The Great Wall of China: The next day we woke up early to venture to the Great Wall of China. We hired a driver to take us there, wait, and drive us back for the day. The Wall took just under 2 hours to get to. We ate lunch at the bottom of the Wall and then rented horses to venture up the mountain. As we rode on the horse, a Chinese man was directing the horse up the mountian. It was incredible. Not only did we go to the Great Wall, but we rode a horse 45 minutes up the mountain. Some parts were incredibly steep, and at times we were walking along the edges, but it was well worth it. Normally, you would get up the mountain by a cable car, and then a car on a railway when it got really steep. We went to the part of the Wall that was not restored and has not been touched or reconstructed. It was still in its pristine crumbling condition. The Simitai section was incredible because it was right on the border of China and Mongolia. We got the full effect of everything because this section was the least touristy and most historical. The Wall was built to keep the wandering nomads out of China, and every so often there were watch towers that the guards would stay in. This is the steepest section of the Wall with slopes that have 70-degree inclines. After walking the Wall, we took a zipline from the top of the mountain to the very bottom. Basically, it was a cable that extends from the top to the bottom, and you are connected to the cable by a harness as you freely fly down the mountain.
Chinese Acrobats: The follwing night we went to see a Chinese Acrobatic Show with front row seats. Afterwards, we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe (Beijing) and stayed there the rest of the night. We checked out of the hostel the following morning and checked into a double room hotel. We went to the Friendship Market later in the day.
Tiananmen Square & Mao Zedong's Masoleum: The next day we visited Tiananmen Square. This vast desert of pavement is the heart of Beijing, and is Mao Zedong's creation. It is where millions came to parade during the Cultural Revolution and hard core Commuist days. When millions gathered here in 1989, army tanks and soldiers rolled over and killed many pro-democracy demonstrators. Today, many people lounge around and fly kites here. Surrounding the Square are many monuments past and present. Mao Zedong's Masoleum was constructed shortly after his death in 1976 in the middle of the Square. Mao's impact on China was enormous, and many Chinese come to pay respect to him. The line was about 10,000 deep and encompassed the building. It only took about an hour to get inside though as you pass by and catch a quick glimpse of the body as we filed past the sarcophagus.
The Forbidden City (aka Palace Musuem): We then went to the Forbidden City, so called because it was off limits for 500 years. It's basically a city within the city of Beijing and was home to two dynasties of emperors. It contains about 800 buildings and over 9,000 rooms. Not much was has been completely restored and it is mostly in ruins today.
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