A Trip To The Great Wall...

After meeting Gray Line's tour bus at the Crowne Plaza Hotel this morning, me and 5 other Americans who had booked the tour were off for a day of sightseeing in the mountains outside of Beijing.

The first stop was the Ming Tombs, burial places of the Ming era emperors and empresses. There are 13 tombs; we toured the largest one: Changling Tomb. After passing through the tomb's gate, you enter the largest wooden building in Beijing. This is a memorial to the emperor buried there, an emperor who seized power illegally by killing his nephew who was in power. Most tend to agree that after that act, he was a good emperor anyway. This hall contains his statue as well as artifacts that have been unearthed from the 13 tombs. Beyond this point is a tower just in front of the tomb itself (you don't actually enter the tomb). In the tomb are also buried 13 of his concubines who were ritually sacrificed (a high honor) to join him in the afterlife.

Largest wooden building

Statue of the Emperor

View from the tower in front of the burial chamber

A short stop at a Jade carving factory gave us an interesting look at how jewelery and other Jade pieces are fashioned. We also got to shop in the massive Jade store.

Now it was time for the real reason we came on the trip, the Great Wall. Instead of taking us to the more popular Badaling section, we went to Jingyonguan, a circular section with better views and less tourists.

The hike was steep and I admit I didn't make it very far. They say in China you aren't a real man until you have climbed the Great Wall; I guess I am just a piece of a man because that is how far I made it. I felt really bad when the old lady with the cane passed me.

I decided the view from the observation deck near the concession stand was just as good; how many more chances will I have to drink a coke and eat oreos on the Great Wall? Besides, that allowed me to have a souveneir picture made in Ming warrior getup:

It's a picture of a picture, sorry about the bad quality.

The Great Wall

Me on the wall

After an hour at the wall, we travelled to the local Friendship Store for lunch and some final shopping. Friendship Stores were opened many years ago when China first opened up to foreigners. At this time China had two money systems: one for locals and one for foreigners. Foreigners could only exchange their money for the foreigner money and it could only be spent in designated tourist stores like the Friendship Stores. Also, only foreigners could shop there. Lunch was a heavily westernized Chinese meal consisting of fish, beef with onions, kung pao chicken, vegetables, and rice.

I do want to go back to the Great Wall and actually make it to the top, maybe the one with the cable car though!