one of the many housing clusters on the road into Beijing from the port

an area between the public square and the buildings where dignitaries stayed if they wanted to speak with the Emperor (and if he granted their request to speak to him) (Forbidden City)

Forbidden City courtyard tiles- not bad for being over 500 years old

Forbidden City Fire Extinguisher – large urns of water were kept in case there was a fire in the wooden structures

one corner of Tiananmen Square; Great Hall of the People is on the left (you can just see a corner of the building)

The Museum of China, across the street from T Square

the owner of the Hutong house talks with a guest from the ship in the courtyard/quadrangle

Hutong courtyard with plants and caged birds in center

One of the many pavilions at the Summer Palace

one of the many bridges at the Summer Palace

we are the Great Wall, trying to look inscrutable. Notice the blue sky at 11 am

a maintenance lady at the Great Wall – I thought her tool looked like chopsticks

back to the ship at 4pm and look at the smog that has settled over the area (Beijing is over 200 miles away); that structure in the foreground is a wing of the terminal building

a shot from the top of the ship – if you peer through the smog you can see just a few of the big machines at the port