Beijing, China

After the Seoul whirlwind, we woke up early, grabbed coffee and plane snacks at the airport, and boarded our flight to Beijing! When we touched down, we were all really excited to explore the big city!

We hopped in a taxi and immediately got treated to an hour of our driver blasting Chinese TikTok videos on his phone propped up on the dash. Marshall was white-knuckling the whole ride thinking “Dude, eyes on the road!” while the boys were in the back enjoying watching locals singing/dancing and cat videos.
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As we pulled up to our Happy Dragon Saga hotel, the driver took us down this long sketchy back alley lined with tiny historic row houses and local shops. We had no idea what we were walking into. As we entered the lobby, the first thing we noticed a cute little restaurant … and the second thing we noticed was the ENTIRE hotel smelled like fish. Oh joy! Turns out they offer free fish dumpling-making classes in the restaurant. I guess the awful smell is a small price to pay for the hotel guests in exchange for a great cultural experience, right?

Once we dropped off our bags, we walked over to a popular restaurant called Dadong on the top floor of a shopping mall. It has a massive menu with pictures of the most unique foods we’d ever seen (smoked lions head, braised sea cucumber, stewed flounder, etc.) We went all-in and ordered seven dishes, including their famous Peking duck. The chef rolled the duck out on a cart and carved it tableside, plating every slice with total precision. Such a cool show! We got all the dipping sauce options and these super-thin wheat-flour “pan cakes” that were more like naturally flavored tiny tortillas. Tyson demolished them—kept ordering fresh stacks every time he cleared one. We lost count after the third ten-stack. Classic Tyson.

The next morning the boys hit up the breakfast buffet while Marshall and I got ready for the day. They stuffed themselves with crème-filled mochi and every other sweet treat in sight. We ordered a Didi ride to our next hotel, Legendale, that apparently a lot of presidents have stayed at over the years. We dropped off our bags and headed to the Drum and Bell Tower. The big courtyard between them was packed with locals—a group swirling ribbons to music, sword dancers, Tai Chi masters, and tons of people playing Jianzi (their version of hacky sack with what looked like a badminton shuttlecock). A local lady saw us watching them play the game, brought a Jianzi over, and showed us how to play. She kicked it around with us, then pulled out two brand-new ones in a package and sold them for about $3 each. Of course we bought them! We hung out playing with the locals for a while until we realized we needed a LOT more practice to keep up with the pros. 

It was time to tackle the Forbidden City! We rode over to the north end of the giant walled city and only saw large groups of people exiting. No entrance in sight. With a quick phone search, we realize there’s literally ONE entrance, and it’s all the way on the south that’s like a mile away. Dang it! We decided to walk the hour along the wall, dodging tourists and shopkeepers on a narrow sidewalk until we finally reached Tiananmen Square. We stood in line to get tickets… only to watch one tourist after another get rejected at the front. We asked one of them why and they told us that you have to buy tickets a day in advance. What?! Honestly, total rookie move on our part for not doing the research. I guess we have something awesome to look forward to next time we (or the boys) are back in Beijing.
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A little disappointed but still rolling, we strolled through the nearby shopping area on the way back. Tyson instantly spotted the chocolate museum, of course. They had epic chocolate sculptures of The Great Wall and palaces, plus a ton of different chocolates. He decided to spend some of his Easter cash and filled up a giant jar with various chocolates, obviously sampling them all to find the winners.

The boys burned off energy with a swim at the hotel pool that afternoon. This place was one of the nicest we’ve ever stayed in—the pool area looked straight out of ancient Greece. They even had strict rules: swim caps required. The boys rocked some sweet caps and had a blast.
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That evening we hit F Bistronome for dinner, an upscale spot with killer city views. They actually had chicken breast (rare find here). The boys have officially nicknamed me the “Chicken-breast-etarian,” but hey, I know what I like and I always end up happy no matter where we are.

Our last day in Beijing was the one we were all most excited for: The Great Wall! Our guide Linda met us in the lobby and we hopped in a private van for the two-hour drive. She shared interesting tidbits of the wall’s history along the way. At the parking lot we shuttled up to the entrance. We were informed there are three ways up to the wall: gondola, chairlift (with an hour-long line), or a 20-minute stair climb. Chairlift was included in the tour we had already purchased but the line was brutal; gondola was faster but an extra $80. We chose the workout and took the stairs.

Quick restroom stop first—our guide warned us to grab toilet paper from the sink area BEFORE entering the stall. Most tourists have no idea! What do they do otherwise? Shake dry? Rough for anyone going #2!
Wesley turned into a total monkey on the stairs on the way up to the wall—always ten flights ahead, disappearing around corners, then perching on a lookout spot until we caught up before zooming off again. Endless energy!

After breaking a serious sweat, we finally reached the top. We took a few moments to soak it in. This was a huge bucket-list moment for all of us. Standing on the Great Wall—stunning doesn’t even cover it. It is definitely one of the Seven Wonders for a reason. We took our time as we walked up and down the steep stairs along the Mutianyu section taking a ton of pictures and imagining what it was like for the soldiers who lived on and near the wall protecting China from the Mongols.

When it was time to head down, we lined up for the toboggan slide. THAT’S RIGHT! They have a toboggan to get down! Back in the 90’s they set this up for a fun and fast way down off the wall and back to the tiny town below. Each of us got our own sled and raced down. We flew as fast as we could on the straight parts and slowed when we caught up with the people ahead. We’d stop and wait to give as much space as we could, then zoomed again. Super fun!

Starving at the bottom, we remembered a pizza place from earlier and went straight there. Perfect recovery lunch. Afterward we hit a souvenir stall selling ice cream. The boys grabbed chocolate bars and I got a strawberry one with the Great Wall printed on the wrapper. So cool and tasty!

Linda suggested a free tea tasting at a nearby tea house. The tea expert poured five different teas and explained the health benefits of each. Our favorites were the dried fruit and lychee ones. The lady had this hilarious little ceramic boy—she poured hot water over him, and if it was hot enough he “peed” the water out. Her line? “No pee, no tea.” We bought four containers of tea, opting not to buy the one that Wesley said smelled like a horse. We also popped into a jade shop, watched a guy carving an elephant, and learned all about jade’s importance. Wesley seriously considered a small sculpture “for the investment” but passed—beautiful, but very pricey.

That evening we had dinner at an Italian spot called Tavola. Wesley ordered half a lobster and immediately broke off its one remaining eyeball so it wouldn’t stare at him the whole meal.

On the ride home we picked the economy option for the first time because it was closer than the luxury and a few bucks cheaper. The driver turned out to be an obnoxiously loud lady who, mid-drive, decided to FaceTime her ~5-year-old daughter. She kept turning the phone to show the boys in the back seat. The little girl giggled, laughed, and waved at them. The boys got their tiny celebrity moment and just smiled and waved back. Super cute, but only in China for sure.
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Back at the hotel we chilled and got a solid night’s rest before our next hop—a short 3-hour flight to the Guilin area, deeper inland in the jungle with some seriously wild topography waiting to be explored!