Day 11 - Beijing

Goodness gracious great wall of China day!  The day I've been waiting for the entire trip!

However before we got started this morning we went to visit a jade factory. I really wanted to get a pair of earrings but at the factory they were charging $200! Thank goodness we waited and got a better deal at the jade market in Hong Kong!  What I didn't know was that jade is the 2nd hardest stone behind diamonds.  Also apparently the highest quality of jade will change color over time with wear due to the oils in your skin. This ship is made out of one piece of jade.  It is about 6 feet tall and cost over $100,000.

Finally it was time to go to the great wall.  It was so breathtaking and awe inspiring to see this wall run up and down the coutryside.

 

 

Here is a group of us at the start of our hike.

 Darren was a champ and hiked as far up the mountain as you could see from the parking lot.  I had the camera but hopefully I get some pictures from the people he was with eventually. You can see him in the window here.

On the way down with Bill.

It's so hard to imagine them building something so labor intensive without any moder tools or any machinary.  Apparently when it was built, one out of every five citizens of China helped to build the wall.

Afterwards we went to the Ming tombs which house a total of 13 of the 16 Ming emperors.  Chang Lings tomb is the most impressive on the grounds and the one we saw.  It was the grandest and every emporor after him had to have a smaller and smaller tomb.

 

We also walked down spirit way.  It was the route the coffin was brought to the tombs.  It was guarded by 36 soldiers, animals and mytical beasts.

Our last stop that day was to do a drive by close to the Bird's nest and the watercube.  The structures were incredibly impressive in real life.

 

 

That night was sad since it was our farewell dinner but we did have a toast to Harry and Cas who were celebrating their 50th anniversary.  Harry surposed Cass with a cake from the bakery.