The Great Wall......

I can now say I have seen 1 of the 7 Wonders of the World!!  We climbed the Great Wall today.  It was pretty amazing, tiring, but amazing.  

 We made it to the building on the far right at the top of the above picture.  

When we started we were really cold, but after all the climbing we were sweating!  Don't worry I laughed at Mike and his choice of hats.  Our guide, Sylvia said "Now you look like tourists!"  (LOL)

 Trying to show just how steep it was!

 This man is 85 years old and climbing the wall with his cane!!  I was breathing harder than him!  He asked to take a picture with me, so I had to get one too!

 The above picture is of the mountains looking toward the city of Beijing, taken from the building on the left in the picture below.  Amazing the difference in air quality, huh......

No comment on the picture above........

 We couldn't pass up a picture of the orange high heels at The Great Wall.  She was climbed stairs in those things.....LOL!

 These locks are hung by couples in love. No we didn't pay the money to hang one up, we're too cheap....:-)

 This sign above says,

 "If you haven't climbed the Great Wall, you are not a real hero."

 And this my friends is a squatty potty, seen in most public restrooms..... Sylvia told me to use the handicap bathrooms because they have the "western" style toilets......

After the Great Wall we went to the Jade Factory.  It was really interesting to learn about how the Jade is carved and all the different types of Jade there are.We had our first authentic Chinese meal there for lunch.  

 This lady was polishing the jade with leather, after it had been cut by a diamond cutter drill.  These skills are passed down from generation to generation, they cannot be learned in a school or on the job.

 This is the jade prior to the polishing.

The chain above was carved from one piece of jade. 

   

These balls have smaller balls inside of them, again all from one piece of jade. They signify a "Happy Family".  There is a phoenix, which represent the wife and a dragon which represent the husband carved on the outer ball.

 

I had to rub the $16,000 Buddha belly!

 Our first authentic Chinese meal.


 Last, we went to the Summer Palace.  This is the palace that was built during the Ting dynasty for them to go to during the summer months.  They were too hot and needed a cooler place to reside during the hotter months of the year.  It was beautiful.  The Chinese try to keep everything in it's original form, so the buildings have not been repainted or changed in any way. 

 Boats you can ride on the lake in the warmer months, when it's not frozen with ice.

This is the entrance to the courtyard.  The second to last Emperor was held in this courtyard by his mother, the Empress who was not happy with her son.  He was disobeying in how she felt he needed to lead, so she held him captive in the courtyard.  He had one room that he lived in and the other rooms that he had had access to were walled off by brick, so he could not enter them. 

This is the brick wall behind the door, it has been left untouched.

 

Such beautiful art detail.

 The picture above is of the living room in the courtyard.

 

 The red door behind the tree is the room the Emperor was confined to.  Below it is the red doors to the left.  We could not see inside, the windows were covered.

 

 

This arch was what told the boats where to go.

The next few pictures below are of the temple the Empress had built to worship in.

 Even the stone in the walkways had so much detail.

 This boat is marble, it represents the Emperor and the lake it is in represents the common people.  
  

The dragon boats above are also available to ride in, when the lake is not frozen......

These pictures below are pictures I took while driving through Beijing.

 The trees have lime on the bottom of them to kill the worms that want to eat the flower and leaves from the trees.

 I had to show the smog.  It is unbelievable. 

 See how blue the sky is, then the haze of pollution.

 This is our hotel.

Only 2 more sleeps before we get our baby girl!!!  Only 2 more sleeps of her not being tucked in and kissed good night.  Only 2 more sleeps of her not knowing what unconditional love. 
  Sylvia was telling us today that she spoke with the orphanage and they should be at our hotel in Jinan about 3 pm Sunday afternoon!!!  When she said she "spoke with the orphanage"  I got so excited..... She actually talked to someone who has my baby.  For some reason that was so special to me.  Everything has been done on paper or through a person, through an agency, through another person.  But now Sylvia spoke with the actual orphanage......it's the little things people, when your child is on the other side of the world....
More tomorrow, we have a very busy day.  We will go to the Forbidden City, Tianamen Sqaure, the Silk Factory, we get to go on a rickshaw tour through the historical town of Hutong, and then an acrobat show tomorrow night.  Sylvia said the acrobats in Beijing are the best in all of China because the best from all over China come to Beijing to work.   
Good night!