutes trying to sell us jade goods. Afterwards we went for lunch in an old theatre and somehow ended up at a medical museum where we were taken into a room and the door was shut. Then we were told about Chinese medicine and many “famous” doctors came in to do an exam. A bit too weird for us so we booked it out of there ASAP.

Somewhat frustrating to have 2 random stops on our tour, but then we were off to the Wall. We got there around 1 and only had 2 hours to tour the wall. We were convinced to take this “trolley” as we were told it was too far to hike to the top (you needed to get to the top to be considered a “real hero”). So we fell for the trick hook line and sinker and paid the extra money for the trolley. We later found out that those who walked actually got there faster as the “trolley” line was so long. We were herded like cattle through the gates and up the mountain. It was more like a really crappy amusement park ride than a trolley.

Once we got on the wall, it was incredibly crowded. The views and wall itself are amazing, but there were people everywhere. I didn’t realize how mountainous it was near the wall, but it’s very steep with great views. I think I got some good pictures – hopefully I’ll be able to clean up the sky a bit once I get back and can edit the pictures. We made it to the top and became real heroes. Afterwards, we returned to Beijing and ventured out for some Peking Duck. It reminded me a lot of regular duck like back home, but not quite as gamey. Overall, a good meal.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the prices of food so far. In Beijing, most meals (with beer) were $7-8. A large beer (probably 30 ounces?) is about $1.50 in some restaurants. Even the duck, a more expensive meal was only $12 each. A bottle of pop or at a super market is around 75 cents.