Mission accomplished!

Next to work, there were three things I wanted to do while in Beijing...1) visit family 2) visit The Great Wall of China, and 3) eat Peking duck......MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

I got up early yesterday and took a (very shady) "cab" to the Great Wall, which is about 1 hour and 1/2 outside of Beijing. It was a hot and steamy day and extremely crowded at the Great Wall. Not that it was a surprise, I am in China after all. The Great Wall was built 2,000 years ago by the first emperor of China during the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC). It is about 5,000 km or 3,100 miles long. Good Lord, I just realized that it's longer than the US from east to west coast! Damn the Chinese are awesome! I went to the very top of Badaling, which is 888 meters above ground. It was a great feeling to be there, I felt very proud of my Chinese heritage. Chairman Mao once said that you're not a good man until you've been to the Great Wall, I guess the trip to the Great Wall just made me a pretty awesome person! :)

My family took me to a local restaurant to have Peking duck for dinner! The only place I ever eat duck is in Beijing, there is none like it elsewhere. It's cooked tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, wrapped in a flour wrap, with plum sauce and fresh green onions...mmmm, sinfully good! We had other typical Beijing dishes along with the duck, I just about ate myself sick! In a good way of course! The meal for four was only 113 RMB or $14....I still haven't forgotten about the $6 Evian....GRRRRR!

The most exciting part of the last couple of days is that my uncle bought a new car! He worked in New Guinea in the 80's where he learned how to drive, and it has been his dream to own a vehicle for 20 years and now, it is finally possible to do so in China. He bought a Nissan Livina and has spent the last two days sitting in the car with the manual, learning all of its features. He signed up for a driving class that starts in a couple of weeks. He'll be picking me up from the airport the next time I visit! My cousin is driving the car in the mean time. They are just so excited and I'm thrilled for them!

My journey in Beijing ends today. I will be leaving in a few minutes to take a train to my hometown of Taian, which is a little bit south of Beijing. TBH, I'm not really looking forward to the 8 hour train ride.

From Beijing, zai jian!