Initially, the party was up early for its visit to the Great Wall of China, and although a three hour hike was originally planned, it didn’t come to fruition due to some bus troubles.
Still, once the group arrived around midday - and had loaded up on local beanies and gloves, due to the chilly conditions - it took a gondola ride up to the Great Wall of China.
Not surprisingly, it was an awesome sight.
It was one of those surreal moments for many, who were in disbelief to be at one of the world’s great landmarks.
Plenty of pics were taken - again, Max Walker led the charge (before he and some other members of the touring group had to depart for their flights home).
Although the hike was cancelled, we still managed to take in the Great Wall for around two hours, including gondola rides.
The new Melbourne emblem was also carried up the Great Wall, along with club mascot, Ronald ‘Dee’ Mann.
A big group photo was taken, and a memorable moment was had by all.
After our visit to the Great Wall, we headed for Beijing.
With a handful of players, staff and supporters now at the Beijing Capital Airport, the remainder of the party arrived at Westin Chaoyang - an outstanding and reasonably new five-star hotel.
With an hour before dinner, a few took the opportunity to wash down some Subway or Mr Pizza close by. Darren Farrugia and Craig Lees from the football department were convinced Mr Pizza was the best pizza they had tasted!
Well, they along with the rest of the group were soon treated to arguably the best dinner on the trip - a beautiful feast of Peking duck, ribs and mushroom or beef noodles. The cinnamon doughnuts were also special.
This dinner was hosted by the Beijing Bombers in an art district restaurant known as ‘Switch’.
Following dinner, half of the group went back to the hotel, while the rest had its first taste of Beijing nightlife.
