Today we left the hotel at 0800. We took a scenic drive to the Great Wall. The section we visited was 33 km long and was the inner wall. I was surprised there were not so many people visiting. I scaled much of the wall, but did not reach the very top of the mountain. The climbing was strenuous, however I think I got my best photos from the lower section.
After the Great Wall they took us to a handicraft place operated by the government which made vases and other trinkets. After a short demonstration we walked upstairs to the restaurant for lunch.
After lunch we drove to the Olympic Park and stopped for a photo of the water cube and birdcage. We also saw the 5 nail tower that was not finished until after the Olympics.
We then continued to have a rickshaw (pedicab) tour of a hutong (old habitats in the center of the city).
Most people in our tour continued on with an optional night tour, we however chose to adventure on our own. The hutong we visited was a few minutes walk to a nice area around a lake called Houhai. There were many bars along the lake. We then continued on to Beihai Park which contains the White Dagoba Temple. We visited too late in the day to visit the inside, however it was nice to see up close from the outside because I could clearly see if from the Forbidden City when I visited a few years ago.
Below Pictures are from Beihai Park
After our visit to the park we took a taxi to the hotel which is not close, but the total fare was 44.60 RMB, which is only around $7.00. I then proceeded to find dinner at the local western establishment with golden arches… We are getting plenty of Chinese food with the tour.
Tomorrow we head to the airport to fly to X’ian…. y’all should all know what that city is famous for.