Cool in mountains north of Beijing.

Great Wall walk. Obligatory. There are four especially popular sections north of Beijing. We apparently did the most popular. Disney like entrance with parking about 15 minutes walk, and many shops away. Steep sections followed by towers before the next hilltop section. Unlike Hadrian’s wall walls intact and no mud. Also, unlike Hadrian’s it is not free. Like Hadrian’s wall it is inconceivable that armies could scale these steep hillsides.

Divine road to the 13 Ming dynasty tombs. Only one has been excavated. The 7.8 km entrance road starts with the alley of the animals because of the large sculptures guarding the entrances to the tombs. Some are mythical beasts.

Beijing opera night. Tourist performance of traditional set pieces. Most Famous scenes. Elaborate dress and makeup. Excellent martial arts,acrobatics and high register singing. Stringed instrument for accompaniment.

Cultural discussions with native speakers. Views of America, how they learn about America, Chinese education system, courses taken, and never ending comments and observations about costs, long term economic security, family as well as guns in America. Met different groups at breakfast, and lunch who fortunately had excellent English skills. Seemed genuinely comfortable with discussing how their news is "refined".

Dinner : usual assortment of dishes. OK but not memorable. However, one clear difference to Queens Chinese is the lack of ice cream and fortune cookies at the end.

One of our fellow travelers said Queens Chinese now offers wine, included, with the dinner. No wine. No ice cream and of course no queens noodles or fortune cookies.