The Great Wall

We left our hotel Friday morning in the rain to travel 1.5 hours by bus to The Great Wall.  Our tour group was made up of 3 other families;

• Eric, Kathy, Bonnie (Kathy's mother, who has relatives in Pheba, MS!), and their 3 bio children; Julianna, Lawson and Preston
• Kevin, Lynette, and Eileen (Lynette's mother)
• Dave and Lori (left their 3 bio tween girls home)

Jerry, our guide for Friday and Saturday, told us so much about Chinese history and culture on the way there.  I see now why one of the recommended items to bring was an audio recorder; wish I had listened. 

Jerry is the first generation in his family to fall under the 1 child rule.  He told us that since his girlfriend is also an only child, that when they marry they will be allowed to have 2 children.  He also explained about the different ethnic groups.  He is of the majority (Han), which comprises 90% of the population.  Our driver represented one of the ethnic minorities.  If I understood correctly, the ethnic minorities are descendants of former emperors (prior to Han dynasty).  You could definitely tell a difference in their physical characteristics as well as a man we met later in the day (more to come on him).

When we arrived at The Great Wall, Jerry explained that there was the flat path and the climbing path.  I immediately said, "I want to go UP!" 

We were glad to see it was not raining when we arrived, but it was very foggy/misty.  Before turning us loose, he cautioned us many times to be careful.  Doug, Dave, Lori and I started the trek up, and we quickly realized why.  The surface of the stones was very uneven from settling.  But the worst part was the inconsistency of the height of the steps.  No joke, the height varied from 2 inches to 2 feet.  You would be climbing along and be taking tiny step, normal step, normal step, BIG step, etc.  The closer we got to the topmost building (yep, we climbed all the way to the one you can see at the very top), the more you could feel the change in atmosphere.  We huffed and puffed and sweated through our clothes.  But it was awesome. 

One thing we noticed was the insanity of the shoes the Chinese women wore.  There were women climbing in heels.  It was tricky enough in tennis shoes!

 I was actually a tiny bit disappointed, but I think it was because I was expecting to be able to get a panoramic view of the wall stretching for many, many miles.  The mist made it hard to see very far off.  However, it was worth arriving a day early for this experience.

Next up, the jade factory...