I must have visited the Great Wall of China at least ten times the first year I moved to Beijing. Dad had a lot of visitors and we’d always take them there. Then one day I thought enough was enough, I will not be dragged to the Great Wall of China even one more time. And true to my word, I stopped going.
It’s been awhile since I’ve been a tourist in my own country. But while I’ve been away for college for the past year, I’ve come to miss all the things about China I took for granted. So this summer when Dad asked if I wanted to go to 古北水镇 (gǔ běi shuǐ zhèn, Gubei Water Town), I said yes!
And even though the cause for this occasion was Ken’s birthday, the family decided to leave him at home for this trip, which was really just everything Ken could ask for. He’s not really about sight-seeing unless the sight is a monitor with a video game console attached.
PS: time travel back to the live feed of this day this morning
Visiting 古北水镇, it is best to stay over a night at their on-site hotel. In the evening you can see the town and the Great Wall of China all lit up. How many chances in your life do you get to see that?
There weren’t too many tourists around, which is just how I like my tourist locations. It was probably because of the forecasted rain, but what’s a little bit of rain to us? We ended up getting our own boat. (The sightseeing boat fare is separate from the admission fee.)
Coming up next on travel is 颐和园 (yí hé yuán), Summer Palace.