Once we reached Badaling, we had to find someplace to stay.  There were no hotels or guesthouses listed online, so when we arrived we were at the mercy of a taxi driver.  We asked one, and yeah, sure, he knew of a bing guan.  Unbeknownst to us at the time, he drove us right past two hotels at the foot of Badaling and took us one kilometer down the road to Cha Dao.  The solar powered street lamps and newly cobbled road seemed out of place in this little village.

To be honest, we were pretty sparked when the driver pulled into this courtyard; instead of a hotel, we’d be staying in a room full of character, and yeah, ok, cockroaches too.

We both ended up thwacking our noggins on the short bathroom doorway, but we were sparked to have a toilet AND a water heater for hot showers any time we wanted.  The room was great, there was always a thermos of hot water for coffee, and there were even a couple cute little kittens in the courtyard.

It wasn’t until after hiking Badaling that we went and explored Cha Dao.  As we walked towards the gate, we knew we were on to something grand.

The Ancient City of Cha Dao, as it turns out, has just been built by the Beijing Tourism Administration.

Granted, I’m sure there was an existing village, but this new ancient village is quite snazzy and sure to be appealing to the tourists who’ll visit during the olympic games in 2008.  Enjoy the photos of the finished products and the ones still in progress!