The Great Wall by Taylor

On Monday October, 18th we hired a tour company to take us to the Great Wall, the Ming Tombs and the Olympic Stadium. The drive took about two hours to get from Beijing to the Wall. When we got to the wall we took a chairlift to the top. The chairlift operators were yelling at us to get off and on really fast. I thought that was funny! I know how to get off and on a chairlift expertly, because I have been skiing since I was five.

When we got to the top the view was AMAZING! The valley below the wall was all covered with lush green forest. The Great Wall was snaking through the greenery atop the ridge.

It was also funny because about 5 minutes into the adventure we were stopped by a sales man that wanted to sell us snacks and drinks. We decided to buy some water and my Dad got some coffee.

My Family and The Snack Sales Man

The first guardhouse we came to was the second largest of the four we saw. The old stairs were replaced by a ladder. All of the buildings had three statuettes of a dragon and two phoenixes signifying that the Emperor was living and not dead. When we came to the bottom of the mountain pass there was a courtyard. The steps up the other side of the pass were almost straight up! When we got to the next guard tower you could also go into the top where it looked like there used to be a pavilion. The third building still had original wood.

The last guard tower was the biggest. Inside there were four rooms. It was cool to look up and see the original wood again.

Past this tower there were signs saying not to go any further. We did go past the sign just to see. It was all overgrown and it had a more mysterious and older feeling. When we came back to the entrance we were ready to ride down the toboggan track but it was closed due to the rain.

The Great Wall is very amazing in that it's been there since the Qin Dynasty.