After a surprisingly good night in the train we arrived in Suzhou around 10:15. This time we managed to find a taxi within 30 minutes, so the day started pretty good. Funny thing was that everybody remarked that our guide did not seem to be a morning-person, even when she really sleeps a lot! After a well-deserved shower Christopher and I put our guides together (Lonely Planet + Rough Guide) in order to make a planning and to see as much as possible during our s...

Ok, an early rise as usual today! First on the planning is the old city wall. This wall currently only consists of a small part of the ancient city wall (which enclosed an area 7 times bigger) and it is possible to make a scenic bike ride over its' entire length of 14 km. This seemed like a great idea to us (Christopher and me). However, during the ride we found out that the view on the city wasn't that interesting as we'd hoped for as the only interesting sigh...

Yes, finally in Xian! Since we don't have much time in this city, we have to use our time to the fullest. Upon arrival at the hotel Christopher and I therefore set out to view the Drum and Bell towes. On our way we where witness of the daily morning gymnastics of several companies. This was very interesting to see, and it was clear that some employees would have rather stayed a bit longer in their bed than others... Fuerthermore we saw people practising Tai-C...

Yeah! After a short night due to the "rapid drying service" in our hotel we were well rested and energized for this last half-day in Beijing! The first this that strikes you when you're in front of the Forbidden City is that it is BIG. With the biggest square in the world located in front of it (Ti'anmen square) it makes quite an impression. Furthermore, a big building in the middle of the square, the Maosoleum shows that everything really is bigger ...

Today the Great Wall visit! There are several sections that can be visited around Beijing, but they differ in the amount of restoration that has been performed and the number of people trying to sell you souvenirs. We went to Mutianyu, as it is one of the more original looking sections and isn't the big well known swarming with tourists section. Since we only had two hours on the wall (the bus-ride to get there already took some time) we decided not to do the...