The Great Wall of China

I mentioned in my previous entry that we visited the Great Wall yesterday. I think it was definitely the children's favorite activity thus far. The last time we were in China Bill and I visited the Wall at Badaling. It was close to the city and beautiful. This trip we went further out to Mutianyu. It is very mountainous in this region and the Wall perfectly follows the countour of the mountain making it appear like a snake winding its way up and down the slope.

We drove up to a base area and then had to walk up to the cable car that would take us to the top. The walk was lined with vendors selling t-shirts and hats and all kinds of Chinese paraphenalia - chopsticks and jade and silk clothing. I can't imagine people buying it there as you have to imagine the prices are greatly inflated. Our guide advised that if there was anything we did want to but there we should pay in exact change as we could not be sure that what we were getting back was not couterfeit. That did happen to us somewhere last trip and we did not realize it until we tried to use the counterfeit money in a subsequent purchase. Luckily it was a smallish bill, maybe 30 RMB, which is less than 5 dollars US. The children were fascinated and wanted to buy everything they saw.

When we arrived at the top of the wall Mac got a bit spoked by the steep downward angle of the top fo the wall and despite it being 10 feet wide with side walls about 3 feet high he hung on to Bill tightly. But then at a flat part that was only 3 feet wide with nothing between him and a 10 foot drop he just walked across unconcerned. So odd. Liam saw Mac acting spooked and claimed fear as well. I took each of them to the edge of the wall and had them peer over. They were able to see that while looking out across the valley it seemed as if they were high in the air, from the top of the tower to the ground it stood on was only 12-5 feet. After that they were fine. They began running along the wall from fort to fort as they called them. The guard towers ofter a great break from the heat as they are out of the sun and their thick walls keep the keep the heat from really penetrating. Some have multiple rooms with corridors connecting them. All three children had great fun in these.

Devlin has taken a great liking to our guide Wendy. All of the people in service roles in Beijing have adopted western names. Some of them fit, but some are quite funny. Devlin often finds a girl in her teens or just a bit older and latches on to her, but this has gone even further - she wants to sit with Wendy and hold her hand when we are walking.

Our driver has taken quite a shine to Devlin. He always helps her in and out of the van, something she is quite capable of doing on her own. He always has a smile for her. I have noticed this among a number of Chinese men of a certain age. They watch her with an amused and somewhat wistful smile. I wonder if they are thinking of other little girls they have known.