Beijing:

I do not have the same opinion about Beijing as most people do.I did love the grandeur and importance of the city however there were many things I did not like about it, especially the pollution.The food also was not as good as I have tried in other cities because it was kind of bland, but I did love their noodles!The first day in Beijing, we went to the Olympic center.We saw the bird's nest and the water cube and we actually were able to go into the water cube.Seeing these two buildings just showed the incredible architecture and culture of modern day China.The Olympic building planners used the concept of fengxue to design these buildings.The bird's nest is supposed to be the circular mountain element behind the squared water element of the water cube.Good fengxue equals good luck and good fortune for the Olympic Games.After visiting these, we went to the art district of Beijing.I especially loved this area because I had not seen the modern art of China yet.I was so used to seeing ancient art and architecture, that I did not expect there to be such a modern art influence in China.There were so many cute shops and cafes, and even more art galleries.This was the bohemian part of Beijing that I really enjoyed.The next day was the Great Wall of China!This was an incredible experience that everyone who comes to China must do.It was a tough climb but the beauty of the area made it much easier for me.I was asked by two Chinese tourists to take pictures with them, which did not faze me after being in China for more than a month.The rush I got from climbing the Great Wall was unlike any other hike I had ever done.After this, we went back to Beijing and toured the Hutong areas.These are tiny little shacks that are worth millions of dollars because they are so old and have not been preserved.It was amazing to learn that the people who lived in dirty little shacks were actually worth millions. We then did some shopping in the area which turned out to be great!We were near a lake in the bar district of Beijing.The next day we went to the Forbidden City.This was amazing also, because it was so large and expanded farther than I could see.I was a little confused about what each building was used for, because the uses changed during different dynasties.But the grandeur of it was incredible.Right outside of the Forbidden City was Tiananmen Square.We saw Chinese soldiers everywhere and there was a huge picture of Chairmen Mao right in the front of it.Tiananmen Square was so crowded, especially because we were there about a week after the 60th Anniversary of the CCP.There were huge floats and flowers everywhere from the celebration.We had to walk right through the Square and it was hard to make sure we stayed with the group because of the thick crowds.We had lunch and headed off to the Beijing Exhibition Center.It was pretty boring other than the movie we went to which was fun because it was 4d and the seats moved.Finally, we went to the silk market.Now this was an experience because the Chinese merchants were brutal.They would pull our arms and scream at us if we didn't want to buy something.I felt trapped there!The coolest part was that Birdman (Chris Anderson) from the Denver Nuggets was there and we were able to meet him and take photos with him.Chinese shoppers followed him as well even though they probably weren't sure who he was, but they followed because we made a big deal about him!We ended the night with a Chinese acrobat show.This was amazing and they even had one of the girls in our group come on stage!The next day was our last day in Beijing.We started off at the Temple of Heaven, which was beautiful.There were large parks outside of it where local Chinese people were dancing, singing, and playing games.Next, we went to the Summer Palace and took a dragon boat ride around the lake.It was absolutely beautiful and amazing to learn that this entire section of Beijing was man-made, requested by the Qing Empress of the last Dynasty of China.That was the end of our trip to Beijing.I did love all of the sites we saw there, but I could never live here.It was a great place to visit and we had a blast!