11/8 - 11/11 beijing

The seat of the government, Beijing is an incredibly modern city full of wide roads, freeways, universities, shopping malls, and lots of great historical sites. It is also cold, dirty, and "totally nuts", according to Clint. But we loved the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Temple of Heaven (where the emperor prayed for a good harvest), the Great Wall, and the hutongs (small alleys that gov't has bulldozed to near-extinction). And of course, knock-off markets galore with relentless and feisty shop girls. What a place China has become!

There is also an air of oppression that makes us wonder what it will be like in ten years. The government controls everything tightly, but the people seem content - as long as life continues to improve. And billions of dollars have been invested to prepare for the Olympics so China can show the world that they are back and ready to be a major player in the world. It will be interesting to see if the city can handle the influx of people (the madhouse subways are already too crowded to breathe). I just hope the air will be clear enough so that the athletes can perform.

The best part about Beijing, however, was the chance to see friends - though we had such a great time with them that we forgot to take pictures! Duh.


Sunset at the Temple of Heaven

Me and Mao
The Forbidden City is massive

Really massive
Clint gazing into the distance - nice

Another great sunset

If you look closely, you can see all sorts of delights that they'll grill up for you: mystery meat, scorpions, sea horses, or pupae on a stick. Not joking.
The great wall, aptly named
So great

but so cold!
We hiked it for 3 hours, so we had it almost entirely to ourselves; at the entrance, however, it was packed - like most things in China...
Our favorite salesgirl, "Apple", who claimed she was 18. Yeah, 18 going on 12. But she was no novice - yikes!