Michelle Obama and her daughters Malia (left) and Sasha visit the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall in suburban Beijing on March 2. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

"Today we drove about an hour north of Beijing to a village called Mutianyu to visit a section of the Great Wall of China, which was simply breathtaking," she said in the journal.

In Xi'an, she was in awe over the city's mixture of ancient and modern buildings.

"Here at Xi'an, you can't miss how both sides of China－the ancient and the modern－are intertwined in a city that's as much a part of China's past as it is its future."

While in Beijing, her family dined at a Peking roast duck restaurant and a hot pot restaurant in a city neighborhood that also showcases the Sichuan opera, known for its face-changing technique.

With US students and teachers at the Summer Palace they watched a Peking Opera drama about monkeys. In Chengdu they saw pandas.

We Recommend:

Portraits of potential	Exhibition showcases tea and wine culture	The Yang opera over the years