Beijing and Tianjin

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21 March – Beijing. Great Wall and Ming Tombs
Took the 3 hour journey to outer Beijing to visit the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall which gave us the opportunity to see a bit of the countryside. The port area that we are in – just outside Tianjin – is being developed as a huge commercial / industrial region and as such there is a lot of earthworks going on where the land is being reclaimed. Also, there are overhead roads and factories being constructed. After about half an hour the scenery changed to that of farmland, with crops of wheat, millet and rice. Little communities (communes) are scattered here and there and until a few decades ago, these farmers were working the land only to give all their harvest to the government. These days, the government still owns the land but the farmers are allowed to keep what they harvest and so are more prosperous.
The Ming Tombs are scattered around 45 acres and are identified by the red buildings with yellow roofs. The first Ming Emperor is buried in the largest of these, with his sons and grandsons occupying smaller tombs further away. The massive reception hall has columns which are each a whole tree trunk and there are about 20 of these used in the hall. This hall is where the relatives would go each year to offer presents to their ancestor. The tomb is located at the back of this under another brick construction. This tomb hasn’t been excavated, however the one belonging to the third emperor was and valuable vases etc that were in the tomb are now displayed in this great hall.
After a lovely Chinese banquet for lunch, we headed out to the Badaling section of the Great Wall. While I have seen many pictures and images on television of the wall, it certainly was a magnificent sight to behold! Stretching across the mountains as far as you could see were the steps, ramps and paths of a 2000 year old wall (albeit there has been some renovations during the years). Barrie and I headed to what I thought was the steeper side of the road, and while I stopped at the first fortification, Barrie went right to the top. Steps were practically vertical and with each step I took I realised that I had to go down – getting dizzy just thinking about it. The steps ranged from about 15cms high to approximately 30cms and were very uneven and well worn in places. I sat on a step and took some photos and on my way down, held very tightly to the handrail and crept down sideways. It was really cold, with a temperature of about 6 degrees! We really felt it higher up on the wall.
We left Beijing and arrived back at the dock at approximately 7:45pm. Ship staff were waiting inside the terminal with cups of hot chocolate and a dash of rum if you wanted (we wanted!!).
22 March – Tianjin
We took the bus into Tianjin and covered much the same landscape as our trip to Beijing yesterday. Walked around the Cultural Streets and discovered that there was some shopping to be had in China after all. Bought a couple of bags (couldn’t resist the prices) and other things that Barrie insisted I didn’t need. When it came to lunch time, we thought we would try a Chinese restaurant that was recommended and so dined with another couple that we have befriended. It was interesting trying to order with staff not speaking a word of English, but what we did manage to get was 2 noodle dishes, fried rice, pork buns and some pork done in a teriyaki type sauce. The four of us had a beer each and the whole bill came to less than $40, so can’t complain about the prices of food.
This is our last port in China; we head to South Korea this evening. My immediate thoughts are that I would like to return and do a more indepth tour of the country; not just the brief overview that we have had. Although in saying that I am so over the Chinese style toilets, but am really pleased that I had been practising all those squats at the gym!!

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Photos

Pre dinner drinks in the Looking Glass
The Looking Glass bar is very similar to the Dome on the Pacific Dawn.

Barrie and Nyuman
This is Barrie's fav bar on board - he has made friends with the barman who goes to any length to get him VB!

One of the rare photos of both of us
Great Hall in the background

My new hat
My ears had gotten that cold I had to buy a hat!

The Great Wall
This was taken from the bus as we approached

The Great Wall
This is looking down from the highest point that I attained

The Great Wall of China
Spreading out far across the mountains

Comments

[Sue Leggate]

lWow
Wow, it must be freezing for you both to wear hats. Hate to think how I would have coped with the cold! Photos look very impressive although I am sure they are nothing compared to actually being there. Glad you managed to get some shopping in.