The incredible scale of the Forbidden City is daunting.  The central spine contains vast open spaces defined by grand halls and endless arcades.  But the Eastern Palaces and Western Palaces on either side are a world apart.  There are intimate courtyards and lovely rooms where most of the court actually lived.

It is impressive that this has been the center of power in China more than 500 years.  Each successive generation of rulers kept it as an emblem of control rather than destroying what might have been viewed as a symbol of the prior regime.  There are amazing pictures of common people viewing the inner sanctum for the first time after the Communists took over in 1949.

Most of the public parts of the vast complex is in perfectly restored condition, though it is nice to stumble on some areas at the fringes with some patina of time.

Beijing’s Olympic Green was an amazing accomplishment for which the people of the city still feel a great deal of pride.  Especially at night in the summer, the place is mobbed with locals just walking around with their families, taking photos, flying kites and watching little demonstrations.  For western eyes it is very strange to just have these two big objects set in a sea of undifferentiated concrete plaza.  But in such a dense city it seems to provide a welcome relief.

The two objects are really dazzling.  Both buildings are dead simple, but also intricate and complex.  They fascinate from a distance and then, once again in a completely different way close up.  they are also best at night.

We visited the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall which is more remote and less visited than the Badaling section near Beijing.  It was renovated in the 1950s and 1960s and is in an area of magnificent natural beauty.

It would be worth visiting this area just for its mountain scenery even if there were no Great Wall here.

We took a second trip to a different section of the Great Wall which required getting up at 3:30am to see it at dawn. This section was unrestored, and it was great to see it being taken over by nature.

Although Datong is a very old city and was a dynastic capital of China two different times, it is now dominated by coal mining and power production.  It is not a charming city as a whole, but it is interesting as an example of an “ordinary” Chinese city.  There is a transformation happening that is common across the country where cities are tearing out their old city fabric and replacing it with more modern buildings.  The new architecture is not good, but it is providing much needed decent housing and work places.

Old fabric of single story courtyard houses. At ground level this is a dismal place to live.

Neighborhood undergoing transformation.

New city fabric in Datong

Even in these bland new parts of the city there is a vibrant life. This is a "fast food" joint.

There is a big open central square full of all ages of people--but especially a lot of little kids.

A real treasure of Datong from 700 years ago is the 9 Dragon Screen.

It is 150 feet long and made of glazed tiles.

The countryside outside Datong is dotted with compact farming towns.

This 1400-year-old temple contains statues of Confucian, Buddhist and Daoist gods in stone, iron and bronze.  Many temples in China are similarly ecumenical, bringing together the 3 major religions of the country.  The temple was located at a critical pass on a trade route.  It is beside a river that is now dammed, but was once prone to flooding.  Hanging the temple from the side of the cliff kept it safe from rising waters.