Beijing: Better Late Than Never

Sunday, September 11th

We finally touched down in Beijing... Fourteen hours after we were supposed to, but we're here!!  The airport is about an hour outside the city so we jumped on the subway to avoid the traffic congestion.

Our hotel is beautiful... and clean.  We are in heaven after last night's experience.  And we have a room with a view of the Forbidden City!

 Not being able to afford any more wasted time, we headed out to begin exploring, starting at the Temple of Heaven.  This was where the emperors once performed rites and made imperial sacrifices meant to please the gods so they would generate plentiful harvests.  A stroll through the magnificent grounds gives you perspective on the power and spiritual depth of the ancient Chinese empire.

We headed to the Silk Street Market for a quick browse of designer hand bags, shoes, luggage, sunglasses, belts, etc.  But we didn't have time to shop, so we didn't get to have the necessary relentless bargaining experience.

Then it was off to Chaoyang Theater to see one of Beijing's popular acrobatic shows.  We've heard the troops in this city are known to be some of the best in the world and they did not disappoint.  They performed all kinds of gravity defying tricks with their bodies and then added bikes, catapults and swings, making you sit on the edge of your seat holding your breathe.  I'm just amazed they are able to do some of these stunts where the room for error and injury is so great.  A lot of performers appeared to be very young, so I'm wondering if they get their training here and then go on to become part of the famous Cirque Du Soleil troops.

Well, we hate to be boring, but we're running on less than an hour and a half of sleep, so unfortunately we're calling it an early night to catch up. It's a room service dinner while showering and packing for our Great Wall excursion tomorrow!!