The Ming Tombs and the Great Wall of China

On our last day of touring we headed out of Beijing to see the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall. First stop of the day was the jade factory. We had the opportunity to see how jade was cut and polished. Jade has special significance in China. Jade stands for beauty, grace and purity, it has been used in many Chinese idioms or phrases to denote beautiful things or people. The Chinese saying goes "Gold has a value; jade is invaluable." We bought Paige a beautiful jade bracelet and me a pair of earrings and pendant. Dad bought a jade ring that was quite nice.

The Ming Tombs are located 25 miles northwest of Beijing. In 1404 the third Ming emperor Yongle searched for a place for his tomb. He chose Shisanling Valley due to its perfect fengshui. Eleven of his successors are buried there also. Mostly you see just mounds of dirt and densely forested that depict the tombs. In 1954 the tomb of Yongle was excavated and many beautiful things including headdresses, bronze articles, weapons and the emperor himself. Unfortunately during the Cultural Revolution the Red Guard set fire to the body and destroyed it. The other artifacts do remain and are housed in a museum on the site. We also strolled along the Sacred Way, which marks the beginning of the way to the tombs. It is lined with statues of elephants, horses and mythical beasts carved in stone in the 15th century. Amazing.

On the way to the wall we stopped at a Cloisonné factory. It was interesting to see how they hand shape the piece out of copper and then hand glue on the copper filigree. We watched the young girls (you need to have excellent eye sight) add the color to the pieces and then fire the pieces in a kiln. The coloring and firing will be repeated 5 to 6 times before the piece is complete. After the final firing the pieces are polished to give them their beautiful finish. We ate lunch at the factory and then did some shopping. There were so many beautiful things. We showed restraint and purchased a ring for Paige and a Christmas ornament.

Pictures of the Great Wall simply don’t do it justice. No picture can depict how immense and steep this man made wonder is. We had a beautiful day. It was bright and very sunny (and hot). The group proceeded up to the wall and the first thing we did was take a group picture. The right side of the wall was less steep than the left side so most of us went up the right. A couple of folks went to the top where for a few Yuan you could purchase a book and stamp it for you. We did a bit of shopping – a kite for Bryer and two Olympic t-shirts. Two because one was a knock-off before we found the real thing!

We returned to the hotel to change and then go to a special Peking duck farewell dinner. Apparently this is a pretty famous place as there are pictures of politicians and dignitaries on the wall. The chef came out and carved the duck. Then a waitress came to each of the tables and showed us how the duck is eaten. Basically you take a small tortilla type pancake, dip the duck in brown sauce and put it on the tortilla with some scallions, then roll it up and eat it. Most everyone thought it was pretty good.

The night ended with folks talking about their favorite place to see.
Everyone had a different experience or thought about what was the best site to see.