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We both woke up at 4 this morning, jet lag having got the better of us. No matter, today's a special day - our 20th wedding anniversary. We opened our cards and presents at 7am - we waited till then because thats midnight in the UK so that makes it officially our anniversary in both China and at home. Karron got me a small heart with a cherub on it - I got her a fine bone china trinket box and amazingly, the heart fits inside it perfectly - the chinese believe all things are down to fate - on this occasion, I'm inclined to go along with them :) Breakfast was awesome! A veritable feast of English, European and Chinese style cuisine laid out in an all you can eat buffet! Wow, I obviously had to try a little of just about everything. Never had freshly made (whilst I waited) wan tun soup and noodles for breakfast before but expecting this won't be the last time this holiday. Left the hotel feeling very happy and full - set up for the rest of the day. Shirley was waiting for us in the hotel lobby and took us out to the 'mafia' car and Sam our driver to start our journey to The Great Wall of China. The trip there was quite eye opening, driving through the 'villages' just outside Beijing. I guess we'd call them the suburbs. They are clearly a poorer area but with lots of construction going on. Outside some of the houses huge mounds of fruit and sweetcorn being dried could be seen. The locals looked very 'chilled' about things in general, away from the hustle bustle traffic jams and beep beep's of the cars in the crowded city. Over the last 10 years, growth in Beijing has been relentless. The population is now 21 million and before long I expect these suburban villages will become part of the city. The pro's and con's of progress clearly visible. About 2 hours and a power knap later we got to the wall. The first thing that I saw was a bunch of guys sitting on the car park wall playing black jack! Shortly after, as we walked up to the entrance gate to get our tickets for the cable car, Karron was accosted by an old lady from a stall saying - "you come to my stall lady, I give you good deal". We politely said no thank you and continued walking. She followed for a while but about 50 yards later she got the message and went back to her stall to wait for the next blonde westerner! Chairman Mau said - you have not been to China until you've walked The Great Wall - we walked for about 2 hours so I reckon that'll be ok. We stopped on the stairs of one of the watch towers to enjoy a champagne truffle or 3 and to enjoy the sight in front of us.
An foreboding structure, the wall was originally built around 3000 years ago by chain bound prisoners! How cool to be here knowing that so much has gone on around the world since it was built and yet it still stands, strong and proud of it's nation and its heritage. After the wall, we went for our first Chinese lunch - in a huge green house! The food was great and the surroundings not unpleasant. Next stop - The Tea House and then on to the famous 'Shi Chattai' Hutong for our anniversary dinner.
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