dragon boat in beijing

Top Three Sites to Visit in Beijing in a Day

One Day in Beijing?  Top Three Sites to Visit

While I’d rather be out in nature, I always feel obligated when I’m in a major city to at least go to a few of the famous sites.  As such, we planned a day at the most famous sites in Beijing: the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, and the Forbidden City. 

Traffic in Beijing

I think we spent more time in the car driving in the horrific traffic than actually touring the sites, but so be it. Today, those who owned cars with license plates ending in 2 and 6 were restricted from driving.   I think they might need to add a few more to reduce the gridlock.  Or provide more free bicycles. 

There are free bicycles in about every color.  The nice part about China’s program, is they don’t have to be taken back to the station.  They can be left anywhere for the next person to use.  I find this much more convenient than the program we have in the states.  Then again, it likely works for China since Beijing is home to 23 million people.

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great wall of china

The Great Wall of China…A Must See!

I was surprised I could fall asleep at all for my first night in a new time zone across the dateline, but an early morning flight and little sleep on the plane earned me six hours or so before I awoke at 4:30am.  I suppose I could have enjoyed a far less busy street at this forsaken hour, but instead I just had some coffee, eventually ordered room service since none of the coffee shops opened until 7am, and tried to entertain myself the best I could.  I found a note in my hotel that “in accordance to regulations in China, the following websites are not accessible including, but not limited to: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Google, the New York Times, and Bloomberg.”

Fortunately, today I will be out of the city at the Great Wall.  I am very excited to see the beautiful countryside, and my guide is taking me to a less touristy area, so climbing the wall should be incredible!  I hope there will be less smog in the country too.  After my shower last night, I used a face wipe on my make-up free face which turned brown! Continue reading “The Great Wall of China…A Must See!” →