Another photo of Tiananmen Square, located in Beijing, China. The structure adorned with a portrait of Mao Zedong is the Tiananmen gate. Located north of Tiananmen Square, this gate served as the entrance to the Imperial City, within which the Forbidden City was located. The portrait of Mao Zedong, the founding father of the People’s Republic of China, was placed on the gate in 1949. The soldier in the photo was part of the ceremonial guard located near the square’s flagpole. Apparently, the Chinese military puts on very impressive flag raising and lowering ceremonies during the morning and evening, but I missed them. This was unfortunate, as I am a sucker for anything military-related.

In addition to the military guards, there is a heavy police presence in Tiananmen Square for crowd control and monitoring. Since Tiananmen Square has been the site of important political demonstrations, the authorities continue to keep a watchful eye (via officers and a multitude of security cameras) on any activities taking place there. In fact, in order to gain entrance to Tiananmen Square, you are required to pass through a security checkpoint. You must walk through a metal detector and have your belongings scanned via an x-ray machine. It’s a bit like going to the airport, only the Chinese guards are much more pleasant than TSA agents.

The above photo is of the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall. Located approximately 60 kilometers from Beijing, the Juyong Pass section, which was first built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), played a vital role in the city’s defenses.

If you find yourself in Beijing, then a visit to the Great Wall is a must. I would also recommend wearing comfortable clothing, as the climb can be quite strenuous. (My guide, however, climbed to the top while wearing fashionable sandals – not quite the best shoes for the 1,700 uneven, slippery steps to the top of the mountain, but whatever). If you have a choice between the Badaling and Juyongguan section, you might want to choose the Juyongguan section, as there are typically less tourists there than Badaling.

The Great Wall is far older than the Ming Dynasty, and can trace its origins to 221 BC, during the Qin Dynasty. The Great Wall was originally built out of rammed earth, wood, stone, but upon the ascension of the Ming Dynasty, stronger materials such as brick, tiles, lime, and stone were used when constructing the wall. This particular section, along with Badaling, has been renovated extensively. The majority of the wall is actually in disrepair due to erosion, vandalism, removal of portions of the wall for city/town development, and the use of wall materials for construction.

Happy New Year everyone! The first photo of the day for 2011 is this dragon turtle sculpture from the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. I was’t sure of the significance of this animal, so thankfully Wikipedia was able to shed some light on this sculpture:

A dragon turtle is a legendary Chinese turtle with a dragonlike head. It combines two of the four celestial animals of Chinese mythology. Dragon symbolizes success, courage, determination, and power. Turtle symbolizes longevity and support. The transformation of the turtle to a dragon signifies impending success and good fortune in careers and business endeavors.

You can find large lampposts with these cameras all over Tiananmen Square (these particular cameras are situated near the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall) along with numerous uniformed and plainclothes police officers. Since Tiananmen Square has been the site of important demonstrations, the authorities continue to keep a watchful eye on any activities taking place there (exhibit any political activity and you will be quickly whisked away). Despite the government, China is a fascinating country to visit. Cheap flights to Beijing are often available during the winter and there are plenty of different-priced accommodations to choose from.

Located in Beijing, this is a Taoist temple built from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, who was also responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City. The circular building is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests where the Emperor prayed for good harvests.

The Temple of Heaven was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998 and was described as “a masterpiece of architecture and landscape design which simply and graphically illustrates a cosmogony of great importance for the evolution of one of the world’s great civilizations…” as the ‘symbolic layout and design of the Temple of Heaven had a profound influence on architecture and planning in the Far East over many centuries.’”

Decently priced flights to Beijing seem easy enough to come by, lodging is quite inexpensive, and meals are a bargain, so definitely put this city on your list of places to visit!

I don’t think there is enough money in the world to get me to eat a scorpion. OK, maybe I would do it for $500. Scorpions on a stick were one of the many interesting snacks you could purchase at the Wangfujing Snack Street. I went the safe route and opted for what I call a Chinese burrito: noodles wrapped in a giant moo shu wrapper and then grilled, followed by a dessert of green tea ice cream.

The Tiananmen gate, located north of Tiananmen Square, served as the entrance to the Imperial City, within which the Forbidden City was located. The portrait of Mao Zedong was placed on the gate in 1949. The left sign reads “Long Live the People’s Republic of China” and the right one reads “Long Live the Great Unity of the World’s Peoples”. Taken during a September 2009 trip to Beijing.

After sampling the firearms of the People’s Liberation Army, I was off to climb the Great Wall of China.

I visited the Juyong Pass section which was first built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Located approximately 60 kilometers from Beijing, it played a vital role in the city’s defenses. I would have liked to have visited a remote, unrenovated section of the wall, but unfortunately my time in Beijing was limited.

When we arrived at Juyongguan, my guide asked me if I wanted to walk the easy part of the wall, or climb the “hard” part that snakes up Jinju Mountain. Still jet-lagged and stuffed full of greasy Chinese food from lunch, I of course chose the “hard” climb. It did not disappoint. There are 1,700 uneven, slippery steps to the top of the mountain – nearly twice the amount contained in the Washington Monument. Thankfully, the unbearable heat and smog from the previous day had been replaced by cool temperatures and a slight drizzle. I’m not sure where my sudden burst of energy came from (the greasy lunch, perhaps?) but I climbed the wall rather quickly. In fact, I totally smoked by guide (it didn’t help that she was wearing completely impractical shoes). At one point I stopped to wait for her, and when she caught up she was incredulous.

