Next we flew (China is a big country) from Xian to Beijing.
We saw the Bell Tower and Drum Tower, part of the old historical section of Beijing.
There was a long narrow stairway up.
Inside are the drums. We were lucky to be there at the right time to see them play the drums.
Ancient time calculation devices inside the tower.
We had a free afternoon and walked around town some. We saw this old Catholic Cathedral near our hotel, one of the few still standing after the Cultural Revolution when most all were destroyed by the gangs of youth forming the Red Guard. This was saved because it was used by them as a school.
We also had rickshaw ride and went to an old part of town and got to see a traditional courtyard home in the old part of town. We got to meet the owner. The home belonged to her great-grandparents, was taken by the government when Communism took over, but is now leased back to them for 99 years. People still cannot own land privately in China but they can lease it for 99 years.
Beautiful stairway in our hotel.
We visited a jade stores. They always take us to stores to try and sell things.
This jade elephant was one of my favorites.
Animal god statues.
More animal warrior statues.
Tapestry. Interesting that one of the warriors was riding on a fighting water buffalo.
The bus made a stop so we could see some of the buildings from a distance that were built for the Olympics held in Beijing.
Finally we got to the Beijing Zoo.
This was a treat to see more than six Giant Pandas, native only to China.
They are really big and slow moving and so cute.
Lunch time. They mostly eat bamboo.
They different enclosures with different panda bears.
Nap time.
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