The Great Wall

It was a picturesque day on the Great Wall with snow greeting us and making the stairs a little more treacherous than usual.

The scale was incredibly impressive and I could only imagine how the people who built it and defended it must've lived in the cold winter months.

Spring snow

What a beautiful sight greeted us outside when we saw there was an
overnight snow.  It was soft & fluffy & surprisingly white.

Summary of the last few days

I've had some trouble updating my blogs but I'll update as soon as I can, but here's what we've been up to:

Saturday was spent traveling to Xi'an but we enjoyed a highlight when we enjoyed the Tang Dynasty Imperial Feast and Show. It exceeded our expectations.

Sunday was spent exploring the city - the Terracotta Warriors which much more impressive than I ever imagined. The army was to protect the Emperor in the afterlife.  We also explored the Ancient City Wall and experienced the tranquility of the Great Mosque. Dinner was a never- ending assortment of dumplings.

Monday we left for Beijing saying goodbye to our excellent guide Zhang and hello to Frances. We cycled around the Olympic village, then went into the impressive birds nest stadium.  We then had a relaxing foot massage, then went out on our own to explore the local shops & had KFC for dinner.

Tuesday after breakfast we were awed by Tiananmen Square, wowed by the Forbidden City, feasted in an authentic Chinese restaurant for lunch, toured the incredible Summer Palace, toured the back streets by Rickshaw, were welcomed into a local Hutong (house), then dined on Peking Duck while being entertained. It was an amazing day!

Walk in the park

Even though there are lots of malls and tall buildings, some space has been set aside for a park. There were families and couples enjoying the sunshine and ( not so) fresh air.

Early morning geocaching

I found a geocache nearby so decided to get up early & head out to a beautiful morning.

I didn't find the cache but enjoyed watching the Tai Chi, badminton & various other comings and goings.

Dinner & show

Tonight we enjoyed some traditional Chinese entertainment & delicious food in the French Quarter of Shanghai.

Sunset smog

The city was smothered in smog with visibility down to about 6 kms as the sun went down.