I arrived late on December 26, China being 16 hours ahead of Seattle. We celebrated a late Christmas, having not seen each other for almost 2 months! A long time! I missed my sexy babe!

Touring Beijing my first day there. This is in front of the Bell Tower near Tiananmen Square. I probably walked 10 miles a day, not wanting to miss anything!

Food was a challenge. While fried scorpions were a bit touristy, I generally avoided restaurants that did not have picture menus! Even then there was always a bit of a doubt in what one would get, as well as the spicyness level of the dish. I ate only 2-3 bites on more than one meal! Some of these scorpions, not yet fried, were actually squirming around on the stick!

Other culinary delights!

. . . and we ate the fried scorpions! Crunchy, and fortunately not juicy!

Bikes were everywhere, even in the freezing temperatures. Bike helmets were no where! I doubt we saw a single bike that had more than one speed! In Xi'an we actually saw a three wheel bike with a platform on the back (common) riding next to the freeway, piled 10 feet high, and a guy riding on top of the pile with no place to hang on!

Quienmen Diaje. Gates such as this marked the entry to most places of interest. Often gates and doorways had a stepover to keep evil spirits out of the building or house.

Tiananmen Square, looking towards the Forbidden City. Notice security cameras everywhere! With the cameras, and millions of people, one would not expect much privacy in China.

Chairman Mao, adorning the entry to the Forbidden City. Mao Zedong liberated China from the Japanese, led the Peoples Republic of China to victory over the Peoples Liberation Army of Chiang Kai-shek, and in one of his less revered moments, started the Cultural Revolution. Mao is an icon in China, but diminishing in importance among the young. He still remains one of the world's most influential persons of the 20th century.

Classic Qing Dynasty architecture at the Forbidden City.

Frozen Moat within the Forbidden City. It was bitterly cold in Beijing during my visit. Often in single digits, but colder because of the frequent breeze. Quite frankly, I have never been so cold in my life, even high in the mountains or camping on the snow in the winter!

The Forbidden City. Construction began in 1406, but leaders of China occupied Beijing well before that date. Only with the past couple of decades has it been opened to the public, and especially non-Chinese.

There were guards everywhere. Not just at government sites (although it was hard to tell, China being communist, it was difficult to differientate what was a government site, and what was not). There were guards at parking lots, banks, malls, grocery stores, standing on corners, everywhere. These well attired guards are within the Forbidden City. You can tell the second from the right is viewing my picture taking with a questionable eye!

This is a classic view of the Forbidden City from Jingshan Park. Much of the Forbidden City is obscured by smog. Beijing significantly improved its air quality for the 2008 summer Olympics. But there was still considerable smog. Xi'an, where we traveled later during my visit, was very smoggy.

The product of guessing on a non-picture menu (my idea, Cherie' was smarter than me, but went along!). A spicy stew with potato, pigs intestine and dog!

Eeee, Rrrr, Sen (1, 2, 3). I was following the Chinese, prolific picture takers, and counted in Chinese to three to have my picture taken during my idea of a pose on the Great Wall! I think it amused the Chinese!

Great Wall, at Bedeling. Much of the great wall has disappeared due to erosion and neglect. At Bedeling and other sections, the Great Wall has been restored. It was magnificent!

Another view of the Great Wall. The Great Wall was surprisingly steep, many places not having stairs but slick granite slabs. I probably gained 1000' vertical in exploring the Wall.

I was a Rock Star in China!! Tall, blond and fair skinned, I did NOT blend!! And on at least a dozen occasions girls sought me out to have their picture taken with me! This was on the Great Wall, and is one of my most favorite memories. I was just standing there, and all of a sudden was surrounded by these girls. Then I realized I was intentionally in the middle of their picture!

Back to Tiananmen Square, and the Monument to the People's Hero's, truly an imposing sight in a country that did not in any manner give an outwardly appearance of communism.

This was one of the magnificant buildings at the Temple of Heaven, in Beijing. The Architecture is spectactular at the Temple of Heaven, perhaps the most spectactular I saw in China. Being on a slight hill, the Temple of Heaven was also one of the coldest venues I enjoyed!

We ate at a Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) restaurant. We had two waitresses just to ourselves, and our own room. The waitresses were delightful, 18 and 20 years old. We dined like royalty. And at the end the tab was an astonishing $52!

Our two delightful waitresses! They spoke no English!

We started with a salad of Chrysanthum petals, which was delicious. We also ate roast goose, venison and shrimp. A long ways from Dicks hamburgers! Definitely my best meal in China.

I went virtually everywhere on the subway. Riding the subway cost the equivalent of 28c. The cars were excellent,clean and never more than few minutes apart. But they were often crowded. At this one I thought the car was too crowded for me, and decided to wait for the next one. The family of 5 behind me did not agree, and all squeezed in! But I saw no one complaining, no matter how crowded. We found Beijingers to be friendly, helpful and accepting of a crowded lifestyle!

