Beijing

17.04.06

Early up when we should with the plane to Beijing, where more we arrived hrs. about 10:00 after a flight time in about 1 ¾ hour. The town was occupied of a yellow layer sand after a sandstorm that had levelled with the ground the area a couple of days earlier. The local media reported that there had settled about 300.000 metric tons' sand at the urban area. After a little delay, the guide too late and put other small problems, we arrived to the hotel The Marco Polo Hotel, where also there was a little nonsense with a deposit, which we however let go for, but then the telephone and was interrupted and the minibar emptied... The lunch was had at restaurant, where there were done very out of reporting that Kinas Kejser had once eaten there, and he had been in a fixed chair. The trip continued to Himlens Tempel, here it were selected a place, within the ring wall, where one could hear the echo from the Heaven. One could well hear the echo, but the ring wall was circular so probably it echoed?. After the temple we drove to one of China's famous copy-markets, who showed oneself to be a department store at 5 storeys. The guide guaranteed us that not a piece of the offered ones=”mærkevarer” were real. One couldn't move round without being accosted by sellers. A refusal with, that the price was too high were met with: mention your price, in order to get walk in the trade. The evening-food we got at a restaurant that was built besides the street, with a fine chance for the traffic, which wasn't so wild here, as we had seen other places, it stood as a matter of fact mostly quietly. trafikjam was the phenomenon called.

18.04.06

Breakfast 7.00 hrs.. That was the most beautiful breakfast table we have looked on a trip. The day's trip started with a visit at a State Jade-factory, outside our programme. The guide has safe a demand for dragging one's feed tourists State shopping places. Here we a little heard of the jade's qualities and the account of figures, but purchases probably were the most important thing. The trip went further to Ming the graves, which are some large underground burial chambers, that were close to destruction under culture the revolution. Those coffins ones that stand at the chambers , are copies, the original ones are destroyed by the then regime. Lunch at restaurant. Then the trip to the Store Wall went. Luckily we came to a place where there is aerial ropeway up. It was stringed enough to go in both end of the aerial ropeway. Again we saw that celebrities had visited the place as a matter of fact Prs. Bill Klinton. That was an impressive sight that met us when we reached up. I can well understand that this building belongs to one out of the worth's 8 wonders. That just is so large and impressive and not at all to describe not at all The trip back just was awful with 2.5 hour in a terrible traffic. After the evening-food we were back on the hotel at 20.30. Beside the hotel there was a new building active. At about 6 in the morning about 120 construction workers crawled down into the hole where they became to hrs. 22 in the evening, it was us told that the employer had to take care of accommodation and food, as many of them lived more thousand of km. wake.

19.04.06

A beautiful morning and the breakfast as yesterday incredibly beautiful. But in China the trees grow nor into the Heaven, because today the toaster didn't work and there left long time before there if handlebars came on it. The day's programme started with a short drive to The forbidden town, an enourmous area with a lot of buildings. The whole fenced behind a very high ring wall, that measures 760 m from the east to the west and almost 1 km from the north to the south. Behind the wide moat and it about 10 m high wall hide oneself buildings with over 9000 rooms, that live emperors and empresses, concubines and eunuches, artists and priests and countless civil servants and maids. Here changing emperors in incomprehensible material wealth - and totally isolated from life in the rest of the gigantic empire lived. After lunch we drove to the Summer-palace that is about 70.000 m2 and is divided into 3 sections. In the first the emperor had to fix the empire's affairs. In the other the emperor had to live. And the third had to be to" eternal joy and inspiration" for a couple of imperial eyes.

Video- with preparation of Pekinduck

The Weather looks fine today and the day's first stops is Beijing Zoo where we have to see the out-clearing's threatened Panda bear, and enjoy the garden's beautiful nature. After the visit in zoo we drove to Hutung the street, one of the few remaining Hutong'er. A hutong is that home-form that most residents in Beijing lived in until recently. Now there are only one or two, which are protected by the government. The tour of Hutong happened on rickshaw. I was sorry for that poor thing that had to thread us large Scandinavians through the narrow twisted streets. We were back at the hotel at 14. the time and the rest of the afternoon we could use as we felt feel like. One had to ha’ changed money back to an usable coin, and there came China's stiff system again up to the surface, even though he stood in a Bank of China department with bill the bill from the other department then that couldn't let itself do. We do not know that bank you have used , was the answer. It was later changed in a bank at the airport the following day without problems

The day for journey home, after the breakfast we were driven to Beijing airport and after some problem. with getting our living here Chinese fellow citizen out, we came on board in Finnairs MD11 who brought us to Helsinki. After a couple of hours' waiting time the rest of the trip to Copenhagen happened in Finairs Airbus A 321.

 Well dispute full of impressions lacked we only the trip with Danish railway to our home towns. Thank you so much for the trip, good company and informal gathering.