We had a super nice buffet breakfast at the hotel. There was so much food I couldn't try it all, but luckily I'll get another shot tomorrow. They even had kimchi that was really good 😊 and a chocolate mousse cup!
The next stop is the Great Wall. We went to Mu Tian Yu to hike a section of it. Instead of starting all the way at the bottom of the mountain, we took a cable car up to the Wall.
The mountains are so beautiful, and the cold weather kept most people away. I didn't think it was too cold, and once we started hiking it was comfortable. We were virtually the only ones there so early, and we got some really incredible pictures. The guys rushed on ahead to make it to the top, but Liz, Alexia, and I took the more leisurely photographic pace.
You can see where the original parts of the Wall still stand because they have a more white mortar between the stones. Ricky, our guide in Beijing, was telling us that it's made from sticky rice, and that when they were building the Wall, people didn't even have enough rice to feed themselves, but they still had to give their rice to help build the Wall. He was also telling us that the little holes in the side of the Wall were for air conditioning in the summer, so that air could circulate through and keep the soldiers from getting too hot. Unfortunately the "air conditioner" did not have an off switch, so the first bit of the hike was a bit chilly before the sun warmed us up. The one thing that always surprises me about the Wall is that I always think it's taller. It's definitely not short and seems to have gotten the job done, but it's never as tall as I think it would be.
The Wall is truly an impressive piece of architecture, and spans as far as the eye can see, following the ridge of the mountains. Some parts were a little scary to climb because the stairs are so steep and narrow. I enjoyed how undisturbed the Wall is, even if some parts seem a little unsafe. I wonder how different the scene would be if the Great Wall were in the US and subject to all of the US safety protocol.
The air was much clearer and more fresh out in the mountains, so we got a phenomenal view of everything. It was such a beautiful day; I couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. We got a great view of the guard towers that the Chinese would use to beacon if invaders were coming. There was also the tilted Buddha head in the mountains, but to be honest I don't quite see the Buddha head. Maybe you'll have better luck.
On bus ride back to our personal shuttle, there was this really energetic Indian guy traveling with a group. They were sitting in the front of the bus and he says "Everyone look here! Let's take a picture of the most handsome man in India. Good good! Look so good!" as he was taking a picture of his friend. It's always fun to see such good-spirited people out and about.
Lil Mao also made a new friend! There were cats all over the place at the Wall for some reason, and they must have left the tiny paw prints we found in parts of the Wall as we hiked..
Driving back into Beijing was kind of depressing because the closer we got to the city, the more the smog came back. It's definitely not as bad as it was last night; I can at least see clearly, and my eyes and throat aren't hurting. But the sun is all blocked out now 😢
We made it back to Beijing around lunch time, so before heading to the Forbidden City, we stopped for a quick bite to eat at a noodle shop. I forget exactly what I got, but it was some kind of traditional noodle with a really salty bean paste sauce. They brought out the noodles plain, with a bunch of things on the side to mix in. It also came with some orange juice. The menu said "Icy orange juice" so I was surprised when it was hot. Not what I was expecting, but not bad.
The Forbidden City is where the Chinese emperor lived. It's called the Forbidden City because most people were forbidden to enter. It's huge, especially just for one guy, but the Forbidden City is truly all about him. There is a special pathway for the emperor and special gates for him to enter. Anyone who enters through the emperor's gate is killed, even his wife. The only exception to this rule is on their wedding day, the emperor and empress can go through together. We naturally all walk around using the emperor's paths.
The Forbidden City is huge but it doesn't have any landscaping or trees in it. Ricky says this is for several reasons: security (assassins won't have trees to hide in), safety (the trees could catch fire easily), and appearance (lack of trees makes the space seem much more immense). I think those are all fine reasons, but I also think the aesthetic of the City in between buildings was a little on the dull side.
The buildings inside the Forbidden City are filled with incredible detail. Each has its own purpose. Many are only for the emperor's use, but there are some for his wife, a few for the Unix, and much space for the emperor's concubines. Altogether, there are 9,999 rooms in the Forbidden City. I was surprised to see how much space was dedicated to concubine housing, and I guess even more shocked to find out that the emperor had about 3,000 concubines living there at any one time.
Everything in the City seemed to have a specific reason, purpose, or symbolic meaning. For example, the colors of the walls and the roofs were representative of the earth and heavens. There were five gates to represent the five directions: north, east, south, west, and middle. Small statues were located all around to bring good qualities (longevity, wisdom, etc) to the emperor.
We looked around at most of the main rooms and areas of the Forbidden City, although we definitely did not have enough time to stop by all 9,999 rooms. Some buildings had been carefully restored, so they were very colorfully painted. Others had not been touched, so the paint had become dingy and much less impressive.
Behind the Forbidden City is a special mountain that was man-made using dirt removed to create the Forbidden City. On top of the mountain is a special temple with a giant golden Buddha that the emperor went to to pray. We did not go there, but we could still see it.
After the Forbidden City, we took taxis back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We got a few minutes of down time before heading to Da Dong for the world renowned Peking duck.
When we got to the restaurant, I immediately felt underdressed. It was a super fancy restaurant, but luckily there was no dress code so we had no problems. Right when you walk in, you can see the chefs cooking and preparing the ducks.
But they don't cut the duck until it's time for it to be eaten. Then, they take the duck tabkeside and cut/serve it there.
The food was quite delicious and so beautifully prepared. To eat the duck, there are three different styles. The first way is to simply dip the piece of duck in some sugar crystals and eat it. The second way is to take a thin hollow bun, fill it with duck, raddish slices, and cucumber slices, and eat it. The third way is to take a soft, sticky rice shell, fill it with duck and onion slices, wrap it up like a burrito (using your chopsticks... Good luck!), and eat it. The third way was my favorite, but the whole meal was so delicious.
We ate the duck with a friend of Dr. Orkwis, Dr. Ou Ma from New Mexico State University. He helped translate for us and picked out the menu for dinner. He also brought some Chinese liquor for us to try. It's called Mautai, and Dr. Ma swears it's the best in all of China. I have no idea what proof it is, but oh boy is it strong. I only wanted to try a little sip, and that one drop I tried was enough to send a burning sensation into my entire mouth and throat. I think I'll just stick to tea from now on (the red tea was much more to my liking), but Lil Mao ran into a bit of trouble....
After dinner, we wanted to go explore the night market. But first, a quick stop at McDonalds for some coffee. I tried one of the regional items, a matcha latte. It wasn't incredible, but it was from McDonalds so you can only expect so much....
Armed with a warm beverage, we went off to conquer the night market. It took us a while to find it because we had directions, but didn't know exactly where it was. Then we finally found it and got to take a look around. It was crowded with people, probably the most crowded place we've been so far. I guess it's nickname "snack street" was very fitting because the market was full of different vendors selling snacks. You could buy anything from a steaming cup of juice to various skewers of pork/chicken/beef to fried squid and squid legs to deep fried scorpions and cockroaches! We didn't end up eating anything because we were too stuffed from dinner, but it was really interesting to see all of the different snack foods.
After the snack street adventure, we just went back to the hotel for bed. It's hard to believe that tonight is our last night in Beijing. We've been so lucky with the weather. They think it's Lil Mao bringing us good luck.
Goodnight from Beijing!
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