Beijing Day 2 The Great Wall

In typical John fashion, he befriended a man at the hotel from the Ukraine.  This gentleman travels to China several times a year for work.  He is a toy salesman.  Anyway, he arranged for a car and guide to take us to the Great Wall, Mutianyu.  Badaling is the more common destination for tourists and John had been there on his last trip.  He said it was teeming with very aggressive vendors and wall to wall people, no pun intended.  Parts of the wall were actually crowded.  Mutianyu on the other hand is known for it's more natural setting and beautiful vistas.  It was spectacular.  There were very few people.  We took a cable car up and down, just hiking a short while on top of the wall from tower to tower.  We also tried calling Auntie Ali because we thought she might be the only family member still awake at 10:30 PM!

Our guide was Jennifer.  MingGe took a step back today and grabbed on to Jennifer for dear life.  It may be that she was also scared.  She has never been in a cable car and some of the steps on the wall were half her size.  She was not interested in doing anything but leaving.  After taking some pictures Jennifer, MingGe and I sent John and Jack on a short hike.  We waited on a scenic overview where the cable car station was located.  It may have just been a language attraction.  MingGe understands much of what we are saying, but can not talk back so I am sure it is comforting to be able to have a conversation with someone!

After the Great Wall we went to a Cloisine factory.  They walked us from room to room and we could see each step in the process. A small vase the size of a water bottle takes about 2 weeks to complete!  I was not a big fan of this style of pottery or jewelry but I am glad we stopped there.  It was very interesting and I liked many of their designs.  We also enjoyed an authentic Chinese lunch at their restaurant.  It was great.

The drive back to the City was about 1.5 hours.  MingGe did take a nap in the van!

Back in Beijing we went to the "Blue Zoo".  I was expecting a very small aquarium with some fish tanks.  Boy was I wrong.  It was a great aquarium.  The best part was a 300 m moving conveyer belt that took you through a huge fish tank under arched windows.  There was many species of fish and sea life.  It was awesome.

MingGe turned into the happy girl that we have seen over the past week.  She let me zip her coat and hold her hand on the stairs.  When we went back to the hotel she played with Jack and I like before.  Two steps forward!

We went for dinner at a rest right near the hotel.  It was great.  MingGe likes shrimp so we ordered Shrimp fried rice.  She could not resist even though she was getting tired.  Back at the hotel we played for a short time before hitting the hay at 7.

Although we took a step back at the beginning of the day we ended on a happy note.  As she and Jack held hands and skipped back tot he hotel, John and I looked at each other and said "thank God" at the same time.

Tomorrow we will be visiting the Forbidden City, Tianamen (sp?) Square and the Pearl Market.