On day three we went on our own to the Great Wall of China Mutianyu and Summer Palace. We left early to avoid the holiday crowds which are said to be the worst this time of year. We took a cable car to an upper section then made our way through six watch towers. It was a very cool experience and hard to really explain. The smog arrived the night before so it wasn't as clear as we had hoped but it was still amazing to walk on the Great Wall. We took the toboggan ride down which I am sure is what the builders envisioned! We then made our way to the Summer Palace which was the summer location for the Emperor. It was also beautiful and very crowded. There were about 40,000 people there when we arrived. They have an electronic counter outside of the main entrance that shows how many have arrived prior to you that day. There is a large beautiful lake that we dug BY HAND to allow for a cool breeze. We took a dragon boat ride across the lake to have a better view of the many buildings that were built throughout the property. There is so much history in these locations that it feels impossible to take it all in.
Other random things
There are yellow bikes EVERYWHERE. A few years ago a company created a bike sharing program that is all over the city. Each bike has a GPS and QR code on it. You can download the app, pay a $15 start up fee and then you are ready to go! You can use the app to find a bike by GPS, scan the QR code and the bike will be ready to use for one hour for 1 RMB. A few looked to have solar power panels on them. Following the use you can leave the bike anywhere. No need to return it to a specific location. They are absolutely everywhere.
Driving in Beijing
Years ago Beijing completed a large expansion of the highways and roads in preparation for the Olympics. They encouraged people to buy cars, get their drivers license and buy a plate. Beijing has boomed in population over the past 20 years so then it was determined there were too many cars on the road so the process changed dramatically. People in Beijing can drive between the ages of 18 and 65. At 65 you are deemed too old to drive so you are no longer eligible. In order to drive you must receive a plate (license plate) from the government. Once you have a plate you keep it for life and can pass it along to your children. Currently there is a lottery system. There are 1,000 plates issued every two months with approximately 500,000 applications. Our guide has been trying for over five years and has not yet been drawn. Maybe soon! He also said there are license plate sharing systems in place for those who want to drive but can't. There are also cameras everywhere in BJ that allow the police to send you a ticket, to your phone, within five minutes of violating the traffic laws! This includes texting and driving.
Education
Education is very important to families in China. Our guide talked about his four year old son and how much pressure there is to make sure he is in the right schools. He describes birth as the starting line. His four year old is in school, with homework at his age, along with four addition lessons a week including calligraphy. Every child will take a test at six year old to determine what school they are able to attend. The top scorers will attend the top schools. This format of testing continues up through college.
We have received many stares of people trying to figure out our family. I am sure that will just increase once we have four Chinese children!
I apologize the many grammatical errors as I am sure there are many. Jet lag is no joke.
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