Tombs & The Great Wall

You know how you plan things and then they just don't go quite like you planned? Hmm...today was one of those days. You might say it was when I turned lemons into lemonade. Knowing I had just a few days left in China I booked an English speaking guide, a car and a driver to take me to the Mutianyu section of The Great Wall and to the Ming Tombs. I have never been to this section of the wall and I have not been to the tombs since 1988. I was so excited to go!

Heading to the lobby I noticed the pouring rain outside. I ran back up to the room and grabbed my gloves in case it was cooler than yesterday. My guide showed up and we got in the car. She is a sweet little thing name Lotus, the driver was Mr. Wang. As we began the winding, curving mountain road I began feeling a wee bit carsick. It was probably 'good' that I had not had any breakfast.

Soon the car windows became fogged and honestly, you could not see more than half a car length in front of you. Mr. Wang did an awesome job missing bicyclists and the rocks that were sliding down the mountain sides into the road. The rain, the cool air and the mist that was rising from the pavement made for a beautiful 'other worldly' experience. Lotus looked back at me and said, "In all my years of guiding, I have NEVER climbed the Wall in the rain." She looked a bit frightened.

I told her that we did not need to push it simply because I booked the tour. We would take what we could. The rain continued and it got harder and harder to see. We arrived at the Wall and opted to take the gondola (Thank you Jesus) to Guard Tower 14. The steps were steep in parts, shallow in parts, but slippery in ALL parts.

It was cool. I imagined I was in the Qing/Ming Dynasties and warding off Mongolian invaders. The atmosphere was incredible and the tourist level was almost non-existent. Lotus explained to me that each guard tower was built to reflect the manner of buildings that were predominant in each guards home territory. Since the guards moved there to defend the tower the Emperor wanted them to feel at home.

Also, is an enclosed picture of a small arrow shooting window It shows how the inner and outer window were at different levels so that the attacker could not see the face of the archer. It is really cool. I wanted to gaze down the Wall and see it winding and stretching off into skyline but I was lucky just to see the next guard tower. I was a bit disappointed, but I was in the rain - in the mist - in China - on the Great Wall. How could any of that be disappointing?

We finally left the Wall (oh, after I tumbled down a 20" step). It was the last of about 10. They were SO steep and so slippery. My foot just twisted and thank God I was on the last step. All I could think about is those poor Chinese guys who would have to haul my big American body up 300 steps to transport me if I had broken my ankle!

We decided to have lunch next. We pulled up to this rather large greenhouse. I thought it quite odd, until we walked in! It is a little Oasis of green in the middle of nowhere. I had a lovely lunch, saddened that even in 2010 the tour guide and driver are not allowed to eat with me. The staff was very attentive and were some of the cutest teenagers I have ever seen. We left the restaurant and headed to a Jade Factory tour. It was interesting to hear about the different varieties of jade and I finally bit the bullet and bought the most beautiful jade bangle.

In china it is still tradition to give a bangle on the wedding day rather than a ring. The bangle is round and also represents eternal love. Jade is considered a living stone and the deposits in it will continue to blossom over the years. Mine has a small pocket of lavender (very light lavender - almost clear) and a couple of veins of darker jade that will bloom more in the yars to come. It is simply exquisite. Chinese tradition says to wear the bangle on the left arm. they believe jade is good for the body and the left arm is near the heart s they believe it is of benefit to wear it.

Arriving at the Ming Tombs we walked in the rain some more. By now my leather gloves were becoming quite wet and I was wondering why I was having water drip on my head even under the umbrella. Must have had something to do with the hole it the top? That's the last time I buy a $1.25 umbrella!

We went to the only tomb that has been opened. It is the tomb of Ding Ling (thought you'd all like that). It is nothing I remember from when I went in '88, except the inside of the tomb. The grounds were beautiful and so eerie. Eerie, in the coolest way. You will see the photo of the Diamond Gate which is the gate they found to enter the tomb back in '58. Sadly, during the cultural revolution of '66-'76 the protestors filed in and destroyed the tombs. They said that this represented the Feudal system and they were now the 'free' system so the blatantly destroyed thousans of years of relics.

Also, I learned that the the walls of the tombs along with the Great Wall were fused together with sticky rice and egg whites since cement had not been invented. There are sections preserved where you can see the rice. It is awesome. I have also attached a photo of one of several trees on the grounds at the tombs. It is called the Dragons Claw. It is really unusual and you can almost imagine a huge dragon claw when you look at it.

Coming home traffic was so thick it took 2 hours to go 35 miles. It afforded me time to talk to Lotus though and was worth every minute. She even came inside my hotel when i got back and bargained with them to allow me to stay in my room until 5pm on Friday since my flight is not until 9pm. Maybe I can sleep and get rested for that long flight home.

When we were in Prague 2 years ago I had a day planned to take my family to Wenceles Castle. I thought it would be splendid in the bright warm sunlight. It was pouring rain! As I apologized to my boys Dalton looked at me and said, "Look up mom." The gargoyles on the castle roof were spewing water at a rapid rate. It was incredible to see each figure and animal doing the job it was placed there for. He said, "If it had been sunny we would have missed this. This is more than I hoped for." Today was like that. The rain never stopped. There was an eternal mist and fog that blanketed every thing we saw. It felt surreal and transported me to ancient China. I thought of Dalton's comments, and like him, I felt this was more than I could have hoped for.