Me at Confucius Temple. This large temple is dedicated to the learning of the teachings of Confucius.

On New Year's Day we visited the Lama Temple. The Temple was full of Buddhists, offering their homage to Buddha. They burned incense and offered their prayers for the new year. It was an amazing experience to see so many devout Buddhists practice their faith. This was definitely one of the highlights of my visit.

Beijing has several lakes, all of which are frozen in the cold of the winter. At Bohai lake, lots of Chinese rented little seats, and propelled themselves on the ice with pieces of rebar. Here, a number are forming a train. Great fun!

In Hohai lake, south of Bohai lake, there sits an island of significant history. Topped by the White Pagoda, it also contained this building with many depictions of Buddha. The colors and setting was spectactular.

This is the White Pagoda, built in the 1400s, towering high above the City.

This picture was taken at the Silk Market, where if one is only lonely, one need only walk the aisles. The sales ladies will remark on your good looks, intelligence and cleverness to convince you to purchase their wares, often knock-offs of famous western brands. Cherie' ate it up!!!

Cherie's new best friends (after, of course, opening her wallet!). While many Beijingers speak little or no English, the clerks at the Silk Market were fluent, learning English from their customers. "Hello Handsome Sir, you want to buy from me?"

Another cute Chinese gal who wanted her picture taken with the tall foreigners!

My most beautiful wife!

We spent 2 full days and 2 partial days in Zi'an. The highlight was the Terracotta Army, but we also spent much time in the markets. This street, named Hua Street, or Muslim Street, had food vendor after food vendor, all with strange (to us) offerings. The vibrancy of the setting was unique, and a highlight of my trip.

Vendors on Muslim Street, in Xi'an.

Cherie' speaking with a Muslim Street Vendor, in Xi'an.

Burning Incense at the Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an.

These are lifesize replicas of the soldiers in the Terracotta Army, of course placed there for Tourists!

The Terraccota Warriors is one of the wonders of the world, and lived up to all of its hype. Discovered in 1974 by a farmer drilling a well, the baked clay army dates back 2200 years. It originates from one of China's first emperors, who "employed" 70,000 slaves over a period of 30 years to build an army of baked clay larger than life figures to accompany him into the afterlife. The army was placed in trenches, and covered with timber. The timber rotted after a couple of hundred years, and the army was a hidden treasure intil 1974.

The Terracotta Army has been painstakenly reassembled by Chinese archeologists. There are hundreds of larger than life size warriors, ranging from infantrymen, to archers, to generals, to horses. Truly a wonder!

Some warriors are missing heads, perhaps to be reclaimed in the future. There are still buried Warriors, that the Chinese are holding back from excavating until the technology is such that the original colors can be saved.

They had horses asses even at 200 BC!

A close up of one of the Warriors, this one an archer.

Love!!!

This is the town wall in Xi'an, a wall that circles the interior of the City. Approximately 40 feet wide, 40 feet high, and 14 miles in length, and perfectfully restored.

Calligraphy brushes, in Xi'an.

Should I change the name of Mountain Groove Photography?

Back to Hua, or Muslim Street.

Muslim Street scenes. Unknown food!

A delightful gal at Baskin & Robbins, in Xi'an, who wanted her picture with us. While we only saw B&R in Xi'an, KFC - called Kung Fu Chicken in China, were everywhere. There were also many Starbucks, and an occasional Pizza Hut, McDonalds and DQ. China is very modern, and westernized, at least in Beijing and Xi'an.

Back at Tianenmen Square, in Beijing. It snowed 12 inches while I was there, the most snow Beijing had experienced in 58 years! But government workers cleared the streets quickly (it helps that almost everyone works for the government!).

The lowering of the flag ceremony at Tiananmen Square, worth the cold, cold wait!

Monument to the People's Heros, Tiananmen Square.

We had world famous Peking Duck, in Beijing. It was moist, crispy, and delicious! Here the duck is carved next to our table.

While the Peking Duck was delicious, we skipped the accompanying scorpions (this is actually a picture of the menu). Deep Fried Duck Meat with Sesame & Scorpions - 168 RMB (about $23).

My last full day in Beijing, we visited the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace was where royalty during the Qing Dynasty lived during hot Beijing summers. This was my favorite of the big 3 (the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace). This is a long covered walkway along the lake.

Another scene at the summer palace. There were covered corridors, and stairs, leading everywhere.

Original Chinese architecture at the Summer Palace.

We lunched at a Qing Dynasty restaurant at the Summer Palace. These were our delightful waitresses!

Lions along a bridge at the Summer Palace. I was sorry to leave China, but look forward to returning . . . and of course, Cherie's return on February 27, 2010.