The Summer Palace and The Great Wall

Our day started with a visit to a pearl factory.  The local guide did some persistent shilling for the government store.

Sorry, no sale.

And then it was on to the Summer Palace.

The Summer Palace dates back to 1153.  It covers almost three square kilometres and is almost entirely man-made.  The earth removed to create the lake... 

was used to enlarge Longevity Hill.  It's amazing what you can accomplish when you've got hundreds of thousands of workers at your beck and call!

This 700 metre long walkway has paintings along its whole length.

And it carries on into the distance...

During the Opium Wars, the Summer Palace was burned and severely damaged by the French and the British.  The Empress chose to use funds destined for the navy to refurbish the Summer Palace instead.

Next up was another state factory store, this one making Cloisonne.

And finally, on to the Great Wall.

I assume that "brain disease" would be a stroke rather than my current level of insanity.  In any event, I quit at tower #3 - Steve made it to tower #12, quite a climb!

Another highlight for the four of us.

Heading back to our hotel, the bus driver took us past the Olympic complex.

The Water Cube.

And The Birdcage.

And the Dragon Buildings.

An awesome city.  An awesome country.  An awesome trip.

Postscript:  Our flight out of Beijing was delayed by an hour and a half since a passenger didn't show up for the flight and their checked luggage had to be found and removed.  It still left us an hour and a half to transfer at Detroit, but new security measures chewed up most of that time.  In any event, we arrived home at the end of a 28 hour day.  As I complete this blog 10 days later, Mardi and I are still battling our throat infections.  I've lost 7 pounds, she won't discuss weight.  Nevertheless, the trip was incredible.

We leave in the morning for a week of golf R & R in North Carolina.