Our Adventures in Beijing

ANZA Great Wall Dinner 2011

ANZA (Australia/New Zealand Association) of Beijing organizes a charity dinner each year ON the Great Wall. Patrick and I went with friends this past Saturday night. It was such a fun night. I had to make myself stop talking and look around to take it ALL in. Before going, we said it was a 'once in a lifetime thing to do'... now I'm thinking it'll be an 'annual thing to do.' ;-)

Horseback Riding to the Great Wall

In the aforementioned book we found a trout farm where you can hire horses to take you to the Great Wall at Mutianyu. The girls absolutely loved riding the horses and I love the fact I found a new way to take visitors to the Great Wall (assuming any of you actually come to visit!! (hint, hint)) We also stumbled on an AbFab Thai restaurant...who'd a thunk it?

Hiking Around Beijng

We have a out-of-print photocopied book called "Hiking Around Beijing" which we started using this month. On May 2nd, we did our first hike from Long Quan Yu to Xi Shui Yu. It was an amazing hike through a valley with the Great Wall all around us. The four of us were absolutely shattered at the end of it but pleased we spent a day with such beauty, 'fresh' air and exercise.

At the start of the hike

Summer Palace

On April 3rd we went for the first time to the Summer Palace. It is a real shame it took us almost a year to visit. I've already been back once and plan to make it a regular stop.

The Summer Palace is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill (60 meters high) and the Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometers, three quarters of which is water. The central Kunming Lake covering 2.2 square kilometers was entirely man made and the excavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill.

It served as a summer resort for Empress Dowager Cixi, who diverted 30 million taels of silver, said to be originally designated for the Chinese navy, into the reconstruction and enlargement of the Summer Palace. A bit cheeky, wouldn't you say?

We entered into the East Entrance and walked along the Long Corridor. It is a covered walkway built in 1750. It is famous for its length (728 m) in conjunction with its rich painted decoration (more than 14,000 paintings). The corridor was constructed so that the emperor's mother could enjoy a walk through the gardens protected from the elements.