The second day we were in China we went to the Great Wall! There are a lot of different sections you can go to, but we went to one where you could luge down the mountain when you were finished. It was about a 2 hour van ride from the city to the wall, which gave us time for a quick nap since it was an early morning. When we got there, they said you could either climb stairs up the mountain to the wall, or take a lift...before we arrived we had decided we would climb, after all, we wanted to have the full experience. When we got there, our brains came back, and we realized there were lifts for a reason!
This picture is actually towards the end of the day. I started off with a short sleeved shirt, a sweatshirt, a winter coat, hat, gloves, and scarf. As you can see, but the end, I was thankful for the short sleeves!
At the top of the lift, you could go left or right. Left was older and steeper, right had been redone and had more towers. Of course, I chose left. Why wouldn't I take the hardest way possible? This picture is looking down at the steps we had to climb....do you see how they just kinda disappear? I was tempted to take the path on the right, which was actually also steep and go to the roof. The inside stairs weren't as steep, but I chickened out at the last minute.
It was amazing to think that the wall we were standing on had so much history. We didn't have a guide with us as we walked, but I overheard other guides saying that as people were working on the wall, many died. They just buried them right inside.
This is the beginning of the day, all bundled up!
The wall went on and on and on. After we did the part to the left, we hiked back to the middle and decided to tackle the right. We could see a tower way in the distance on the top of the mountain, and decided that was the end. It was a struggle to climb there, but we kept thinking, if we get there, we can say we walked this whole section. After struggling up the wall, we finally reached the tower, only to see that it went on and on and on and on behind the mountain! It was a good thing we ran out of time, because I don't think my legs could have made it another tower. However, we did have to turn around and walk back to the middle again!
While I was walking at the wall, I just kept being reminded that the works of the hands of men are futile. Thousands and thousands of lives were given in making this wall. The touristy sections have been rebuilt and restored, but beyond the signs at the end of a "section" the wall is crumbling proof of how short life really is. Things of this world will pass away, and we will be left with the things of God.
This picture is actually towards the end of the day. I started off with a short sleeved shirt, a sweatshirt, a winter coat, hat, gloves, and scarf. As you can see, but the end, I was thankful for the short sleeves!
At the top of the lift, you could go left or right. Left was older and steeper, right had been redone and had more towers. Of course, I chose left. Why wouldn't I take the hardest way possible? This picture is looking down at the steps we had to climb....do you see how they just kinda disappear? I was tempted to take the path on the right, which was actually also steep and go to the roof. The inside stairs weren't as steep, but I chickened out at the last minute.
It was amazing to think that the wall we were standing on had so much history. We didn't have a guide with us as we walked, but I overheard other guides saying that as people were working on the wall, many died. They just buried them right inside.
This is the beginning of the day, all bundled up!
The wall went on and on and on. After we did the part to the left, we hiked back to the middle and decided to tackle the right. We could see a tower way in the distance on the top of the mountain, and decided that was the end. It was a struggle to climb there, but we kept thinking, if we get there, we can say we walked this whole section. After struggling up the wall, we finally reached the tower, only to see that it went on and on and on and on behind the mountain! It was a good thing we ran out of time, because I don't think my legs could have made it another tower. However, we did have to turn around and walk back to the middle again!
While I was walking at the wall, I just kept being reminded that the works of the hands of men are futile. Thousands and thousands of lives were given in making this wall. The touristy sections have been rebuilt and restored, but beyond the signs at the end of a "section" the wall is crumbling proof of how short life really is. Things of this world will pass away, and we will be left with the things of God.
1 comment:
China!!! How awesome!! We've been teaching The Middle Ages this year in History so we learned about the Great Wall. How neat you got to go there!! You're having such great experiences and seeing such amazing things! Kinda jealous here :-) Thanks for sharing!
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