“Lindsay, I climb this several times a week, and yet you are much faster. Do you have many mountains where you live?”

“Well, not where I live now, but where I grew up, yeah.”

The start of the climb. This stone is inscribed with the famous quote by Mao Zedong: “If we fail to reach the Great Wall we are not men.”

Getting higher

View from a watchtower

American pose at the top of the Great Wall

Locks of love on the Great Wall

More photos here.

I had a few days to kill in Beijing prior to my trip to North Korea, so before leaving the United States I started researching some of the sites I wanted to visit. I knew that I couldn’t miss the typical Beijing tourist attractions such as Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, but I also wanted to get out of the city and see the Great Wall, so I began perusing the websites of travel agencies that offered excursions to various sections of the Great Wall. Most of the tours consisted of a half day trip to a section of the Great Wall followed by a tour of the Ming Tombs or Summer Palace. Now, no offense to anyone who is a diehard fan of Chinese history, but neither of those sites sounded particularly appealing to me. After further searching, however, I came across a tour that was well-suited to my interests: The Beijing Target Shooting & Great Wall Day Tour. A full day of history and firearms. How brilliant is that? Now, some people might scoff at my choice of visiting a shooting range in China when we have multitudes of them in the U.S., but as you will see, this is not your typical shooting range.

My guide and driver picked me up from my hotel on a chilly and damp morning in September. Since my flight had only just arrived in Beijing the prior afternoon, I was still a bit jet-lagged and groggy, which is the ideal condition when handling firearms or attempting a very steep hike. My guide, however, was very talkative and prevented me from drifting off to sleep as we sat in the infamous Beijing traffic.

“So,” I asked her, “do you often take tourists to the shooting range?”

“Yes,” she replied “but they are usually men.”

“Ah.”

I soon realized that I was probably the first solo female that she had taken out to the shooting range, because she seemed totally puzzled as to why I would want to go there.

“Lindsay, do you shoot guns in the U.S.?”

“Yeah, I shoot a few times a month.”

“Do many girls shoot guns in the U.S.?”

“Sure. I know a lot of girls that like to shoot.”

“Do you have guns in your home?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a few.”

Each answer was met with a look of bewilderment. China has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world. Private ownership is banned, and the few public shooting ranges are prohibitively expensive for the average Chinese citizen. The idea of owning a firearm and taking it out to the range on a beautiful weekend day to shoot targets with friends is something that is completely alien to my guide and driver.

We finally arrived at the “Small Arms Mobilization Center”, a decrepit military facility an hour’s drive from Beijing, and after a rail-thin soldier in crisp military attire performed a quick ID check, we proceeded onward to the shooting range.

The People’s Liberation Army welcomes you!

Mao loves guns

One of the range employees led me into a room lined with glass display cases full of rifles and handguns. In the center of the room was a display of various machine guns, rocket propelled grenade launchers, and mortars. She followed me as I walked around the room, noting my weapons preferences on a sheet of paper.

“I’ll take 30 rounds on this…and 30 rounds on this.”

I felt like a kid in a candy store.

You can shoot any of these. Some can be rather expensive.

After choosing my sample of firearms, we hopped in an old army jeep and headed out to the firing line. Unfortunately, cameras were prohibited out there so I was unable to take any photos of the range or myself handling the firearms. Disappointing, yes, but I’m not one to argue with Chinese army policy.

Surprisingly, I was the only foreigner there. I thought there would at least be a handful of us, but the only other customers were some wealthy Chinese tourists. They entertained themselves with shooting trap and handguns; I had the entire rifle section to myself. I thought it was a bit odd. Why limit yourself to the dainty little pistols when you have so many powerful firearms to choose from?

The range staff consisted of young guys dressed in olive drab fatigues. Bizarrely, their uniforms had an American flag patch sewn on the shoulder. They handed me eye/ear protection, loaded each firearm, placed it on the table in front of me, and provided a running commentary on my shooting skills. “Too high. Good. Good.” I shot an AK-47, Type 81 light machine gun, and the QBZ-95. The QBZ-95 was an interesting gun. It’s the standard assault rifle for the People’s Liberation Army, and was incredibly light with very little recoil. My favorite, however, was the light machine gun. The 30 rounds in the magazine went quickly, and when I turned around I was surprised to see 20 Chinese tourists standing behind me. Apparently they found a Yankee girl blasting away with a Chinese machine gun to be quite amusing. Glad I could provide them with some entertainment.

As I was leaving, one of the staff members lifted up a corner of a tarp covering a large, bulky object.

”Do you want to try the tank?”

As exciting as that sounded, it would set me back over a hundred bucks.

”Maybe next time, dude.”

My accuracy with the AK-47 needs a bit of work.

The rest of the photos are here. If you’re headed to Beijing and are interested in the Great Wall/Shooting Range excursion, you can book it through tour-beijing.com.