July 4th on the Great Wall of China

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  Beijing, China
Saturday, July 4, 2009

Today is the one I have been looking forward to. Today we visited the Great Wall of China. We drove from Beijing towards the great wall. We had to stop on the way to the Wall at a Jade factory. we read about this. The Government makes the drivers stop at the factory and they get 1 Yuan per passenger. After the Jade factory we were back on the road. The landscape changed now we were close to the Mountains. We saw parts of the wall from the bus. It was amazing to see how high the Mountains were and how steep the wall is. We were told once on the Wall go right if we wanted a gentle gradient walk or go left for the steep and more scenic walk. I went left. I stood on the wall and had goose bumps. It was incredible to stand there. Our group started off. The first set of steps were good. We all thought this will not be too bad. We were wrong. Parts of it we were nearly on our hands and knees. We had to stop not only to rest but to take photos the scenery was fantastic. Most pictures people see of the wall no one is on it. There were thousands of people. More on the other side the longer but gentle climb. As were walking there were merchants and artist trying to sell us things as we climbed. During the Olympics they were banned from the wall. Now the Olympics are over they are back.
At the top which was the fortress and yes I made it.People could go a little more but it came to a sign no entry. They are repairing because with all the visitors the wall gets damaged. There were more merchants at the top I caved and bought a plaque which says I climbed the Great Wall and it has my name engraved. I also bought water. It was a hazy day but hot especially for all the walking. I took a lot of photos and a video as I was walking. We stood at the top and looked out. The terrain was the biggest deterrent for the Mongolians invading China. It is amazing how this wall was built. Standing on it I can see how tens of thousands died building it over the centuries.
The climb down was also difficult because of the gradient. When we arrived at the bottom we went into the gift shop. They had tee shirts with I climbed the Great Wall for 80 Yuan which is about 12 USD I got the price down to 30 Yuan about 4.50 USD.
After the Wall we went to the Ming Tombs. There were 16 Ming Emperors and 13 have tombs in this one area. The first Ming Emperor is buried in Nanjing. It was fun to walk around and look in the tomb. We walked around the Chang Ling tomb.
It was a long day but it was so interesting. Tomorrow is the Forbidden City

Post your own travel photos for friends and family Pictures

On the Great Wall	Looking over the easy path	More Wall	My goal
Looking out at the top	The top	See how steep the wall is	Ming Tombs
Silk Burner	Statue of the Emperor	gate	Tomb
Me outside the Tomb	Me

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