As I sit on a on a Dragon Air Airbus A330 and look out the window onto a mountain range south west of Beijing bound for Hong Kong I cannot help but reflect on the time that we spent in Beijing. Josh has done an excellent job documenting our time in and around Beijing in pictures. As you can see our four days in the capital city were well traveled. Our time crossed past with present with visits of cultural significance and business enlightenment.

On Sunday we spent the day in the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven that within my life time were not openly toured by US Citizens. I made a point to pick-up my cell phone in the middle of the Inner Sanctum of the Forbidden City and let both my wife and my parents that I was in a place that was the home of Emperors for thousands of years. Just moments before our group stood in the center of the vast Tiananmen Square about 30 of thousands of people visiting it that Sunday morning. The red walls along green and orange gate houses stood watch over the perimeter of the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.

The afternoon took us to a place of peace in the Temple of Heaven. There you were transported back to the time of the Ming and Xing Dynasties where hundreds if not thousands of prayers for the land of China was cast to the heavens. Temples built only of wood were ornately decorated in towering levels in increments of nine's to signify a numerological importance. As we toured the last temple the sounds of traditional stringed and wound-wind instruments drifted in the air from the surrounding structures and just for a moment the sounds of the city distanced themselves and peace of the temple took hold.

As night fell on the city our group splintered into several different directions but I joined a group that took advantage of the open invitation to the home of alum Anne Moncure, CEO for United Family Hospitals. Anne and her husband John along with Ming (UFH CFO) and James (UFH VP) were excellent hosts. Our group enjoyed a great meal and lively discussion in a beautifully adorned apartment overlooking a darkened Beijing.

As Jody mentioned in his blog, certain points on the Great Wall were treacherous and difficult to climb. Mike Romano, in particular, had some difficulty...

Dr. Charles Iacovou inside the Forbidden City

Chad, Laura, Mark, Goody, Colin, Tabor & Romano celebrating their time in the Forbidden City

Playing "Sweet Home Alabama" in a German bar in China

And this is Tony, our tour guide in Beijing

The North Gate to Beijing's City Wall

The Monument to the People's Heroes marks the middle of the square, with the Great Hall of the People in the background

Mausoleum of Mao Zedong - unfortunately we weren't able to go through because of the massive crowd

The front gate to the Forbidden City - with Mao's portrait looking over the square

Guards marching

Earlier today we visited the National Stadium, aka the Bird's Nest, the site for the opening ceremonies for the Summer Olympics. There's nothing wrong with my camera or your computer - the smog and dust from all the construction was that bad.

The last two pictures are of interesting skyscrapers in Beijing.

The Chinese Emperor needed a quiet place to get away during the summer...