Happy Easter - Beijing Trip Part 2 (Alleys and Great Wall)

We had an action packed third and fourth day in Beijing!

On day 3, we started off the day by heading to the alleys, known as Nanluogu hutong.  There we met with some of Lola's friends and classmates who were also visiting Beijing over spring break. I was shocked at how you could easily share your location with all the people in your WeChat group - makes finding each other in a crowd eerily easy.

This area is known for having beautiful, well preserved old shikumen, but the interiors have been upgraded to shops and otherwise equipped with electricity, heat, insulation, etc.

We checked out the Drum Tower which was one of my favorite parts of the trip.  Michael and Lola climbed the tower, but Al, Teo and I just enjoyed the quintessential Beijing park scene. With traditional toys, people milling about, and Chinese songs blaring from a boom box, it felt very different. 

After that very dusty and hot trek, we returned to our hotel for a swim. 

For dinner we went to a somewhat touristy but nonetheless enlightening dinner in a private room in a restaurant set within the walls of a former siheyuan, a very traditional type of courtyard.  The restaurant kept the interior courtyard and built around it, which was very cool.

We enjoyed various traditional Beijing dishes like Peking duck, zhajiang mian and scallion pancake dishes, and a really nice show.

On Easter Monday, our fourth day in Beijing, we headed to the Great Wall.  I was super excited about this aspect of our trip, and really this was the must-do for me.  We went to Mutianyu, the most beautiful and well-preserved of all the sections that have been restored and are open for public visitors.  There is also a really nice cable car that takes you up to the wall (key, especially with young kids) as well as some slides (but we didn't have time for that).

We were so lucky with the weather and the crowds.  The mountain was beautiful, cool and not too hot or packed.

Al was the epitome of brave and cheerful, trudging up the steps all the way to the top (and then back down again)!  Apparently when he made it every body on the steps, including the guard, cheered and clasped for him.  He was definitely the youngest one up there.  For his immense enthusiasm, effort and cheer, we bought him a personalized gold meal hung with rainbow ribbon. His expression when he got it and realized it was for him was priceless.  It brought tears to my eyes. In retrospect, I really wish we had bought medals for Lola and Teo too as nice souvenirs - I had been eyeing two others but we didn't end up getting it for them, because they didn't go all the way to the top. 

That stone Al is posing next to is called "Hero's Platform".

We finished off the day with some hilarious and endearing magic shows performed for me and Michael by the kids (..."close your eyes!" ...five seconds later.... "now open your eyes!") As well as turning off the lights so Lola could make her brothers disappear (by sitting in a suitcase).  The final shot is of the CCTV tower, which the kids had been taking excitedly about because of its unusual shape.