Ni hao. I have spent the past few days and nights searching the internet for new ideas of things to do while in Shanghai, Beijing, and Lijiang.
I plan to hike five miles of the Great Wall from Jinshanling to Simatai, but the Simatai section has been closed since June 2010 for renovations which will take two years. That section will be remodeled to be a tourist attraction. It took a while to find the information I needed to deal with the closed section. I found a map and all is well. I can hike to a certain tower and then hike back. The only way to go any further is to stay overnight at Dongpo Inn at Simatai. The Inn has access to the Great Wall in that section. We do not have enough time (need another day) to stay overnight there, so I will have to be content to just hike to the Qilin Tower and back.
To get there, we will take Tourist bus 12 from Xuanwumen and Donsi Shitiao in Beijing or take a bus from Donzhimen bus station to Miyun and then take a local bus or taxi to Jinshanling.
We will have two Chinese girls from Shanghai with us to help us figure out the details. They have never been to Beijing, so they are coming with us to Beijing and then return home when we leave Beijing.
An alternative is to go to the Downtown Backpackers Hotel and book a trip to the Great Wall with them for 280 rmb per person. They drop us off and take us back...allowing three hours to hike the Great Wall. I am not sure three hours is enough time for us to take a leisurely walk and stop a lot to take photos and enjoy the views. Watching a sunset on the Great Wall would be great, too.
Then I researched where to find the best Peking roast duck in Shanghai. Made In China Restaurant in the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Beijing is highly recommended. We would have to made a reservation to reserve a nice table and a duck. No reservations, no duck. The cook comes to our table with the whole duck...head and all....and slices the duck before our eyes. The duck skin loses its crispyness if it is not served right away.
Another great adventure is to go for a rickshaw ride through old Beijing...the Hutong section. I am researching which company to go with.
Zai jian....good bye for now.
