Year of the Dog, the Great Wall and the flu

I will begin with the end.  We have spent the last four days in the hotel because one or the other or both of us have had the flu.  It was bound to happen and we are actually lucky it happened in Beijing because this was not our first time here.  I, of course, got the flu first- Missy stood strong for the first 48 hours and then she succumbed.  Now I am at 95% and she is sleeping trying to get rid of this thing.  Makes you really miss home when you are sick.  Chinese noodle bowls are not the same as chicken noodle soup and are a poor replacement when you aren’t at 100%.  At least the hotel had Olympics (in Chinese) and HBO (in English).

The year of the dog started on February 16.  There are parades and fairs in all of the cities and towns in China.  The Temple Fairs, as they are called, have traditional dragon and lion dances, acrobatics, storytelling and more.  We, as you read in paragraph one, did not partake in any.  We did see the decorations all over the country for the last 24 days.  Many Chinese will travel during this time to see their families.  If fact, It is the largest human migration on earth – over 1.3 Billion people travel during the week of the New Year.

The first couple of days in Beijing were great.  We enjoyed some low air Quality Index days before we got sick and had a great time exploring the city.  We took a tour which highlights included the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall of China.

SUMMER PALACE

FORBIDDEN CITY

The Ming Tomb of Changling is the oldest and most important the Ming Dynasty. The gate leading to the tomb is called the “ghost gate.” During the ceremony of the Emperors burial,  his body would be carried through the gate. In the processional all of the workers who built  the tomb would pass through the gate. At the conclusion of the ceremony, all of the workers would be offered as a sacrifice both for religious significance but also to ensure the location of the Emperors body would never be shared. Therefore, the only way they could pass back through the gate is as a ghost. Our guide was very superstitious about it and encouraged us not to walk through the gate in either direction.

GREAT WALL AT BADALING

We visited the most visited part of the Great Wall, Badaling. We chose this because it was different from where we went on a previous visit. It was New Year’s Day and it was packed! In order to reach the top of the mountain you must take a gondola ride. The ticket is 140 RMB ($22.07 USD)per person. Once at the top, we climbed up and down the wall for about 2 hours. Many parts were very steep and hard to navigate with all of the people. However, the views were amazing and we could see parts of the wall that stretched out for miles. Seeing it in person makes you realize why it’s one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

We have been to two different parts of the Great Wall. Given our experience we would suggest if you have to choose only one to visit, go to Mutianyu. It is easy to find a tour to that part of the walk as well. It is much less crowded and they have a luge that you can ride from top to bottom.

Tomorrow, at 4:50 AM, we are off to our final stop in China – Chengdu to visit the Panda Research Center and see these wonderful animals in their natural habitat.