The Great Wall

Once you've been to the Great Wall, there's no question about why it's one of the Seven Wonders of the World.. it is unbelievable - and for that matter, so is China. I kicked off my trip to China with a stop in Beijing first - partly for work and partly to see some of the historic sites, the Great Wall being one of them. The VP of the agency I'm working with was gracious enough to take me out to one of the less touristy parts of the wall, Mutianyu. It is definitely less touristy, but it's also VERY steep.. like crazy steep... one of the sections we climbed was over 700 steps - I lost count after that...(maybe it was the altitude!)

I did manage to cram a lot of sightseeing into a short period of time while I visited Beijing, including the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the gorgeous Temple of Heaven. Oh, and I did work while I was there, which was the original purpose... It is not that difficult to get around, if you recruit an English speaking guide so you can navigate in a taxi, otherwise forget it. The traffic is unbelievably bad - it's like one massive traffic jam, with 10 million cars not moving - and the smog is also incredibly bad - it's like a big thick cloud hanging over everything, so even when the sun is shining, it's still kind of gray and hazy...

There is so much to see and take in that it is hard to digest it - so much history, so many dynasties and emperors - it's endless. The Forbidden City is very impressive, sitting right on the corner of Tiananmen Square - and it is massive... it takes at least an hour and a half to get through it, and get something out of it. There are three inner palaces once you get through the main gate and everything inside is huge - even enough housing to keep over 3000 concubines!

The eating situation can be a bit of an adventure, especially if you don't read or speak Chinese, and you decide to venture past the big hotels... if you're really lucky you end up pointing to something on the menu that might actually be recognizable - like chicken or fish... otherwise, good luck - I know that shark's fin soup is considered a delicacy in China, but I swear, if I had to eat one more bowl of that stuff (good fortune or not), I was going to gag...

Even though I consider myself a fairly adventurous eater, there are a lot of very unusual menu offerings, so you sort of have to just trust your Chinese friends and drink a lot of tea to wash it down... Watch out for bones in the chicken though!