the Great Wall. the Ming Tomb of Wanli. the jade factory.

experiencing a bit of Chinese history.

(02 Oct 2013) Josie arranged a trip to the Great Wall for all of us (Josie, Maria, Wil, and me).  Despite it being planned in the middle of the Chinese National Holiday, the experience was one to remember forever.  

We all loaded onto a mini-bus along with about ten other English-speaking foreigners.  Our Chinese tour guide, Jennifer, was knowledgable and very...candid.  After her introduction to all of us, she said that she never recommends this tour during the National Holiday.  It was going to be overcrowded, and we would be sitting in traffic for hours.  By the time she finished speaking about our tour, reminding us that we all knew nothing about Chinese history through a barrage of trivia questions ... followed by, "Do you know this?  Oh, you do not know this.  I will tell you"... we were all a bit bewildered.  She then promptly collected our 210¥ fare.

Two hours of sitting on the highway passed by as we all napped, and we arrived at our first stop: the jade factory.  This place was very cool.  I now know how to test the material of a piece of jewelry to determine if it's glass, marble, or true jade.  After a short tour of watching workers making happiness balls out of a single piece of jade, we were set loose in the jade retail store, AKA a place for clueless, touristy suckers to decrease their hard-earned VISA credit card balances.  I didn't do too badly, leaving with a low-priced bracelet and roped necklace.  

Second stop: the Ming Tombs.  There are many Ming Tombs,on scattered around the outskirts of Beijing, but one of the most famous ones is the tomb of Emperor Wanli, the Dingling Tomb, constructed from 1584-1590.  The tombs are located about ten stories underground, and they are a series of huge rooms, all connected by hallways.  The emperor's tomb is the size of a small house.  Check out the picture of the Chinese people throwing money onto it, believing it brings good luck to them.

Other rooms included tombs of Wanli's two empresses, all of their thrones, and other relics.

Emerging from the underground series of hallways, we were on top of a mountain, approaching the tower.  The architectural details and scenery were beautiful.

Upon leaving, we walked through the Heavenly Gate, stepping over its threshold with the left foot first, while reciting a Chinese saying to ward off death.  It was educational.

Final stop: The Great Wall of China Mutianyu.  There's too much to type here, so in a nutshell: CONS: Drive to the top of the mountain took over an hour, and included getting out of the mini-bus, hiking up the mountain for 30 mintutes because of the traffic jam, then getting back into the mini-bus (which caught up to us) only to drive the remaining five minutes to our destination.  On the hike, had the WORST public bathroom experience of my entire life.  Lunch at the base of the Wall was terrible.  A money-sucking, touristy pseudo-village is required to walk through in order to get to the chair lift of the Wall.  PROS: The chair lift up to the Wall is spectacular.  The scenery from the top is breath-taking.  They sell Snickers bars on the Wall.  My descent from the Wall was on a tiny toboggan atop a stainless steel slide.  Awesome.  Finally, The Great Wall of China truly deserves to be one of the Wonders of the World.  

Enjoy the pics.