Beijing Rush Hour

Rush hour in Beijing appears in many ways to be similar to rush hour in the U.S. or Japan - lots and lots of buses, trucks, taxis and passenger cars jamming the expressways. On the city streets, though, there also are mopeds, bicycles and pedestrians. Plus a horse drawn cart or two! I didn't see any joggers - probably too dangerous given the chaotic traffic conditions.

Suzhou - Cruising the Grand Canal

In the afternoon, after a vist to Garden for Lingering In, we boarded a boat for a cruise on the portion of the Grand Canal that runs through Suzhou and got a different glimpse of everyday residences, etc. The Grand Canal is approximately 1,200 miles long, running from Beijing to Hangzhou, and was constructed during the Sui Dynasty (581-618 AD). Incidentally, our local tour guide for Suzhou and Shanghai, Jennifer, was from Hangzhou. Jennifer bravely risked her life trying to stop traffic for us on a Shanghai street so we could cross it to get to the Yuyuan market. She can be seen sitting across from our tour director, Scott (holding the microphone) in the boat picture.

After the Grand Canal, we visited a silk factory, where tour members loaded up on silk comforters, had lunch, then headed back for Shanghai.

The Great Wall at Badaling

Our second full day started with a visit to the Great Wall at Badaling. Apparently, there are two areas of the Great Wall at Badaling open to the public, and we visited the less crowded (access restricted) area. Two sections of the Great Wall were open, with the area on the left consisting of approximately 1,700 steps (bottom picture) and the area on the right consisting of 1,400 steps (top picture). Upon the advice of our tour guide, we took the right hand way to the top. The last picture is looking north from the Great Wall - the direction from which any barbarian invaders presumably would come.