Beijing

Our time in Beijing saw us doing a little less 'agriculture' and a little more tourist activities. On our first afternoon we went to see Tiananmen sq & the Forbidden City - I'd have to say I was a little disappointed with both - while the buildings & architecture are great the overwhelming amount of slab concrete & lack of gardens or greenery I feel took away from it all a little. Our afternoon spent at the forbidden city was also hard work as the temps were in the high 30's (some even say 40's) & this compounded with the rebound off the concrete made it very hot indeed. We did spend a little time on farm studies during our stay & were treated to a tour of the Louis Dreyfus soy bean processing plant. Bruce spent some time with Adam & Guy from Louis Dreyfus talking over his study which gave me good opportunity to hit the Silk St markets. I'd have to say though from the 10 or so who went to the markets the men far out did us girls in the shopping stakes!! Our last day in Beijing with our group was spent at the Simatai section of the great wall. The simatai section is approx 2.5hrs from Beijing & is said to be one of the steepest & most well preserved sections of the great well (as well as being one of the lesser visited sites & hence had fewer tourist numbers). Once again the weather was extremely hot & making it to the top of the wall was hard work - we started with a cable car, then a small train/tram, then climbed the remaining section in a series of steep stairs. Tears & I made it along to the 10th tower whilst Bruce & most of the boys made it as far as they could up past the 12th. Our last night was celebrated at a fantastic peking duck restaurant & it was here that we said our good byes to the group. Whilst most group members went home, we continued our stay in Beijing thanks to the hospitality of Tina's brother & family and managed to take in some extra sites such as the summer palace (loved it!) and pearl markets.