A Modern Marco Polo

Be forewarned: A trip to China is not like your typical family vacation. It's strenuous, grueling and overwhelming -- and that's all before the pilot switches on the seatbelt sign before liftoff.

But once you land safely at home, you'll readily admit that it was the adventure of a lifetime.

My wife and I started our trip to China on 42nd Street and 12th Avenue in New York City at the Chinese Consulate. Americans entering China require a visa, which costs $50 and takes four days to process.

The wait for the Chinese government's stamp of approval, however, is nothing compared to the mind- (and body-) numbing 14-hour, nonstop flight to the People's Republic.

By the time the plane touched down in Beijing, we had watched three feature films -- two in Chinese with subtitles, one in English -- eaten three meals and two snacks and chased the sun westward across the North Pole. (No, Santa Claus does not live up there, and I know because I wasted many, many hours looking for him.)

Bustling Beijing

Deplaning in Beijing was a joy, and not just because it was a welcome chance to shake the blood clots from our beleaguered legs. It was also our first meeting with our indispensable tour-group guide for the 13-day journey through a very foreign land.

After a refreshing night's stay at the luxurious Shangri La Hotel, we spent our first morning in Tiananmen Square.

Strolling leisurely around the world's largest square, I was amazed at the widespread commerce taking place right under the watchful gaze of Mao Tse-tung, whose portrait still overlooks Tiananmen.

One can only imagine what Chairman Mao would think if he saw the countless peddlers hawking knockoff watches, hats, fans, postcards and two-bit toys to tourists. China may still be a communist country, but this is surely not Mao's China, I concluded. I then picked up a Beijing Olympics 2008 baseball cap for a single greenback.

Mao would also undoubtedly be surprised by the new national bird in China, the crane -- the construction crane, that is.

Beijing is sprawling with huge condominiums and office towers; the sight of newly constructed and in-progress buildings became monotonous after a while.

The next major stops on the Beijing segment of our tour were the Forbidden City of the Emperor, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace.

Note to all potential tourists: Proper footwear is mandatory if you intend to cover all of these pagodas and religious shrines. China is of an unimaginable scale, and that goes for the tourist traps, too.

Speaking of scaling, most people who lived through the Cold War never thought they would ever get the opportunity to walk on The Great Wall, which is just a short bus ride from Beijing.

	Hutong, Beijing

This was not my first thought, however, when I trod across it. Instead of thinking poetically, my initial reaction ran more toward: "Wow! That is one humongous wall!"

Our guide explained that the Great Wall took several dynasties to complete and was finished in the early 17th century. It spans thousands of miles and was built as a defense against Mongolian marauders.

And the guardhouses every few hundred feet? Well, those are now gift shops and information centers. Pass five guardhouses, and you can receive a printed award to prove your tenacity.

The next day we traveled by bicycle rickshaw to Hutong, or Beijing Old Town. This was the China I remembered from magazines and movies: The narrow, crowded alleys and one-story buildings were a sharp contrast to the modern condominiums springing up everywhere else in the city.

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