The Great Wall and the beginning of Olympiad XXIX

"I think that you would have to conclude that this is a great wall," former President Nixon observed, "and it had to be built by a great people." We had a chance to visit this monumental structure at Mutianyu, an area considered to be less touristy than Badaling, the area most frequently visited. Several of the sites were closed to tourists due to the Olympics, so we were lucky to be able to visit the Wall at all!


We boarded a bus to Huai Rou and later shared a mini-bus with a Chinese couple to Mutianyu. We then took a chairlift from the parking lot and main entrance to the actual wall, which meanders through the hills as far as the eye could see. It was especially hot and humid, which made climbing the wall with its many stairs quite challenging. We took several pictures and noticed that Mutianyu had the most foreigners we had seen yet! We even met some US Swimming Team staff members who took Mike's picture to show to the swimmer of the same name! Very cool. :)


After a few hot, exhausting, yet still enjoyable hours at the wall, we descended to the main gate via tobaggons! We each sat on our own little black, plastic cart and slid down the long, silver slide to the bottom. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! We then returned home via taxi, mini-bus, bus, and subway just in time to watch the Beijing Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony!


Eight is a lucky number for the Chinese, so 8pm 8-8-2008 was reserved for the opening of the Games! 'One World One Dream' is the slogan, and these Games mark the realization of China's long-time dream to host this special event! The Opening Ceremony wowed the crowd in the beautiful Bird Nest Stadium as well as viewers around the world! Many commented that this Opening Ceremony was the best they had ever seen and gave it a 10 out of 10!


We watched the entire 4+ hours with Ruling and Hongyu. The whole ceremony blew us away, and we found the opening drum sequence and tai chi portions to be especially impressive. Ruling kindly translated what the Chinese announcer was saying throughout the ceremony.

Let the Games begin!