A Wall and a Sacred Way

Today our excursion started early so we were up at 5:00am and got dressed and ready for the day. Then at 6:00am we went down to breakfast in the hotel restaurant and then after eating we met the group in the lobby so we could be on the bus and headed out at 7:00am. Our destination – The Great Wall of China. And we were heading to the section at Badaling. We drove for about an hour and a half from the hotel to arrive at the section we were visiting. As we entered the town we started to see the wall on the mountains. I really became excited. I remember seeing pictures of The Great Wall as a kid but I never thought seeing it in person would ever happen. But here I am on a trip of a lifetime and a dream was coming true. The bus parked and we got out and made our way to the entrance. Arnold got our tickets for the cable car that would take us to the top of the wall. We all loaded into one of the cars and up we went. In only a few minutes we were standing on The Great Wall of China. The Chinese don’t call the wall ‘The Great Wall’ – they call it ‘The Long Wall’. So we had a couple of hours to walk the wall and from our starting point you could go either right or left. Thomas and I headed to the right and we walked and took pictures and awed at the massiveness of the structure and were stumped as to how it was built. It mostly sits on the ridges of the mountains in the area. Getting the stones up there must have been incredibly hard. The terrain is challenging to say the least. I was like a kid walking the wall – just flabbergasted about being here. We walked a ways and ended up at a battlement and that is where the wall stopped – there are sections that haven’t been restored and we couldn’t go any further without climbing down from the wall and just walking on the mountain to the next part a little ways away. So we turned around and headed back and when we reached our starting point we continued on to the left. Some parts of the wall are steep and there are steps and ramps along the way. The wall follows the terrain so it has many ups and downs. Thomas ended up stopping and waiting for me at one point because it became steep. I wanted to continue on to a spot I saw that looked like it had great views. So I walked for another fifteen minutes before turning around. I was glad I went a little further because the views were amazing and that is with a haze hanging over us – it was a bad day for pollution. It was also cold and windy but with a hat and a jacket you could keep warm with the difficult walking. Our time here was amazing and I am thankful that I got this opportunity – it was worth the time and money it took to get to China just to have done this today.

At 11:00am we left The Great Wall and headed to a place where the carve and sell jade, we were also having lunch there as well. When we first arrived we were given a talk about jade – the different types and colors, where it is mined and how it is harvested. Then we saw a master carver at work and then saw some incredible pieces. Then the high pressure sales started. But that only lasted a short time because it was time for us to eat. The lunch was really good and we got to try a Chinese liquor called Er Guo Tou. It is sorghum based and was really strong and delicious. After eating we had time to shop – but it is hard to look around and enjoy the items because they follow you around and try to push any item you look at onto you. For me this is uncomfortable and I just left the place and went to sit outside until it was time to leave.

After lunch we drove to The Sacred Way of the Ming Tombs. We didn't go to the tombs because they are far out at the base of the mountain but we walked along a path with large sculptures on either side. They were erected to protect the way to the tombs. It was a fascinating talk with Arnold about the Ming Dynasty. 

Finally, at 2:00pm we boarded the bus and headed back to the hotel. On the way we took a quick detour to the Olympic Village. We got to see the ‘Bird’s Nest and the aquatic center. It was beautiful and I love the design. I didn’t get good pictures because of the smog but it was nice seeing the area. We arrived back at the hotel around 4:00pm. We had a couple of hours before dinner so I worked on journaling and editing photos while Thomas read. Then we got cleaned up and ready for dinner.

At 6:30pm we left the hotel and went to Hua’s Restaurant for peking duck. The meal was amazing and the duck was cooked perfectly – it was so delicious. Besides the duck we had a lot of other dishes and by the time we finished we were all stuffed. I have to say that there is no lack of food on this trip. It was around 9:00pm by the time we returned to the hotel. I showered and then tried to edit pictures and get some journaling done but I have to say that we have been so busy that I am having a hard time keeping my eyes open after dinner to get anything done. So it is off to bed so I can be ready for our day tomorrow.