Summer Palace and the Great Wall

We have been on the road and on our feet for 13 hours today. My Fitbit says I walked over 17,000 steps. We visited these two places today because the Forbidden City is closed on Mondays. We will go there tomorrow as well as Tiananmen Square. The Summer Palace was a favourite of the Empress nicknamed the Dragon Lady because she positioned herself as the power behind the throne after she was the only concubine to produce a son for the Emperor. Of course her husband died and her son at 9 years old became the ruler with her actually making the decisions. When her son died at 19, she appointed her sister’s son as Emperor. He was only 3! We walked along part of an outdoor corridor that is 750m long. The mountains provide a beautiful backdrop for this extravagant site. Next we were driven to a restaurant that seats about 1000 people. It is the closest restaurant to the Great Wall that is any good. We walked up to the first lookout tower that Vic’s Fitbit says is 500 feet above our starting point. The steps are very uneven and I was glad to have taken my mom’s walking sticks along. Going up was easier than going down as sometimes the step was two feet tall. No wonder it is one of the ancient wonders of the world. We went to the downtown shopping district where they have stores like Prada and 7/11 and Armani and an alley where you can find snacks like fried scorpion and candies fruit and sausages and shrimp. It was suggested that we not eat the street food as our guide wanted us to remain healthy. Good thing we had rewarded ourselves with an ice cream because dinner wasn’t until 7:30. Once again it was eight to ten dishes served on a lazy Susan with white rice and a flavourless consommé. Real Chinese food is certainly less flavourful from what we are used to eating at home. The drive home was past Tiananmen Square at night with a large police presence. Downtown Beijing buildings are lit up like it was Christmas. Looking forward to a great night’s sleep.Read more