Today we got up early to drive two hours north of downtown and climb the Great Wall of China. I made it pretty far up the wall, and then I came back and rode the toboggan slide down. I couldn’t go fast at all because the people in front of me were very, very overly cautious drivers. They stopped three or four times when there are signs all the way down that clearly say “no stopping” in both English and Chinese.
Climbing up the Great Wall was hard work, and towards the end of where I got to it was twice as intense as Yellow Mountain. As you walk along, you go up through signal towers and watch towers, and you can see the wall running along the ridge of the mountains away from you. It is quite impressive, actually.
Climbing up the Great Wall was hard work, and towards the end of where I got to it was twice as intense as Yellow Mountain. As you walk along, you go up through signal towers and watch towers, and you can see the wall running along the ridge of the mountains away from you. It is quite impressive, actually.
We came back down the wall and had a good lunch at a nearby restaurant before making the two and a half hour journey back to the city to see the Olympic sites. They weren’t very exciting, but it was cool to see and cool to know that you are at the location where it all happened. We got pictures by the Olympic rings and the wall of medal winners. We also got pictures of the torch and the Water Cube and the Bird’s Nest. The whole thing was actually quite boring, and the only souvenirs they were selling were little trinkets.
After the Olympic park we went to our long-awaited Peking Duck dinner. The duck was quite good, and we all enjoyed the rest of the meal as well. They even had terrible pancakes, which I was still ok with.
After dinner some of us went back to Silk Street where I bought a portable speaker and a Chinese fan. Then we all went back to the apartments where we began saying goodbye to our Chinese friends and drank a little before going to bed. We have to be out the door by noon tomorrow, so there will not be a whole lot of extra time once we wake up.
After dinner some of us went back to Silk Street where I bought a portable speaker and a Chinese fan. Then we all went back to the apartments where we began saying goodbye to our Chinese friends and drank a little before going to bed. We have to be out the door by noon tomorrow, so there will not be a whole lot of extra time once we wake up.