Great Fricken Wall of China

Ascending the Great Wall in a Ski Lift.
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This morning after breakfast we were met by our tour guide, Lydia, and taken along with a group of 7 seven others to the Great Wall of China.  The tour group was made up of an eclectic group or world travelers.  Elaine and her daughter Amy from Ireland, Hammad and his father from Pakistan, Philipe and his wife from France and, Echo from Japan.

Our tour guide was well steeped in Chinese culture and gave an very facinating oral history of the country. From the days of the  Yellow Emperor to present day.  She doesn't have a strong pleasure in the gov't because her family is from the farmland and do not receive the gov't assistance that the city dwellers do.  Wild huh.

We were on the Fricken Wall of China.

Descending in a tobaggan. That's Corey.
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We arrived at the Great Wall and I couldn't hardly believe it.  To reach the top, instead of climbing our way up, we took a cable car (ski lift) up.  I was okay as long as I didn't look down and as long as Corey and Kenton didn't keep mentioning my fear of heights.  Bennett shaking the lift didn't help me much either.  But hey, the view was spectacular.  We were taken over the canopy of the lower levels and saw the rugged terrain.  Many times we imagined what it might have been like to be a part of the builders of this wall.  When we reached the top we were given 1 1/2 hours to walk and climb around.  But we were totally into it.  After all, we were on the Fricken Wall of China.  Can you believe it!@!!.  We walked to the left and made our way to the end of the portion that has been preserved for the toursits.  It wasn't very crowded.  Amazing to note...we may have been way out on the Wall of China, but we ran into so many Americans.

Distant view of the hazy Great Wall.
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Speaking of which, we met two guys from our area.  They were climbing their way up to the top with Beer in their hands.  Classic.

The day was very hot and humid.  The stairs were very steep and required a great deal of stamina and strength in your legs to make the climb.  I can admit that by the end of the walking and climbing, my legs were shaking!  We climbed up ladders, down ladders, up steep staircases, down steep stair cases.   Looking across the mountains we could see the reminents of the old watch towers.  Now, if any of you have seen the cartoon Mulan.  Think of the part where they light the towers to inform the emperior of the approach of the Mongols.  This is what these towers were like.  So amazing.

A sign describing the part of the Great Wall we visited.
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As our time approached we had to walk back to meet our tour group.  So for a treat we chose to take the tobaggans down from the wall back to the main area.  What fun.  We sped down in small tobaggans, took big curves and slopes.  It challenged my comfort zone, but with Bennett on my butt telling me to speed up I had too.  It was like the way you feel when you are in the fast lane on the freeway and there is a fast car behind you, you fell the pressure to speed up...(well I do at least).  That is how I felt.  The line behind Bennett didn't help either.  I think I caused a traffic jam on the luge.

More of the Great Wall.
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We ended this day with a trip to the silk factory and an Beijing Acrobatic show.