Our day at the Great Wall and Ming Tombs

Not much to say about the Great Wall. Nixon first called it The Great Wall on a visit to China. Until then, China didn't do much to advertise it. At least, that's what our enrichment speaker had told us.

There are more than several good spots in the Beijing area to visit and climb some of the wall. The last time I was here, I think we were at the Badaling section. This time we were at the Younggyuen section. The climbing here was steeper by far. Last time there was no snow. Today, well, more snow. But at least it was sunny and pretty clear skies. There were some smaller temples around the wall, including a temple dedicated to the horse gods, so that horses could be strong to carry the soldiers who guarded the wall from invaders. While there, I found myself face to face with a cute orange tabby. I think it's a sign....

After the Wall we went to - you guessed it - lunch! More family style, more beer. It was delish. Since we were outside Beijing we had to go to a tourist restaurant so part of that included a walk through a jade factory and store. It was pretty nice.

After lunch we visited the Ming Tombs. Built during the Ming dynasty, the emperor wanted a place to be buried, etc. so he could move the capital to Beijing. The Ming Tombs were built before the Forbidden Palace and are over 600 years old.

A nice day.