Walked the Great Wall at Mutianyu today. It was so, so hot. Even with the heat, we had to run a gamut through vendors. They were quite persistent.
You could walk up to the top or opt for the cable car ride, which our group did in the interest of time. Paul and I walked out to the left, almost to the top of this section. The smog, even here, was impressive.
On the way back into town, we stopped at cloisonné factory. We had a tour of the factory. The amount of work that goes into even a simple design is incredible. Of course, this was one of the few times that we didn’t bring a lot of cash or our credit cards with us. Maybe it is just as well.
We also had a brief stop at the Beijing Olympic site. The Beijing National Stadium (or Bird’s Nest) is visually stunning, but already showing signs of deterioration due to the climate and/or pollution. I was surprised to hear that the stadium was basically a Swiss design, although headed by a Chinese lead. Originally, the design called for a retractable roof, but that design was abandoned. In the summer heat, that stadium must cook.
Back to the hotel and more traffic jams. Does any major city on Earth avoid them nowadays? Beijing’s are on an impressive scale and are a symptom of their economic leap forward (and probably a major source of the air pollution). Twenty years ago, Beijing was a city of bicycles. Now, bicycles are in the minority and you risk life and limb to ride one in this traffic.
I still can’t get over how casual drivers are about obeying traffic lights or even staying on their side of the double line! As a friend mentioned once in Mexico, traffic rules are “just a suggestion.” It’s amazing that there aren’t more accidents or even more dents on the cars.
Dinner was in the Beihai Park at the Shanglinyuan Restaurant. It was a beautiful setting and we reached it just at sunset, which was spectacular.
