Hi from Beijing,
Just heard my mom fell and broke her hip...came out of surgery ok...but sure is hard not to be with her. Thank goodness my family is tight and have kept me informed and are surrounding her with their love & support...and giving her mine! Also just heard a tornado hit Dexter so anxious to find out more... Here in Beijing, the weather is cool, dry with smog in the city but once we left the city...beautiful blue skies...and the spectacular Great Wall!
Great Wall
Until you have seen the depth of Grand Canyon...you don't know deep and until you have seen the Great Wall...you don't know long. After climbing up to get on the wall, you look out and as far as you can see in both directions...there is more wall. And all around the wall, vast mountains fill the view...we were so fortunate to walk the wall on a day that the sun shone in a sparkling, clear sky...and in a place where we only saw about 30 other tourist!! We passed up the usual tourist site, went the extra 1 1/2 hour drive to reach Jingshanling. There many sections of the wall were the original bricks...difficult to walk but wondrous. We couldn't help but stop often just to soak up the view and take yet another picture...and rest as we had to climb up & down countless steps...some of which were crumbling...some gigantic. The guard towers crowned the crest of the mountains and some were two stories high giving you an awesome view...and another picture. A bit of history: the first section of the wall was built in 221 BC and the last section about 2000 years later. Small sections were built at various times and finally all connected making it 5000km long. Rebuilding actually started around 1600 AD. In spite of all the effort, expense & time...it failed to keep out the Mongols under Genghis Khan.
Attacking Mongols
We too, were attacked by the mongols! As we made our way up to the wall, two older ladies joined us, telling us they were local mongolians farmers and started asking us questions like: where are you from? (America is wonderful) how many children? (You are so fortunate and rich) how many grandchildren (You like us...we grandmas too) how old are you? (you look only 40...later others would say we looked only 30)...etc. Finally, we told them we didn't want a guide...No No they said, we are not guides...but kept pointing out this & that. When we got firm...then they tried selling us souvenirs from their backpacks...then drinks. After we said firming (but with a smile) MaoMao (No No)...they finally left. But others--all saying they were local mongolian farmers & asking the same questions & selling the same ware-- were waiting at several of the guard towers. We did feel bad that they had climbed so far...and there were so few to buy from them but...
Climbing Down
As is so often the case in China, the way up was very showy...but the way down was a dirt trail that was hardly marked & littered.
Tunnels
Almost as incredible as building the Great Wall, was building the tunnel right under the same mountains. By car, it took us about 5 minutes to go through.
Man on Train to Beijing (by Roger)
We were delivered to the railway station by the owner of our hotel to catch the 9:48 train that would pass through Ping Yao on its way to Beijing. As we were searching for our spot on the sleeper to Beijing, a man asked if we needed some help. He spoke English very well and seemed truly interested in speaking with us. We found out that he was retired from working in public health and was traveling with some of his family to Beijing. His berth was near to ours so when we woke up the next morning he sat near us and asked many questions. He was especially interested in Native Americans and what their lives were like now in America. In China their are many ethnic groups and the country seems to celebrate the differences in culture that together make up the country. He also was interested in the leprosy villages that we visited. He had taught himself to speak Esperanto (an international language that was intended to be used the way that English is now used as an international business language). He asked about the prices of many things in the U.S.-Cars, houses, food, etc. He thought that housing was too expensive in China and Mcdonald's food is not healthy and also too expensive. He was very grateful to Americans who had helped him when he got lost while in Atlanta, Ga. while attending Emery University. The people made sure he found his way back even though they had to go far out of their way to help him. When he returned to China he wrote an article about his experience and sent it to the radio station. To his surprise, they broadcast it. He was sincerely grateful and was anxious to help us in return for the help that he had received.
He also spoke about the drought in China and how the north of China is also too dry (almost no snow this year). He told us about Buddhist monks that are recruited to "work" as monks but only play the role for 8 hours a day, then spend the rest of their time in secular life (while visiting the Lama Temple in Beijing we saw monks slipping cell phones from under their robes-maybe a little distraction from their prayers?)
Christian on train to Beijing (by Roger)
A young Chinese girl in the berth below Jane told us that she is a Christian and then she started explaining Christian beliefs to our new friend. Her bag was printed in Chinese with the name of her business, Gospel Photography. She told us that it is now possible to buy a Bible in China. Apparently it is becoming more acceptable to express individual beliefs but not always advisable!
