Day 4

Thursday we visited the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs.

On the way up...

These steps have been used about a billion times.


Here's my top 5 list:
5. Don't try this on the Mongolian side
4. She does this on every trip we take
3. Okay, who wants to play hokey pokey!
2. Do you think they can see this from outer space?
1. I hope the orphanage doesn't have internet

It's still early.

I hope I left the sprinkler on at home....

Higher

The first TV

Inside one of the towers

No kidding.



We made it!!




On the way back down.

Our bodies are still not fully set to China time. We fall asleep very early – 7 -8 o’clock and then are wide awake at 5 am. After a breakfast of steamed dumplings, fried rice, eggs, and fruit, we head to the Great Wall. It is about an hour and a half away from downtown Beijing. Along the way, guess what . . . take a guess where we stop . . . keep guessing . . . We stop at a jade factory! We were given a tour and shown how the various jade pieces are produced, the craftsmanship that goes into each piece, etc. Then we were encouraged to buy, of course. We’re catching on to the pattern here and trying to guess what Chinese industry is left for Tom to take us to. Can you guess? We went to the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall. This is not the older part made of mud built during the Qin dynasty, but a newer section built of bricks during the Han dynasty. The Cloud platform was built in 1342. This was not an easy stroll like you see in pictures. As you can see from the pictures this section of the wall was all steps going straight up! It took us a very rough hour and a half to get to the top. The climb was so strenuous that a couple of people got sick and were throwing up over the side. I can’t imagine people climbing this in the heat of summer! The climb down was just as rough as the steps are uneven, steep, and very worn. Our legs turned to jelly. The view from the top of the wall ,however, was worth the tortuous climb. Someday I’d like to go to some of the other sections of the wall. There’s a couple that have trams to the top!

Next we visited the Ming Tombs. This is a shot at the end of the day.

After a couple of hours exploring the Great Wall, we were taken to another factory. Have you guessed what kind of Chinese industry that is left?? Porcelain is a good guess, but an incorrect one. Take another guess. . . .We were taken to a Cloisonne factory! This was probably the most interesting of all the factories. We were taken step by step through the process to make the various cloisonné items. It usually takes about 5 artisans to produce one work. Then we were given time to shop, of course. Afterwards we ate a so-so lunch and then drove out to the Ming Tombs. (Or rather, was driven there by our driver.) 13 of the 16 Ming emperors are buried in this valley. (The Ming dynasty ruled China from 1368- 1644.) Only 3 of the Ming tombs have been restored, and only one has been fully excavated. The main entrance to the valley is the Great Red Gate (looks like the ones in the Forbidden City). Beyond that there is a huge pavilion housing a huge memorial stele with the virtues of the emperor carved onto it. Beyond that is the Spirit Way, a huge winding path about ½ mile long lined on either side with carved stone animals and human figures to keep out the evil spirits. Finally you reach Chang Ling tomb, which looks like a miniature Forbidden City. This is the largest and best preserved of the 13 tombs and the only one we had time to see.

Our driver and our guide, Tom, on the right.

After the Ming tombs, we had a long drive back to Beijing. We’d had a long day, and so were ready for bed when we got back to our hotel (even though it was only 7 pm).

Tomorrow morning we're off to the airport to fly to Hong Kong and meet up with the rest of the group. We're packed and ready to go. Beijing has been very nice (we've got a lot more photos and some video to add from this week) but we're ready for the next step.