The Great Wall of China

 Ni hao!

 We had all been looking forward to New Year's Day when we would be visiting the Great Wall of China. We set off by coach in the afternoon.

 I brought some cereal to eat for my lunch on the way: I had recently discovered cereal on sale in the Students' Supermarket and it was nice, although slightly different in taste to the cereal I'm used to - slightly sweeter, I think.

 We drove into the mountains and the scenery was lovely; also, it was striking how fast the landscape changed once we got out of the city, from busy and metropolitan to wild and sparse and rugged and beautiful.

 Here are some of my photos of the Great Wall excursion  some are of the Wall itself and some were taken from the Wall looking down into the valley. Enjoy!

Graffiti

The lovely April

 I bought a lovely wall hanging of the Chinese Zodiac at a little shop at the base of the Wall, then we went back in the coach to BNU, very cold but so happy to have seen one of the most incredible structures in the world.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Beautiful Beijing

 Hello!

 After we had left the Forbidden City, Marvi, Sarah, April and I went for a walk through Beijing to find the subway station where we could catch a train to the Silk Market, our next destination. Wandering around the streets of Beijing, rather than the tourist spots, is a really nice experience, and I saw some interesting things.

The frozen river

The streets of Beijing

Some colourful flags

 We went to the Silk Market and I bought a few things such as a pretty fridge magnet with a dragon on it, and a blue silk dress. We then shared a pizza, which was really nice. 

 Then we caught a taxi back to Beijing Normal University, and on the way we had some beautiful views of skyscrapers and the CCTV building drenched in the Beijing sunset.

CCTV building

 It was a really enjoyable ride home, and the end of a really lovely day out, in which I made three wonderful friends - Sarah, April and Marvi. If you're reading this, you guys are amazing.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x