April 6 Beijing

Today we flew from Xi'an to Beijing, 1.5 hour flight and only a cold breakfast on the plane.  We're walking through the terminal and are met with two guys in helmets and rifles.  Fortunately they were guarding the refilling of an ATM.  I thought China was a workers' paradise where everyone was happy.  China was so different in many ways.

 Lunch, which involved a jade store and revolving food, included a view of the workmen fashioning the jade into saleable items.  One of the highlights of their product line was a ball with at least one, and perhaps as many as five, smaller balls within.

 Bucket list item: The Great Wall of China.

 We had a couple of hours to climb up as far as we wished.  In the area we visited the wall forms a loop, which our 30-something guide said he could do in about three hours.  The climb was steep, and the steps were of differing heights, ranging from one inch to fifteen inches, sometimes immediately adjacent.  As you can see, there were fashionably uniformed helpers for the weaker climbers.

 We made it up to the saddle at the top of the eastern side -- the western side was steeper and higher.   Fitbit said we climbed 40 floors, but I think it was higher than that.

A view from near the top of our climb, showing how steep it was.

 Spent the night at the Regent Beijing, a very nice hotel and centrally located.

Snuck this post in using the wifi in the Kobe Japan terminal.