Rebbecca, Amanda & Denny getting ready for take-off! Denis & I happened to know these two Yeosu (small Korean coastal town) hooligan girls. We were glad to see them at the airport & with this tour group.
First Day! Shortly after arriving, we were standing at the entrance to the Temple of Heaven. For more information, please visit wikipedia.org.
This is the Echo Wall Pavilion located south of the Hall of Annual Prayer, which was being restored.
Many emperors have stood on the center of this outdoor altar. This alter has 9 sections that stem from the center. The number 9 was very sacred & is used frequently in the Temple of Heaven. Even the stairs to climb to the alter are in sets of nine. 
Go Team!
Here is where we had dinner for the first night.Acrobatic Show!
After dinner, we saw an incredible acrobatic show.
Playing some pool, before experiencing the non-stop fireworks show outside. Everyone stoppped playing pool & watched us as we walked through this basement pool hall. We got the feeling, not too many foreigners make it here. Course, it was a pretty dark alley way prior to getting there.
Before the night even started, Beijing was coming alive with fireworks! It was the first time since 1993 that they were able to have fireworks. Perfect timing! There were fireworks everywhere you looked. I hope to eventually load a large video to show some aspect of how crazy the streets were. As shown in this picture above, these aren't your normal fireworks. Some in our group bought these packs which shoot about 15 large firework displays. These were common on almost every street! In this photo, some of the locals were helping find the wick to let this box come alive.
You could buy these loud banging fireworks on rolls. This man opened up the roll & hung it over a stick to make his version of a sparker. If you're within 10 feet of these things you can feel the debris hitting you, so it's no guess that he's getting pelted.The Great Wall is 3,948 miles (6,352 km) long! We hiked an extremely small portion of it called Badaling.
Beginning of the climb toward the top of this Badaling section. 
This section has been reconstructed, but you can still see the wear over the years.
Rebecca takes a quick break for the camera. 
Watchtower with a storage house and barracks in the background. 
A group of us who made it to the top of the Great Wall!!!
Snow still on the ground in many parts.
We couldn't resist the chance to drink a beer on the wall. Now how often can you do that!
SUMMER PALACE
Detailed information on the Summer Palace.
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After the Great Wall, we headed to the Summer Palace. It's the largest imperial garden in China & perhaps the world. Kunming Lake was pretty amazing in that the entire lake was frozen over. This man made lake was enlarged with the help of roughly 10,000 workers in the 1700's. The average depth is only about 1.5 meters & yet it covers 75% of the palace grounds. In this photo you can see all the people on the lake & that was only a small portion of all those on the ice. In the background, you can barely view the Tower of Buddhist Incense of Summer Palace (Foxiangge) . It appeared to be under reconstruction.
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This structure, 17-Arch Bridge, connects the mainland to Nanhu Island.
Ancient style building on the eastern shore of the lake.
I was too far away to zoom in on the Jade Belt Bridge, so I used this photo from www.Beijingservice.com.
