ni hao!

we're in beijing... we made it. after a subway, taxi, 27 hours on a ferry across the yellow sea, a bus, two cabs and stops at 2 hotels, we made it to beijing youth hostel at about 2am last night. after getting checked into the hostel, of which we didn't have yuan to pay for so we held the room with american dollars until we could get to a bank this morning, we got scrubbed up in hot showers and hit the bed for a well needed night's sleep. this morning (after paying for our room...) we made our way to qian men hostel, only a few minutes walk from tiananmen square, and got settled in our new home for the next week. beijing is amazing, we spent a while strolling through tiananmen square this evening. the sense of importance radiates from every direction there. it was a shock to the senses to be in such a historically significant place. afterwards, we hit the streets for a little dinner and retired back to the room for an early evening. i have a feeling that we are going to enjoy china and our time in beijing... more to come. - david