Adventures From the Jin Mao Tower

On my Uncle Bernie and Cousin Mark's last day in Shanghai, I took them to the top of the Jin Mao Building - the fourth tallest building in the world. The Shanghai Financial Tower, the future tallest building in the world, is under construction directly across the street and is almost as tall as the Jin Mao Tower. It was a clear day (which is hard to come by in Shanghai because of the smog), so we got some great pictures. We also went to a driving range which is across the street - they didn't have clubs for us though, so we weren't able to hit any.

The last picture is the Shanghai Grand Theater. The Radisson Hotel is the one that says Radisson on it. I never know who's reading this, so I never really know how much explanation is necessary.

Beijing Trip

This past Monday I headed to Beijing with my Uncle Bernie and Cousin Mark - Spring Break '07! Mandy went to Taiwan to collect the rest of her things and to visit some friends from last year - she met us on Tuesday. We stayed at a hotel about a ten minute walk from Tienanmen Square - it was tucked in a little back alley. A great location because it seemed more real than your typical hotel. We had a blast and got to see a lot of the city. We made it to: Tienanmen Square, The Forbidden City, The Beijing Zoo, The Summer Palace, The Ming Tombs, and the Great Wall. It was an action-packed trip and went by really quickly. Here are some of the hundreds of pictures that we took - enjoy!

We went to Tienanmen Square on our first day, which turned out to be a mistake - half of the country had the same plans. We still managed to get some pretty good pictures of this historic spot. It's incredible how spacious the square is - I remember seeing video of the military rallies that they used to have there.

These are from our trip to The Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. The Forbidden City is just off of Tienanmen Square and was where the emperors lived and governed. The main palace was under construction, so we didn't get a chance to see it. A lot of things in the city are under construction in order to get ready for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Before The Great Wall, we went to the Ming Tombs. These are where the emperors of The Ming Dynasty are buried. All of the temples and tombs are arranged carefully to follow the laws of feng shui. A lot of the temples were destroyed in war and during the Cultural Revolution during Mao's regime. This was one of the better preserved tombs.

We chose the more challenging climb at The Great Wall. It was a hot, sunny day which made the climbing even more difficult. The stairs were extremely steep - it seemed like a vertical climb at times. I did my best to keep up with the former cross-country runner, but did a poor job of it. Luckily she was patient with me and waited for me to catch up. We were at the Badaling section of the wall - it's the most preserved section.