Sunday, March 24, 2024
By Emmie and Morgan
你好! (Hello!) Today we will be overviewing our first full day in Beijing! Today is the third official day of our trip overall.
This morning we had an early start with our alarms set at 6 a.m. in our hotel rooms, but we were all soon relieved with a huge and delicious breakfast buffet starting at 6:30 a.m. Options ranged from traditional Chinese breakfast foods such as steamed buns, rice porridge, and stir fried noodles to typical American dishes such as hash browns, bacon, pastries, and omelettes which were much enjoyed by the group (especially those missing some tastes of home!)
After we finished eating and getting ready for the day, our bus took off at 7:30 a.m. and headed for the Great Wall of China outside of the city. Although there was heavy Beijing traffic, we were entertained with stories and lessons by Jerry, our gracious tour guide, and by some of our own stories.
When we arrived at the Great Wall of China, we took many group photos at the beginning entrance and walked our way up many ramps and stairs to reach the cable cars that would take us up to the main entrance of the Great Wall. Along the way to the cable cars, we passed many vendors and shops selling Great Wall souvenirs. All of them looked so 可爱(cute) so we knew we had to come back! We were tempted not to immediately spend our money then.
Everyone then hopped into a cable car, which took us up the giant mountain leading to the Great Wall. When we reached the entrance, we were greeted with multiple adorable cats lounging on the ground and the steps of the wall, and then we split up on our journey to conquer the Great Wall. Everyone went up and down many ramps and got to take a ton of aesthetic and fun photos. A couple of people even earned medals for reaching the top of the Great Wall and climbing the tallest and steepest staircases!
After almost two hours of exploring the beauty of the mountains, we all gathered back and rushed down to a local restaurant next to the shops we had passed by earlier. We ate a variety of dishes such as dumplings, sweet and sour chicken, stuffed scallion pancakes, and multiple stir-fried foods. Once everyone restored their energy by eating, we headed down to the shops where people bought fun accessories, clothing, many panda-themed toys, and fun games such as Mahjong. After some haggling with vendors and spending 很多钱 (lots of money) on unique souvenirs, we made our way back on the bus to take a long ride to the Temple of Heaven.
Our tour guide Jerry gave us a thrilling tour, explaining the history of the emperors in different dynasties. Along the walk around the temple’s park, we encountered many locals who were surprised and curious by our group, and we got to 拍照片(take photos) with people, such as some dressed as emperors and empresses. We also had opportunities to speak with local 北京人（Beijing residents) and interact with them as well.
A little later, our group made its way back on the bus for a very short ride to a famous Peking Duck house in the heart of Beijing. Once entering the building, the mouth-watering aroma and modern decoration made it obvious to us that this was going to be one of our best meals! We gathered around two tables, and all devoured the multiple kinds of duck that were cut right in front of us! Our duck pancake wraps we all had were so good, 王老师(Mrs. Wang) competed with students for who could devour the biggest wraps. Our dinner was delicious and by far one of the best meals we had during the trip so far! Our stomachs were completely 饱 (stomach full) from this meal, and everyone soon hustled back over to the bus where we made our way back to the hotel for the night.
We had a group reflection over the past three days and explored some shops in the hotel before going back to our rooms to 休息 （get some rest）and 准备 （prepare）for our next day in China. We are excited for our last day in Beijing tomorrow and to experience Xi’an soon!
