Karioke

Mark and I skipped the evening Karioke event in favor of a work out some sleep, but Zoe got this great shot of people singing

Terraces

Flying in we could see thousands of miles of terraced land from the air. The amound of labor to terace the land is unbelievable

Track

I have no idea what this is. There were a couple similar formations on the way in to Beijing

Hot Pot

Sunday dinner was a Hot Pot restaurant near the hotel. A big pot with various flavored broths sitting over a flame allowed us to cook various meats and vegetables and then dip them in dipping sauces

A Coke and a Lambkin

The coke logo in Chinese was really cool

The Dinner Crew

A group shot at the hot pot restaurant

Vendors at Night

On the walk home there were vendors along the sidewalk. The vendor a little further down had some sort of baked sweet potatoe that smelled nice as we walked by

Decay?

Not sure what they're selling here, but I'm not loving the name

Gingerbread House!

This gingerbread house was in the lobby of our hotel. You can see Andrew checking in on the right. We went up close and sure enough it was literally paneled with gingerbread, and the sides were wood with chocolate icing

Silk Street

Silk Street is a huge building with tons of floors of vendors. This section has jewelry vedors. Walking through is exhausting with nearly every vendor doing a hard sell as you try to pass by. Every price starts high with negotiation necessary to get to a fair price. Mark isn't much of a negotiatior so we took Kary who did an unbelievable job of negotiating for us

Happy Humidifier

This adorable little humidifier was in a jewelry booth at the Silk Market

Monument in Tiananmen

This cool monument stands in the middle of Tiananmen square

Power to the People

This monument to the people is in front of Mao's tomb in Tiananmen square

The People's Culture Palace

The People's Culture Palace is across the street from Tiananmen and is the entrance to the Forbidden city. The light pole you see on the right is really cool, and has big speakers that play martial music when the flag is raised and lowered

Nut Cake?

We walked behind Tiananmen to find the Quan Jude Roast Duck restaurant I'd found on my last trip and these cool vendors were selling some sort of nut cake off of carts on the sidewalk

Vendor Cart

Here's a picture of Andrew walking by a neat vendor cart behind Tiananmen

Green Light

There are a lot of little vendors and shops in the alleys behind Tiananmen but on this trip there was a ton of construction blocking most of it off. This construction site is lit by a cool green light

Cutting the Duck

Here's the chef with one of the Peking Ducks that we ordered. He slices it up with deft accuracy right at the table, and then you eat it wrapped in ultra-thin little flour tortilla like things with plum sauce

The Eaters!

Mike, Andrew, Mark (Lambkin not shown), and Kimberly at our table

Long Distance Tea

They refill the teapot at your table from across the table with teapot with a long spout

The Kitchen

Here's a chef picking up a roast duck (they now call it Beijing Duck vs. Peking Duck) to head out to a table

Our Hostesses

Thes were the hostesses at the front of the restaurant

The Rainbow Arch

There's a rainbow arch at the entrance and exit of what they consider the city ceter on the first ring road (or the second ring road if you count the road around Tiananmen as the first)

Bicycle Delivery

I loved watching the many bicycle riders on the street. There's thousands, even though it's freezing cold out

The Forbidden City Tour

Here's Mike, Eric, and Cameron before we entered the Forbidden City (which is now the "it's totally okay to go in and hang out city")

Kary and Zoe

Kary and Zoe posing in front of Mao and the People's Culture Palace

Canadian?

Mark wears a Canadian beret because he thinks it looks cool, is kind of warm, and nicely deflects anti-US sentiment

Cameron & Ajay

Nice pose Cameron

The China Team

The China team (except Todd who ditched us) in front of the Culture Palace

Soldiers

The soldiers don't like you to take their picture so you have to be semi-sneaky with your shots

Bathroom Break

There were several people letting their little kids go to the bathroom on the trees in the entry to the forbidden city. And on the way to the airport there were several construction workers going to the bathroom right by the freeway. It's funny that they were facing the road so as to face away from their construction sites

Entering the Forbidden City

Our group righ after we entered the forbidden city

Canal Railing

This cool railing was along the edge of a canal in the Forbidden City

Cute Kids

These two adorable kids were having their pictures taken, and I couldn't help taking one too

Heavy Security

These bricks pave the large courtyards inside the Forbidden City, but what you don't see is that they go down 15 levels deep in criss-crossing directions to provide extra security against assassins tunneling in

I Want That Umbrella!

