After my trips to Mexico and Egypt in 2004 it felt like the logical thing to go to Asia this year. China had been on my list for long – and as I wanted to see the Three Gorges prior to the completion of the dam, this also felt like the right time.

After my arrival on September 18th I used the 19th to explore the city, my walk led me from the hotel to Tiananmen Square and back. The morning of the 20th was dedicated to a visit to the Summer Palace (now with the group),  the imperial getaway for those days of the year when the Forbidden City was more like an oven than an appropriate place for an emperor (or empress).
The afternoon was at our leisure, so some of us (including myself) used the time to visit the Temple of Heaven in Tiantan Park. In the evening we enjoyed a performance of the Beijing acrobats.