One morning we set off early to visit Tiantan Park where older men show their skills on the Chinese yo-yo (diabolo). After displays of their talent they would often help out younger apprentices.
The sound of Chinese pop music rang out over the park as crowds participated in dance classes. They seem to be daily or weekly classes as everyone knew the dance steps.
In the park's covered walkways people played games, hung out and enjoyed their pastimes together.
One of the gaming areas was designated for a version of scrabble with English letters and words.
At the centre of the park was the Temple of Heaven. It was an impressive building, with stunning colours as a backdrop, although Sam grew impatient being the model instead of the cameraman.
Our home in Beijing was in the Hai Dian district. The back streets in the area were particularly busy in the evenings, with shops and restaurants opening up on the pavement. Our favourite place to eat was this grill where we could choose sticks of food to be cooked up, covered in flavourings and put in a bun (for only 10p/15c a stick).
We decided to visit the painting of the big man and upon arrival were greeted by a large-scale water and music show, the rainbow added perfectly to the Disney-fication.
One of the few major tourist sights we did want to see was the Great Wall, and it didn't disappoint. We walked the section from Jinshanling towards Simatai.
Walking the wall allowed us to appreciate the structure itself and the stunning surroundings; misty mountains in all directions.
The wall itself was more complicated than we expected, with tunnels, passages and towers. Some of the towers were three floors high and used to house the people who guarded the wall.
Sections of the wall were remarkably flat, whilst others were steep; it felt good to be working our legs hard again.
Later in the day the mist and thunder subsided, and the sky turned blue. It was wonderful to look back at where we had walked, and to see the towers stretching into the distance.
As the sun came out it shone on the trees, showing the autumn hints of yellow and red.
Visiting the wall was one of the best days of our trip so far, as the numerous photos show.
