My brain hurts with all of the new adventure and I haven’t had a chance to write notes for a few days (we have not stopped!), so I will catch interested readers up on our journey.

Tiananmen Square … looks just like the pictures we saw in ‘89 when the protests and revolution was broadcast all over our country.  Many tourists and groups from all over the world converge to see the historical place daily.

We liked hearing details about the 13 Chinese dynasties and seeing the vast complex of buildings that comprises Forbidden City and the Palace.  The emperors had quite a life of luxury, everyone else waiting on them, including armies, wives, concubines, and children.  When someone did something that displeased the Emperor, he simply had them beheaded, buried alive, or oft in some other way.  There were 9 entrances with big gates into Forbidden City … all of the structures hundreds of years old, and still standing.  (All over Beijing we are seeing construction and renovation as the city prepares for the 2008 Olympics here.  They say the national bird is the “crane.”)  Even in Forbidden City, they are cleaning things up.

The Great Wall (about an hour’s drive out of town) was breathtaking and magnificent when you consider the magnitude of its length, 7000 meters long (longer than LA to NY in the states).  It was built 2000 years ago to protect China, and still stands (with the same bricks and mortar, very steep steps and stones) with people climbing on it and enjoying the fantastic view of the countryside, as well as the history.  Astoundingly, Genesys was treated to a private dinner on the wall (beautifully decorated formal tables & chairs all around the wall) and, at the end, a special lighting of the wall occured with much fanfare to end our dinner (about 11pm).  This was majestic and special, beyond description, because we are told that it is only done for state dignitaries.  There are about 325 of us on this club trip (employees & spouses).  Truly, something I will never forget!  We are thrilled that one of our daughters is able to see this … when will we ever return to China?

This morning we met in the hotel lobby at 5:30 to reach Xian (a 2-hour flight from Beijing) so we could tour the escavated Terra Cotta Warriors, a stunning display of buried tombs of clay warriors, you’ve probably seen this on TV.  To think that an emperor was so incredibly superstitious that he had artists make as many as 8000 clay warriors to protect him after he was buried (in the afterlife) defies my understanding.  Farmers unearthed the first soldiers in 1984 and the archaeologists have been digging since.  You must come see this for yourself!  But, many of the clay soldiers were destroyed after this emperor died because there was much bitterness and hatred for this leader who had forced so many to work, toil and die themselves in building these soldiers.