I looked in several places, but could only find smaller versions of this umbrella for sale. I must have one!

Four Star Toilet

Zoe and Kary point out the Four Star Rated Toilet. They wondered if hot water would have resulted in a fifth star

Forbidden Starbucks

Unbelievably there is a Starbucks in the middle of the Forbidden city. There was a sign on the window 14-months ago, but apparently complaints (reportedly from Americans) resulted in its removal

Boy Lion

A lion with an orb in its hand (representing power) indicates it's a boy lion

Girl Lion

A lion with a cub under her paw indicates it's a girl lion

Decoration

These ornaments decorated many of the eves of the old building

Wedding Bed

This was the emporers wedding bed. You can see the traditional chinese character for marriage (double-happiness) on the carpet. They said that the emporer had hundreds of concubines so double happiness may have been a bit of an underestimate

Commodity with Chinese Characteristics

This sign in the Forbidden City cracked me up

Me and a Lion

Here I am posing in front of a lion in the garden of the Forbidden City

Me in the Eaves

Mark wanted a close-up of the decorative eaves so I helped him out

A Serious Group

This group was posing in front of a huge rock sculpture in the garden. The rock sculpture was considered a mini-mountain as the emporer and empress traditionally climbed a mountain on certain key days, and sometimes he didn't feel like it, so he built a little mountain in his garden to make it more convenient

Cool Doors

These huge doors were all over the Forbidden city and sported nine rows of nine knobs as this was considered a lucky number

Exiting the Forbidden City

This is the exit from the Forbidden city. Across the street is a neat park with a cool view of the city. We didn't have time to go there, but I wandered through the lower portion last time I was here

The Friendlies!

These are the mascots for the 2008 olympics. They're adorable

The Smallest Vendor

This adorable little boy was vending in front of a store

Lots of Bikes

They are serious about bicycling in China

Jade Balls within Balls

We toured a jade factory where they made these cool balls that are carved out of a single piece of jade into balls with balls floating independently inside. They represent family

Carving Jade

Here a worker works on carving a jade ball

Polishing the Jade

The guide explained how the men did the carving because Jade is so hard, and the women polished the jade because it took so much patience

I Want a Pony!

Here I am riding on a jade pony

Cloisonne

We also toured a Cloisonne factory where we could see the workers creating cloisonne vases. For more details on cloisonne check out my description from my previous trip to china on my main page at http://markswatzell.com/China.htm

Carving a Stamp

This craftsman was carving a Chinese character into a soapstone stamp

The Great Wall

Incredibly I was able to go to the great wall for the second time in 14-months. Last time I went to Mutianyu (especially appropriate for a lamb finger puppet since it kind of sounds like "Mutton - Ewe", but this time I went to Badaling, which coincidentally is the same section of the wall that Christi went to. Mark got all mushy about this, but I kept him focused on climbing the wall

From the Bus

These sections of the wall were visible as we drove to Badaling

We're There

This shot of the exit to Badaling out the window of the bus is neat

Preparing

All bundled up and planning out our trip up the wall

Neat Logo

This is the same logo that the soldiers have on their hats. It was at the base of the wall and was really neat

Group Shot

Here's a group shot of everyone heading up the wall. You can't see me because I'm in Mark's coat pocket. It's warm and comfortable in there

On the Wall

This section of the wall made for great photos

Mike Cleans the Wall

Mike snagged a broom that was leaning in the corner and did his part to clean up the wall

In the Distance

It is just incredible to see the wall going off into the distance

Graffiti

Even the graffiti on the wall looks cool

Mark and Kary

Here's a shot of Mark with Kary. She's an Advisor on the New Hire team that works in China, but she lived in California most of her life so she made a great bargaining partner with the vendors

Walking Down the Wall

It's cool how you can see the wall running way off in the distance

Andrew Waving

Andrew is up in the window of one of the watchtowers waving

Steep Climb

It is exhausting to just walk along the wall, but imagine how exhausting it was to build!

