Snapshots of Xi'an & Beijing

We had a very quick trip to Xi'an and Beijing, spending less than two days in each location; but, we were able to squeeze in the important sites before my parents headed back to the U.S.

After a bit of an adventure getting to our hostel in Xi'an our first night, we traveled by public bus the next morning to take in the incredible Terracotta Warriors!  I am fascinated by the young man, Emperor Qin, who at 13 years old commissioned the beginnings of this project. 

Afterwards, we wandered down the Muslim snack street and onto the city wall (two of my favorite places in Xi'an).

In Beijing, one of the most special sites for me was seeing a Peace Corps friend, Soraya and meeting her husband, Yun.  Soraya had already been in Tonga two years when we arrived and signed on for a third.  I was fortunate to be neighbors with her for a short time during my stay in Tonga and it was a great pleasure to reconnect with her -- in China of all places.

We also managed to see the majority of the must-see places in/around Beijing; starting with the Temple of Heaven Park.

... and the Forbidden City

... and of course no trip to Beijing is complete without a trip to walk on the Great Wall!!!

And then, all there was time for was a treat at the airport before they were on their way.

Climbing the Great Wall

Our day at the Wall was awesome!!!! It was simply incredible to be able to walk all over, exploring this amazing place. A few other bonuses, after we'd expected it to be a cold & windy day, we had great weather; and, we arrived early to find only 3 other tourists there! Being alone at a tourist site like this was a rare gift that we took full advantage of!

We went to the Mutianyu section of the wall which is about an hour drive from Beijing, on our arrival we bought tickets for a ski lift ride to the top of the mountain which included a tobogan run down when we were done! Not what I'd expected to find, but was really fun!

Delicacies on Wang Fu Jing

While in Beijing, Jason & I had a free evening and decided to explore a night market which made it onto the Amazing Race a few seasons ago ... a place where all kinds of crazy foods are ready to eat! We could not believe some of the things we saw!

Not wanting to be chicken, we decided to buy a stick of scorpions to snack on.

This is as far as I got ... I couldn't do it! So sad ... I did have a couple legs fall off in my mouth though to munch on! (so sick!) Jason was of course, they champion eater!

The Beijing Tour

After spending 3 days in Shanghai, we flew up to Beijing for a very quick 2 1/2 day visit. We squeezed in as many of the sites as possible and enjoyed every moment of our exploring (except perhaps for the icy wind!).

Our first stop was right around the corner of our hotel - the remaining portion of the old city wall, leftover from the Ming Dynasty.

















Afterwards, we headed toward the Temple of Heaven which was located in a gorgeous park.

This is the area around Tianamen Square ...

And, our last stop: The Forbidden City ... looking a bit crowded.

And, of course we did a drive-by of the Bird's Nest!