Beijing

Most of my time in China was spent traveling for 4 days, 3 nights in the Beijing area.  I was a "bus" leader which meant I had to keep track of about 28 people periodically.  Immediately after arriving we headed to the Hutong area, an old section of Beijing where low-income people share common space (cooking, toilets, etc)-- we had arrived via rickshaw and enjoyed a wonderful home cook meal in a family home.

Suzanne, a life long learner on the voyage, and me in the Rickshaw on our way to dinner

 The next day we were off to the Forbidden city, Tiananmen Square, an orphanage and finally to a restaurant to enjoy Peking duck.  From 1407-1924 the Forbidden city served as the imperial palace to 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Forbidden city

These hands are now registered as lethal

On the third day we saw a demonstration of martial arts, and then it was off to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, about 45 minutes from Beijing.  We took a cable car up to the wall, walked for about an hour before taking a tobaggon (luge) down the mountain.

In my role as bus leader