The Great Wall, Ming tombs, The secret road....

Tuesday, April 08, 2014
Beijing, Beijing, China
The morning here in Beijing started out smoggy.... I think the weather channel called it fog but it wasn't...

Still we made a start, after a latish night at Wangfujing night markets ... Omg I can't believe that they really do eat scorpion, cockroach etc.... What I think is yuk is another man delicacy.... Each to there own.... The creepy part about it is that the insects are still alive, until they are bbq'd to order.... It is a real tourism spot, lots of color, vibrancy, things to see....

The car picked us up at the hotel... It is nice traveling in style... Our private driver and tour guide.... Took us to our first stop, the Secret Road, built 400 years ago for the Ming dynasty, a road to protect the emperors tombs... The statues here are incredible, all made out single pieces of granite.... A very spiritual spot...

The onto the Ming tombs.... There are 13 Ming emperors all buried here, in there own tombs, and only this one has been opened... The cultural revolution saw most of the relics and the coffins destroyed, but replicas have been made.... 8 story's deep in the side of the mountain, this tombs construction nearly saw China bankrupt ....

Lunch and then onto the Great Wall... It really is a wonder of the world...over half a million people to build over 100 years....nothing modern compares... The fog was well and truly settled, which obstructed the long view, but still amazing.... We were puffed just walking up and down a couple of Km's of the wall, net alone all ~6000km of it! For those of you wondering, there were no rabbits!

On the way home, we stopped by another street tourist spot in Beijing, piper st.... A very traditional hutong part of the city.... Restored, and now attracting large amounts of tourists...

Home on the subway.... Which I must say is just as good as New York's but cleaner, and cheaper... 50cents each way... To any stop throughout the network....

Having a blast... Rest day tomorrow...more shopping...

Xx

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