April 2, 2011

Saturday was a great day.  We spent the first part of the morning climbing the Great Wall.  It was constructed in the 3^rd century B.C. What a climb!  Mrs. Duncan and I walked across the Great Wall for approximately one hour before riding the luge down.  The luge is very similar to riding a toboggan sled down a slide from the top of the mountain down to the bottom. 

We had eaten a lot of Chinese cuisine; therefore, we decided to dine at Subway.   After enjoying lunch, we spent some leisure time purchasing souvenirs to bring home.

     We boarded the bus to return to Beijing.  On our way back, we had a herd of sheep and goats cross in front of our bus so we had to stop and take pictures of them.  Then we headed back to downtown Beijing where we visited the Birds' Nest and Water Cube where the Olympic games were held.  Next we went to participate in an afternoon Chinese tea.  That was a cool experience because we learned a great deal about the Chinese customs and the symbolism behind so many things.  We finished the day with a wonderful Peking duck dinner.

Mrs. Shanks