The Great Wall

 The Great Wall of China is a sight to behold, unless of course it's covered with tourists and surrounded by smog. On our third day in Beijing we went to the Mutianyu section of the wall and climbed for over two hours. By the time we reached the top our only company was a few brave athletic souls. Our guide/friend Edward is training for the equivalent of the US military PT test so he made quite the effort to run back and forth between different groups and take all the pictures we would ever want. Climbing up approximately 400 meters makes you really appreciate how good of shape the soldiers on the wall must have been. Having two people in the group with knee problems, myself included, places an extra focus on the physical demands that job would have had.

We have been very lucky with the smog. Being up high we were able to see how heavy the pollution was over Beijing. But even then, it just looked like we had picked a rather cloudy day to make our pilgrimage to the wall. Most of the days have been blue skies and easy breathing. We're beginning to believe it is over exaggerated or a flat out lie when people say that the air gives them an asthma attack or that they can't see the end of the street. We have a few days left, so I guess we'll see, but right now I don't hear anyone complaining.

Caroline
15 May 2014