The second day began with Eryl and I getting up early, which was difficult for Eryl given her two hours of sleep, and meeting our tour downstairs. We were very fortunate in that there was us, our guide, driver, and a gentleman, Darryl from South Africa.
The driver took us out to the Ming Tomb in the mountains that surround Beijing. There were 13 other tombs in the area, one of which could be seen up on the mountain, that have not been excavated yet. Only this one, from the 1400's was opened after it was first discovered in 1952.
The area of each tomb is a number of acres, with temples and gates denoting the existence of the underground tomb.
It was interesting the trees growing out of the walls surrounding the tomb. Even though man had built a wall that lasted for centuries, nature could still destroy it, if it wanted.
There was a large tunnel with many stairs that took us to the underground tomb where the Emperor's throne was located, along with one for each of the two Empresses buried along side. That is money thrown on to the throne by the tourists, in case his bank account is overdrawn.
We learned that only emperors were allowed to us the dragon's likeness, and they were everywhere.
After the tomb, we went for lunch to a local restaurant and had the usual meal of vegetables and chicken something - I learned long ago that it's best not to ask - and beer. Very good!
Jumping back in the van, we finally made it to the Great Wall at Mutianyu, which we found was much better than the other section of wall that we were at before. In order to get to the wall, we had to take a very ancient ski lift to get up to the wall on the top of the mountain.
Eryl really enjoyed herself!
Underneath was the toboggan run from the lift - more to come on that later. How else would you get down off a mountain?
You could see the wall off in the distance at the top of the mountain.
When we got off, we decided to go to the end of the section of the wall that can be see behind us. Unfortunately, once you get to the top and you think you are done, there is one more guard tower over the crest. Trust me, that's the last thing you want to see.
And so we began.
The wall looked very daunting off in the distance. We decided that we would try to make it to the end, and we did. Even if it almost killed us in the 35 degree heat.
We went as far as we were allowed to go, you could see more of the wall through the smog that has yet to be restored. The trees that growing out of the steps of the wall and causing it to crumble could be seen as well.
The proud trekker at the end of the journey. You can see the remainder of the unrestored portion of the wall off in the distance.
I took out my camera and took a few pictures of the last guard house. There was an upstairs where the guards lived.
The wall is visible as far as the eye can see . . . or the smog will allow, whichever comes first.
Some Chinese graffiti. I hope it doesn't spell anything bad.
On our decent, we could hear giggles and screams off in the distance and sure enough, there was a gaggle of young girls on a field trip. They were hilarious. As they went by, they all began a chorus of "Hello" and "How are you?". I guess any opportunity to practise English should not be passed over. They reminded me so much of my own girls with all the pink, sparkly bits adorning them.
Two hot chicks with no were to go . . . literally. We were almost at the end and I was very happy to stop for a picture. The picture is not close enough to show the sweat and red faces. It was brutal.
Looking back at the wall.
Then the best part - going down. The toboggan was terrific. Eryl wasn't keen at first, but very soon got into it and even began to yell at the poor young woman in front of her because she was going too slow! And she was because I could take out my camera, take a picture, and put my camera back in my bag, all while driving my toboggan.
When we got back to the hotel, we were exhausted. After bathing, we skipped dinner and went to bed very early instead. End of Day 2.
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