Friday, October 14, 2011 - Beijing area
We started the day with an early breakfast, and boarded the bus under blue skies. Mr. Niu, our driver, transported us through the city and into the countryside to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. Our guide, Richard, shared much interesting historical information about the construction of the wall, and the economic situation of the early times when the Wall was built. We also had the privilege of the company of Yelin, the travel agent who arranged our tour.
When we arrived at Mutianyu, our work was cut out for us - lots of uphill walking just to reach the bottom of the gondola lift up to the wall itself. We had to run the gauntlet of aggressive vendors selling T-shirts, postcards, and all manner of goods to the gullible tourists. A short gondola ride took us up to the wall and many of us walked for 30-45 minutes from tower to tower. Adele, Ron, and Joyce won the race to the furthest tower, but we all shared in the "pinch me" moment of actually being on the Wall. Lots of school students and tourists from all over the world were enjoying the fine weather as well.
An excellent lunch in a "farmer's restaurant" awaited us after descending the Wall, and surrounded by a jungle of potted plants we savoured spicy fish, vegetable dishes, sweet and sour chicken, pork and vegetables, rice, and fresh fruit for dessert. I think we counted 11 different dishes to be shared. Best of all was a Western toilet!
At 2 pm we arrived at the village school, which we had expected to be a small country school. However, it turned out to be a residential school for about 400 kids, grades 1-6 which was built only 2 years ago. It seemed to be a demonstration school, with the latest in technology. It was also the cleanest school any of us had ever seen! We were greeted by the director and a grade 5 English class. Their young teacher put them through their paces, and for the last 20 minutes of the class, we shared information about Grand Manan, introduced to them the song "This Land is Your Land", and answered a few of their questions. Yelin explained that in the past few years the central government has put much more emphasis on education in rural areas, and thus the investment in the children of the Mutianyu area.
The day ended with a huge dinner of Peking Duck, the traditional Beijing treat. Sixteen dishes were on the table tonight, in addition to the duck, which we saw sliced at the table. Because the restaurant was close by our hotel, we walked there and back, which was a good thing based on the amount of food we consumed! Here are some photos of our day.
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| New buildings in downtown Beijing |
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| Martha and Anneke board the gondola up to the Great Wall |
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| The group minus Wendy.....she was there, just not in the photo |
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| Joyce, Ann, Ce, and Elaine enjoy lunch at the Farmer's Restaurant, Mutianyu |
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| Wendy climbs the virtual wall |
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| Classroom at Mutianyu |
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| Explaining what a lighthouse is |
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