China Home Land Tour July 2011: Beijing and The Great Wall

We dressed the girls all in their 4^th of July outfits! Received lots of nice comments.

We left at 7am to make the two hour drive to the Mutianyu Gate of the Great Wall, constructed more than 2,000 years ago. This section of the Great Wall has 24 Gate Towers. We took a cable car up to Gate 14, then Elizabeth, Rebecca, and I started climbing to Gate 20. The first four gates were moderately difficult to climb, however the climb to Gates 19 and 20 were extremely difficult. Elizabeth and I decided to attempt the last two gates (Rebecca pooped out!). What a steep incline!! It took us two hours to climb from Tower 14 to Tower 20 and then back. It was incredibly hot (near 100 degrees and very humid!), and I felt utterly depleted.

We refreshed ourselves with a lovely lunch in a garden restaurant. Then we drove back to the hotel, for a few hours rest before dinner. The girls went for a swim with all their new fast friends. All the girls were getting along very well.

Tonight we drove to the oldest Peking Duck restaurant in Beijing. It has been serving duck for several hundred years. Many famous people have eaten their Peking Duck here, Presidents Clinton and Nixon, among them. The dinner was exquisite. The Peking Duck the best I have ever eaten. Succulent meat in crispy skin served in little pancakes with scallions and hoisin sauce. The chefs cut the duck in 100+ pieces quickly in front of us. After dinner, we went home and walked around the neigborhood, through a popular open market with snacks to eat, and arts/crafts to buy. Then we went back to the hotel and collapsed in our beds. What an exhausting, but wonderful day!