a seaside adventure Oct 26th, 2011

I'm in Beijing! This post is an update from last Thursday. 

Another day out and about in China. This time, my uncle took me to Shan Hai Guan, a seaside city half way between Shenyang and Beijing. In Shan Hai Guan, you can find Tian Xia Di Yi Guan, otherwise translated to The first pass under the heaven.  This is the starting point of the Great Wall of China. Part of it was built during the Ming dynasty.  

We took the fast train in the morning that took a grand total of 2 hours and 10 mins (each way). I slept most of the way. I think I finally got over my jetlag. Last night, I stayed up with my cousin til 1:30am. She said she wanted to see a Japanese horror movie and asked me to watch it with her. We watched something called Contagious song. After watching it for an hour, we were totally lost and confused. The movie made no sense at all, and we fell asleep watching it.

what I ate at the train station: KFC. It was quite delicious

Anyways, after getting to Shan Hai Guan, my uncle went to do close some business contact that took a few minutes. After, we ate at this fancy restaurant right by the sea, and made our way to the First Pass under the Heaven.  In order to get it to, and climb up to the top, you have a pay for the ticket. The price for students is 30 yuan, and adults, 50 yuan. It was first built in 1381 under the Ming Dynasty, with towers for guards to protect the city. I guess I can say I’ve visited the Great Wall again, just not the one in Beijing. That’s ok, since I’ve been there twice already. I’d love to go there again, except it’s quite far from the city, so maybe next time.

First pass under the heaven

5000 years of Chinese history. There’s so much more to learn and see. Chinese history is quite impressive indeed. Maybe one day, I’ll be able to know all of China’s history by heart. That’ll be fun.

After taking the train back to Shenyang, we went out to eat at a place called Don Xpress, where you can get a card filled with money. Then you go inside where there’s a bunch of different places to choose from and you can order whatever you want. It was pretty good, and filled with Chinglish. Like this picture:

I’m sure that this is the best place for redemption. There can be no other place. My uncle doesn’t eat meat, but he ordered meat dumplings. He ate the outside, the bread part, but took the meat part out. I was like….you’re just going to leave it there? He said he’ll take the meat part to his dog at the office. What a kind thought. I guess he’s not wasting anything.

My cousin.. in her awesome...jacket

My train to Beijing is on Sunday at 8am @_@ Oh goodness.