Xinshidai Hotel Beijing

... of the major sites from the motorway, already crawling with tourists, so it was fantastic to arrive at 'our' bit and see no one apart from ourselves for as far as our eyes could see across miles and miles of wall.

At the highest point on top of a watch tower we could look over Beijing in one direction and Mongolia in the other, just miles and miles of wall twisting through the hills.

After the hike we stopped with a family ...

"You want me to call you brother?" asked Zhou Qi, astounded.

"If you feel that I'm too old, you could call me uncle," he suggested.

"Pah! Do you think you look like my uncle? I'll call you my brother, but only when there are other people around. When we're on our own, I won't." runescape accounts

"All right, you don't have to," he replied with a smile. "We'll say that we ...

... unification of China's divided territories, the making of the Terracotta Warriors and the uprising and subsequent destruction of the warriors after the emperor's death. Two of the farmers who made the startling discovery in 1974 were at the museum signing books.

We visited three vaults. VAULT 1 is the largest. About one-fifth of the area has been excavated revealing around 5000 figures. The sight of the warriors standing guard is quite staggering. Their ...

... has it that every time Cixi showed up with an angling rod, eunuchs secretly dived into the water and hung live fish on her hook, to keep her in good spirits. With all those pavilions, halls, corridors and small bridges, all arranged with profusion and elegance around the lotus pond, the garden almost wouldn't let you go. It literally took the strength of the will to decide to leave it. But we had to. The path led us to Daxi Lou, the Theatre Stage, one more thing built by Cixi, where I ...

... 40,000. Not knowing what to expect at the warriors site we were impressed with how it has been developed and the three pits contained under enormous roofs. Pit 1 is the largest and the building the size of a couple of football fields. Pits were dug out and wooden beams laid over the top and then they were buried. Over time the beams have sagged and collapsed meaning that the terracotta underneath is smashed to pieces. I had never stopped to think about what state they were found in ...

... that we'd messed up the closing time. Sure enough, it was closing just as we were arriving... as disappointing as that was, it was okay because we headed to The Place (another nice area... there's a tent-like thing with a movie screen at the top... it's HUGE... and they play images and videos about space, the ocean, etc.... very cool). Megan and I found a bench and sat and talked for awhile as we people-watched. It was just what we needed! Then we took a cab home :)

... sort of outing. We are here to check the bank balance scary! K is also here to watch heroes of course. Hasn't missed a week so far guess he won't now the next one can be streamed at home that sounds strange the time has just flown and I feel that it is very surreal, that we will actually be home next week. The cigarette smoke in here is getting to me so I will close until Hong Kong. Love to all G'ma, Mum and Bev xxx ooo

... than the symptoms that I had. It gave me a horrible stomach cramp so I had to go to another hospital when I got to Yangshuo to get a different antibiotic. After tying to speak to several different doctors, I finally was able to explain what I wanted to do. The best part was the bill at the end for the new antibiotics. .5Y or 6.5 cents. Unfortunately, it seems like I've been sick pretty much the whole time I've been in China with one ailment or another. I hope I get better soon.

... modern, communist China is almost the antithesis of imperial China (with the exception of the importance of the almighty dollar/yuan). We were also a bit stunned at the "renovations" being conducted at the complex. They are re-painting the buildings, re-tiling the courtyards, replacing rather than restoring. I think it must be a conservationists worst nightmare. In the afternoon we headed for a rickshaw tour of the hutongs ...