Simply Amazing

When we arrived in Beijing on Friday we were greeted by the remnants of a sandstorm and smog. The visibility and air quality was noticeably less than either of our two previous stops, but when I walked out of the hotel this morning the air was clearer and visibility was good which unbeknownst to us would be a blessing.

Our day of sight-seeing started with a tour of the Summer Palace, a place that amongst first impressions were elusive. As our guide Tony explained it is Chinese tradition to block direct views of grand residences and was this ever the case.

As you turned corners and negotiated through this forest entrenched residence every view just expanded in front of you. Deeper inside the Summer Palace compound was a man made lake, temples, and residences for various members of the Emperor's family it seemed to go on and on only bordered by the buildings of the city in the far distance.

After lunch at a cloisonne factory and subsequent mandatory gift shop we all loaded into the bus for one of the highlights of the trip so far.

We were off to see and hike a section of the Great Wall of China. The bus slowly climbed the grade as it entered into the sandy colored rock and tree clad mountains surrounding Beijing. Our guide gave us the choice that 'Once we get there you can go right for the hero climb or you can go left for the super hero's climb.' At this point I would be lying if I said the anticipation was not mounting, conversations at this point throughout the bus focused on the wall until one person said, "There it is..." The first section of the wall we saw seemed to climb up the ridgeline with an arrogant disregard of the grade and turns needed to follow the landscape.

As the bus drove on we were like kids with growing impatience on a trip to an amusement park. Once we arrived we unloaded and followed the red flag of our guide Tony to the entry gate. You could see the wall to the left (super hero) and you could see the wall to the right (hero). After a few quick pictures we were off, majority of us went super hero. Now it was at this point that I realized that I was truly out of shape, but every view was worth the effort. The wall seemed to stretch as far as eyes could see regardless of terrain and this was only a couple of miles of the 4,000 mile edifice. We were blessed by clear skies to truly see all that we could.

Angles on our hike approached 80 degrees with towers every 500 yards or so. Once you arrived at a tower you were greeted by "wall" vendors selling you everything from water to beer to Great Wall T-shirts. After a few well placed "nos" or pointing to a friend and saying "he is looking for lots of hats," (thanks Charles for teaching me that technique), you were free to enjoy the amazing views and realize you were standing on one of the man made wonders of the world.

After our time on the wall our tour coordinator Kathy had set-up champagne and crackers to celebrate our accomplishment. The drink was well deserved and the snacks were demolished. We then loaded up on the bus and headed back to Beijing with an appropriate since of accomplishment.