Beijing, China
Tianjin is the port city closest to Beijing. We did arrive on time after leaving late last night. We were to meet Demi, our guide, outside the terminal at 8:30 am. Demi sent me a note at 8 am and she was here and ready to go. The tour director notified passengers that debarkation was being delayed because of an electrical problem on the port side. No way to get the ramp into position. China requires that ships use the port ramps, not their own. By 8:30 we were good to go. 3 hour drive to the great wall. Not much to see along the way. Demi gave us some history of the wall. We are going to see the best preserved portion of the wall at Mutianyu.
We arrived at 11:30 and stopped for lunch.
Port side photos and lunch.
The wall was quite amazing. This section from 16c.
From our parking spot, a shuttle bus took is up to an area where we were loaded onto a ski lift. The way down, we took toboggan’s on a metal chute.
We hiked along the path between guard houses. Another construction marvel. It is possible to see other sections of the wall. Some in disrepair from time and weather.
Our next stop was the Chinese acrobats. We were in NW Beijing and the acrobat show and our hotel were in central downtown. It was a 2 hour ride with traffic.
The show was quite amazing.
The show lasted one hour and it couldn’t have been more exciting. Demi said they used to have 8 motorcycles in the sphere. Some kind of accident made them change. The flexible young girls are from the countryside. They are sought out each year and tested for flexibility before they are asked to join.
After the show we were dropped off at the hotel. Clerk asked for passports. We gave the copies that the ship gave us. He wanted the Visa. That was back on the ship. After a lot of back and forth and a call from Demi, we were allowed to stay.
Dinner at the hotel and then bed. …