The Great Wall- Beijing

So, this one time I went to China...oh yeah, and I saw the Great Wall. It was SO cool! This was probably my favorite site that we've visited so far!

Driving up to get on the Great Wall.

A random camel at the base of the Great Wall. I got yelled at for taking this picture. oops.

It was really steep! Notice the scary stone bird.

Josh inside a tower pretending to be a ninja.

View from one of the towers.

Me!

I think these locks were for people that had died. I would tell you for sure, but I couldn't read the Chinese signs that they have around them.

I know I look like I'm in a photo studio, but I'm actually on the Great Wall.

We went on the national holiday so it was a little crowded. Yes, I climbed these steep stairs while pushing my way through the crowd. It made for an interesting experience.

"If you have or brain disease, please ascend the great wall according to your capability." If I don't understand what this means, does that mean I have a brain disease? Can I still ascend the Great Wall?

Okay, I took this picture to show how steep it was but the picture doesn't do it justice! So, next time you're in China, climb the Great Wall and you'll know.

Me on the Great Wall/pretending to take a picture so I can catch my breath.

The entrance to the Great Wall.

Angela climbing behind me. Some of these stairs were as tall as our hips.

Me.

This little kid had his hair cut into a smiley face on the back of his head. haha! I wish I could have taken the picture faster to show you.

Jade Factory-Beijing

As part of our tour, we went to the jade factory. It was really cool! We saw people carving the jade into these awesome figures. For those of you that don't know much about jade, you're not alone. I didn't know much about it before I went here. It is a certain kind of stone that is considered the imperial gem of China. Buying jade for someone would be like buying diamonds in the United States.

This is a family ball. It has a ball inside of a ball inside of a ball inside of a ball. You can reach in and touch the inner balls. It's so cool because it was all carved out of one stone! The different layers of balls represent the generations of the family. It has a dragon and a phoenix on it and it symbolizes everlasting love.

This is a cool dragon carved out of jade.

Natalie loved the Buddha jade statue. If you rub his belly, you'll have good luck!

More cool jade statues.

A sign that I found. OK! I'll put my trash in the basket!

A note on the bathroom stall. Hello, my friend. haha!

Summer Palace- Beijing

While we were in Beijing, we went to the Summer Palace. This is where the emperor's wife would spend the summers. It was huge! She had a huge palace and a huge man made lake. The whole palace was over 300 acres.

Me in front of the entrance to the squatters.

One of the shops in the grounds of the Summer Palace.

The queen's boat made of marble that looks over part of the lake.

Me in front of the boat and part of the lake. Note: this part of the lake that you can see is only a small portion of the lake.

The queen's palace on the hill looking over the lake.

Another portion of her palace.

Natalie, me and Jessica on the boat ride to the other side of the lake.

Another view of this huge man made lake.

Our tour guide

We found a Chinese band playing near this pavilion.

Yet another portion of the lake.

Me and the back of Josh's head on the bridge over part of the lake.

Me in front of the queen's palace.

Train Ride to Beijing

The best part about trains is the kids. This particular ride was really interesting. A little girl (Grace) and a little boy (Simon) were near us the whole time. Grace became very comfortable with me. She was with me the entire train ride. I was her personal recliner for the ride as well as her playmate.

She loved writing and having me write English words. At one point, she had 14 pieces of paper with English words written on them. She would bring them to me and have me read them over and over again.
She spent about half of the ride on my lap.

Me and Simon

Grace climbing up onto my lap.

Perfect picture of how I felt toward the end of the ride.

Me and Grace

Making funny faces

...and another one

I loved how I told her to make a funny face and she pulled her eyes back even though she is already Chinese. haha!

Grace at the end of the ride. As we were walking out of the train station, she ran up to me and held my hand as we walked out. When we finally walked through the gate to leave, I couldn't see her mom and I thought I would have to take her home with me. Then, her mom came running up and took her away. Grace, I will miss you and your crazy ways.

Our train station in Beijing