October 13th - Xingang-Beijing

The ship arrived in the port at Xingang and we had to wait an hour and a
half for the Chinese authorities to clear the ship (even though the
immigration officials had boarded in Japan and already reviewed our
passports and visas).

We got a real feel of the area on the four hour drive through the city and
hills on the way to the Great Wall of China. It was quite interesting to see
the "cities" of high rises that appeared to be stuck in the middle of
nowhere along the way. The traffic is so bad here, that once a week, based
on the last number of your license plate, you are not allowed to drive your
vehicle on the roads (there are over 6 million cars in Beijing).

I visited the Mutianyu section of the wall built in 1404.Took the cable car
up and started climbing - I and made it to tower 23, the upper most point of
the wall that tourists are allowed to visit. This section of the wall is
considered the most scenic, and it certainly did not disappoint, especially
with the autumn colors starting to show. The wall stretches thousands of
miles across China over deserts, mountains and valleys. It was built to
prevent invasion by unwelcome visitors.

The next stop was to walk around the Temple of Heaven, one of the largest
temple complexes in China. Here, the Emperor, as the Son of Heaven, would
make sacrifices and pray to heaven on behalf of his people. In the early
morning one can see people practicing Tai Ji Quan and in the evening, there
are street performers and people gathering to play games.

Checked into the hotel and went out for a walk to get some night shots of
the Forbidden City. It had a fairytale look all lit up at night - beautiful.