Day 4 morning: The Great Wall

Today we take a bus to the Great Wall. But on the way (of course) a shopping opportunity! The Jade Market. Lots of very beautiful jewelry and artworks. I bought a necklace - agate not jade. It takes an experienced eye to know what is good jade (hint: the darkest green is usually NOT the best quality).

The Great Wall is in many sections. We went to the one closest to Beijing, called Juyongguan (I think that's right?). It was very crowded. Emily and some of the other kids (and Marian and Harry, others) went all the way to the pagoda at the top of the mountain. I did not. I went to the 2nd tower and then back down which was enough for my knees. It was pretty cool, though, to imagine all the people who have walked on those steps. The Great Wall covers about 4,000 miles, the world's longest human-made structure. It was begun in the 5th century but took many years and emperors to finish.

More about the Great Wall >>

Storytime: The long chain in the photo below is made up of padlocks. People come to the Great Wall to get married and they add a lock to the chain to ensure their marriage will be solid and never come apart.

On the way back to Beijing, we drove by the site for the 2008 Olympics. Massive construction going on. We saw in process the "birds nest" National Stadium building and the "bubble" swim building. Here are some pix I found on the web showing what it WILL look like when done.

More about 2008 Olympics>>