Day 1: Beijing, China

After a 14 hour flight from Detroit to Beijing and a good sleep, I am ready to begin my first day in China. My world has gotten immeasurably smaller by arriving in a country that was once closed to Americans until the Nixon administration and previously only a news article. Today was a day to be a tourist. Using a tour, suggested by my hotel, I set off early in the morning. The first stop was the Ming Tomb. The tomb is north of Beijing and looks back on the city. It is directly in line with the forbidden city and Tienneman Square. The good king Judea is burrows with his wife in what looks like a Hugh mountain of earth now covered by trees. The many buildings are Hugh and depict the traditional Chinese architecture. The main building contains a statue to the king. The wall surrounding the entry into the tomb is built with bricks. The builder was required to place his name in the bricks so that future rulers would know who was responsible for the brick work should the brick work fail to hold up over time. If the brick work did not hold up, the the brick layer was killed. That is certainly one way to guarantee quality. From the tomb we made our way to lunch at a factory that makes pots with enamel artwork. Prior to our stop for lunch we stopped at the government jade shops. There I learned that the best quality of Jade is the darker green Jade. I also learned that Jadite is the best type of Jade for jewelry because it is hardest. I also learned how to tell fake Jade from real Jade, simply by the sound. Better quality jade has a bit of foggy look to it when you hold it up to the light. Fake jade will be clearer more like glasses. I learned how to tell the difference between A level jade which is the best and B level of jade which is good. A level jade will have a higher pitch to it when you tape it with another piece of jade. I learned much about jade and now have a better appreciation for its importance to China. While waiting dot lunch we had a tour of the process used to make the enamel pottery so common in China. The hand work used to to made a clay pot to a piece of beautiful artwork is time consuming and detailed. However the craftsmanship is truly beautiful. After lunch we went to the Badalin section of the Great Wall. We took a sky ride to the top section which is 1000 meters above sea level. The climb to the top look out tower is said to made one a hero. I can attest to the steepness of the climb and thank my exercise routine for getting me in shape enough to made the assent. Standing on the wall and gazing out over the mountains and the various sections was breath taking. I was trying to imagine the guards keeping watch for Mongals charging from the north. The day was cold and the fall season well along. I could only imagine the bitter winds of winter bottling at the guards as they faithfully watched over their homeland. The guards would not need to keep an exercise routine, they walked the wall and that alone was enough to give anyone a good work out. When I finally snapped back to present day, I was struck by all the people who were visiting the wall. I was expecting to see many nationalities and foreigners outnumbering nationals, but that was not the case. It seems the people of China visit the wall is vast numbers, make the wall truly their wall. I can see how the Wall is one of the Wonders of the world.