The Great Wall of China

 After Peter had passed away, there was still an unfinished list of places to visit. I decided to take the girls to Beijing and see The Great Wall of China. China was seeing a rapid change and buildings were being demolished to make way for the future. I wanted to visit Beijing as soon as possible and booked ourselves on a small tour originating in Vancouver.  Most of the group members were from Vancouver or nearby and consisted of twenty persons which four were teenagers and two of them being mine.

We stayed at the American Hotel in the heart of Beijing and close to Tiananmen Square.
Installed at the square was a giant countdown clock for the takeover of Hong Kong, but the square was also a place for people watching; in turn, they watch us and were fascinated by the two redheads.



Close by was an advertisement for an alcoholic beverage, but it had gone through the early stages of computer translation, and it made absolutely no sense.
The large sign read: LONG LIFE AND LONG HAPPY TONIC SPIRITS AND ORAL LIQUIDS. I didn't buy any.


We did make our way over to The Wall, and it exceeded my expectations in length and size, I was in awe. Walking the wall and taking numerous photos before making our way back to Beijing.

Our tour leader came straight out of central casting and showed up with a flag and an armband. His English was good, and his mother was an influential member of The Party, and we were firmly guided through the city. At the end of the day he would say “Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our destination, this is the end of the tour- NOW GET OUT!. “ Each day we would wait for this moment to arrive and to put a departing smile on our face.


The teenagers were getting bored of the same food every day which they called  “mystery meat” and were begging to take them to Hard Rock Cafe for a hamburger and fries. A deviation of the schedule was not permitted, but what was on the program was a visit to the Jade Factory, the Pearl House, the Silk Shop.


The adults made it clear that we have chartered this bus. Therefore, we can go where we please and that we do not want to visit the Jade factory. He promptly took us to the Jade factory where none of us left the bus.  A phone call followed, and we went to the Hard Rock Cafe instead. A perfect place for a souvenir T-shirt.  Sadly it is now closed.