Greetings from Beijing

• Tiananmen Square: Well known location next to the seat of the government.
• The Forbidden City: Also known as the summer palace. This is where the emperor lived--it was forbidden for the common people to enter.
• Another Silk Factory: More silk to purchase.
• The Temple of Heaven: We got to stand on the Heavenly Center Stone.
• A Tea House: It was a very fast tea ceremony, but only so we would have more time to buy tea.
• Peking Opera House: We had extra time, so we looked at the ancient opera house without having to watch an opera.
• Acrobat Show: It was the second acrobat show I saw within a week. The acrobat show in Shanghai was a bit better.
• A Cloisonné Factory: Yes, more stuff to buy.
• The Ming Tomb: More buildings.
• A Jade Factory: Amazingly, my mom resisted the urge to buy something.
• The Sacred Way: A nice leisurely jaunt with statues to look at along the way. This is where funeral processions for emperors happened.
• The Great Wall: We went to the Ju Yong Guan section. It was a nice hike.
• A Chinese Pharmacy: We got foot massages, and someone looked at our tongues.
• Guo Han Hotel: We had Peking Duck, which isn't all that good in my opinion.
• The Summer Palace: Great place! This is the place I'd recommend seeing.
• The Drum Tower: And with a concert!
• Rickshaw ride of the Hutong neighborhood: I finally got to ride a rickshaw (though it wasn't quite what I imagined). We also got to visit a Chinese family to learn about their life.

And now for the pollution report: the entire time I was in Beijing, I had a sore throat. I thought it was a cold, but it didn't work like a cold. By the time I left Beijing, I was planning to go to a hospital because I couldn't swallow. As soon as I left, it went away. So... good luck Olympic athletes, you'll need it. Please don't die.