Mutianyu, Great Wall tour

 I've been to the Great Wall about a half dozen times, but this was my first visit to Muitianyu. This section is about 2 miles long, and is famous for its 24 Ming-era guard towers. For about $30, the tour also includes a visit to the Ming Tombs, a jade store, a teahouse, and lunch at a Chinese restaurant.

 Chinese tours often include stops at jade stores, silk shops, etc., in the hope that the tourists will part with some cash.

 Entry area to Mutianyu, very picturesque on a cold winter morning.

 Lifts up to the wall, or you can walk.

 Top 3 photos, up on the wall.

You can walk, take the lift, or tobaggan back down.

 Workers shoveling the restaurant's parking lot. No snow plow here.

 The after-lunch tea stop. We got to try oolong, jasmine, black tea with lychee, and pu'er (my favorite tea).

On the way back to Beijing, we stopped at the Ming Tombs. 13 of the 16 Ming Dynasty emperors have tombs here.

Osaka

Great start, spending the night out at Beijing Airport, with a view of our departure terminal.

 Shinto shrine near Osaka Castle.

 Many restaurants in Japan display plastic replicas of their menu items.

 Fruit in Japan can be very expensive. These cost about $2 per strawberry.

 Pachinko, a cross between slot machines and pinball, is a hugely popular type of gambling in Japan, and there are many addicts.

 Drunk cat at an Osaka bar.

 Osaka's famous Dotonbori district.

 Queuing for octopus balls.

 I spotted Trump in Dotonbori.

Dotonbori ramen stand.

Japan still has the neon green public pay phones. Over two decades ago when I first moved to Japan I used to use one of these at a nearby temple to call around trying to find an English teaching job.

It's about a 2.5 hour ride south from Osaka to Shirahama, a small hot springs town.

Above 2 photos, a Shirahama Shinto shrine.

Beautiful Shirahama.

Year of the 🐖 pig

Soon hundreds of millions of Chinese will be on the road, heading to hometowns or elsewhere to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Dawn and I took a quick trip to Shanghai before the travel fenzy hits...

 I love traveling by train in China.

 ... though sometimes it gets very crowded.

Out on the platform, en route from Beijing to Shanghai.

 Smokers on the platform, Beijing South Railway Station.

 Above photo and 4 below, preparations for the upcoming new year's celebration in Shanghai.

 Above photo and below, wedding photo shoot at You Yuan Garden, Shanghai.

 Above photo and 3 below, Shanghai street shots.

A room with a view. Shanghai has one of the best skylines in the world.

The iconic Pearl Tower, looks like something out of a 1950s sci-fi movie. In the basement is the wonderful Shanghai History Museum.

Fast food ad at a Shanghai subway station.

Taishan: sacred Taoist mountain

Taishan is one of China's most famous Taoist sacred mountains. It's about 7,000 steps to the top, though the cable car can reduce that by about half.

A nice sunny winter day for the hike.

Very lively up near the top, with shops, restaurants, inns.

Pilgrims praying near Taishan's peak.

The busy, colorful Jade Emperor Taoist Temple, near the peak.

Heaven Street, nor far from the sumit.