My apologies if you've been holding your breath for Part II of our Manchu-land trip (you must have passed out by now). But wait no more! Here are some of our memories of this epic journey to the heart of the Middle Kingdom, the home to all icons associated with China: Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square... that is, Beijing!
But first of all, let's start with something that you probably don't necessarily know about Beijing, something that was a such a nice surprise, at least to me- a flourishing artist community, called District 798.
My right brain that's been going through hibernation these past 2 months was literally shocked back to life once I stepped foot in 798. Imagine rows and rows of open studios, bookstores, arts and crafts retailers, open-air cafes... I'm in LOVE. I wish I can wrap the whole thing up and carry it home with me.
And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, without further ado, may I present... the Great Wall of China!
Breathtaking would be an understatement. This is the Mutianyu (慕田峪) section of the Great Wall, it's about 1.5 hr outside of Beijing, it's a little farther out, but so worth hiring a car and guide for since it's 1000 times quieter than nearer portions like Badaling.
To head up the scenic part of the wall, you can either hike, or take an open gondola, or a cable car (like we did), or...
Ride a donkey (whom Eva loved... from a distance). Once you get up there, you can hike to your heart's content, then, on the way down, you have the option of riding an open toboggan like an Olympic luge slider (weeee!); note the "weeee!" part was imagined- we have a 2 year-old, we take a completely sealed cable car.
And of course the Empress wouldn't have to walk the entire way, she has the other donkey, her daddy, to carry her around. She only gets off her perch for photo op's (please pardon the weird 3rd arm...) And thank god for these watch towers, otherwise we'd been roasted alive under this impossible heat...
By the way, we love this Sherpani backpack carrier! At least I loved it since I didn't have to carry it, ha! But seriously, hubby said it's reasonably comfortable, and we would not have been able to move around too well without it on this trip. Totally worthy investment.
We have TONS more photos of the Great Wall visit and other parts of Beijing, here are a few, and you can see the rest here and here. Enjoy!
Swinging at Tian Tan- best part of the day!
An old Hutong, a disappearing Beijing way of living...
And the absolutely gynormous Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City complex... This is one of those days I truly believe there are 10 billion people living in this country...
... which necessitates us whipping out the "toddler walking device"... you should see the looks we got.
So pooped...
And one last, unrelated picture, just coz... can you believe this little monkey is turning 2 in a week? I can't...
We're going on another trip soon, where Eva will get to spend her birthday with her grandpa and grandma in Hong Kong then with the terracotta army in Xi'an. It should be fun, check back for updates on that soon!
