Beijing Day 2

We hopped on the bus and headed out of the city today. Our first stop was a Jade Factory where we got to see how jade is carved and polished. We also learned how to tell the difference between real jade and fake. Hold it under the light and in the real jade, you can see the natural elements within. Fake jade is usually glass and when you hold that up to the light, you don't see anything within the piece. Of course, after the demonstration we had the opportunity to shop around and purchase if so desired. :)

Next stop was the Ming Tombs. This is the burial site of 23 emperors from the Ming Dynasty. The exhibition hall is over 600 years old which is even more impressive when you find out it's all made of wood. The pillars in the hall (16 of them) were each made from a single tree - one pillar, one tree - and the trees were over 1000 years old at the time.

Lunch today was at a village near the Great Wall. One guess what we had... If you guessed Chinese food, you were right! We all agreed that today's lunch was better than yesterday's although that one was good, too.

And finally the major attraction of the day - the Great Wall! WOW!!! At the location we went to, there are 3 ways to reach the top of the wall - you can walk up, ride up in an enclosed gondola, or ride up on a chair lift. I chose the chair lift along with several of our group. For those who know Linda and Les, it won't surprise you that they chose to walk. When we got to the top it was simply amazing - I had a moment of disbelief that I was actually standing on the Great Wall of China - too cool!

After chatting with our guide for a bit, we decided that we would try to get to Watch Tower #1. It was a great goal - and much harder to reach than I expected. I didn't count, but had Les help me estimate and we think it's probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 steps. Others in our group think way more - like 3000. In any case, there were a LOT of steps! I almost gave up but someone in my group encouraged me to keep pushing on and I did it. I'm so glad I did because the view from the top was amazing! I'm sure my legs are going to be rather sore tomorrow but it was an experience that I'll never forget!

To get down from the top of the wall, all of the 3 previous options are available, but there is one additional choice - you can take a toboggan! I was very excited about that and it was a blast! Unfortunately, I had some slow riders in front of me and I caught up to them several times. I would have much rather opened that thing up and flew down full speed the whole way! :)  However, since I was going slower, I was able to spot Linda & Les on the walking trail and gave them a holler and a wave on my way by.

On the way back to Beijing, we stopped for a traditional tea ceremony. I really enjoyed it - we tasted 5 different types of tea, including Ginseng Oolong, Jasmine, black, fruit and floral. Of course, it was another shopping opportunity. :)

Dinner tonight was Peking Duck - a traditional dish in Beijing. I learned that Peking is Cantonese for Beijing. We had to wait about 30 minutes for a table and then had questionable service, but the meal was delicious! I have not been a huge fan of duck previously but now I know that duck can be prepared to be very good! Moist and tender and quite delicious.

It's been another great day - I can't believe it's only been 2 days and we've already seen and done so much!