Beijing and the Great Wall
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| China Beijing and the Great Wall |
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| While waiting for our Russian and Mongolian visas to be processed, we stayed in Beijing for 3 weeks, taking a few side trips as well as exploring the city itself | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| On a street known for its delicacies, we found these snacks... Starfish, seahorses, roaches and scorpions. Yum! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Beijing is a polluted, overcrowded metropolis. A euphemistically minded person might say that the people are determined and individualistic. Others might say pushy and arrogant. Whatever the case, Chinese culture has confucian roots, and when you're not related to someone, you have no obligation toward them. This causes a bit of chaos when boarding, riding and alighting a bus. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Tiananmen square was the site of the 1989 massacre, where students stood up to the military and were slaughtered. Despite China's encorporation into the WTO, its still a very communist society. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The forbidden city was off limits to commoners for hundreds of years, until the last emperor fell from power. Now everyone, even Starbucks can come in if they can afford it. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Simatai is a quieter section of the great wall, though like many other sections, it is under development for tourists. It was nonetheless amazing to finally see the famous wall. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| FYI: The Chinese government is now admitting that the Great Wall of China is NOT visible from space. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| With our friends Ross and Helen, we navigated a lesser known part of the wall, Huanghua. Steep and unrestored, it was a challenge, especially with villagers claiming sections as their own and trying to collect entrance fees! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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