Ok Beijing, what's left?

My second week in Beijing involved daily walks past this unique structure, in transit from the conference to our efficiency apartment/hotel.  To keep you on your toes a bit, I'm not going to tell you what it is--you'll just have to be patient.  [If you know the answer--don't tell.]

Also nearby our apartment/hotel was a mall with a grocery store that sold the pure bliss that is green tea ice cream, as well as a bakery that dealt in deliciousness by the loaf.  

We practically moved in.  In our heads, we referred to the mall as "ours".  We felt in control of our worlds as we bought lunch for the next day and snacks for at night.   

It was a very well situated apartment/hotel.

Another benefit to our place of residence was that we could book ourselves a sight-seeing tour.

That would be why I found my solitary-white-person self on this bus one day, gleaning as much knowledge as I could from the non-English speaking tour guide.  

She had a lot to say.

I understood none of it.

[It's a good thing I had my very own personal translators with me...]

Our first stop was at the Ming Tombs, which is exactly what it sounds like:

Tombs, where the important people of the Ming Dynasty were buried.

With a lot of expensive things.

Like Jade and Jewels.

In the background here you see the entrance to the Tombs, and in the foreground is the entrance back into the world.  My translators helped me understand that it would be awkward for all present if I tried to walk through that foreground gate on my way in--did I want to acknowledge that I was heading into the land of the dead?  

They suggested that I did not, and should only walk through it on my return.  

They also informed me that--if I was so inclined--I could tap the foundation of this gate with my toe, 3 times, to shake off any evil spirits I might have picked up.  

[I was not--as it turns out--thus inclined, so hopefully the only thing I picked up while up in the Tombish region was this picture of the entrance from behind...]

After visiting a jade factory nearby and getting some lunch, we were taken to a hospital started by an ancient Emperor's doctor.  We were educated in traditional Chinese methods of medicine, and I got my pulse checked to see if all was well with my internal organs.  [Good news--if my translators are to be trusted, I'm as healthy as a horse.]

Next was the moment we'd all been waiting for--the drive to the Great Wall.

It's a good thing we didn't know what else the Great Wall held in store for us, or we might have committed mutiny on our poor little tour guide in our hurry to get there:  

1) Pits of fighting bears.  

[Well, ok, they weren't all fighting.  It's just a lot more interesting if I suggest that they were. Some, as you can see, were merely teetering.]

2) The rickety cable car to take us up

3) The ridiculous line that I would prefer to call a riot to get onto the cable car. 

[There is no such thing as "oh, here--you go first" in China...]

4) My moments of celebrity, of course.  

[Interestingly enough:  I noticed that the people on our bus--who up until this point had only stared at me, pushed me, and shook their umbrellas in my face--suddenly started paying me a lot of superfluous attention on the Wall and once we started driving again.  Big smiles, big waves, inquisitive looks toward the back where we were sitting of "who are you because I'd really like to get my picture taken with you but I've been so rude to you thus far I don't know how you'd react if I asked?"...really nice things like that.  My reaction to this turn of events was "Sorry people, all I can offer you is this authentic American saying: too little, too late.  I'm from New Jersey, which means I'm angry."  It's a good thing I don't speak their language.  And that my translators slept on my shoulders the whole way home.]

All of those things were just bonuses, however.

The real draw is the Wall itself.

Steep in places.

Steeper in others.

Cascading.

Curiously winding.

Amazing.

On our way back down to our waiting bus, I shared with this hungry bear a roasted corn cob that I bought from a vendor for practically nothing.  He was really grateful for the attention.  

He asked me to liberate him, and take him to see The Birds Nest.  Apparently he had been hoping to partake in The Beijing 2008 Olympics with his teetering skills, but couldn't make his way to freedom in time.

Though it was tempting to alleviate some of my New Jersey anger by introducing him to my new tour group friends, I chose to return to our apartment/hotel without him.

He'll just have to see these Olympic buildings some other time.

Just like you'll have to wait for the last [2, maybe 3] installments of my China Travelogue...

[But never fear.  Your wait shouldn't be nearly as long as his, poor guy...]