The Great Wall of China

Saturday, 10 May 2014

Our first glimpse

We're here!

Don't think we will walk quite that far

Nearly far enough

Definitely far enough

A guardhouse

Looking for rabbits

Meeting a local

What comes up has to go back down

Looking for a bargain

With the bus scheduled to depart at 7.00 am, the majority of the touring party managed to make the restaurant before 6.00 am for the usual great breakfast selection – I even discovered pancakes today.  The reason for our early departure was to beat the hordes to the Great Wall and our journey took just over an hour.  The horrible grey smog of Beijing was replaced with a thick grey haze once we reached the rural areas and the ragged and rugged mountains were lost to view.  We passed many small farms, with produce stalls on the roadside displaying beautiful cherries, strawberries and other fruit.  We even saw fishing farms, where one can fish in a small concrete dam, and many other farms offering barbecue areas and produce picking.

We were extremely lucky to arrive at the Great Wall early and were able to walk to the cable car without the souvenir vendors chasing us.  We discovered that they wait until the tourists return from the Wall!  Thank goodness for the cable car – there was no way any of us would have made it to the Wall without it.  The pathway on the actual wall was quite well paved but the step sections were extremely steep and the steps themselves very deep.  Although we could have gone much further if we had wanted, we decided to walk from one watch tower to the next – and are pleased to report that we didn’t see one rabbit on the Beijing side!  While sitting on a bench near an older lady and enjoying the view, her family returned and immediately wanted to take our photo – the second time this has happened!  Our return walk to the bus meant running the gauntlet of the street vendors and we did make some of them happy.

Jade factory

Don't think it will fit on the mantelpiece

Have you seen my mother?

Our next stop was lunch at a jade factory and shop – lunch was actually very similar to lunch yesterday, except some rather cold, white coloured dumplings were served as well.  Following lunch (and a visit to the rest rooms that not only had sit downs, but also disposable seat covers AND toilet paper!), some members of the party (mainly male) listened to the lecture on jade while other members of the party (mainly female) took the opportunity to do our bit for the Chinese Government’s economy.

Then it was another drive to the Sacred Way and a walk through this serene and peaceful garden, the burial place of 15 emperors, with its many carvings dating back over 500 years.  By this time, our nose and eyes were starting to tell us that we were back in the smog of Beijing.

The Red Theatre

Preparing himself for the show

 

We had a short break at our hotel before departing for our evening’s entertainment – The Legend of Kungfu.  This show was absolutely fantastic, with its fast movements, music, ballet, stage effects and some rather spectacular “flying” as we were told the story of a young boy’s journey to enlightenment.  Sitting only a couple of rows from the front certainly made us feel part of the action, especially when the mist wafted off the stage.