The Expedition Team

Me and Mark were running a little behind because Mark kept stopping to take pictures and he's a bit out of shape. They're standing by a section where the cable cars drop off, but they weren't running

Attack Ladder

It looks like the Mongols had been by recently. According to our guide the Mongols did attack but they got around the wall by just literally going around the wall

Frame

This arrow slit framed a watchtower in the distance

The End

The platform on the upper right is where the wall is blocked off and we had to stop

Watchtower

These watchtowers housed soldiers on the wall

Looking Back

This shot is looking back at the watchtower from the other side. You can see Kary taking Eric's picture in the distance

The End of the Line

Here we are where the wall is blocked off and we weren't allowed to go any further

Looking Back from the End

This is the view of the wall from the last platform where had to stop. You can see the wall continue on up the other side of the valley and a little pagoda off to the right that we went down to check out

Looking Through the Wall

Looking through the wall, at the wall

Looking Up

Despite his knee injury, Mike lead the trek on the wall and on the way back ventured off the wall to explore a small trail along the bottom. Here's a shot of us that Zoe took, but it looks like Mike's head turned and blurred at the last second

Looking Down

Andrew, Kary, and Zoe looking down at us

Pagoda

This little pagoda was off to the side of the wall up at the top of a hill

Stone Tablet

This big stone tablet was mounted in the little pagoda. You can see the wall in the distance

Vendor

The wall had tons of vendors on it. Some were insanely persistent, but this guy was kind of neat. He was using a chisel to create little drawings of the wall on stones

Looking Down

Looking down from this vantage point you can see how steep the wall is, and the base where we started, as well olympic billboard on the other side of the valley

Looking the Other Way

Looking back the way we came you can see the top of the watchtower and even the final platform we went to

Random Kids

I wanted to take a picture of the cool writing on the wall but these two kids were getting their picture taken. So I took it anyway

Really Steep

This shot shows how steep the stairs are

Framed Wall

This window framed the wall nicely

One World, One Dream

I'm not an expert on politics, but I'm pretty sure it's not the dream that Martin Luther King had. I thought it was interesting that sun was setting on the flag, but shining on the "One World, One Dream" sign

Photo Shoot

Here's a shot that Zoe took of Mark taking my picture while Eric holds me in the air

My Portrait

Here's the portrait mark was taking of me

Great Wall Starbucks

Of course there was a Starbucks at the great wall, and of course we had to get lattes

The Wall and the Moon

This shot of the wall with the moon was shot from the bus on the way home

Another Moon Shot

This one was also shot from the bus

The Royal Celebrity Business Circle

I love the writing on this toll booth. "The Royal Celebrity Business Circle with Golobal Vision"

Appliance Store

This appliance store looked a little frightening, but then again a Chinese person would probably be freaked out if they saw a car dealership with a huge blow-up gorilla

The Todd

Todd showing off the cute little teddy bear that they gave us in our welcome kits

Maximum Pollution

On monday the pollution was so bad it hit the maximum amount that they measure. Of course it was probably much worse, but they don't measure beyond that

Group Photo

Here's a shot of eveyone who was at the China meeting

Meat?

On Tuesday I got up and headed over to Tiananmen square to shoot pictures of the flag raising ceremony. On the way I saw this motorcycle with meat piled on its sidecar

Lion and Mao

A lion in front of the People's Culture Palace

Moon Over the Palace

The moon over the People's Culture Palace

Soldier

The soldiers lined up in front of the rope they used to block us out of the Culture Palace area

Young Soldier

This soldier was posted right in frot of me

Soldier and Mao

A backed off shot that shows Mao in the background

Crowds Arrive

You can see the neat light poles as well as the crowds lined up in the square

In Line

These soldiers were lined up for the ceremony

Broad View

Here's a wider view, showing the soldiers lined up and the culture palace behind

Inspection

The soldier behind periodically came over to inspect each of the soldiers

Marching Out

Here the soldiers exit the People's Culture Palace which is the outer gate of the Forbidden City. Right after this shot my battery died, and I missed a key shot I wanted. By the time I got a new battery in they were out in the street. It was brutal!

Crossing the Street

Here they are escorting the flag across the street to Tiananmen square. Their ability to march in unision was incredible

Flag Raising

Here they are raising the flag. It was unbelievably cold that morning. It took a 20-minute scalding hot shower just to get warm again afterwards

Returning

Here are the soldiers returning to the Forbidden City

Heading over the Bridge

The soldiers head over the bridge back to the Forbidden City

Back Inside

Here they go back inside