This was a market area pretty close to our hotel (about a 20 minute walk). There were a couple of restaurants close, and we came upon this the first afternoon. They have all of the raw meat on the stick and strange animals to eat, plus there were all kinds of Chinese trinkets and souvenirs for sale.
This was our first night out on a main restaurant street near our hotel. We were in a great location, a 2o minute walk or really cheap cab ride could get us anywhere we want to go. China seemed to have restaurants clumped together, so if you weren't on a main street like this, you might be out of luck. But, we were fine. This was the night we ate a meal with leaves and twigs and stuff in it. It was the only thing we ate that wasn't delicious. It was really strange.
This was on the other side of the market we went to the first day. I tried to upload these pics in order, but it didn't work out. They had a lot of really cool things, some of which I might have bought had the women not followed me around hassling me to purchase something. They get right in your face and say,"How much, How much" if you so much as turn in the direction of their items. I realized I do not respond well to that kind of pressure. I would have considered buying a lot of this stuff had they not been so pushy.
This was us getting on the plane on the way home. When we arrived at the airport, we kept looking at all of the new and modern stuff, as the plane just got farther and farther away. They didn't even put us on a hanger in the old section. We parked in the middle of nowhere and had to get off the plane onto the airstrip. We took a bus to the airport. It was so strange! I was really looking forward to seeing the new and modern airport, but we saw nothing good. Everything inside was really dark and old. That was so much different than I was expecting.
This was so of the food offered to us in the street market. Mmmm. Well, neither of us gave the larvae or giant bugs a try, but we did go for the scorpions and seahorses. That's right, I ate a scorpion.
Our friend Stretch that we met on our tour and then Dibby riding up the mountain to the Great Wall. They had such interesting ways of transporting us to the middle of the mountain, none of which were very safe. This way we were all on this track, and they had the restraints that came over our shoulders. They didn't latch into place though, so if there were any force put upon us, they would fly up and we would fall. It was really reassuring. 
After the second day of the Great Wall Tour, our tour guide took us to this pottery making factory where we had lunch. A woman from the factory gave us a tour of the people making everything. It was really cool to see it transform from just copper to all these beautiful shapes and colors. There is so much detail that goes into everything they make.
This was another section of the pottery making tour. Here they were adding all the color to everything. They mix everything in these bowls and then hand paint.
This was our last day down at the market by our apartment. Our first night we promised ourselves we would eat weird things on our China trip, so we went down there to make it happen. The scorpion was actually really good. It tasted like the skin on fried chicken. Mmm..
After coming down the mountain on the toboggans (which were really cool, but kind of scary!), these guys would pose with you for a picture. When I look at it now it seems so scary, but I never even felt the blade.
We were about to head down the mountain. We were on something similar to a bobsled track, sans ice of course. It was pretty crazy. It seemed like all of the ways they had for you to get down from the Great Wall would be really easy for people to hurt themselves. I guess that's just how China does it.
Some stairs on the Great Wall. And yes, they were that steep! Some parts were really difficult because of how steep and uneven the steps were. One would be a foot high, then the next just a couple of inches. We definitely had to pay attention to our footing the entire time. Nothing about it made sense or was uniform.
One of the views of the wall.
Looking out at what used to be Mongolia (I think -- it was really hard to tell what side they were defending sometimes, because it swerved and horseshoed all over the place. The structure of the wall didn't make much sense to us).
More scenery.
This is how we came down from the mountain the first day. In the line we had to wait in, they had us stuck in there like cattle. It was such a small space. Even I was being touched on both sides by the bars at all times. I have definitely had to overcome my claustrophobia being in Asia. You absolutely have no choice but to be on top of everyone at all times. We thought this was so funny and wild when we first saw it, but then the next day the toboggans were so much less safe. It was quite an experience either way.
This was on one of the steep inclines up to the top our first day. I don't think this picture does the incline justice. It was unbelievable. These were so much more difficult than the uneven stairs. I was slipping all over the place. I didn't realize how important traction on my shoes would be for the Great Wall.
Like I said, it really was that steep. 
This was us when we were just starting out on the first day.
This is one of the pillars on the main temple at the Forbidden City. If you look closely you can see all the dragons. Dragons are so important in Asain cultures; the Forbidden City as well as many other important things in Beijing are built upon what's called "The Dragon Line". The Chinese believe it gives them good luck to walk on it, and everything built on it is well-balanced. Balance is extremely important to them.
This was part of the Emperor's stuff in the Forbidden City.
More Forbidden City...
This was our tour group and guide standing on the Dragon line. I think he was explaining yin and yang and fung shui. Fung shui literally translates to wind water. It is the combining of the two elements and bringing a balance between everything (from what I understood). But, at least that's two Chinese words down!
The entrance to the Forbidden City. The water was icing over, but it is slightly difficult to see.
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