Beijing: Tues, Sept 23rd

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Today was full-on and damp. A wake-up call @ 5.45am set the tone for the day and the coach left at 7am prompt. First stop was The Great Wall, where luckily the rain was only light enabling us to clamber up to one of the higher Watch Towers (although some colleagues scampered up even higher) - this is indeed a remarkable construction. Next stop was a Jade factory - the hard sell was unwanted, but the talk was illuminating and the lunch a cut above. Back into Beijing, it's traffic jam and rain, we visited a soggy 15th century Temple of Heaven, followed by an even soggier Liulichang Street that boasts many caligraphy shops. Last event of this long day was a gravity defying Acrobatics Show (luckily inside) -the finale entailed four stunt motorbikes riding inside a wire ball. Our 13hrs day ended with an evening meal that included Peking Duck. We were shattered

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